by Susan Gable
“Where the hell do you suggest I stay then, Doctor? You’re booting me out of the hospital to where?”
“Finn has tons of room at his place. You and Jordan will stay there, of course. As my brother said, we take care of our own.”
Finn’s shock no doubt mirrored Amelia’s own. His eyes widened. “What?” He shook his head. “No. I don’t—I can’t… I have a restaurant to run and—”
Dr. Hawkins grabbed his arm, dragging him toward the door. “We’ll be right back,” she said to Amelia. “A word in the hallway, Finn.”
Amelia scrunched her eyes shut, shaking her head.
This wasn’t happening.
FINN WAITED FOR THE DOOR to click closed behind Bethany before unloading on her. “Are you crazy? Telling her they could stay with me? What the hell were you thinking?”
Bethany folded her arms, narrowing her eyes. “Exactly what I just said. What you said earlier. The Hawkinses take care of their own. Don’t you want the chance to get to know your daughter?”“No. Yes.” He dragged his hand over his face. “Hell, Bethy. You’ve backed me into a corner, haven’t you?”
“That woman is carrying your son. You’d hang her out to dry?”
“They could stay at Mom’s. She’s got plenty of room, too. And she loves to take care of people. Me? I suck at it. Besides, I have a business to run.”
Bethany shook her head. “I never took you for a coward, Beginagain. Or the kind of man who abandons a woman carrying his child.”
“Hey. That’s harsh. I’m not abandoning her. Them. She’s the one who keeps insisting they’re not my kids.” He shifted from foot to foot, then pressed his spine against the wall, glancing down at his shoe. The hospital’s paging system called for a doctor to report to the nurses’ station.
“Jordan’s waiting on a bone marrow transplant. What would Ian think?”
His stomach tightened. He jerked his head up. “Low blow, Bethy. You don’t fight fair.”
She pursed her lips. “No, I don’t. Not where my patients are concerned. And right now, Amelia and her baby are my patients. They need you.”
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “My performance as a doting husband obviously left a lot to be desired. Which is why my wives left.” He’d discovered the hard way there was a big difference between the fantasy of family life and the reality.
Jordan…and Amelia…deserved better than what he could offer.
“You weren’t in Erie then. But now you’re home. It’s not like you’re going to be on your own. You know we’ll all help. I’ll swing by to check on her at least once a week. Elke will help out. Hayden and Kara are both on summer vacation. You’ll have so much help, you won’t know what to do with it.”
He blew out a long breath. Time to man up. After all, they were his kids. One look into Jordan’s eyes told that truth. She was a Hawkins. “You leave me no choice.”
“That’s the spirit.” Bethany looped her arm through his, heading for the door to Amelia’s room. “But try to muster some enthusiasm, huh? Fake it if you have to. Don’t make her feel worse than she already does.
“It’s settled,” Bethany announced as she gripped the rails of the hospital bed. “You and Jordan will be staying with Finn.”
Amelia opened her eyes warily.
Bethany elbowed him.
“Right. I won’t take no for an answer.”
Amelia arched an eyebrow at them. “Jordan needs regular tests, treatments. Her hematologist—”
“We have hematologists in Erie,” Bethany began. “In fact, we have—”
“If you tell me that another of the Hawkins tribe is a hematologist…”
“No hematologist in the family. But our brother Greg is an art therapist and he—”
“Oh, that will be helpful.” Amelia closed her eyes again. “Maybe he can let me finger-paint as I slowly lose what’s left of my sanity.” The fetal monitor sped up as Amelia’s heart rate increased. “Maybe I can sell the paintings instead of making money as a chiropractor. Yeah, that might work. Forget all that education. I can lie on my back, and someone can hold the paper over my head, and I can pretend I’m Michelangelo. That sounds like a plan.”
“Amelia,” Bethany snapped. “Take a deep breath and look at me.”
She slowly opened her eyes.
“Thank you. Our brother Greg works with seriously ill kids. He’s got close ties to the Children’s Cancer Center here in town. They treat all the bone marrow failure diseases, including aplastic anemia, there. We have connections. We can make arrangements for Jordan right away, get her records sent down immediately, no problem at all.”
