When They Weren't Looking: Wardham Book #3

by York, Zoe

  He looked up and held the gaze of his future mother-in-law with firm conviction. “I am, you know.”

  “I know.” She smiled. “Give her some space, but not too much. It’s a tough balance, but I have no doubt you’ll find it.”

  He had enough doubt for both of them.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Another week went by. Another Wednesday dinner, but this time, Liam didn’t stay long. His offer on the fourplex had been accepted, and he was working around the clock to have reno plans in place for when he took possession. Evie couldn’t decide how she felt about that. Of course, it was a good thing that Liam was making noises about ties to the community, and the property had so much potential. But renovating it was going to be a ton of work. And Liam thought he could do a lot of it himself.

  Earlier in the summer, she would have worried about him getting in over his head. Now that she knew—or thought she knew, she corrected herself—that he had substantial means. Well, if he decided he didn’t like playing Bob the Builder, he could always hire a contractor. But what if he didn’t like being a landlord? What if this all proved less fun and more work than he expected?

  They hadn’t had a chance to talk further. She’d had the boys all weekend, and Ted had him busy at the farm whenever he was available. Maybe this coming weekend, if he could get away. Or on the drive to the ultrasound week after next. She curved her hand over her belly as the baby fluttered around inside. No, she should invite him over sooner than that. To feel the miracle inside her, if nothing else. Baby hadn’t been active at all when he’d been over for dinner, but started a marching band impersonation as soon as Liam left.

  “Making life difficult for your daddy already, eh?” she whispered, but not quietly enough that Max didn’t hear. He looked up from his video game and rolled his eyes at her, as only a seven-year-old can. “Mom, I don’t think the baby can hear you.”

  She grinned at him. “Oh yeah, smarty pants? How do you know?”

  “Because he’s floating around in a lot of liquid, right? And when I’m in the bath, and you yell at me to get out, I can’t hear you.”

  She rolled to her side, reaching down off the couch to tickle his side. “Then how do you know that I’m yelling at you, huh?”

  He laughed, gently at first, then more hysterically as her fingers found the right spot on his ribs and wiggled back and forth. “Your face and the sound of your voice, Mommy. No! Don’t! Ahhhh! Connor, help me! HELP ME!”

  Connor came running, about to take a flying leap onto Evie, but then froze just before he would have launched himself into the air. She took a deep breath and pushed herself back up to a seated position. “It’s okay, Con. You can play wrestle with me still.”

  He looked uncomfortable. “I don’t want to hurt the baby.”

  They’d been so good after she told them. Hard to believe they shared the same DNA as Dale, except that they looked just like him. Big, strong, blond. Connor had her more delicate features, but Max was a clone of his father. Neither, though, had inherited or learned his brusque behaviour. They were silly and boisterous, but also thoughtful and considerate beyond their young years. They’d continued to have questions, Connor more than his younger brother, and they had a new suspicion of Liam which she hoped wouldn’t linger. But their new normal was better than she had expected.

  “How about I make us some popcorn and we watch part of a movie before bedtime?” She pushed to a stand, pausing to give her first born a quick hug on her way to the kitchen. The sounds of tussling resumed as she found a bowl and set the air popper up on the counter. Before long, both boys had joined her in the kitchen, Connor helping himself to a handful of still hot popcorn, Max carefully getting a glass from the cupboard and pouring himself a glass of water.

  “You thirsty, kiddo?” He’d had a big glass of water before sitting down to play his video game.

  “Mmm-hmmm. Wrestling is hard work.” She watched as he chugged the refreshing liquid. He was tall and sturdy, not as lean as his brother, but no longer a little kid, either. All muscle. God, they were both going to be heartbreakers in a few short years.

