Dylan and the Baby Doctor

“Only about a million times,” Lizzy said. “I’m the one who’s grateful. We needed a pediatrician here and I can’t imagine anyone I’d rather work with than you. The timing couldn’t have been better.”

“Still—”

“Stop it,” Lizzy said firmly. She studied Kelsey intently. “Are you really doing okay, though? No second thoughts? No regrets over divorcing Paul? Los Pin˜os is a far cry from Miami and our little clinic would fit into one tiny corner of the trauma center back there.”

“Definitely no regrets over Paul. And you were the one who was hell-bent on being a big trauma doctor. I just love kids. It doesn’t matter where I treat them. I couldn’t be happier right here,” Kelsey reassured her, meaning every word.

The differences were all good ones. There was a sense of community here that was never possible in a bustling, urban environment like Miami. While she might have made a difference in Miami and while the medical challenges might have been greater, here the rewards came in the form of sticky hugs from her pint-sized patients and warm, grateful smiles from people she was getting to know as friends.

Most of all, Los Pin˜os was far away from Paul James and the disaster he had almost made of both their lives. Hopefully, he would never discover her whereabouts. Hopefully, her ex-husband would forget her existence—and Bobby’s. That was the deal they had made. She would forget his deceit, his illegal use of her prescription pads to get narcotics, and he would leave her and his son alone.

Forgetting hadn’t been easy. At the end, Paul’s behavior had been so erratic, so unpredictable, she hadn’t been convinced he would stick to his word…or even remember he’d given it. It had been nearly a year now, and so far she hadn’t heard so much as a peep from him. She was finally beginning to relax her guard a little. She’d stopped panicking whenever the phone rang or whenever a strange car drove past the house.

She glanced at Bobby, who was adding grape juice to the stains on his face and clothes, and smiled. He was all boy, a miniature version of her ex, with the same dimpled smile, the same light brown hair and dark brown eyes. But while her son’s eyes were bright and clear and most often twinkling with laughter, Paul’s had been shadowed or too-bright with the drugs she hadn’t guessed he was taking until way too late.

She felt Lizzy squeeze her hand, looked up and met her friend’s concerned gaze.

“Don’t go back there,” Lizzy advised. “Not even for a minute. You couldn’t have changed anything. It was Paul’s problem, not yours. If he didn’t care enough about himself or you to get off the pills, nothing you could have done would have helped.”

Kelsey was amazed by Lizzy’s perceptiveness. “How did you know what was on my mind?”

“Because it usually is. Besides, I always know what you’re thinking, just the way you could read my mind back in med school. You knew how I felt about marrying Hank practically before I did.”

Kelsey chuckled. “Not possible. You knew you were in love with Hank Robbins from the time you were a schoolgirl. From the moment we became roommates, all I ever heard about was Hank this or Hank that. It didn’t require major deductive reasoning to figure out you were crazy about the guy.”

“I knew I was in love with him, yes, but not that I was ready to marry him and juggle a baby, marriage and med school,” Lizzy said. “I was scared silly when I found out I was pregnant. You helped me to see that I had to take that final leap of faith, that we could make it work.”

Lizzy wasn’t exaggerating her panic. Kelsey recalled exactly how upset Lizzy had been when she’d first realized she was pregnant with Hank’s baby. There had never been a doubt in Kelsey’s mind what the outcome would be, especially once Hank had found out about the pregnancy. Lizzy’s handsome, totally smitten cowboy had pursued her with relentless determination, ignoring her doubts, finding solutions and compromises that Lizzy had claimed were impossible.

“It’s worked out fine, hasn’t it? No regrets?”

“Better than fine, smarty.” Lizzy grinned, then leaned closer to confide in a whisper, “In fact, we’re going to have another baby.”

“Oh, my.” Kelsey sighed, trying to hide any hint of envy. She had wanted a whole houseful of kids herself, but if Bobby was all she ever had, he would be enough. She gave Lizzy a fierce hug. “Congratulations! That’s wonderful. Does Hank know yet?”

Lizzy gave her a rueful look. “You may have found out before he did last time, but this time I thought Hank ought to be the first to know. I told him last night.”

“And?”

“He’s over the moon. He’s wanted this for a long time. I was the holdout. While I was finishing my residency and getting the clinic started, I didn’t think he should carry all the burden for child care, even though he seems to love it. I figured it was about time I pitched in, too. The clinic’s hours are a whole lot more consistent than my hours at the hospital in Garden City. I might actually get to see this baby’s first step and hear his or her first word. I missed so much of that with Jamey.”

“I am so happy for you.”

“Will you be a godmother to this one?”

Kelsey was enchanted with the idea of becoming an even more integral part of the extended Adams family. “Nothing would please me more,” she said at once. “Of course, with the two of us to influence this baby, he or she won’t have any choice but to be a doctor.”

