Читать книгу Colton Baby Homecoming - Lara Lacombe - Страница 9
ОглавлениеDoctor Darcy Marrow leaned forward and tied off the last stitch, then offered her patient a smile.
“You did a great job,” she assured the little boy.
He stared up at her, his blue eyes wide with amazement. “I didn’t feel a thing!” he exclaimed.
“That’s good,” she told him, pushing back from the bed and setting her tools on the nearby metal tray. “That means the medicine worked.”
“Am I going to have a scar?” He sounded hopeful about the possibility, which triggered a sigh from his mother.
Darcy hid a smile as she started gathering up empty wrappers and used instruments. “Maybe,” she said. “It’s important you keep the stitches clean and dry for now. And I can promise you, once the medicine starts to wear off, your arm is going to ache.”
“That’s so cool!”
She met his mother’s gaze and shrugged slightly. “You’ll want to take him to his pediatrician in a week, and they can remove the stitches. In the meantime, if he starts to run a fever or the wound looks infected, bring him back in.”
“Thank you,” the woman said. She was clearly exhausted, and no wonder. She’d come home from work and had started to cook dinner, only to be interrupted by the crash of the glass coffee table breaking into a million pieces. Apparently little Johnny had decided to practice his karate moves while waiting, a decision that was all the more mysterious seeing as how the boy hadn’t taken a single karate lesson in his life.
“No more kung fu movies for you,” his mother said as the pair shuffled out of the exam bay.
“But, Mom,” the boy protested, their voices growing softer as they walked away.
Darcy shook her head and silently wished them well. The injury itself hadn’t been too bad, but given the boy’s enthusiasm and appetite for adventure, it probably wouldn’t be his last scrape.
She pulled the curtain back and stepped out into the main bay of the emergency room. The facility was shaped like a giant U, with the exam rooms set up on the periphery to orbit a large central workstation where the nurses and doctors could order tests, access lab results or maybe even drink a cup of coffee when things were slow.
Like now.
One of the nurses gave her a friendly smile when she sat down. “I take it Johnny is all fixed up?”
Darcy nodded. “He’ll be back in action in no time, which I’m sure will drive his mother nuts.”
The woman laughed. “He is a handful.”
“Is it just the two of them?” She didn’t remember seeing a father’s name listed on the chart, but then again, she hadn’t really been focused on it.
“Yeah. Her husband took a job out in Odessa when the oil boom got started a couple of years ago. Called her up a few months later and said he wasn’t coming back. As far as I know, she hasn’t seen or heard from him since.”
“That’s terrible,” Darcy replied, feeling even more sorry for the beleaguered woman. No wonder she’d looked so tired! “Is there anything we can do to help her? Maybe some kind of babysitting program, or something like that?”
The nurse eyed her curiously. “She’s on a wait list for an after-school care center. But I have no idea how long it’ll take before Johnny’s name comes up.”
“Maybe I can call them and get it bumped up a little,” Darcy mused.
“Maybe you could,” the nurse agreed. “But I didn’t think you were sticking around long enough for things like that.”
Darcy felt her face heat at the observation. It was true, she was only filling in at the Granite Gulch Regional Medical Center for a few weeks as a favor to her father. He was the chief of staff at the hospital, and when he’d found out her position in New York didn’t start until May, he’d suggested she moonlight in Granite Gulch for the time being.
“To keep your skills sharp,” he’d said, his tone suggesting she was in real danger of forgetting everything she’d ever learned if she took a few weeks of vacation.
His implied criticism of her skills had stung, but she’d shrugged off his remarks. It wasn’t as if she had a warm, loving relationship with her parents. Growing up, her doctor father had been absent more often than not, and her socialite mother was always more interested in playing the part of the wealthy doctor’s wife, fluttering from one charity obligation to another with little regard to her daughter at home. As a consequence, family conversations were always rather formal, stilted affairs.
Especially after Darcy had started dating Ridge Colton. They’d met in high school, and she’d been immediately drawn to his quiet intensity. He projected a calm confidence that said he didn’t care what other people thought of him, and coming from a family obsessed with appearances, that attitude both intrigued and attracted her in equal parts. She’d known about his family’s past—everyone did—but his connection to the notorious Matthew Colton hadn’t bothered her. Ridge had a gentleness about him, and as she’d talked to him and gotten to know him, she realized the quiet air everyone mistook for an aloof arrogance was actually a defense against the pain of gossip and rejection. Ridge was so used to people judging him by his father’s deeds that he had stopped trying to reach out and connect with others. Once he’d decided to open up and trust Darcy, he’d let down those walls and his true, amazing personality had shone through.