Finn forced a grin. “No problem at all,” he echoed.
Caring for a seriously ill teenager and a bedridden pregnant woman, both of whom he barely knew. Running a new restaurant, carving out a niche for himself in the local dining scene.
An unborn son, who’d been stitched into his mother’s womb, and saddled with the enormous responsibility of saving his big sister’s life. Problems?
Nah.
WITH HIS FAMILY DISPERSED to the parking garage and Elke getting a ride home from Kara, Finn crossed the walkway with Bethany, back to the office building. The excruciatingly long day had given way to evening. Streetlights flickered through the Plexiglas windows that lined the pedestrian bridge.
Inside the elevator, his sister leaned against the wall.They exited on the ground floor. Finn escorted her to her car.
Bethany popped the automatic locks open. “Finn? One more thing we need to cover. It seems to me there’s some chemistry between you and Amelia.”
She had no idea about the intense chemistry they’d explored in his kitchen so many months ago. Still, physical attraction didn’t amount to a hill of beans. Amelia didn’t like him all that much. She’d made that clear. She certainly wasn’t going to gush gratitude over his coming to the rescue.
“Trust me, Bethany, that woman would be halfway back to Maine already, without so much as a glance in the rearview window, if not for this complication. I don’t think you have to worry.”
She looked skeptical. “If you say so. Let me give you some advice as her doctor. Not only can’t she have sex, which should be obvious—though I’ve learned from years in this business that nothing is as obvious as I think it is—but she’s not to have an orgasm, either. By any means. In fact, I don’t want that uterus to twitch at even the thought of an orgasm. I don’t want her watching reruns of Magnum P.I. if Tom Selleck in his prime gets her hot and bothered. Got it?”
“Got it.” He scowled down at his feet. No sex he’d guessed. Orgasm by other means he hadn’t really contemplated, even though that was the only kind of sex they’d ever had. “Any other aspects about my sex life, or current lack thereof, you’d like to lecture me on before I head home?”
“You want the prevent-pregnancy-and-STDs-always-use-a-condom lecture for old times’ sake?”
“No. I memorized that one years ago. Thanks.”
“And yet you found a way around it to get a woman pregnant, anyway.”
“Night, Bethany. Thanks again. I owe you one.”
“You owe me more than one already, Beginagain, and you’ll owe me even more before this is over.” She gave him a quick hug, then slid into her car. “Chocolate mocha cheesecake is always appreciated.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Back at the restaurant, he found Hayden and Jordan perched on the tall stools at the end of the serving counter of the work island. The video camera sat in front of them. Jordan, toying with the contents of her bowl, set down her spoon when he entered. “How’s my mom? And the baby? Why hasn’t she called me?”
“Both your mom and the baby are fine. She hasn’t called you because she was really groggy from the medication they gave her for the operation. She said to tell you she’ll call in the morning. And she said you’re still grounded for life.”
That coaxed a small smile from Jordan. “Now I know she’s okay.”
Finn peered into her bowl, finding a noxious-appearing concoction. Only a left-behind milky substance clung to the walls of Hayden’s bowl. “What’s this?”
“You’re the chef,” Hayden said. “You tell us.”
“All right.” He grabbed a tasting spoon from the plastic container on the work space. “The usual deal?” Stump the Chef was one of Hayden’s favorite games. One he most often lost. “Yep.”
Scooping up a hearty sample that included several lumps, Finn popped it into his mouth, rolled it across his tongue. After he swallowed, he began, “Vanilla ice cream, chocolate—”
“What kind of chocolate?” Hayden challenged.
“Mmmm…semisweet.”
“Right. What else?”
“Whipped cream, triple chocolate brownies, cheesecake, and…” He rubbed his tongue across the roof of his mouth, searching for the final flavor, something that made sense only to Hayden. “Nutmeg?”
“I thought I’d get you with that one. Damn it.” Hayden glanced at Jordan. “Excuse my French.”