Lizzy shook her head. “Not a chance. Girl or boy, Hank wants a rancher. He says Jamey already spends too much time wanting to cut up frogs like his mama did in school.”

Lizzy glanced around at the half dozen kids, most of whom were beginning to fade from all the partying. Her gaze sought out Jamey, who was tanned and had his daddy’s rich brown, sun-streaked hair. He was five now and had a definite mind of his own. The stubborn streak was Lizzy’s contribution, according to Hank, along with the fascination with cutting up dead critters.

“Well, I think it’s time to get the troops home before they all wind up sound asleep in your backyard,” Lizzy said.

“Thank you again for helping today,” Kelsey said.

“Anytime. If you need any of us for anything ever, all you need to do is call. Day or night, okay?”

It was something Lizzy never failed to remind her of, Kelsey thought, as her friend left with a carload of exhausted Adams kids. Although she appreciated the gesture of support, too often it only served as an unnerving reminder to Kelsey that as unpredictable as Paul James was, there very well could come a time when she would desperately need their help.

Chapter One

Dylan Delacourt knew perfectly well why he’d been spending so much time visiting his baby sister lately. Oh, he claimed that he was just checking up on her for the rest of the family. He said he liked helping his new brother-in-law work on the house Hardy had built for Trish. But the truth was, he was in Los Pin˜os because of his niece.

Baby Laura had stolen his heart. On his worst days, when he was so low everything looked black, Laura’s smile was like sunshine. Seeing it was a bittersweet sensation, though. It reminded him just a little too much of another baby, another sweet smile.

The last time he’d held his son, Shane had been just about Laura’s age, thirteen months. He’d just begun to toddle around on unsteady legs. He’d uttered his first word, Mama, and that had pretty much been the moment when Dylan had concluded that Shane belonged with Kit and her new husband full-time.

Saying goodbye to his boy, doing what was best for him and letting him grow up with a “father,” rather than a stepfather, had almost killed Dylan. He’d agonized over it for months, hated Kit for divorcing him and forcing him into making such an untenable decision.

But he had also known just how deep the bitterness between him and Kit ran, recognized that no matter how hard they tried, there would never be agreement or peace or cooperation between them. In the end, he hadn’t been willing to subject his son to the inevitable battles, the simmering resentments. Giving up Shane was probably the single most unselfish act of his life. And not a day went by that he didn’t regret it.

His own grief and pain had been lessened somewhat by the knowledge that Kit’s new husband was a kind, decent man, who already had two boys of his own. Steve Davis kept regular hours, not the erratic, unpredictable schedule of a private eye. He would give Shane the time, the love and the whole family that the boy deserved.

Dylan tried never to look back, but there were too many days and twice as many nights when that was impossible. It had been more than four years now and he still ached for his boy. He wondered how tall he was, if he still had the same cowlick in his hair, if he was athletic, if he remembered his real daddy at all. That’s when the regrets would start to add up and he’d turn up in Los Pin˜os, his mood bleak, his soul weary.

Trish intuitively understood what brought him there and over time, Dylan had revealed some of it to Hardy. He withstood their pitying looks, accepted their love and their concern. But with little Laura, there was only the sunshine of her brilliant smile and the joy of her laughter. He could be a hero, instead of the dad who’d walked away.

“Unca Dyl,” she squealed when she saw him climb out of his rugged sports utility vehicle on a dreary Friday night. Arms outstretched, she pumped her little legs so fast, she almost tripped over her own feet trying to get to him.

Dylan scooped her up and into the air above his head until she chortled with glee. He brought her down to peer into her laughing blue eyes that were so like her mama’s. He’d been nine when Trish was born and he could still remember the way she, too, had looked up at him as if he were ten feet tall.

“Munchkin, I think you’re destined to be a pilot or an astronaut,” he declared. “You have absolutely no fear of heights.”

Laura giggled and gestured until he lifted her high again, then swung her low in a stomach-sinking dip.

“Still making career choices for her, I see,” Trish said, stepping off the porch to join them. “For a man who refused to let anyone tell him what he should grow up to be, you seem intent on controlling your niece’s destiny.”

“Not controlling it,” Dylan insisted. “Just listing a few of her options.” He dropped a kiss on his sister’s cheek. “Thanks for letting me come.”

Instantly, sympathy filled her eyes. “I know it’s a tough weekend. Shane will be six tomorrow, right?”

Dylan nodded. “I don’t want to talk about it, though.”

Trish sighed. “You never do. Dylan, don’t you think—”

“I’m not going to get in touch with him,” he said fiercely. “I made a deal with Kit and Steve. I intend to stick to it. If the time ever comes when Shane wants to know me, she’ll help him find me. Until then, I have to forget about him.”

“I don’t know how you can live with that,” she whispered, touching his cheek. “I know you think it was the right thing to do, but—”