Around her, at least.
Her parents had hit the roof when they’d found out about the relationship. It was the one time in her life Darcy could remember them taking an actual interest in her activities and friends. They had insisted she break up with Ridge right away, but Darcy had refused. Her obstinacy had led to a further cooling of their relationship, and even though she’d eventually walked away from Ridge, she and her parents had never really warmed to each other. It was part of why she’d chosen to take the temporary job in Granite Gulch. While she knew her parents would never really understand her choices, she didn’t want to start her life in New York without at least attempting to mend some fences here.
Shaking off those thoughts, Darcy returned her focus to the nurse. “I know I won’t be here for very long, but I do want to try to help while I can.”
The woman nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth as if Darcy had just confirmed one of her suspicions. “Give me just a minute—I’ll look up that number for you.”
“Thanks.” Darcy turned to the computer, pulling up the list of patients still waiting to be seen. They’d been triaged according to illness or severity of injury when they’d walked in the door, and since no one was in immediate danger of dying, she’d see them in the order in which they’d arrived.
She’d just pulled up the file on her next patient—a young woman with flu-like symptoms—when she heard the faint wail of a baby’s cry. “Someone’s not happy,” she murmured, pausing to listen. It was a regular, rhythmic cry of a hungry baby, not the piercing wail of pain or the heartbreakingly weak cry of illness, so she turned her attention back to the computer screen.
The sound of urgent voices drifted back from the waiting room, along with snippets of the conversation.
“Sir, you can’t—” said Carol, the receptionist, her distress plain.
“Not leaving her—” This was a low rumble of a voice, most likely the baby’s father. Who was he refusing to leave behind?
“Simply not allowed—” Carol was getting frustrated now, her tone becoming challenging. Darcy could picture the woman leaning forward, her glasses sliding down her nose as she glared up at the man who dared to defy her. Carol wasn’t much to look at physically, but she ran the front desk of the ER with a drill sergeant’s precision and she didn’t take crap from anyone. Whoever was out there was going to have to bend to Carol’s will, and the sooner he did it, the better.
“Service animal—” The words were clipped and formal, effectively ending the conversation.
Well, that was interesting. By law, they couldn’t refuse entry to a service animal—something Carol would already know. However, most service animals wore a distinctive harness or other clearly identifying gear that marked them as such. The fact that Carol had tried to jettison this one meant that the creature in question was likely out of uniform, so to speak. So was it a true service animal, or was the owner just trying to pass it off as such because they didn’t want to leave their pet in the car?
Her curiosity piqued, Darcy stood and started walking toward the triage room. It sounded as if Carol might need some backup, and she wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Furthermore, the baby’s cries had taken on an increasingly desperate tone, and she knew from experience that pediatric cases could escalate quickly.
The nurse shot her an inquisitive glance as she stepped into the triage exam room. Darcy offered a smile. “Just thought I’d come see what all the fuss is about...” The words died in her throat as she got her first look at her patient—or rather, her patient’s parent.
Ridge Colton.
The sight of him knocked the breath right out of her lungs, leaving her standing there gaping at him like some kind of slack-jawed yokel. On some level, she’d known it was only a matter of time before she would run into him. Granite Gulch was a growing town, but it still had a very local feel to it and everyone seemed to know everyone else’s business. Still, she had hoped their inevitable meeting would occur at a time and place of her choosing, not when she was eight hours deep into a twelve-hour shift and looking less than fresh.
“Ridge.” His name was barely more than a whisper, but it may as well have been a shout. He glanced over at her and recognition flared in his dark brown eyes, along with another flash of emotion she couldn’t decipher. Surprise? Anger? Disappointment? No matter. It was gone in the next heartbeat, and he’d already turned back to the baby, dismissing her.
The nurse continued her preliminary exam of the infant, rattling off information as she went. Darcy listened with half an ear and forced herself to look away from Ridge and focus on the baby in front of her. There would be time to stare at Ridge later, to look for signs of the boy she’d known in the man’s body now before her.
A quick physical exam revealed nothing unusual, nothing to suggest the need for a visit to the emergency room. She shot a questioning glance at Ridge. “What’s the problem here?”
Ridge met her eyes, then looked away again. “I’m not sure. I was worried about exposure.”
“Exposure?” Darcy frowned at him, certain she had misheard. “How long has she been outside?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Where’s her mother?” A small part of her heart tightened at the realization that her first love had moved on with his life, but she pushed the sting aside. Of course Ridge had married and started a family. Why wouldn’t he? It was foolish of her to think she’d be the only woman he would let inside his heart.
