SH Medical 08 - The Baby Dilemma (18 page)

She couldn’t dial and steer at the same time. Afraid to stop, Paige sped around the corner to her driveway before dialing 9-1-1, and then realized she should have kept going. Before she could back out, the men raced up, one blocking her escape while Willy headed for the driver’s door.

She was trapped. No sign of Mike’s car anywhere. Frantically, Paige spilled the facts to the dispatcher and hoped the police could get there fast.

* * *

“
T
HIS
IS
WAY
OVERKILL
.” Wiping sweat from his forehead, Mike surveyed the play structure he and Lock had spent the past few hours installing in his brother’s rear yard.

A two-story fort, ladders and a tube slide to the ground, all for a baby that hadn’t been born yet. The kit had promised easy assembly by two people. It hadn’t mentioned heavy-duty drilling, hammering and hoisting that had left Mike with blistered hands and sweat soaking his coveralls. Still, this assemblage had to be incredibly fun. “I’d better test it to see if it’s strong enough.”

Lock finished driving bolts through predrilled holes in the slide and pushed a hank of wavy brown hair off his temple. “A big oaf like you? Forget it. I’ll invite some of the neighborhood kids over.”

Dropping onto a deck chair, Mike took a draft of the iced tea Erica had set out earlier. He and Lock had closed the office early, scoring a little hard-earned time off to install the play structure. He wished they’d had something like this while he was growing up.

Would Paige’s baby ever play here? It seemed only fair that Mike’s child…
her
child should enjoy what he’d helped assemble. Besides, why shouldn’t she be invited over? Erica and Paige did work together.

As he imagined a little tyke scampering up that ladder and sliding gleefully down into Paige’s outstretched arms, a knot formed in Mike’s chest. It amazed him how much he wanted to share that moment. But fatherhood wasn’t simply a matter of enjoying playtime or of suffering a few sleepless nights, either. It meant giving up control over his entire life.

“You really weren’t going to tell me, were you?” Sweat beading his face, Lock stood back to admire their handiwork.

“Tell you what?”

“Come on, bro. It’s all over the hospital that Paige is pregnant. Artificial insemination, that’s the word.” Lock quirked an eyebrow.

“That’s right.” Mike saw no need to elaborate.

“You guys make a great couple. I’ve never seen you so happy with anyone. I never cared much for Sheila.” Following that blunt disclosure, Lock grabbed his own glass of iced tea and downed it in a couple of swallows.

“We going to discuss my love life? Because if we are, I’ll leave and let you and Erica yammer about it.”

“Okay, I don’t claim to understand what’s going on.” The shorter man squinted into the fading light, studying the play fort. “But I think it’s a shame you aren’t sticking around. Unless she’s throwing you out, of course.”

“And why is this your business?”

Lock ignored the question. “Since you told me you have to find another place to live, I put two and two together.”

“And got six or seven? I always said you needed remedial math.”

“You used to want kids.”

Now, that was ridiculous. “Did not.”

“I remember you talking about what you’d do when you had a kid. How you’d teach him to play ball instead of spending too much time at video games. How you’d get a kick out of reading aloud from your favorite old picture books.”

“You’re confusing me with Denzel.”

“Yeah, you guys look so much alike.” Their brother had a rich chocolate complexion and stood about five foot eight.

“Nevertheless.” To Mike, Lock was obviously making this stuff up. Or recalling something Mike had tossed out when the possibility of becoming a father sounded merely theoretical. “How old was I? Like, twenty?”

Lock snorted. “You told me that on your wedding day.”

“Like hell I did!”

“You’d been dancing with Sheila, making goo-goo eyes at each other.”

“Making what?”

“Don’t you ever watch old movies?” Lock shook his head. “Hopeless. After you sat down, two little kids got up to dance together. They must have been about five. Totally earnest and concentrating on every step. Sheila went somewhere—to the bathroom with her mother, I think. You started talking to me about having kids.”

This was ridiculous. “I did no such thing. I distinctly recall making it clear to Sheila when we were engaged that I didn’t want children.”

“Yeah, she told me that, and laughed about it. She said you didn’t mean it. The word she used was
clueless
.” Lock raised a hand to forestall a protest. “Which is one of the things I dislike about her. It’s not right, mocking someone you’re supposed to care about. But here’s a reality check—every now and then you used to make some statement about how cute kids were.”

