Healing The Md's Heart: Healing the MD's Heart

“Fine, let me earn my keep, then. You three give me some space.”

Heeding the older woman, Lia gestured Duran and Cort toward the door. “We’ll just be a few minutes,” she reassured Noah, who was eyeing the nurse doubtfully. “Don’t worry, she’s only cranky with adults.”

“Forty years and I still get no respect,” the sassy, rotund nurse muttered as the others left the room.

“Is she—?” Duran nodded to the door.

“No worries,” Lia said. “She’s the best pediatric nurse we have. She just saves her bedside manner for the kids.”

Duran didn’t seem convinced but looked to Cort. “I would have called.”

“I’m sure you would have,” Cort said easily. “But I figured it would be harder for you to turn down my offer in person. This way you can’t hang up on me. So before you give me all the reasons why it won’t work, I’ll tell you that we’ve fixed it so you and Noah can stay at the ranch. My brother Josh used to live in one wing of the house. It’s three rooms and more than big enough for the two of you.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Duran said. “But this is all happening pretty fast. I’m not sure it’s the best place for Noah right now.”

“Trust me, the place is huge. You won’t have to see Jed or Del—my stepmother—if you don’t want to. Jed doesn’t get around much these days, and Del—” Cort grimaced at his mention of Jed Garrett’s wife. “Well, let’s just say she’ll be more than happy to stay out of your way.”

“Noah would probably love being around all the animals,” Lia put in.

Flicking a look at her, Duran said nothing for a moment. “You told Jed about me—us?”

For the first time, Cort looked uneasy. “Yeah, I told him everything. The timing wasn’t ideal. He’s been in Albuquerque for the past few days, seeing some specialist and won’t be back until late this afternoon, so I had to do it by phone. But he knows.”

“And?”

“And it was a shock. But like I predicted last night, once he got past the surprise, he was more than ready to bring two more sons into the family fold.”

Cort’s words and the troubled thread in his voice eroded Lia’s previous confidence that staying at the ranch would be best for Duran and Noah. She’d been thinking of his brothers, instead of remembering who their father was. Jed Garrett might be sick, but it hadn’t softened him, hadn’t, as far as she could tell, caused him to repent his life of taking what he wanted, discarding anything and anyone that had stood in his way of building Rancho Piñtada into one of the biggest and most successful ranch operations in New Mexico. That had included wives, lovers and his own sons, and it was only recently that there had been a tentative attempt on his part to reconcile with the family he’d had no use for.

Duran, though, seemed strong enough in his resolve to save his son to face down any challenge without blinking, even the devil in the form of his newfound father. She’d no doubt that although it might be an awkward and even contentious first meeting, he’d be more than a match for Jed.

“What do you think?” Cort asked her pointedly.

Not liking him putting her on the spot, especially when she was already at odds with Duran over this, Lia forced an even tone. “I think the decision is up to Duran.”

She thought she saw a flash of surprised gratitude in Duran’s eyes, replaced quickly by a conflicted hesitation. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate this—”

“I understand,” Cort said. “We all do, in one way or another. But you don’t know how long you’ll be here. Do you really want Noah living in a hotel for a month or more? Give it a night or two. If it doesn’t work, then we’ll figure out something that will.”

“You know why I’m here,” Duran reminded him. “If staying at the ranch doesn’t work out—”

“Then it doesn’t work out. It doesn’t have anything to do with helping Noah.”

“That’s all any of us want,” Lia couldn’t help adding. She didn’t know what to say that would convince Duran of his brothers’ sincerity. There wasn’t an easy way to describe the family the five of them had become despite the sins of their father that had nearly broken them apart forever.

She admired them, Sawyer, Rafe, Cort, Josh and Cruz. Somehow, against the odds and despite Jed, they had reconciled and become a true family. Lia envied them that, the bond they had.

And yet it would be tested once again, in a way none of them had expected. There were two more Garrett brothers now, strangers both, and one with a desperate need to find the person who could save his son’s life.

Yet the fierce resolve in Cort’s eyes answered the question of whether he and the others would stand together to help. “When you release Noah, they’re coming back to the ranch with me,” he said, leaving no room for argument. “You want to come along and help them get settled? You’d be best at explaining all the details of Noah’s illness and what we need to do for the testing. Laurel and the kids are going to be there, too. We thought they’d be company for Noah.”

Lia glanced at Duran, searching for a clue that he wanted her. He looked steadily back, seemingly searching himself before giving a brief nod. “Okay then, I’ll get the paperwork started. If you’re sure?” she asked him, still uncertain if he’d actually agreed to Cort’s plan.

“I’m not sure,” he said flatly. “But I’m not being given much of a choice.”

“Then don’t go.”