“I don’t know.” A muscle in his jaw twitched. Apparently the baby’s mother was a sore spot with him. Were they separated? Had she dropped the baby off and left without telling him? But what kind of mother would do that? The Ridge she had known was a good judge of character—surely he wouldn’t have a child with a woman who was so irresponsible?
“Can you call her? I need a little more information, please.”
“No.”
Darcy raised one eyebrow at his refusal. “No?”
He met her gaze then, his dark brown eyes inscrutable. “I told you, I don’t know where she is.” He practically spat the words out, as if they tasted bad in his mouth.
Okay, time to try a different tack. Darcy turned to the nurse. “Let’s do a full work-up, just to make sure we don’t miss anything. In the meantime, do we have a bottle?” The poor little one had been rooting around in vain since she had started the exam, and Darcy suspected most, if not all, of the ruckus was simply the sounds of a hungry baby who was getting angry at being denied dinner.
The nurse nodded and walked to the bank of cabinets on the far wall of the room. It took her only a moment to prepare a bottle, and Darcy scooped the baby up and began to feed her. The little one settled down immediately, her cries subsiding as she focused on eating, taking great, gulping draws from the bottle.
Ridge let out a sigh of relief, and Darcy saw his shoulders relax. There was an approving “ruff” from the floor, and she glanced down to see a dark brown dog staring up at her with surprisingly intelligent eyes. That must be the service animal.
“Nice dog,” she said, searching for something to say to get Ridge talking. It was clear her earlier line of questioning wasn’t getting her anywhere, and she needed to know more about the baby to better treat her.
Ridge glanced down absently, as if he’d forgotten the dog was there. “Oh. Thanks.” He sounded distracted, and no wonder. He clearly wasn’t used to handling a baby, and if the baby’s mother—his wife? Girlfriend?—had left with little to no warning, he was probably more focused on that than anything else.
“We normally don’t let animals back here,” she continued, trying to sound conversational.
“She’s a service dog,” he responded, sounding a little more engaged.
“Oh? Like a Seeing Eye dog?”
He shook his head, the ends of his dark hair brushing the collar of his shirt. “No. Search and rescue.” He leaned down and gave the dog a scratch behind the ears. “She’s the one that found the baby.”
Darcy’s head jerked up at that. “Found the baby? You mean she’s not yours?”
He gave her a puzzled look. “No, she’s not. I thought I made that clear.”
A strange sense of relief filled Darcy at the realization that Ridge had not moved on with his life, but she pushed it aside. Now was not the time to let her selfish emotions rule. As she fought to find her professional footing again, another, more sinister thought entered her mind.
“Ridge, where did this baby come from?” The young man she had known wasn’t capable of malice, but people could change. It had been years since she had seen him. Could she really say she still knew him? What if he had snapped and taken this baby from its mother, then concocted a story about “finding” her? But why would he do that?
“I didn’t steal her, if that’s what you’re implying,” he said coldly.
Darcy felt her face heat and looked away. Ten years ago, her father had accused Ridge of stealing an antique pocket watch from his desk drawer. Darcy hadn’t believed it but when Ridge had dumped out his backpack, the watch had spilled out. She’d begged him for an explanation—maybe the watch had fallen in his bag by mistake? Maybe he had taken the watch to look at it and had forgotten to return it? She’d been convinced Ridge had a reasonable story that would restore her faith in him and convince her father that Ridge wasn’t a bad guy. So she’d stood there, watching and silently pleading for him to explain it to them.
But Ridge hadn’t offered any kind of response. He’d just sat there, stone-faced and silent in the wake of her father’s accusations. He’d completely shut her out—he hadn’t even met her eyes or offered any sign of acknowledgment that she was in the room. And so Darcy had had no choice but to break up with him. It had shredded her heart to do it, but she couldn’t stay with someone who would steal from her family.
She’d never forgotten that horrible moment, and apparently Ridge hadn’t, either.
“I don’t think you stole her,” she said evenly, resisting the urge to snap back at him. He had no right to still be angry with her—he was the one who had done something wrong! But yelling at him wasn’t going to get her any closer to learning about this baby, and right now, that was the priority.
She took a deep breath. “It sounds like you have quite the story to tell,” she said, trying to sound pleasant. “Let’s just focus on the baby, shall we?”
Ridge pressed his lips together and nodded once.
“Okay,” she said, some of the tension leaving her muscles now that they were back on track. “So who does this baby belong to?”