“Grizzly cubs are cute, too. That doesn’t mean I want to take one home.”

“You said how you’d treat them differently from the way Mom and Dad treated us. More time for fun and games, fewer chores,” Lock went on, unruffled.

“You’re hallucinating.” Grumpily Mike stared at the playhouse. “You’re so awash in your wife’s maternal hormones that you view the entire world through a pink haze.”

“Blue haze,” Lock corrected. “It’s a boy.”

“Yeah, but your wife’s a girl.”

“Last time I looked.”

This conversation was becoming more absurd by the minute. “On that note, I’m heading home.”

After a quick goodbye to Erica, Mike departed. The funny thing was, he thought as he drove, he did kind of remember those two children at his wedding reception. The little girl had belonged to one of Sheila’s cousins and the little boy had been one of the Aarons’ last foster children. A short while later, the boy’s great-aunt and uncle had adopted him.

They really had been adorable, dancing together just like the grown-ups. Mike had felt utterly mellow that day. Having kids hadn’t seemed like such a bad idea. When had that changed?

Maybe when things started to unravel with Sheila. Their quarreling and her pressure to rush into parenthood had made him feel cornered. In retrospect, Mike could see that at some level he’d registered that having children would bind him to her even more strongly.

Was that why he felt trapped every time he thought about being a father? Sheila wasn’t his wife anymore. He needed to let go of whatever feelings she still provoked in him.

Easier said than done, but he liked the idea.

Just then, Mike hit a long line of traffic on the beach road. Annoyed, he rolled forward, his impatience growing by the minute until he reached Paige’s street.

The moment he turned the corner and glimpsed the flashing bar atop the police cruiser, he forgot everything else.

Chapter Eighteen

Among the knot of people in front of Paige’s house, Mike made out her tall figure, arms wrapped around herself, auburn hair cascading over her face. Was she all right?

As he parked and hurried toward the scene, Mike sorted out the figures. Officer George Granger was talking to Paige. Willy Kerrigan sat in the back of the cruiser, while Officer Bill Sanchez kept watch over another handcuffed man whom Mike recognized as Ben Eggers, a paroled burglar and drug user he’d checked out previously.

On the far side of the driveway, a couple of young men in Hawaiian-print shirts watched with folded arms. They were renters who’d moved in last Sunday. Not too noisy, so Mike had paid them little attention all week.

He reached Paige in a couple of long strides. “Are you okay?”

“Just a little shook up.” The paleness of her skin made her freckles stand out. Mike wanted to kiss every one of them.

“What happened?”

“I saw those men breaking into an RV around the corner.” Paige’s voice trembled.
I should have been here to protect her, not loafing around with Lock
. “They followed me home. Luckily the police got here in just a minute.”

“We were at an accident scene two blocks away. Now, I need to take her statement,” George said with a meaningful look at Mike.

Much as he wanted to sweep Paige away from this mess, he had to let the officer do his work. “I’ll get you a sweater from inside.” The sea wind felt cold, and she’d had a shock.

“Thanks,” Paige said gratefully. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“So am I.” The best Mike could do now was take care of her. “Do you want me to put your purse in the house?” It kept sliding off her shoulder.

“Oh, yes, thanks.” Paige handed him the oversize bag.

Inside, as Mike set it on the sofa, he noticed a folder jutting from a side pocket. On the tab was written Baby Brennan.

How could he resist?

Drawing out the dark photograph, Mike glanced at the tiny shape in the center. Big head. Cute little nose. Sweet mouth.

A person. Real and whole. A little boy or girl who someday was going to climb that ladder and slide down the tube, laughing and shrieking.

Right into waiting arms. But whose would they be? Paige’s? Some other guy’s? Absolutely not!

Mike had seen sonograms before. His sister Lourdes had shown him Graciela’s when she was pregnant and Lock had waved one of these images around the office a few weeks ago. Primarily out of courtesy, Mike had taken a mild interest.

This baby was different. He ached to hold it, to see its little face light up. To cuddle its soft body and hum to it.
You’re mine, you know that? I’m going to keep you safe from creeps like Willy and Ben.

But how could he do that if Paige moved to Texas?

Through the window, Mike saw her shivering as she talked to George. Ashamed of himself for lingering, he returned the picture to its folder and fetched a cardigan from the front closet.

Outside, a second patrol car had pulled up to assist. “Thanks.” Paige draped the sweater around her shoulders.