She gave his brother a broad grin and a look of absolute adoration that shot of dart of jealousy through Finn. Obviously Hayden had put the day to good use, bonding with his kid.
Jeez, he was starting to sound like Amelia. My daughter, my kid.
“S’okay,” Jordan said.
“I get a free shot,” Finn reminded his brother. “Assume the position.”
“Free shot?” Jordan asked.
“It’s the only way he ever gets one.” Hayden slid from the stool, turning sidewise. “Go on.”
Finn extended his middle knuckle, made a tight fist, then punched his brother, a former marine, in the upper arm as hard as he could.
Hayden barely moved.
“Now. Tell me that you fed Jordan something besides a crazy dessert. As a Phys Ed teacher, I expect you to know better about nutrition.”
“It’s summer vacation. And I’m the uncle. I get to do the fun things. I don’t have to make her eat her vegetables. That’s your job.”
Finn punched Hayden’s arm again.
“Hey!” This time his brother rubbed the spot. “That wasn’t fair.”
“Good nutrition isn’t optional.”
“Next time I’ll add some wheat germ. Oat bran. Maybe some broccoli.”
Jordan stuck a finger in her mouth, gagging.
“There you go,” Hayden said. “The kid has spoken.”
Jordan then covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned widely.
“You need to get upstairs, brush your teeth so they don’t rot out of your head after that so-called snack, and get ready for bed.”
The left corner of Hayden’s mouth curled. He gave Finn a covert thumbs-up combined with a quick head jerk. Once Jordan had started up the stairs, Hayden said, “Listen to you. Twenty-four hours into it and you sort of sounded like a dad just then.”
Huh. Maybe this dad thing wasn’t as hard as Finn thought.
CHAPTER SIX
THE LIGHT FROM JORDAN’S open cell phone cast a blue glow into the room. Nearly midnight, and she’d tossed and turned. Being in this room last night, with its pansy wallpaper and the lavender bedspread, had been an adventure. A stolen moment she’d never expected to repeat.
Being here tonight, with Mom in the hospital, wasn’t nearly as much fun.This wasn’t in either of their plans.
Her fingers danced over the cell phone, texting Shelby. She’d kept her friend updated about the crisis throughout the day, but Shelby had been busy getting ready to head to her dad’s, so they hadn’t really been able to chat. U awake?
It took a minute or two. Then the phone vibrated, and Shelby’s response came in. Am now. Whazzup?
Can’t sleep. It’s 2 weird.
Sigh. Ok. Y weird?
Idk.
Yes u do. Ur worried about ur mom.
Duh.
And about baby?
Double duh.
What happens 2 u if something happens 2 baby?
Jordan slammed the phone shut, then tossed it to the floor on top of her jeans. She grabbed the extra pillow and pulled it to her chest, curling around it. Leave it to Shelby to ask the question Jordan had avoided all day long.
Or tried to avoid, anyway.
It kept popping up, nagging her like Mom did when her room was a mess.
She forced her mind elsewhere. “Alan, Bethany, Cathy…” Uncle Hayden had told her the story of the twelve Hawkins siblings. How the first three had accidentally been named with A, B, C names. And how when baby number four was on the way, their parents had realized it, and decided to continue. “…Derek, Elke, Finn, Greg, Hayden, Ian, Judy, and Kara and Kyle, the twin babies of the family.” Alphabetizing sure made memorizing them easier.
Jordan couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to grow up with that many brothers and sisters. Always having someone to play with. Someone to share your secrets with. When she’d started kindergarten, she’d begged her mom for a brother or a sister.
But Mom always said no, that their family of two was perfect. That two was a lovely number. That she’d always planned on one child, because with a career, she wanted to give Jordan as much of her attention as possible, not spread it too thin.
Jordan’s cell phone vibrated, muted by the clothes.
The need for a bone marrow donor when, against the odds, they hadn’t been able to find one in the registry, had changed Mom’s mind about a baby in a hurry.
And when Mom had a plan, she made it happen. Even when she hadn’t gotten pregnant after the first two attempts at in vitro, Mom had tried to hide her emotions, assuring Jordan that “the third time’s the charm.”
