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Duke half-ran, half-jogged down the hospital hallways. The man meant to be leading him to Rayne was actually a few steps behind him. He jumped into the packed elevator, his escort squeezing himself in two seconds later. Duke couldn’t help but get irritated by him. His anxiety levels were on an all-time high. And not knowing anything about his child and Rayne was running him wild.
“Explain to me exactly what happened?” he asked in a gruff bark.
His escort visibly drew within himself as he tried to melt into the two women and the man in a hospital gown behind him. “I...I...I don’t know. I was instructed by Dr. Henry-Ross to wait for you at the entrance and take you up to Labor and Delivery.”
“Labor and Delivery, okay.” The words leapt around in his brain. He started to think about everything he didn’t have for the baby, and how he wasn’t prepared to bring her home yet. One of the worries was that if Rayne was to deliver at that moment, she would be four weeks too early.
The elevator doors opened and AJ stood in front of him. Duke paused for a moment, briefly startled. He wondered why it wasn’t his sister there to receive him, or one of her department colleagues, but instead it was her husband.
“She thought it would be better if you hang out with me for a while. Plus, everyone else who works here is terrified of you.” AJ responded to his question as if he was a mind reader.
“Oh.” Duke stepped out of the elevator. A brief glance at his guide confirmed AJ’s comments. The man had reduced himself into a boy. Duke was aware of his overwhelming presence. It was necessary, to a man in his position. Yes, once in a while it bothered him. The deathly silence in the office as he walked in left him wondering what they’d been doing just moments before he invaded their work space. Or the less-than-confident voices of his board members, whenever they were in a meeting, poked at his curiosity. How would they react in the presence of other executives? Even the doctor who seemed to have held his breath the whole ride up in the elevator...Duke guessed he might be a goof-head with his friends and family, or a confident surgeon in the ER. He would never know peoples’ true selves. Yes, they were afraid of him, but he often wished that meshed in that fear was respect. Duke honestly had no clue about earning people’s esteem. It had always come hand-in-hand with his family name and his position in the company. All he had to do was to make sure that he maintained it.
“They should be. I own a good share of this hospital. They should know that if anything goes wrong here, I’ll have their heads.” Duke fixed his eyes on escort as he withdrew into himself even further.
AJ chuckled as he thanked the doctor and led Duke down the hallway. “Kat told me stories about the two of you growing up. And because of that I don’t see you as this gruff bear. I see you as she sees you: her loving big brother.”
“Really? She used to be my little confidante. Then she got married and stabbed me in the back,” Duke said, in his matter-of-fact voice.
“That’s not fair.”
“I asked her to keep my secret and she ran and told you. That’s what’s not fair.”
“I understand you. I’m the eldest son in my family. I realize the burden that comes with the title. But I don’t let it consume me,” AJ said as he stopped in front of a hospital room door.
“The difference is the Ross and Kent companies work hand in hand. You have Reno, Dennis Junior, and Catalella to do all the work, while you play doctor hero. We have very two different meanings of family responsibility as the first child. Plus, your fathers are the laid-back Adrian Ross and the fun-loving Dennis Kent. I was sired by Harry Henry, the man with a first name as a last name and I suspect, a descendant of Hitler. So we are definitely not the same.”
AJ laughed out loud, shocking Duke. “Putting aside the fact that you offended me by calling me a lazy bum cosplaying as a doctor, you are a pretty funny guy. I like your wit. We should hang out sometime.”
“Hmmm!” Duke chewed the corner of his bottom lip as he contemplated the thought. A shriek came from AJ’s side. He was being paged. “I doubt we’ll ever have the time.”
“True,” AJ responded with a frown. “Rayne is right through that door. Your sister should be with her. We’ll talk later.”
Duke gave a quick nod and watched as AJ jogged away. Duke realized he was jealous of AJ as he watched him run to do wat he loved. Each time Duke was called for an emergency in the office, his response was that of a dog being pulled in the direction of his master’s leash. In this instance, his master was his father. Duke had moved out of the family home because he could only take seeing his father in the office, as his boss. Living in the same house as his boss kept him wired all night long, depriving him of a good night’s sleep.
Speaking of a good night’s sleep, Duke thought of his daughter, who might be coming into the world at any moment. He pushed the door open and walked into the room. Just as AJ had said, Kat was beside Rayne. She and a nurse were reading something on a piece of paper coming from a machine beside Rayne’s bed. What AJ failed—or forgot—to mention was the man sitting at Rayne’s bedside, holding her hand, looking like a worried first-time dad. Duke couldn’t seem to shake this man, who coveted his position as Rayne’s lover. Each time Duke turned toward Rayne, Jake was there like a shadow.