“No.” He shifted his gaze between her and Cort. “I’m going to give it a try, mostly because I promised Noah and I’m not going to go back on that.” Turning, his hand on the door, he started back to his son, and over his shoulder, without looking at either of them, said, “I just hope I’m not going to regret it.”

Five minutes after walking into the great room of Rancho Piñtada, Duran discovered the drawback to being raised an only child—being completely unprepared for the chaos and noise of a large family.

It was more than he’d hoped for. But it was also more than he’d anticipated, to the point that the combination of stress, lack of sleep, and being introduced to the confusing assembly of four of his brothers, Sawyer, Cort, Rafe and Josh and Cort’s wife Laurel and their four children, Tommy, Angela, Sophia and Quin, was beginning to feel overwhelming. The oldest brother, Cruz, had called to say he’d be a little late for the family meeting, and Duran could only be thankful for one less person in the room and hope he’d be coming alone.

Noah lingered at his side, looking both intimidated and excited. He stared wide-eyed as Tommy, who seemed to Duran to be about twelve or thirteen, played the role of Bigfoot, chasing his much younger siblings around the room. His son was used to a quiet house and often only his imagination and toys for company. He could feel Noah fairly quivering with anticipation, wanting to join in and yet unsure of whether he could or should.

Sidestepping out of the way as one of the girls dodged around him, Rafe gave Duran a knowing look. “Be glad we left the other ankle biters at home,” he commented with a shake of his head. “When they’re all together, it’s a lot worse.”

Duran briefly wondered exactly how many of them there were and then thought of Ry. From the little time he’d spent with his twin, he got the impression that for Ry, family ties—ties to anyone—were something to be avoided at all costs. He suspected for Ry, a meeting like this would be akin to slow torture.

“Tommy, why don’t you take Noah out and show him the new foal?” Laurel made the suggestion over the rising ruckus in the ranch great room, giving an exasperated shake of her head when it went unacknowledged by her oldest son. She turned to Duran. “Would that be all right with you? There’s a brand new baby on the ranch and she’s just beautiful.”

“I don’t—I’m not sure Noah is up to a long walk right now,” he hedged, trying for a diplomatic way to say no. Though he didn’t doubt Laurel meant well, he wasn’t ready to entrust his son to people he’d barely met, related or not.

Silently urging her to back him up he glanced at Lia, sitting to the other side of Noah.

He’d argued with himself, even up to the moment he was standing at the front door of the ranch, over whether her coming along was a good idea or not. He’d wanted her there, for Noah’s sake and his own.

She was Noah’s pediatrician, at least while they were here. Noah had had other doctors, but he sensed Lia cared more deeply for Noah. And that counted for a lot. Besides, he wanted her there, for Noah’s sake and his own, because her empathy for their situation and her knowing his brothers and Jed Garrett eased the difficulties of first meetings and explanations. Although they’d disagreed over his staying at the ranch, in his mind she was still his strongest supporter here, and he hoped in this, her understanding of the situation would lead her to add her own objections to Laurel’s suggestion.

“Can I go, Dad?” Noah tugged at his sleeve. “I feel fine now. Dr. Kerrigan said I was fine.” He turned to Lia in hopeful appeal.

“I said you were better,” Lia amended gently. Over Noah’s head, her eyes met Duran’s. “I don’t think a short walk would hurt, as long as you took it slow. But it’s up to your dad. He might want you to keep him company since he’s in a strange place and doesn’t really know anybody.”

“You’re here. He knows you,” Noah persisted. “Please, Dad. I want to go.”

“Noah—” His first instinct to say no battled with wanting to let Noah explore and enjoy being a part of a group of kids. It so rarely happened and he hated that his son had spent so much of his short life lonely.

“Please?” Noah looked over to where Tommy in his role of Bigfoot with Quin, a sturdy toddler, clinging to his back, was about to pounce on his little sisters and then at Duran with that wide-eyed pleading expression that never failed to break the back of Duran’s resolve.

“You don’t have to worry about Tommy,” Josh put in. “He’s as good as Rafe and me at knowin’ his way around the ranch. And since he’s the oldest, he’s had lots of practice at keepin’ an eye on the littler ones.”

“Tommy’s very responsible,” Laurel added, a touch of pride in her voice. Tommy’s mock ferocious snarl elicited high-pitched shrieks from the girls and Laurel winced. “Okay, enough. Tommy—stop growling.” She walked over and scooped up Quin. “The girls are getting completely out of control. Why don’t you take them and Noah on a walk to the barn and show Noah the new filly? Slowly, though, Noah just got out of the hospital.”

“Sure.” Tommy gestured to Noah, “Come on, let’s get outta here.”

“Take your sisters by the hand,” Cort insisted. “Don’t let them wander off.”

“Come on, Dad, they can—”