Paradise Valley

“Did you hear me?”

“I heard,” she said. “Now I’d really like to go home.”

He turned back toward the road and pulled around the stable to the front of Vanni and Paul’s house, Abby’s current residence. When she went to jump out of the car to flee, he grabbed her wrist and held her back. She turned and looked at him with a little panic in her eyes. “Abby, I can’t make you like me, but I can make you allow me to be a father to my children. I know a hundred ways. Please remember that.”

Without reply, she pulled her wrist from his grasp and exited the car. Cam watched her walk up the porch and into the house. He sat for a moment, took a deep breath and turned on the dome light to look at his watch. Just after six-thirty. Mel was on call tonight until he checked in, and there were seldom any calls. Doc Mullins had managed a forty-year practice on one whiskey at the end of the day and Cam needed one. Bad.

He turned around and headed for Jack’s.

Abby walked into Vanni’s house and leaned her back against the closed front door. Vanni and Paul were in the great room, both of them on the floor with the baby. She looked at the scene of domestic tranquility and burst into tears.

Paul and Vanni were both instantly on their feet.

“Oh my God,” Vanni said, rushing to her, Paul on her heels. “Was the ultrasound all right?”

“Beautiful. Dr. Stone said they’re perfect.”

“Why in the world are you crying?”

“I had a fight with Cam,” she said, tears running down her cheeks, her words caught on a sob.

“Cam?” Paul asked, confused.

“I was upset. He got all teary when he saw the ultrasound—one of them is for sure a boy. I hated that he got emotional in front of John Stone and I lost my temper.”

“Oh, Abby…”

“He got emotional?” Paul repeated, more confused. “Cameron?”

“Vanni—I called him a sperm donor! I was so mean.”

“Oh, Abby!”

“Sperm donor?” Paul said, totally lost.

“He laid it out for me, very seriously. Angrily. He’s not getting out of my way on this. He’s going to be a problem—as if I don’t have enough problems.” She leaned toward Vanni and wept on her shoulder. “He said he can’t make me like him, but he won’t let me take the babies away from him!”

“Like him?” Paul said. “Babies? What the hell’s going on here?”

Vanni looked over her shoulder at Paul. “Cameron’s the father—don’t tell anyone.”

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Abby stressed tearfully.

Paul was quiet for a long moment while Vanni just held Abby, comforting her. Finally he found his voice. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“I didn’t mean to be so hostile,” Abby wept. “Maybe it’s pregnancy.”

“Sure it is, honey,” Vanni comforted.

“Wait a minute,” Paul attempted. “Wait a minute here.”

“Long story, Paul,” Vanni said. “Just don’t tell anyone. I’ll explain later, okay?”

“But I thought they just met!” Paul said.

“Obviously they didn’t just meet. Don’t be a dimwit. I’ll tell you about it later, after Abby gets calmed down.”

Paul turned away from them and went to pick little Matt up from the floor where he played. “Must be a long story,” he muttered. “Very, very long. Say, about five months long?”

“Abby, you’re going to have to apologize,” Vanni was saying. “You can’t be like that to him. I mean, you don’t have to be in love with him or anything, but you have to be civil. He has his rights. And he’s not a bad guy. In fact, he’s a very good guy.”

“I know, I know. It just got under my skin that I’m in charge of carrying these babies and giving birth to them and I still have no control! None! I just lost it.”

“Well, when you tell him that, everything will be—”

“Um, ladies?” Paul said from behind them. “You’re going to be at this a while, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Paul,” Vanni said. “Sorry.”

“Oh God,” Abby erupted. “You were going to have sex! You were alone for the first time in forever and were going to have sex, and I came home early and ruined everything.”

“It’s all right, baby,” Vanni said. “We can have sex anytime.”

Paul ran a hand around the back of his neck. “Well, actually…” Having sex at all around here was a lucky shot, with a baby, a houseguest and the general popping in, something that would be happening more now, with Muriel out of town. Anytime was pure fiction.

Paul pushed little Matt at Vanni. “Know what? I’m going to step out for a while. Go have a cup of coffee with Jack or something. You two get yourselves settled down. Hmm?”

“Sure,” Vanni said, taking charge of the baby. “Probably a good idea.”

As Paul was going out the door, Vanni was asking Abby, “Have you eaten, honey? Let me get you a little something to eat and we can talk about this.”

Two

Cameron walked into Jack’s and found at least a dozen people at different tables finishing up dinner. He sat up at the bar.

“Hey, Doc,” Jack greeted, slapping a napkin down. “How’s it going?”

“Great,” Cameron said unenthusiastically. “Can I have a scotch? Neat. Something good. Good and powerful.”

“Sure. Long day?” Jack asked as he turned to select a label that might do the trick.

“It got long. Don’t worry—I’ll have some dinner and coffee and take your wife off the hook for on-call.”

“We have that all worked out, Doc. But I thought you had dinner out with Abby tonight.”

“That didn’t exactly work out.”

Jack laughed. “That should thrill Paul. He had the idea he was going to be alone with his wife.”