“And maybe,” Violet said, following him as far as the open bathroom door, “he’s not the only one who should do some soul-searching.”
“You saying I’m in the wrong?” He turned the shower on and she spun around before she could see his pants come off, too.
“I’m saying it wouldn’t hurt you to have a little heart.”
Chapter Nine
Eight hours later Violet was in the baby boutique on Main Street, trying to find a going-home-from-the-hospital outfit for Ava, when she sensed someone coming up behind her.
She turned. Gavin stood in front of her.
Her heart skipped a beat as she let her gaze rove over his freshly shaved face and damp, sexy hair. He sure cleans up well, she thought wistfully. Then catching herself, bit her lip. So much for trying to act as though he had no impact on her. Glad there was only the store clerk here to observe any of this, and she was on the other side of the store, Violet settled one hand on her hip. “What are you doing here?”
“Bridgette told me where to find you.”
So, he’d been to the hospital nursery, too.
Violet sighed. “I’ll have to talk to her.”
He cut her off before she could go to the next table of layette items. “I’m sorry.” He looked at her for a long moment. “I shouldn’t have dragged you into our family squabbles.”
The spacious store interior suddenly felt a lot smaller. “It’s Nicholas you should be apologizing to.”
“Already did.” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You’re right—it’s his life to live, his mistakes to make.”
Violet rolled her eyes. “I hope you didn’t put it like that.”
“I said the first and left off the last. Although it was implied.” He grinned.
Violet muttered in exasperation under her breath and moved to the next display. Most of the special outfits were white. She wanted pink.
Gavin moved with her. “Bridgette also said she thought you were upset when you left the hospital.”
He was standing so close they were practically touching. Violet shut her eyes. “Now I’m really going to have to talk to her.”
When she opened them again, the clerk was disappearing into the stock room.
Gavin turned to lounge against the table, facing her. “Ava’s doing okay...” he continued speculatively.
Tenderness rolled through Violet at the memory of the infant’s last feeding, which had happened less than an hour ago. “Ava’s doing great,” she corrected.
Gavin reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I’m guessing by the fact you haven’t told me to get lost yet that your low mood is not about me.”
It wasn’t. Even though they’d had their first tiff as lovers, she had forgiven him almost as soon as the words were out. She just hadn’t gotten around to making up with him. Mostly because she thought at least a little time away from each other might give her some much-needed perspective.
“So...?” he prompted.
Violet bit her lip. She had to confide in someone. And since Gavin was also a physician of record on the case... “I had that patient consult with Tara Warren this afternoon.”
His look said he knew very well which one. “Didn’t go well?”
Violet shook her head. “The Willoughbys are still reeling from the diagnosis,” she said quietly, her heart breaking for both of them. “Not surprisingly, they didn’t like any of the options presented to them.” And had gone home, with Wanda still crying, Carlson completely demoralized, to think about it.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“You and me both.” Violet cleared her throat. “Anyway, I knew the boutique was open until nine this evening, and I thought it might be a good time to get something for Ava to wear when we take her home.”
Gavin’s brow lifted. “I thought your sisters brought us a ton of newborn clothes.”
“This is a special day for Ava. It should be commemorated in some way. I didn’t expect you to understand.”
“Because I’m a man?” He tilted his head to one side, ribbing her with his gaze. “Or because I don’t seem to have a romantic bone in my body?”
Actually, he did. He just didn’t realize it yet. “Ha-ha,” she retorted, aware the mischievous sparkle in his eyes had brought a telltale heat to her face. Determined not to give the returning clerk anything to gossip about, she asked cantankerously, “Now, do you want to help me with this task or not?”
He turned and selected the very outfit she’d had her eye on since she’d entered the store. “Oh, I’ll help,” he vowed, leaning down to whisper in her ear. “With this and anything else you might need.”
That, Violet thought, was what she had been afraid of all along.
* * *
“SO. HOW DO you want to do this?” Violet asked several days later when the Big Day had finally arrived.
Bridgette stepped forward, discharge papers in hand. “Well, one of you has to ride in the wheelchair while you hold Ava. It’s the rule. Because if you were carrying her in your arms and one of you tripped on the way out the door...”
“Liability issues?” Violet said.
“And an ER visit,” Gavin quipped, “for one, if not both, given a parent’s propensity for twisting themselves into all sorts of shapes to protect their young from harm.”
Except she wasn’t a parent, Violet thought wistfully. Nor was he. They were guardians and temporary ones at that.
“I think Gavin should sit in the wheelchair,” she said. “Since I’m going to be the one driving us all back to his place.”
Bridgette quirked a brow.
“We only had one car seat. We decided to put it in my SUV, since I’m the one not currently working full-time.”
“You could always borrow another safety seat,” the pediatric nurse said. “Then you’d both have one.”
Gavin shook his head. “She’s not going to be with us that long, sis.”
“Social services hopes to find a place for her within the month,” Violet added.
“If you-all don’t change your minds,” Bridgette said with all the impertinence of a little sister.