* * *
Ridge clenched his jaw, biting back a sarcastic response. It had been a long day, and snapping at Darcy wasn’t going to solve any of his problems. Still, the way she was looking at him now, as if she thought he had done something horrible...it hurt. Once upon a time, they had meant something to each other. She’d been the only person who hadn’t held his paternity against him, who had actually tried to get to know him, the real him. They had had a few good years together, and he’d foolishly thought their young love would be enough to see them through any and everything life threw at them.
How wrong he’d been. In the end, she’d turned out to be just like everyone else—judging him for something he hadn’t done.
It had been years since he’d seen her. He’d known she was back in Granite Gulch, but he hadn’t thought to seek her out. She had made her choice, and he wasn’t the type to chase after a failed dream.
But seeing her now... She looked amazing. Her auburn hair was longer than he remembered, pulled back into a ponytail that served only to accentuate her slanted cheekbones. Her eyes were the same, though. Dark brown pools that pulled him in, made him feel as though he was drowning. But what a way to go!
Shaking his head, he returned his focus to the baby who was quickly emptying her bottle. A dull throb started in his chest as he stared at the woman he had once loved hold a baby in her arms. It was the very picture of an old dream come true, but it wasn’t real and never would be.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” he began. “But first, I need to call a few people.”
“Who?” The word was innocent enough, but he heard the subtle challenge in her voice.
“My brother and sister. Sam and Annabel are both cops. I’ve had a hell of a day, and I only want to tell this story once.”
Darcy pressed her lips together, and he recognized the expression—she had something to say, but she was holding her tongue. For now. She settled for a nod, and he pulled his phone out and dialed.
It took only a few minutes to reach Sam and Annabel, and fortunately his siblings didn’t press for details. Ridge hung up with a sigh and dropped into the chair by the hospital bed. Penny stepped over and sat at his feet, then laid her head on his lap in a gesture of support. He stroked her head absently, replaying the moments leading up to her finding the baby. Maybe there was something he’d overlooked in the chaos, some clue that would help identify this child and whoever had dropped her on his porch.
Try as he might, though, there wasn’t anything that jumped out in his memories. He hadn’t seen any tracks around his cabin, but then again, he hadn’t really been looking for any. He hadn’t smelled anything unusual, either—no heavy perfumes or colognes had lingered in the air. Of course, Penny would be much better at detecting that kind of thing. Not for the first time, he wished his dog could talk.
“Ridge?” He blinked and looked up to find Darcy staring at him. Her expression made it clear this wasn’t the first time she’d said his name, and he muttered an apology.
“Like I said, it’s been a long day.”
“It’s okay,” she replied. “But we need to move to an exam room while we wait for your brother and sister to arrive. We have to keep this room free for triage.”
“No problem.” He stood and stretched, working the aches and kinks out of his back and shoulders. It felt good to move, and now that the baby wasn’t crying, his muscles could actually relax and release the tension of the day.
He made a quick gesture with his hand and Penny stood as well, ready to follow him. Then he turned to face Darcy and she quickly looked away, a faint pink staining her cheeks. Interesting. Had she been watching him?
A small, petty part of him hoped she liked what she saw. It was silly, he knew, but just the thought that she might still find him attractive appealed to his ego. She had been the one to walk away all those years ago, leaving him to wonder what he could have said or done differently. It was nice to think he wasn’t the only one who harbored secret regrets over the way things had ended between them.
“Where to?” he asked, striving for a casual tone. The last thing he wanted was for her to realize how much he was affected by seeing her again. Her presence brought back too many memories, too many emotions. He didn’t have time for this right now—he had to focus on finding this baby’s parents and catching the Alphabet Killer before they claimed another victim.
Besides, he wasn’t stupid. Darcy had left him before. And even though the only option for them was friendship, he wasn’t going to let his guard down again for the sake of nostalgia. It just wasn’t worth it.
Darcy led him back into the main bay of the emergency room, then guided him to a room to the left of the main nurses’ station. “Why don’t you have a seat,” she said, indicating the chair with a nod. “I’m going to call in a bassinet for this little one.”
“Do you need me to hold her while we wait for it to arrive?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Really?” She sounded doubtful, as if he was the last person she’d expect to hold a baby. Once again, he pushed back against the sting of her low expectations. Had she always thought so little of him and he’d just never noticed before? They did say love made a man blind...
“I don’t mind.” Truth be told, he was feeling a little protective. He didn’t know who this baby was or where she’d come from, but by some twist of fate she’d been dropped into his life. Now it was up to him to make sure she was safe until they could figure out her story.