“We’re just about done here.” George flipped his notebook shut.

Another officer came over to fill them in about the RV. Window busted, alarm disabled. The owner, whom they’d located in the adjacent house, had found an iPod and an envelope of cash missing.

Bill produced an evidence bag containing those items. “We have a match.”

That ought to be enough to send the men to prison on parole violations and possibly a new conviction, Mike reflected. But there’d be more shady types to take their places at the halfway house.

All the more reason for Paige to move away.

He had to figure out how to keep her here. To protect her and the baby. But Mike couldn’t simply expect her to fall into his arms after what he’d said last night.

You really don’t want anything to do with our baby, do you?
she’d asked.

And what arrogant reply had he given?
I didn’t sign up for this. You made a decision all by yourself.

Damn. How was he going to atone for that?

His brain churned as he waited for the officers to finish, and then he escorted Paige inside. Understandably jittery, she ate only a few bites of dinner and excused herself for a nap. “I’m exhausted.”

By contrast, Mike felt amped up and restless. “Will you be okay if I go for a walk? I’ll set the alarm, of course.”

She nodded. “Sure. While I like having you around, I’m not that fragile.”

After cleaning up the kitchen, he changed into casual clothes and sandals. Then, peeking into Paige’s bedroom and seeing her dozing beneath the covers, Mike nearly aborted his walk to stay and stand guard. But if he didn’t burn off some energy, he’d explode. And a treadmill in that cramped garage just wasn’t enough.

The last streaks of light colored the sky as he went out. The street lay quiet, and on the beach a few isolated groups of people sat enjoying the sunset. A handful of surfers, resembling seals in their glistening wet suits, rode the waves.

The wind nipped at Mike as he paced in the direction of the harbor. He had to bring order out of the chaos in his head.

Why hadn’t he admitted before, even to himself, how much he loved Paige? He couldn’t envision a future without her. But until today, that would have meant accepting a baby he didn’t want.

Lock was right. In a way, Sheila had been, too. While Mike had been reluctant to have kids before marrying her, in time he’d probably have yielded. Instead, his doubts had hardened in reaction to her manipulations. Children would have yoked him to Sheila for a lifetime, regardless of whether they stayed married.

How utterly different things were with Paige. She was ready to let him go. Even tonight, after the scare she’d been through, she refused to tie him down.

Maybe his insight had come too late. What he needed was another flash of inspiration, to keep her and the baby safe.

And to keep them with me.

* * *

W
HEN
P
AIGE
AWOKE
,
SHE
knew instinctively that Mike hadn’t returned yet. The quiet house vibrated with his absence. Also, the light remained red on the duplicate alarm panel in her bedroom.

How long would it take before this place no longer felt incomplete without him?
Or am I the one who feels incomplete?

Ashamed of her weakness, Paige fixed a cup of tea in Bree’s airy kitchen, where pots of herbs that her aunt had planted still flourished in the greenhouse window. Stretching her legs under the table, she gazed out at the street, peaceful once again in the twilight.

Was
this a weakness, to love a man so much that the prospect of losing him tore her apart? She’d simply have to get over it. Mike would never yield to persuasion. If anything, he grew more distant at anything that he interpreted as pressure.

They belonged together. But his heart didn’t have room for their baby.

A tear slid down Paige’s cheek. Embarrassed, she wiped it off. She was strong enough to weather this storm. She just wished she didn’t have to be.

Outside, she glimpsed his powerful shape pacing along the sidewalk. Unbidden, her spirits lifted as, at the front door, she heard Mike remove his shoes and shake out the sand. He came in quietly, then saw her sitting in the kitchen. “You’re awake.”

“Just needed a nap.” He couldn’t see the trace of tears, could he? “I’m fine now.”

He paused in the doorway, uncharacteristically hesitant. Finally he said, “I have an idea about the halfway house.”

That was good. “I’m open to anything you can suggest.” Setting aside her empty cup, Paige accompanied him into the front room. “What is it?”

“Let’s get comfortable.” He indicated the couch.

“Sure.” Relaxing against the cushions, she watched him with an attempt at nonchalance.

Instead of sitting, he removed the smart phone from his pocket. “I’ve been doing a little research.”

How odd. “On the beach?”