  They piled onto the couch, Evie in the middle. She’d like to think it was because they both wanted to cuddle with her, but she was more of a Swiss neutral ground in their constant good-natured battling. If she didn’t sit between them, they wouldn’t watch much of the movie, because one poke would be responded to with another, then a smelly foot would get shoved in someone’s face, followed by a few well-aimed punches before it devolved into a brawl that would most definitely result in popcorn flying all over her living room. As they were both trying hard to be nice to her, they took up positions on either side of their mother.

  Whatever, she’d take what she could get. She wound her arms around her boys, her baby bopping away inside her, and gave a silent word of thanks for the little moments.

  The next morning, Max was hard to wake up. He stood at the toilet for a while, still half asleep, before Connor jostled him and he pulled down his pajama pants and took the world’s longest pee.

  “Come on, boys,” she gently encouraged them from the doorway. “Remember, your dad is picking you up from school today, it’s his weekend.”

  A chorus of affirmative noises echoed off the tiles, and she scurried off to make them breakfast.

  “Mom, can I have some juice with my oatmeal?” Max propped one elbow on the table and started playing with the autumnal bowl of decorations her mom had brought over a few days earlier. He had faint dark circles under his eyes, and normally she’d say no, but maybe he was coming down with something.

  “Sure, honey.” She poured him a glass of mango juice and slid it across to him. Again, she watched him down it in unusual speed. “Max, are you feeling okay? Do you have a sore throat?”

  “Nope. Just thirsty.” He yawned.

  “Okay.”

  Backpacks, light fall jackets, and a bottle of water for Max, by request, and they were ready to head out the door. She had an appointment at the bank before her first class, so she was heading out for the day as well, instead of coming home after school drop off. All of it made her glad that at least they wouldn’t have much winter left when the baby arrived. An infant car seat would add yet another layer to the juggling act, that was for sure.

  Before she forgot, she pulled out her phone and sent Dale a brief text message letting him know Max might be coming down with something.

  Laney had made her promise to call after the meeting at the bank, so she did.

  “They’ll give me a small line of credit, so I can pay off my credit card balance, and have some wiggle room for bills if I need to cut back on classes for a while.”

  “I could have done the same thing for you, you know.” She did, and she appreciated the offer, but… “You really want to do this on your own terms?”

  “I do. Is that stupid?”

  “No. A bit more expensive, maybe. Did they give you a good interest rate?”

  “Yep.”

  “Okay, then. How’s the baby? How are my nephews?”

  Evie grinned. “Baby’s good. Moving around more. The boys are…well, you know. They’re amazing. I think Max is coming down with something, though.”

  “‘Tis the season for colds, etc. Back to school, back to sharing germs.”

  “Hmmm, maybe. He says he doesn’t feel sick, but he’s drinking a crap ton of water, and he’s been really tired lately.”

  “Yeah? What do you mean by lately?”

  Evie barely heard the shift in tone, might not have noticed it if they weren’t sisters. But Laney had just put on her doctor voice. “Uhm, I’m not sure. Why? What are you thinking?”

  “Might be nothing. Remember that I’m a surgeon, and it’s been seven years since I spent any time on a medicine rotation, but I think you should take him to see a doctor.”

  “Okay, I’ll make an appointment with the clinic for early next week.”

  Laney hesitated for a beat. “Look, I don’t want to alarm y
ou, but I think you should see if you could get him in this afternoon. Or take him to urgent care tonight.”

  Evie’s heartrate picked up. “Stop beating around the bush, Laney. What could this be?”

  “Increased thirst and fatigue are two signs of juvenile diabetes, honey.”

  Heat flooded Evie’s arms and legs, and she sank to the floor. “Seriously?”

  “It’s something that needs to be ruled out, yeah.”

  “Dale has them this weekend. He’s going to think I’m overreacting if I ask him to take Max to urgent care.” She swallowed hard. Oh god. Why couldn’t she remember when he’d started sleeping more? He’d always been a tired kid, not a morning person like his brother. Hot tears slipped down her cheeks. She hadn’t been paying close attention. Wouldn’t have thought anything about it at all if Laney hadn’t picked up on a careless, off-hand comment. Her poor baby.