“We’re not going to change our minds,” Gavin and Violet said in perfect unison.
Bridgette gave Ava one last cuddle. “Famous last words,” she said softly, smiling down at Ava. “I mean, look at her. Have you ever seen a cuter, more adorable baby girl?”
No, they hadn’t, Violet thought wistfully. But thus far it appeared she was the only one who had developed a raging case of baby fever. And that being the case, there was no choice but to stick to the original plan.
While she struggled to curtail her feelings, Gavin got reluctantly into the wheelchair. Baby Ava—who was bundled up against the cool morning in her adorable pale pink onesie, knit sweater, cap and matching blanket—was handed to him. Before they were halfway down the hall, some of their colleagues appeared to cheer their exit.
Gavin mugged comically at all the attention.
Violet grinned and laughed. Like Gavin, she was happy and relieved the newborn was finally well enough to be released from the hospital.
She was also envious.
In another lifetime it might have been her sitting in that wheelchair, en route home, with her newborn in her arms, a loving husband beside her.
In another lifetime all her dreams might have come true, the way they had for four of her sisters.
Instead, she was on the verge of falling irrevocably in love with a little girl she couldn’t keep, and equally in lust with a man who was every bit as pragmatic as she was idealistic.
He was okay with having only half of what he wanted.
Whereas she, Violet knew, never would be.
* * *
ALTHOUGH SHE’D BEEN briefly awake and looking around as they put her into the safety seat, Ava was sound asleep when they arrived at Gavin’s home.
Carefully, he lifted the baby carrier out of the vehicle and carried it into the house, where disorganized stacks of baby things still awaited them.
Violet had meant to organize this morning, getting everything ready while Gavin was on duty at the hospital. Instead, she’d gotten caught up in a renovation emergency at McCabe House. The teardown of one wall had revealed a long-existing leak in one of the pipes. A plumber had been called, the damage assessed, and the emergency repairs approved by both her and the board of directors. By then, it had been almost noon and she’d had to rush to the hospital for Ava’s release, which had been timed to occur as soon as Gavin’s shift ended.
Now, here they were with Gavin looking dead on his feet, and no place to put the sleeping infant. He said, “Where should we start?”
Violet took the carrier from him and set it in the middle of the dining table. With Ava still strapped in, she was safe and cozy for now. Turning back to Gavin, Violet touched his arm gently. “I can handle it. Why don’t you go on to bed?”
Gavin shoved a hand through his hair. “You sure?”
Yes, she was sure. If he stayed any longer, they’d really feel like the mom and dad bringing their baby home. It was hard enough as it was to keep her emotions in check. She forced a confident smile. “If I need you, I’ll come and get you.”
He nodded, gave another brief look at Ava, then headed off to the rear of the house. The bedroom door closed softly behind him.
Left alone, Violet shrugged out of her suede blazer and rolled up the sleeves on her long-sleeved T-shirt.
She sorted through the baby clothes. Set the wheeled bassinet up with soft cotton linens. Found a place to plug in the bottle warmer and created an impromptu change station at one end of the leather sofa.
She’d just gone in search of the formula and bottles when Ava woke.
The baby’s lips pursed into a petulant frown. She looked around and let out a soft whimper.
Violet couldn’t blame the little one for being distressed.
After all, Gavin’s home was a lot different than the hospital nursery. Her own need to comfort escalating as quickly as Ava’s cry, Violet swiftly went to pick the baby up. “I’m right here, darlin’,” Violet cooed tenderly, cradling the infant in her arms.
At the sound of her voice Ava relaxed. Her eyes shut and she drifted right back to sleep.
And in that moment Violet knew. She didn’t just have a raging case of baby fever. She had fallen head over heels in love with this little girl and felt very much like her mother. The question was...what now?
* * *
GAVIN WOKE JUST as it was getting dark. From beyond his bedroom door he could hear the soft, plaintive sound of Ava crying. Blinking himself alert, he threw his legs over the side of the bed and swiftly headed out into the living room.
Violet was in the middle of the front room, swaying slightly, Ava cradled in her arms. She pressed a kiss on the top of the little girl’s head. “Hush now, sweetheart. We don’t want to wake Gavin.”
Heart clenching at the poignant sight, he whispered, “Too late.”
She turned, hair swept into a dark silky knot on the back of her head, lips bare. She had spit-up on one shoulder of her T-shirt and a smudge of what looked like baby powder across one cheek. Yet she had never been more beautiful.
She also looked as though she had been through the wringer.
Guilt knotting his gut, he ambled toward her. “How’s it been going?” He paused next to them and glanced down at the wide-awake Ava, who was still whimpering.
“Not too bad. As long as I’m holding her and on the move.”
Which accounted for Violet’s exhausted, harried state.
Gavin wanted to take them both in his arms. Figuring it would be more help, however, to help with Ava, he held out his hands.
Gently, Violet transferred the infant to his waiting arms. “Has she slept?” he asked as Ava snuggled against his chest and shoulder.
