Evergreen Springs

by RaeAnne Thayne

  After what he told her, it would be better for both of them if she just climbed into that pickup and kept on driving but he had made a deal with her and hadn’t yet paid his side of the ledger.

  “Yeah. That should be fine. I’ll have the warming hut ready.”

  She smiled and out in the fading sunlight, she was breathtaking. “Thank you. Oh, by the way, Ty wants to come and soak with us next time. Would you mind if I pick up him and Jaz on our way up? I’ll keep a close eye on them, don’t worry.”

  “You don’t need a couple of kids underfoot. Sounds like you have your hands full with the older set.”

  “They would love having Ty and Jaz come, I promise. It would be like having a dozen grandparents, all watching out for them.”

  He supposed it wouldn’t hurt his kids to spend a little time with some friendly senior citizens, especially since his kids had been screwed in the grandparent department. The only two they had were Sharla’s piece-of-work mother and Stan.

  “I suppose it would be okay.”

  “Perfect. I’ll talk to Letty and make the arrangements.”

  She smiled and with a wave, she climbed into her pickup truck. He watched her drive away for only a moment before he forced himself to turn and walk up to the house.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “I KNOW YOU’RE going crazy in here,” Devin said to Tricia Hollister a few days later, “but it would be optimal for the twins if you can hold on another week.”

  Tricia groaned. “I’m doing all I can in that department. I’m only getting up to go to the bathroom, even when I’m going out of my head with boredom. The problem is, I don’t think it’s necessarily up to me.”

  “Not completely.” Devin squeezed Tricia’s fingers. “Those twins have minds of their own and will come when they decide to come. You’re doing great, though. Dr. Randall was just talking to me about how pleased he is with the progress. The twins have grown so much this week, though they’re still a little on the small side. You must not be eating enough ice cream to fatten them up,” she teased.

  Tricia gestured to a clear box on a nearby shelf. “I feel like I’m doing nothing but eat. I can’t believe all the goodies McKenzie and the rest of your friends have been bringing by. And not just cookies and granola bars.”

  She pointed to a little Christmas tree on a table by the window decorated with hand-knitted striped baby booties and little knitted caps in blue and pink.

  “Oh, that’s darling. Who brought that?”

  “Barbara Serrano, of all people. I think I’ve met her only three or four times in my life. She said a whole group of people pitched in to make all the decorations.”

  “Nice. And it looks like you have some of Annalise Larsen’s famous sponge cake. Lucky.”

  Tricia smiled, then with the rapid-fire emotions pregnancy could bring, her mood shifted and she looked as if she were on the verge of tears. “Why is everyone here being so kind to me? I don’t even know these people anymore.”

  She smiled and squeezed Tricia’s hand. “You still have friends here. You always will. Anyway, Haven Point is a nice place. People here want to help when they see someone in need.”

  “Am I in need?”

  “You’re pregnant with twins and here by yourself, except for Cole and the children—and you’re stuck in this hospital, day after day. I would say that qualifies you.”

  “I don’t know what to think,” Tricia said. “I have at least two or three visitors every day, people I barely knew even when I lived here, whom I haven’t spoken with in years. I know you’re sending them to keep me company so I won’t feel so alone, Devin. Don’t try to pretend you’re not.”

  “I wish I could take credit but that was McKenzie’s idea. I’m good at recognizing problems—she’s better at solving them. I mentioned you were stranded in a hospital in a town that hasn’t been your home in many years, away from any support network you might have had in California. I thought you might be bored.”

  Tricia pointed to a stack of colorful material folded up in the corner. “McKenzie apparently agreed. She brought all these pieces of fleece for me to edge and tie. Apparently they are blankets to be sold at a booth at tonight’s Lights on the Lake Festival. I must have made a dozen of them over the last few days.”

  Devin marveled all over again at her sister’s wisdom. The core human emotional needs were basic: to feel loved and to feel needed. By sending visitors to Tricia’s bedside and giving her projects to help her keep her hands and mind occupied, McKenzie was filling both those needs.