  “It might be nothing. Could be a growth spurt.” Laney’s voice droned on in her ear, debating the merits of taking him straight into Windsor, or going to see the doctor in Wardham instead, if she could squeeze into their afternoon schedule.

  “Laney? I’ll call you back, okay?” She hung up without waiting for a response, and dialed Dale.

  He picked up on the third ring. “Yes?”

  “I’m calling about Max.”

  “Yeah, Evie, I got your text message.”

  “Well, the thing is…” Be brave. Be strong. Be a mama bear. “I’ve decided to take him to a doctor this afternoon, so you’ll just be picking up Connor, most likely.”

  “Do you really think you should pull him out of school?”

  “Yes.”

  His silence spoke volumes.

  “I’m not asking you…”

  “Yeah, I know, you don’t need to do that. My weekend with them doesn’t start until the end of the school day.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Whatever. You’ll keep me posted?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Apparently that was catching.

  Her next call was to the Wardham medical building, to see if the family medicine clinic there could fit him in. They couldn’t, and after she explained her reason for calling, the receptionist put her on hold, and after a minute, Dr. Wickens came on the line. “Evie, I’m sorry we can’t fit Max in, but honestly, urgent care in the city might be your best bet anyway. Take him in before the evening rush, okay?”

  A quick call back to Laney reassured her she didn’t need to cancel her morning classes, but she did prepare a sign that she would be closed for the afternoon. One of the many nice things about living and working in a small town—no one was coming very far for her classes, and there wasn’t any competition. No one would be upset about not getting sweaty this Friday afternoon. The only damage was to her pocketbook, but there were more important things to worry about right now.

  After she half-assed her way through her second lunch-hour group class, she closed up and swung past the school, stopping in at the office to sign Max out. As he wasn’t expecting her, she walked down to his classroom, and took a minute to watch him through the small glass window. He sat at a desk on the far side of the room, close to the teacher’s desk. Oh, Max. He looked tired, and she wasn’t sure if it was whatever was ravaging his body right now, or the tiresome nature of sitting at a desk for most of the day.

  His teacher glanced up when Evie tapped tentatively on the glass. She waved the dismissal slip in her hand, and the teacher nodded and gestured for Max’s attention. He grinned, and waved goodbye to his classmates, but he didn’t run to the door, just walked somewhat carefully.

  “Mom!” Not Mommy, not at school. Her heart ached just a little bit at the bittersweet realization. “What are you doing here?”

  She waved goodbye to his teacher and directed him to his cubby to collect his backpack. “I spoke with your aunt Laney after dropping you off this morning, and she thinks you need to see a doctor.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, we’re a bit worried that you’re not well and maybe don’t realize it.”

  “I told you, I don’t have a sore throat.”

  “I know, sweetie.” They navigated their way around a few errant rain boots that had tumbled into the center of the corridor, and out the main doors. “But I don’t think you have as much energy as you usually do, either.”

  “Do I have to go back to school later?”

  “Nope.” She winked.

  “Okay, then we can go to the doctor.”

  She laughed. As long as he thought he was in control of the decision, it was all good.

  “Can we get a snack on the way?”

  “Didn’t you just have lunch?”

  Max shrugged. “I’m still hungry.”

  “I probably have a Larabar in my bag, I’ll look once we get in the car, okay?”

  Even though he’d asked for it, Max hadn’t opened the wrapper on the nut and fruit bar by the time they hit the highway, and a pang of worry shot through Evie’s gut. She asked him if he needed help, and he shook his head. At some point before they arrived at the hospital, he’d quietly scarfed it down.