“At least a dozen times. The problem is, whenever I try to put her down, she wakes within a minute or two and cries until I pick her up. It doesn’t matter whether I settle her in the baby carrier, the bassinet or the buggy. She’s unhappy.”
Gavin walked back and forth with Ava in his arms. As he did so, her cries subsided and her tiny body relaxed. “She didn’t do this in the hospital.”
“I know.” Violet’s glance swept him in a way that made him abruptly aware he was clad only in a pair of boxer-briefs and a T-shirt.
He swore silently. He should have pulled on some pants before coming out here.
Too late now.
Besides, it wasn’t as if there wasn’t an inch of him she hadn’t already seen.
Flushing, Violet cleared her throat and turned her glance away. “Maybe the baby beds there had a different feel to them.”
Gavin continued walking back and forth. The baby’s eyes fluttered closed, opened, fluttered again. Gently, he rubbed her back, noting that Ava was dressed in a clean onesie, wearing the same knit cotton cap, and was snugly wrapped in a receiving blanket. “She seems warm enough.”
Violet came near once again, looking concerned. Standing close enough to Gavin their bodies were touching, Violet caressed the infant’s cheek. “And she’s dry and fed and burped.” She sighed, stepped back slightly, thinking hard. “I just don’t think she wants to be put down. At least not in what we have here.”
“Okay.” Gavin studied the scene with the same cool detachment he assessed a patient who had just been brought into the ER. He handed Ava to Violet, then headed to the bedroom. “I’ll take care of it.”
* * *
TAKE CARE OF IT? Violet let his promise echo in her head. What did that mean? Trying not to notice how sexy and disheveled he looked just out of bed, or to marvel at how tender he was with Ava, she followed him into the bedroom.
“What do you mean?” she asked, frowning as the doorbell rang.
Gavin tugged on his jeans and boots, and threw a shirt on over his T-shirt. He met her anxious glance with a shrug. “I’ll see what I can do about getting Ava another bed.”
Which would accomplish what? Violet wondered as the bell rang again.
They both walked through the kitchen to the front room. Gavin opened the door. Tara Warren stood on the other side. “Is it a bad time?” LCH’s new staff oncologist looked as though she had been crying.
Meanwhile, Ava had gone back to sleep. Violet tenderly cradled the child in her arms. “Not at all. Come on in.”
Gavin nodded in greeting. “Hey, Tara.” He curved a warm hand over Violet’s shoulder. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She nodded, not at all sure what Gavin was planning to do that was going to help. But she had to let him try. She shut the door behind Tara. “So what’s up?” she asked her fellow oncologist.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but over half your former patients are refusing to see me.”
“That doesn’t sound...”
“Good?” Tara teared up again. “It isn’t.”
“Did they say why?” Deciding to try to put Ava down yet again, she eased her into the baby buggy and pushed it gently back and forth.
“Apparently you’re a hard act to follow. And they’ve all come to the conclusion that if they hold out, you’ll change your mind and decide to stay.”
If that wasn’t emotional blackmail, Violet didn’t know what was. That also went to prove her sense that she had blurred the boundaries and gotten way too close to all her patients was correct. Violet sighed. “What about Carlson Willoughby?”
“He’s decided he’s too old to break in a new oncologist. He’s at home, waiting to die.”
Oh, no. “How is Wanda?”
“Defeated. Resigned. Heartbroken. Upset. She said the only person who had even a smidgen of a chance of talking sense into her husband would be you.” Tara began to look a little green around the gills. “She came to the hospital a little while ago and begged me to try to talk some sense into you.”
Violet rolled the buggy into the kitchen and took out a sleeve of saltines. She handed them to Tara. “I’m sorry.”
Tara opened the package and munched on one. “I’m a good doctor, Violet.”
“Obviously.” Still pushing the buggy back and forth, she took out some ginger ale. “Or you wouldn’t have been hired.”
Tara took a seat at the table. “I’ve never had patients react to me this way.”
Violet sat, too. Still rocking Ava gently, she soothed, “It’s not your fault. It’s a pitfall that comes with working in a rural county. Everyone knows everyone else. The bonds that are forged are deep and long-lasting.”
“That’s why my husband and I wanted to move here. We wanted to raise our family in a small-town environment. But if I can’t make inroads with the people here...” Tara shook her head, looking on the brink of tears again.
“Do you want me to talk to the Willoughbys and the other patients again?”
“Would you?”
“I’ll have to work it in around caring for Ava, but yes, I’d be happy to.”
“Thanks.” Tara stood.
Violet put her arm around her. “We’ll find a way to work this out.” And in the process get the boundaries that should have been set up all along reinstated.
* * *
TO VIOLET’S SURPRISE, a victorious Gavin passed Tara on the porch.
The oncologist did a double take. “Is that a...?”
Gavin hefted the small bed as if it was nothing. “Hospital nursery bassinet?” He winked. “Yes, it is.”
Waving goodbye to Tara, Violet followed Gavin inside, shutting the door behind them. “How did you manage that?” She kept her voice low, so as not to wake the still-sleeping Ava.
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