“Just checking something out.” He frowned at something on the screen. “The escrow officer who handled the sale of the halfway house to its current owners was a woman named Yelena Yerchenko. She owns the escrow company next to my office.”

“Okay.” Although she didn’t see why that mattered, Paige figured he was working up to that.

“I’m not at liberty to disclose the details, but I believe Mayor Hightower had a conflict of interest when he served as the swing vote on the council. He should have recused himself,” Mike went on.

That sounded promising. “You think we could force a revote?”

“Possibly.” Mike gave her a wry smile. “But there’s an approach that might produce results a lot quicker. The company that owns the house has invested a lot of money. They won’t want to risk losing their permit. After the arrest today, I’ll bet they’d be willing to make a few changes, especially when I drop a hint about the mayor’s conflict of interest. Would you accept a rehab facility as long as the occupants aren’t ex-cons?”

“Sure.” Paige sympathized with people trying to kick their drug and alcohol addictions.

“I’ll get to work on it.” Mike tucked the phone in his pocket. “Paige, I don’t want you to move to Texas. If you feel safe here, will you stay?”

“That’s not the reason I considered going.” No sense delaying; she’d meant to tell him her decision last night, anyway. “I thought I needed family around me, but I’ve decided to stay here.”

He looked startled. “You have?”

If she said she hoped he’d be involved with the baby, it might push him away. Better not to. “I’ve put down roots in Safe Harbor. This is my home now.”

Mike blew out a breath. “I’m glad. More than glad. Paige, can you forgive me?”

“Forgive you for what?”

“Being an idiot,” he said.

She chuckled. “I got over that a long time ago.”

“I mean, about the baby.”

She could hardly resent him for refusing to accept a child she’d conceived on her own. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“Please let me finish.” He rushed on. “Paige, I love you and the baby, both. I know I haven’t acted like it. I’ll prove it to you, however long it takes.”

She could hardly believe it. Had he really said the words she longed to hear, or was she misinterpreting? “Love isn’t something you have to earn, Mike. Trust, yes, but you’ve never done anything to break trust with me.”

“So I can stay here with you?” He shook his head as if he hadn’t meant it. “No, wait.”

Disappointment arrowed through her. She
had
misunderstood. “What?”

When he reached into his pocket again, she thought he was going to pull out the phone, although she couldn’t imagine why. Instead, he produced a small dark shape and held it in his open palm.

“What’s that?” Paige leaned forward.

“Sorry. The light’s bad.” Mike switched on a lamp and came to sit beside her. Holding up the small object, he angled it against the glow until it shone a brilliant shade of purple.

“Sea glass.” Paige took it with a sense of awe. He hadn’t borrowed it from her collection; she’d never seen this particular shape before. Naturally buffed, it formed a slightly misshapen diamond. “Where did you get this?”

“Just now, on the beach. If it weren’t for a ray of sunlight, I’d never have noticed it.” Mike studied her intently. “You told me once that your aunt promised to send you purple glass as a sign of approval or a nudge in the right direction. Is it fair to suggest I have your aunt’s blessing to ask you to be my wife?”

Paige couldn’t speak. Those darn tears were welling up again. Finally, she said, “I love you, Mike.”

“Will you marry me?”

The knot in her stomach dissolved. “Yes!”

Mike glanced at the gemlike glass. “I could have this made into an engagement ring, surrounded by diamonds.”

She had to ask one question. “What about the baby?”

“I love the baby, too. Did I leave that out?”

“No, but…how did this happen?” Before he could respond, she added, “I’ll get a DNA test.”

“Not necessary. It’s mine. I know it in my heart, and frankly, I don’t care anyway.” He stroked her hair lightly. “I saw the sonogram. Paige, I love him. Or her. Do you have a name picked out?”

“Baby B.” She gave him a tentative smile. “That stands for Bree or Brian. Is that okay?”

“Everything you do is okay,” he said.

“Sounds good to me.” Slipping her arms around Mike, Paige cuddled close. Before she knew it, he was kissing her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose and her mouth as if he couldn’t stop.

It felt wonderful.

* * *

T
HEY
SET
THE
WEDDING
DATE
for early September, planning a simple ceremony with immediate family and close friends. That still made for a long list.

In her happiness, Paige almost forgot that there might be one person for whom their joyful news would prove unpleasant. Then one day in late August, as she was on her way to lunch, she ran into Sheila Obermeier in the hall outside the office. The short blonde was leaving also.