  She had often thought that McKenzie’s difficult childhood—losing her beloved mother to illness and then being thrust into the lives of a father who hadn’t known she existed and his less-than-welcoming wife—had turned her sister into a woman of extraordinary compassion.

  It was one of the many reasons she adored her sister and, more, was infinitely proud and honored to have her as her friend.

  “Those look fantastic. I especially love the one with the Frozen characters. Is somebody coming to pick them up for the sale tonight?”

  “Yes. Eliza Caine.” Tricia seemed guarded suddenly. “She called just before you showed up and said she would be here within the hour.”

  “Oh, have you met her? Eliza’s a sweetheart. And her little girl, Maddie—totally adorable. You’ll love both of them, I promise. You won’t meet anyone kinder.”

  Tricia shifted on the bed, looking suddenly uncomfortable. “I have met her, actually, this summer at a Caine Tech function, just prior to her marriage to Aidan. She seemed very nice.”

  Devin frowned, trying to make sense of that. After a moment, Tricia sighed. “Sean works for Aidan Caine in California. He’s a vice president over project management.”

  Devin stared. “Seriously? I had no idea your husband worked for Aidan.”

  “Yes. He’s been at Caine Tech for years. I know Ben and Aidan well.”

  “What a small world,” Devin exclaimed.

  “Not really. I knew Ben from high school and he hired me after college to work in the Caine Tech human resources department. That’s where I first met S-Sean.”

  Her voice broke on the name and Tricia suddenly burst into noisy tears. Those darn pregnancy hormones left every emotion close to the surface—or at least that’s what Devin had heard. She had no firsthand experience and never would.

  “I miss him so much. I want to call him a hundred times but I just... I can’t.”

  Devin handed her a tissue from the box by her bed. “Would you like me to call him? I’m asking as your friend, not as one of your physicians. You need all the support you can find right now.”

  “N-no,” Tricia answered. She sniffled a few more times, then seemed to regain control over her errant emotions. “He doesn’t want the children. He made that plain. He doesn’t want them and because I do, he doesn’t want me. It’s as simple as that, even though it breaks my heart. You and Dr. Randall said I should avoid stress as much as possible. Having Sean here, knowing he doesn’t want to be here, would be the biggest stressor I can imagine. I don’t want him to know.”

  Devin frowned, struck by a sudden realization. “He works for Caine Tech. Eliza is coming here within the hour. Aren’t you afraid word that you’re in the hospital might trickle down to him through Aidan and Eliza?”

  “I thought of that. I had to tell Eliza the situation between Sean and me is complicated right now. I asked her not to say anything. She doesn’t like it but she agreed. I’m not sure she’s even told Aidan she’s coming here.”

  Devin didn’t necessarily agree with all the secrecy, but she had to remind herself it wasn’t her business. In one thing, Tricia was right. Emotional upheaval wouldn’t be good for her or her children. If she thought keeping the baby’s father away was in their best interest, Devin couldn’t argue with her.
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  “Enough about Sean. I don’t want to talk about him anymore,” Tricia said firmly, wiping at her eyes with the tissue as if she could blot away the tangled stress of her marriage. “I understand from Ty and Jazmyn that you brought some friends out to soak in the mineral spring the other day.”

  “Oh. My. Word. It’s amazing.” All of Devin’s muscles seemed to relax simply remembering the healing waters.

  “I know, right? Going up there to soak was always my favorite part about coming back to the ranch to see my grandmother after I moved out. I wasn’t sure how safe it was with the pregnancy so I haven’t gone to soak since I’ve been home. My aching back could really use it right now. You should go there sometime at night, when the stars are thick overhead and you feel like you’re the only person in the world. It’s like nowhere else on earth.”

  “Cole said almost the exact same thing!”

