Their Little Princess

“He or she needs you to love them and be there. Everything else is negotiable.”

Ryan continued talking, but Tanner wasn’t listening. His brain had frozen at the sound of a single word. She. Dear God, the baby could be girl! That would be worse. Based on his messed up personal life, the amount he knew about women wouldn’t fill a teaspoon.

“She can’t have a girl,” Tanner said, interrupting Ryan. “I can’t have a daughter.”

Ryan chuckled. “There’s logic. I hate to remind you about this, Tanner, but that decision was made a long time ago. About nine months, to be exact, and the decision was made by you.”

Tanner swore under his breath. He glanced at the clock. Lucy had called him two hours before to say she was on her way to the hospital. The mother of his unborn child had long since signed the papers giving the baby up for adoption. Lucy expected him to do the same. It was what they’d agreed to do. It was the smart thing to do. It was what nearly everyone had told him to do. But he hadn’t been able to do it. All the logic in the world couldn’t make Tanner sign away a life that was a part of him.

He pushed to his feet and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Ryan asked.

“To the hospital.”

“What are you going to do?”

Tanner gripped the door handle and glanced back at the only family he’d known. His big brother had always been there for him. This time, Tanner was on his own.

“Hell if I know,” he said and slammed the door shut behind him.

“Pretty girl,” Kelly Hall murmured as she stared down at the squirming newborn she held. “You look so worried, but I promise that we grown-ups know how to take care of you.”

Sandy, one of the obstetrics nurses, stroked the infant’s cheek. “You tell her, Dr. Hall. But I don’t think it’s going to help. I’ve been watching babies being born for over twenty years and every one of them has had that same worried look.”

“It’s our job to reassure them.” Kelly gave “Baby Ames” a last smile, then reluctantly handed her over to Sandy. The competent nurse would take her over to the nursery where, for the next couple of days, she would receive excellent care. As for what would happen after that, who could say. The child was being given up for adoption.

Kelly had long since learned that it wasn’t her place to judge her patients or question their non-medical decisions. Even so she couldn’t help glancing at the weary woman about to be wheeled to her room.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see your daughter?” she asked one last time.

Lucy Ames, a platinum blonde who managed to look stunning, even after giving birth, rolled her eyes. “Get over it, Doc. I know you were hoping that I would get bitten by the maternal bug when the kid popped out, but it’s not gonna happen. I signed the papers a long time ago and I haven’t changed my mind. In less than two weeks, I’m heading to L.A. and I’m not coming back. I plan to live in the land of sun and movie stars. The last thing I want in my life is some kid messing everything up.”

“I understand,” Kelly said politely, even though she didn’t. Lucy was a grown woman with options. How could she turn her back on her own child?

“I appreciate everything you did,” Lucy told her. “You’re good at this.”

“It’s my job,” Kelly said lightly, then slipped off her gloves. “I’ll be in to check on you in a few hours. Just to make sure everything is fine. But based on the delivery, you’re going to heal quickly.”

Lucy gave a little wave as the nurse wheeled her out of the delivery room. Kelly followed more slowly. She thought about the patients she still had to see that day, and about those who would soon be giving birth. Most of her patients were thrilled to be pregnant and anxiously awaited the birth of their new baby. But occasionally she had one like Lucy—a woman to whom giving birth was an inconvenience.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand Lucy. In some ways she understood too well. Maybe that’s what got to her. Maybe Lucy’s situation reminded her too much of her own shortcomings.

Knowing that she should head back to her office, Kelly walked toward the elevator. But instead of pushing the button for the ground floor, she found herself heading over to the nursery. She told herself she just wanted to quickly check on Baby Ames. A complete lie because the pediatrician on duty wouldn’t have finished examining her yet.

Regardless of her reasons, twenty minutes later Kelly stood in front of the glass-enclosed nursery. Nearly a dozen babies slept or squirmed in their soft blankets. Pink and blue caps clearly defined gender.