  After navigating the parking garage, they found their way to the urgent care centre and announced themselves at the triage desk. Luck was upon them, because they weren’t in the waiting room for more than a few minutes before the receptionist quietly called out Max’s name and they were ushered into a nook where a nurse took his vitals and pricked his finger for a rapid blood sugar reading. Evie didn’t see the number, not that it would have meant much to her, but after entering some information in the computer, the nurse turned and told them to follow her. An itch of panic crawled up the back of her neck. They’d only been to emergency a few times, but each time they’d had to wait again after being triaged. The swell of fear rose inside her again. So this was what it was like to be triaged as more urgent than others. It didn’t feel great.

  Through a swinging door, they were directed to a private room. Max climbed onto the gurney, then started fiddling with the opthalmoscope on the wall. Evie quietly climbed up next to him and stilled his hand, eager for the sweet contact with her little boy. He snuggled against her, and she swallowed hard to keep the worry at bay.

  It didn’t take long for a quick knock to come at the door and a young resident joined them. “I’m Dr. Gupta. Let me just wash my hands, then you can tell me what brings you in today…”

  Evie explained her conversation with Laney, and flushed as she admitted that she really hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary, but in hindsight, there had been some recent changes, but she couldn’t pinpoint when they started. “I’ve been distracted lately, and Max doesn’t feel sick…”

  The young doctor smiled. “Okay, let’s just take a quick look at you, and I’ll ask some questions as we go. You mentioned increased thirst. How about your appetite, bubs?”

  Max wrinkled his brow. “It’s okay?”

  “Mom? What do you think…has Max changed how much he’s been eating lately?”

  “Maybe…he asked for a snack on the way here. I thought he was maybe having a growth spurt.” Evie thought back over the last few weeks. “Actually, he’s been eating a fair bit more at every meal.”

  “And what was it that he ate on the way here?”

  “A fruit and nut bar.”

  Dr. Gupta nodded. “Has he put on any weight with this increased consumption?”

  Evie’s heart pounded in her chest. “No. If anything, I was just noticing that he’s losing that baby fat—”

  “Mommy, I’m not a baby!”

  “Nope, you’re growing up fast.” Evie turned to the doctor. “He’s still really healthy looking, it didn’t occur to me…”

  “He does look healthy.” The other woman pressed her hand to Evie’s arm. “And we’re going to do our best to keep him that way.”

  Evie nodded.

  “I need to talk to the consultant on call, but I think we’re going to admit Max for at least the night, it’ll be more co
mfortable for him to be on the paediatric floor than here while we run some tests.” Her eyes dropped to Evie’s belly. “Will you be staying with him, or is there someone else that you want to call?”

  Evie’s breath caught in her throat. “The night?”

  “Depending on what the test results are, it might be longer than that, but let’s take it one day at a time.”

  “So you’re thinking…”

  “I think your sister is smart, and so are you.”

  They turned together to look at Max. With his big, scared eyes and brave firm chin, he looked extra little. Evie wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “Wow, honey, I wasn’t expecting that we’d have to stay in the hospital tonight, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Mommy.” One little arm wrapped around her waist from behind, gripping her hip hard enough to bely his brave words. But the other patted her belly in a sweet gesture that made her heart trip a beat.

  Dr. Gupta excused herself for a moment, then returned with an older doctor, who repeated in a rapid fire instruction what the resident had already told her. Evie didn’t catch his name. She knew from Laney’s training that Dr. Gupta was more than capable, and really, what more was there to say? They’d tumbled down the rabbit hole. This was just the first bump.

  Liam unhitched the fertilizer spreader from the back of the tractor and took a minute to stretch his aching muscles before parking the large farm vehicle in the implement shed. He chuckled as he thought of what his mother would say if she could see him covered in field dust, wearing a baseball cap. He wondered if his hair was starting to curl around the edges. Probably not. You can take the man out of the city, but it was harder to take the city routines out of the man. He wasn’t really a farmer, and he’d be glad when this season was over, but man…this was honest work. Good, hard work, and he was happy to be doing it.

  He’d be happier to be in town, though. Even though it was a short two minute drive in, there was something about being a long sprint from Evie that made him more comfortable. He’d like to be in the same house even more, but there was time still for that.