  Tricia raised an eyebrow. “Did he? I’m shocked he told you about the hot spring. He’s not the most talkative cowboy, in case you didn’t notice.”

  To her dismay, she felt herself blush for reasons she couldn’t have begun to explain—though if she had to guess, it probably had something to do with that stunning kiss she couldn’t get out of her head.

  Or perhaps because Cole had talked to her, about his past and his regrets, other things she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about.

  “He didn’t really tell me about the hot spring. I sort of stumbled onto it when we were looking for a Christmas tree, and then I bribed him into letting me bring a few friends up there.”

  “Bribed him, how?” Tricia asked with interest. “My brother rarely does anything he doesn’t want to do.”

  Devin started to answer but the door to Tricia’s hospital room burst open before she could and a familiar young man galloped inside.

  “Hi, Aunt Tricia,” Ty said with his cheerful little smile. “Jaz and me were having a race and I won.”

  Jaz rushed inside breathing hard, in time to hear those words. “Because you cheated! I didn’t say go yet and you went, anyway. It doesn’t count. You didn’t win. Hi, Aunt Tricia. Hi, Devin.”

  “Hello to both of you,” her aunt said while Devin’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. If the children were here, their father couldn’t be far behind. She hadn’t seen him since that day in the warm, hay-scented barn, and her insides suddenly shivered with mingled anticipation and nerves.

  “I’m so happy to see you!” Tricia said to the children. “How on earth did you both know I needed a hug today?”

  Ty giggled and immediately complied, leaning over the side of the bed to wrap his arms around his very pregnant aunt. Jazmyn was a little slower to comply but hugged her, too, before stepping away.

  “Did you have your babies yet?” Ty asked, apparently oblivious to the huge belly he had just hugged.

  “Not yet,” Tricia answered ruefully. “Still waiting.”

  “I hope it’s soon. I want to play with them.”

  “You can’t play with brand-new babies,” Jaz informed him in her know-it-all tone. “All they do is cry for a long time. That’s all you did, anyway.”

  Again, since they were only a few years apart, Devin highly doubted Jazmyn had any memory of her brother’s early days but she decided not to bring up that little detail, especially when Cole came through the doors an instant later. He wore jeans and a suede jacket as well as boots and a cowboy hat.

  The nerves in her stomach suddenly seemed to cartwheel around like children on a grassy slope on a summer day.

  She didn’t miss the almost comical double take he did when he spotted Devin beside his sister’s bed. “Oh. You have company.”

  “I’m not sure I qualify as company, exactly.” Devin was quick to hold up her stethoscope. “I’ve been poking and prodding.”

  “And?”

  “Everybody’s doing fine,” Tricia answered. “Devin wants me to cook the babies in here for another week or so if I can manage it.”

  Ty’s eyes widened into an expression of alarm. “Cook them? Won’t they get hot?”

  “Figure of speech, kiddo,” Devin assured him. “The babies are still a little on the small side, especially because there are two of them in there. They will be much more healthy if they stay where they are for now, to give them a little more time to get bigger.”

  He seemed satisfied with that answer and quickly moved on to another subject.

  “Guess what, Aunt Tricia? When we were driving here, we saw a big sign for a boat parade tonight. On the lake! Dad says maybe we can go.”

  “Did I?” Cole drawled.

  “You didn’t say we couldn’t go,” Jazmyn pointed out with an unerring logic that made Devin laugh.

  Cole’s gaze momentarily landed on her and something hot and hungry flared there for a moment before he quickly looked away—not before her pulse jumped as if she had tachycardia.

  “As I recall, I didn’t say a word when you badgered me about it all the way here.”

  “Well, can we go? It’s a parade! On the lake!” Jazmyn exclaimed.

  “With boats,” Ty added, just in case his father had missed that salient point.

  “You really should take them.” Devin obligingly added her voice to the chorus. “The Lights on the Lake Festival is one of the highlights of the year around here. You’ve been before, haven’t you?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’m afraid not.”