And it had been.
Jordan had never imagined the possibility of outliving her baby sibling. Of the baby not even…
A gaping, hollow pit opened in her stomach.
She began to shake as her cell phone vibrated again.
JOLTED FROM SLEEP by the shrill ring tone, one he’d chosen specifically to cut through the clatter and chaos of the kitchen, Finn grabbed for his phone, yanking it away from the charger on the night table.
His heart pounded against his rib cage, his first thought going to Amelia and Chip. “Hello?”“Is this Jordan’s dad?” asked an unfamiliar young girl’s voice.
“Huh?”
“Finn Hawkins, right? Jordan’s dad?”
He rubbed his eyes. “Uh, yeah. Who’s this? And why are you calling me—” he blinked a few times to bring the blurry red numbers of his alarm clock into focus “—at 12:24 a.m.?”
“My name’s Shelby. I’m Jordan’s best friend. She sent me your phone number so I could keep it for her in case she forgot.”
“And you’re calling me because?”
“Oh. Because I was texting with JoJo and I think maybe she’s upset. She won’t answer me. Not by text, and not when I tried to call her.”
“If you girls had a fight, I’m sure you can make up tomorrow. Jordan’s probably sleeping. Like you should be.” Like he should be. The delivery truck came early.
“No, it wasn’t a fight. She’s upset. Look, you have to go check on her! She doesn’t ignore me.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll go check on her. Don’t call back tonight, all right? I’ll have Jordan phone you tomorrow.”
“All right. Thanks. Oh, and by the way…you sound as cute as you look.”
The connection broke, leaving Finn staring at his lit phone. What the hell?
He shook his head as he clambered out of bed. He tossed on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. His room was the largest, occupying the entire back of the house, over the kitchen. At one time, it had been the bridal suite of the bed-and-breakfast.
A few coats of paint and new furniture had transformed it into an appropriately masculine space.
The wooden floorboards in the hall creaked beneath his bare feet. Fortunately, he didn’t have far to go. He’d put Jordan in the next room.
He leaned his ear to the inch-wide space where the door was
cracked open. A long stretch of silence almost convinced him she was asleep, despite her friend’s intuition, but then he heard a soft whimper.
He rapped lightly on the wood. “Jordan? Can I come in?”
No response. “Jordan, I’m coming in.”
He pushed the door wide. Inside, the night-light from the attached bathroom provided enough illumination for him to maneuver around a pile of clothes on the floor.
It also showed the pajama-clad girl, half in, half out of the covers. Knees drawn up to her chest, she was curled into a ball, her back toward him.
“Hey? Are you okay?” Stupid question. Obviously she wasn’t okay. Maybe he should call Alan or Derek. They had kids. Maybe even Greg. He would officially be a stepfather when Shannon married him in a few weeks.
Maybe Finn should call his mother.
When Jordan didn’t respond, he laid a hand on her shoulder. She was trembling.
Alarmed, he shifted his palm to her cheek, then to her forehead. The fact that she didn’t feel warm relieved him for all of two seconds. “Jordan?”
He eased himself onto the bed. Hesitated. Got back to his feet. Didn’t seem like a great plan with a distraught adolescent girl he’d known for only a day. Even if he was technically her father.
He knelt on the braided rug alongside the bed and draped his arm over her shoulder, drawing her stiff, unyielding body into an awkward embrace. “What’s wrong, kiddo? Talk to me.”
She shook harder. “I—I c-can’t stop it. C-can’t stop thinking about it. Stupid brain. Shut up.” She thumped her fist against her forehead.
He caught her hand. “Shhh. Don’t do that. What can’t you stop thinking about?”
“If—if the baby doesn’t make it.” She hiccupped. “Then I—I won’t make it.”
Pain radiated through his chest, as if a searing hot knife had slid between his ribs. He rocked her in his arms.
“It’s not the plan. Not the plan! My plan…Mom didn’t know…” The girl gulped. “My plan was that even if the transplant didn’t work, then Mom wouldn’t be alone. She’d still have a family.” Jordan sniffled. “She’d still have the new baby.”