His Baby Surprise

Lexi’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point. Time was slipping away. Fast.

If Freddie didn’t show up soon to take her and the baby home, Ty would be back from his house calls. Her whole plan hinged on being gone before that happened.

When Martha walked into the room carrying an armload of fresh linens, Lexi tried to keep the anxiety from her voice as she asked, “Is Freddie out in the reception area?”

Setting the sheets on the bedside table, the older woman shook her head and began stripping the bed.

“Ain’t seen hide nor hair of Freddie. And unless I miss my guess, we won’t either.”

Martha was right.

The smell of antiseptic and Freddie’s delicate stomach were a dangerous combination. It would take a matter of life or death before Freddie Hatfield risked coming anywhere near the inside of the clinic.

Lexi walked over to the window on the far side of the room and parted the calico curtains. The sight of Freddie pacing uncertainly between the car and the clinic door made Lexi smile with relief. “I wonder how long Freddie’s been out there.”

Martha came over to peer out the window. “No tellin’.” She laughed when Freddie stopped, glanced at the clinic door, then shook her head and started pacing again. “Goin’ back and forth like that, Freddie’s gonna wear a trench in the pavement.”

As they watched Freddie’s obvious dilemma, a shiny, red four-wheel-drive pulled into the parking lot. When the driver got out, pulled a black bag from the back seat and walked over to where Freddie stood looking helpless and forlorn, Lexi’s blood turned as cold as ice.

Ty had returned and it appeared he was going to exchange polite conversation with her “husband,” Freddie.

“Is something wrong?” Ty asked the obviously nervous woman.

“No,” the blonde answered. A rosy glow tinged her cheeks when Ty’s expression turned skeptical. “Well…sort of.” She pointed a shaky finger at the clinic door. “I need to go in there…but I can’t.”

“Why not?” Ty asked, confused. “The clinic is open to everyone.”

Her blush deepened as she struggled to explain. “It’s…well, you see…I have this problem.”

“What is it?” he gently coaxed. “I’m Dr. Braden. Maybe I can help.”

“I don’t think so,” she said, her ponytail swaying from side to side as she vigorously shook her head. “I’ve tried to get over it. Really, I have.” Her eyes pleaded for his understanding. “But there isn’t anything I can do about it. It’s a curse.”

“What makes you think you’re cursed?” Ty asked. He made a mental note to check the list of psychiatrists in Chattanooga. He just might be sending one of them a referral.

The woman closed her eyes, took a deep breath and blurted, “Aw, hell, Doc. The place makes me sick.”

Ty wasn’t sure what explanation he’d expected, but this wasn’t it. “Excuse me?”

“It’s the smell of antiseptic,” she explained, clearly embarrassed. Her anxiety increasing, she twisted her hands into a tight knot. “Just one whiff of that stuff and I’ll hurl in all directions.”

Ty coughed to keep from laughing at her impassioned description. “I can see where that would present a problem,” he agreed. “But I can’t examine you out here in the parking lot.”

“Oh, I’m not here to see you,” the woman said hastily. “When I need a doctor, I go see Granny Applegate up on Piney Knob.”

Ty frowned. Every time he heard the old woman’s name or thought about her approach to medicine, he envisioned black cats and a steaming caldron of witch’s brew. How could a young, seemingly intelligent woman place herself in the care of a quack like that?

“If you’re not here to see me, then—”

“I’m here to take my sister-in-law and her new baby home,” the woman interrupted. She gave the building a nervous glance. “But I can’t let her know I’m here unless I go inside. And if I do that—”

“You’ll get sick,” Ty finished for her.

She seemed pleased he understood. “If you could just tell Lexi I’m here, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Sure,” Ty said, heading for the clinic entrance.

His disgust for Alexis’s husband grew by leaps and bounds as he thought of the pretty blonde’s dilemma. Evidently queasiness plagued the whole Hatfield family. Good old Fred had to have known the kind of anxiety his sister would suffer.

But did the man care how much hell he put the women in his life through? No. The ever-concerned Fred was a complete washout in the sensitivity department. How could any woman be attracted to a jerk like that?

Ty shook his head as he entered the clinic. There were some things about women he guessed he’d just never understand. He was beginning to think he didn’t even want to.

Lexi turned away from the window, walked over to the bassinet and picked up the baby. In a few minutes Ty would be in to confront her with what he’d learned about her “husband.” From there, it would be easy for him to figure out the rest of what she’d tried so hard to keep hidden.

She drew in a shuddering breath as she lowered herself into the rocking chair and, holding Matthew close, set the chair in motion.

It wasn’t that she wanted to keep Ty in the dark forever about his son. She’d never wanted that. But fear had kept her silent through the long months of her pregnancy, and now she needed time to come to grips with all that had happened. How was she supposed to tell a man who never intended to have a child that he’d fathered one?

“Lexi, do you feel all right?” Martha asked, concerned. “You look like you’ve seen a saint.”

She wished what she’d just witnessed had been an apparition. At the moment, seeing a ghost sounded far more appealing than facing Ty.

“I’m fine,” she answered, her voice far more calm than she felt. “I just want to take Matthew and go home.”

“Can’t say I blame you. Everybody rests better in their own bed.” Martha finished tucking the corners of the sheet. “I’ll get the birth certificate and a discharge paper for you to sign. Then you and that little angel can be on your way.”

“I’ve taken care of it, Martha,” Ty said, walking into the room.

Martha propped her hands on her ample hips. “If you keep doin’ my job for me, we’re gonna be havin’ another long talk.” Her menacing glare never wavered as she breezed past him.

“Great,” Ty muttered, drawing Lexi’s attention. “Another lecture.”

Lexi’s breath lodged in her throat at the sight of Ty, her fears and anxiety fading as she watched him cross the room.

Ty was, and probably always would be, the sexiest man Lexi had ever seen. In a suit and tie he was sexy. But in jeans and a T-shirt, the man was downright sinful. The knit fabric, stretched across his wide shoulders and upper arms, drew attention to his well-formed chest muscles and bulging biceps. The royal blue color highlighted his deep, azure eyes.

The faded denim of his jeans hugged his long, muscular legs and emphasized his narrow hips. But from her seated position, it put certain other outlined areas on eye level as well.

Lexi swallowed hard when her pulse took off at an alarming rate. She had to have some kind of record-breaking hormonal imbalance. After the ordeal of giving birth not forty-eight hours ago, she shouldn’t want a man within a hundred miles of her—and especially not Tyler Braden.

“I need you to sign this release form before you go,” Ty said, handing her a paper and pen.

He reached down to take the baby and Lexi watched him cradle her son—their son—in the crook of his arm. Ty smiled when he put his index finger close to the baby’s hand and Matthew wrapped his own tiny fingers around it. The sight was so poignant, Lexi had to look away.

Tears filled her eyes as she signed the release form Ty had given her. She wanted to tell him Matthew was his son, wanted Ty to be as happy about the baby as she was. But he’d told her once that he never wanted a child. And he’d been quite adamant about it.

When she’d asked him why he felt that way, his eyes had taken on a fierce gleam and he’d mumbled something about not being good with children. But watching him with Matthew now, Lexi knew for certain that wasn’t the case.