Darcy walked over and gently transferred the baby into his arms. He tucked her against his chest, marveling at the warm weight of her small body. How could such a little thing put out so much heat? She let out a sigh and snuggled against him, and his heart did a funny little flip.
“Let me get you a blanket,” Darcy murmured. She returned a second later and tucked a swath of flannel over the baby, then stepped back and smiled down at him.
“This is a good look for you,” she said softly.
He met her gaze and for a split second, it was as though they were still together, still planning a future and sharing their hopes and dreams. The sense of déjà vu was so intense it made him a little dizzy, and he tightened his grip on the baby to make sure he didn’t drop her. Did Darcy feel it, too? Or did the fatigue of the day make him especially susceptible to such a ridiculous notion?
In any event, Penny chose that moment to let out a small, inquisitive noise, breaking the spell of the moment. She walked over to him and the baby and Darcy stepped back to give the dog better access.
It was just as well, he told himself. No use pining after what might have been.
Penny nosed the baby, then sniffed his leg. Apparently satisfied that everyone was who they should be, she walked a tight circle twice and settled down to curl up on the floor, closing her eyes with a sigh.
“She’s a really good dog,” Darcy observed.
“The best,” he replied.
“What’s her name?”
“Penny.”
“Interesting choice,” she replied. “She’s not really the color of a penny, though.”
He chuckled softly. “I named her that because she ate pennies.”
Darcy made a face. “Gross.”
“In her defense, she was pretty hungry.”
“She must have been, to stoop to eating change.”
He felt the smile slide off his face as he thought back to the day he’d found the dog. “I was taking a walk in the woods when I came across her. She was a puppy, barely old enough to be away from her mother. She was nothing more than two big eyes and four big paws, and some psychopath had tied her to a tree and left her.” He clenched his jaw, feeling his back teeth grind together. Even though it had been several years, just the thought of the cruelty was enough to send his blood pressure into the stratosphere.
Darcy gasped. “That’s horrible!”
He nodded. “It was a good thing I came along when I did. I don’t know how long she’d been out there, but she wasn’t going to last much longer. So I scooped her up, put her in the truck and headed into town to the vet’s office. She was clearly starving, and before I knew what was happening, she’d eaten the change right out of my console.”
“Poor thing. Very resourceful of her, though.” Darcy looked down at Penny, her expression a mixture of sympathy and amusement. “She’s lucky you found her before it was too late.”
“Turned out, we both got lucky that day.” He didn’t bother trying to explain how Penny had helped him as much as he’d helped her. How the dog had healed the cracks in his heart and turned out to be his best friend. It probably said something sad about him that he trusted his dog more than any person, but it was the truth.
Ridge shifted in the chair and glanced down at the baby, relieved to see his movements hadn’t disturbed her sleep. Poor little thing had had quite the day, but she seemed to be a survivor.
As if she could read his thoughts, Darcy spoke up. “She’s going to be okay.” Her words were soft and soothing, and just like that he was taken back to the days when he could tell this woman anything. How many conversations had they had, how many times had he opened his heart to her and shared parts of himself he’d never shown to anyone? He hated to admit it but despite the distance between them, Darcy still held him in her sway.
At least he was able to recognize it before he fell for her again.
His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen. We’re here. Where are you?
“Sam and Annabel are here. What room are we in?”
“I’ll go get them,” Darcy volunteered. “Will you be okay on your own for a minute?”
He smiled wryly at her concern. “I haven’t broken the baby yet.”
She nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll be right back.”
Ridge waited until she had left, then looked down at the baby in his arms. She slept peacefully, curled up like a little shrimp against his chest. She was so small, her cherubic features the very picture of innocence. A range of expressions flitted across her face in rapid succession while she slept, as if she was trying each one on for size. While he watched, her mouth turned up in an impossibly sweet smile, and he felt the weight of responsibility slam down on his shoulders. Even though he wasn’t related to this child and had no idea where she had come from, she was his now.
“I don’t know who left you on my doorstep,” he said softly. “But I promise, I will take care of you.” It was his calling to take care of the lost—the reason he’d gone into search and rescue in the first place. His brother Trevor, an FBI profiler, had once told Ridge he was drawn to that work because he hadn’t been able to help their youngest sister, Josie. Ridge wasn’t sure he believed all that psychological mumbo jumbo, but he did know one thing: he took care of his own.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the soft hair on the top of the baby’s head. “I’ll keep you safe,” he whispered.