She could see through to the opposite wall where a man stood with his arm around a young woman in a bathrobe. They were both pointing and smiling at a tiny child. The woman wasn’t Kelly’s patient, but she recognized the slightly stunned glow. Their child had been the couple’s first, she thought. As new parents, they were equal parts thrilled and terrified. She knew that over time, love and joy would replace the terror, right up until their baby became a teenager, at which point they would want to pull their hair out.

The thought made her smile. She pressed her hand against the glass and studied the tiny infants. She found three that she’d delivered in the past twenty-four hours, then watched as one of the nurses put Baby Ames into her isolette.

“Let it go,” she murmured to herself, knowing there was no point in getting upset or attached. Lucy Ames had made her decision, as was her right. The beautiful baby girl would be given up for adoption. It’s not as if she, Kelly, had done any better.

But I was only seventeen, a voice in her head whispered. Didn’t that make a difference? Kelly wasn’t sure anymore. Maybe she’d never been sure.

“Dr. Hall?”

The low male voice broke through her musings and she turned to face the man who came up to stand beside her.

The overhead lights were bright in the hallway. Even so Kelly blinked several times to make sure she was really seeing who she thought she saw. Tanner Malone.

She thought about cursing him, or simply walking away. She thought about giving him a piece of her mind, then reminded herself it wasn’t her business. She was Lucy’s doctor, nothing else. Still, for once, she was grateful for her five feet ten inches and the fact that she’d changed out of scrubs and back into a skirt, blouse and heels. With them she could look Mr. Malone in the eye…or almost. His work boots gave him an inch or so on her.

She wondered how he knew her name, then figured it wouldn’t have been difficult to track her down. From what Lucy had told her, she and Tanner weren’t an item anymore but that didn’t mean the couple didn’t talk. After all, they’d just brought a child into the world.

Kelly fought against the anger rising inside of her. So what if Tanner Malone was an irresponsible bastard? She could be courteous for a few minutes.

“I’m Dr. Hall,” she said.

“Tanner Malone.”

She was afraid he was going to hold out his hand for her to shake, but he didn’t. Instead he shoved them into his jeans pockets and blew out a deep breath.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” he admitted. “Now that you’re here, I don’t know what to say.”

“I see.” She glanced at her watch. It was nearly noon. Her morning patients would have been rescheduled, but she still had afternoon appointments. “Perhaps when you think of it you can call my office and we’ll—”

“No.” He grabbed her arm before she could step away. Even through her temper she felt a quick jolt of…something…as his fingers closed around her. Was it heat? Was it—

Don’t even think about that, she told herself angrily. How dare her body react in a favorable way toward this man? He was slime. He was lower than slime. He was the single cell creature fifteen million years away from evolving into slime.

“I need to talk to you about the baby.” He gestured to the nursery behind them. “I…” He released her. “I want to know what Lucy had. I asked at the desk, but because she already signed the adoption papers they’re not giving out information.”

He looked tired, Kelly thought irrelevantly. Shadows pooled under impossibly blue eyes. Malone blue, she’d heard a couple of nurses saying a while back. Yeah, he was good-looking. So what? He was still slime.

“I don’t understand why anything about the baby is important to you, Mr. Malone,” Kelly said crisply. “Once you sign the release forms, the child ceases to be your responsibility.”

“That’s the thing,” he said. “I haven’t signed them. I’m not sure I can.”

Kelly didn’t know if she would have been more surprised if he’d started yapping like a poodle. She felt her mouth drop open, but she couldn’t seem to pull her jaw back into place. “What?”

Tanner glanced over his shoulder, then waved toward the corridor. “Is there somewhere we can go to talk for a minute? I’m sorry if I seem out of it, but I haven’t had much sleep in the past few weeks. Between the hours I’ve been working and thinking about the baby, I’ve been pacing more than I’ve been sleeping.”

She pressed her lips together. Tanner Malone had to be playing some kind of game. A man in his position would never consent to raise a child alone. Still, he’d captured her attention, so she decided to hear him out.

“There are a couple of consultation rooms just down here,” she said, leading the way.

They turned left at the nurse’s station and paused as Kelly checked the first room. It was unoccupied. She entered, then waited for Tanner to follow her before closing the door.