  “It’s really fun. After the boat procession on the water, there’s a wonderful fair along the lakeshore with food and shopping and music. The proceeds from everything go to benefit either the local food bank or the literacy program at the library.”

  “It’s December in Idaho,” Tricia exclaimed. “Whose crazy idea was it to have a boat festival in Haven Point in December? I’m amazed the lake isn’t frozen.”

  “It never freezes all the way across, only along the shoreline, and that’s usually not for another two or three weeks. The festival never feels cold, anyway. Everyone bundles up and we have barrel drum fires and outdoor propane heaters set around for warmth. It’s a fun party.”

  “Are you going?” Jazmyn asked.

  “Absolutely.” She smiled at the girl. “I love the Lights on the Lake Festival. It’s one of my favorite things about the whole holiday season.”

  “You should all go together,” Tricia suggested.

  Devin almost fell over. Where had that come from? She sent Tricia a startled look. She wasn’t sure she liked that mischievous glint in her friend’s eyes as she gazed between Devin and Cole. Could she sense the tension simmering between the two of them? No. That was ridiculous.

  But why else would she have made the suggestion that Devin spend more time with her brother and his children?

  “Yay! I want to see the parade with you, Devin!” Ty said, slipping his little hand into hers and gazing up at her with those big, long-lashed dark eyes that slayed her every time.

  “That would be so fun!” Jazmyn added her voice to the chorus. “You can come with us to the parade!”

  “I’m sure Dr. Shaw already has plans for the evening,” Cole said firmly.

  “I am supposed to meet up with my sister and her fiancé,” she admitted. “But to be honest, as much as I love them both, I wouldn’t mind not having to be the third wheel there.”

  “There. That settles it,” Tricia said. She shifted her bulk on the bed to a more comfortable position. “You can all go to the festival together and then come back tomorrow and tell me all about it.

  “Yay!” Ty and Jazmyn both exclaimed at the same time. Their father, Devin noted, didn’t look nearly as enthusiastic, but she had to give him credit for not trying to wriggle out of the plans his sister was making for him.

  “What time does it start?” he asked.

  “The parade usually beg
ins at twilight, about six-thirty. I’ll see if McKenzie can score us some good seats. The mayor usually has a few extra spots in the VIP section.”

  “This is the sister you didn’t want to sit with so you wouldn’t be stuck as a third wheel,” Cole said drily.

  “That’s the one. I won’t be the third wheel if I’m with all of you,” she pointed out.

  He gave a rough laugh, which had his sister’s eyes widening with surprise and renewed speculation.

  “We can pick you up,” Cole said. “Should we say six?”

  “Perfect. That will give me time to go home and grab my wool socks and coziest boots. The only part of me that ever gets cold at the Lights on the Lake Festival are my toes.”

  “Got it,” he answered. “Warm boots all around.”

  She smiled when the voice communication badge she wore around her neck alerted her to an incoming message.

  “Dr. Devin Shaw. Can you take a call from...Dr. Russell Warrick.”

  “Yes. In one minute,” she answered the automated voice, then turned to Tricia and her family.

  “I’m sorry. I need to take this. It’s my partner.” He was also her sister’s future father-in-law, but that was a complicated situation she didn’t need to explain right now.

  “Of course,” Cole said.

  To her delight, the adorable Ty hugged her around the waist, which was as high as he could reach. “Bye, Dr. Devin.”

  She hugged him back as sneaky little tendrils of emotion seemed to curl around her heart and tug hard. “Bye, honey. I’ll see you again in a few hours.”

  Not to be outdone by her brother, of course, Jazmyn swooped in for a hug, too.

  She smiled and returned the embrace before stepping away and squeezing Tricia’s arm. “Hang in there, okay? I’ll check back with you tomorrow.”

  “You do that. I want to hear all about the parade.”

  “You got it. I’ll see the rest of you tonight,” she said, waving to the room in general.