“Duke—”
He lifted his hand to silence his sister. “You, get out,” he said to Jake.
Jake stood up to leave, trying to pull his hand out of Rayne’s. But she grabbed it tightly and mumbled, “Don’t leave me. I love you.”
Time stood still for Duke. Everything around him fell silent.
It wasn’t a pity laugh. Even to his ears, the sound was a confident chuckle, rich and deep, that covered the awkward silence. Duke closed his eyes just for a second as his jaw clenched. This was his moment of reprieve, to regroup. He wanted to look away from Kat’s shocked, wide eyes, and avoid Jake’s pleasantly surprised grin. Fine, he said to himself. If that’s the way she wants it, fine.
“Tell me what I need to know, then I’ll leave,” Duke said.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean that,” Kat mumbled, trying to save the situation. However, there was no take two or time warp that could change what had just happened.
“Kat!”
“She’s in labor. She fainted because her blood pressure shot too high,” Kat explained.
“Why? When she left my place she was fine.”
“She wasn’t fine, she was stressed out. You put her on edge every day she was with you,” Jake jumped in.
“How would you know that?” Kat cut in.
“Because she loves him, didn’t you hear?” The sarcasm in Duke’s voice was obvious, even to him. “Jake, sit there and be quiet. Once my child is born, the two of you won’t have to worry about me. Until then, I’m the only one who talks. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”
“Agreed.”
Duke focused his attention on his daughter and silenced the jealous gnome clawing his insides. He took Kat’s elbow and pulled her into the hallway. Yes, he had a good rein on his emptions, but that didn’t mean he was an unfeeling statue. It got to him, the way Rayne’s fingers held on tightly to Jake. He didn’t like the feeling, because it just told him it wouldn’t be easy to cut Rayne out of his heart, like he’d previously thought.
“What’s next?”
“I want to deliver the baby. I would have done it the moment she got here, but we had to wait for consent from her next of kin. And technically, that’s you.”
“No, that’s not him,” came Reno’s sharp voice.
Duke had wondered where the Kent hive was. Since the moment they had descended on his house to take her away, it seemed out of character for them not to be beside Rayne.
“I am her next of kin. I’m her brother,” Reno stepped in between him and Kat, forcing Duke to take a step back. “I don’t appreciate the fool’s errand you sent us on, just to let your brother sneak into my sister’s room. Jake called us the moment he got here.”
“Of course he did,” Duke muttered under his breath. “You may be Rayne’s next of kin, but I am her daughter’s father. Plus, I have custody of my son. Any decision here doesn’t just affect your sister but my children as well.”
“Fine.” Reno didn’t even bother looking at Duke, but Duke knew the halfhearted “fine” was directed at him. Duke took a step to the side instead of asking Reno to remove the blockade he had put up between Duke and Kat.
“Do you think the baby can survive if delivered right now?” Duke asked.
“Rayne is well into her third trimester. Her due date is less than a month away. The baby will have to stay in the NICU for observation, and we will take care of her. If we don’t deliver her, there is a chance of Rayne having a stroke and that would be more dangerous than your daughter coming a little early.”
“Okay, deliver her.” Duke gave his firm decision.
“You are not even going to pretend to consult me?” Reno asked.
“I doubt you would choose the latter. This is my child your sister is carrying. I’m indebted to her, and letting her stroke out isn’t the proper way of showing my gratitude.”
“Neither is sole custody just because you are mad.”
“I filed for sole custody because I don’t trust your sister. She’s a flight risk. She doesn’t know what a home feels like, so it doesn’t faze her to pick up and leave, or run away whenever she wants to. I just don’t want her disappearing with my children.” Duke bit the corner of his lip, the slight twinge of pain serving as a distraction from his rising temper. “Your sister doesn’t understand the concept of family. I don’t blame her for it so you shouldn’t hold the way I handle it against me.”
“I’m going to prepare her for surgery. Do me a favor and don’t turn this place into Benghazi,” Kat said as she walked into Rayne’s room.
For a moment, Duke thought about walking in after her. But between Jake and Reno, he wasn’t so sure about keeping his promise to Kat. He sat in the family room, waiting for Kat to call him if she needed him. After a few minutes passed, Kat was accompanied by nurses and orderlies as they rolled Rayne’s bed out of the room.
“Dad, you’re with me.”
Duke looked behind him, for a moment thinking his father was there. It wasn’t until he noticed everyone was staring at him that he connected the dots. He was Dad.
“Come on, you need to suit up and hold Rayne’s hand as we bring your baby girl into this cold, harsh world,” Kat teased.
“It’s a wonder you didn’t become a poet. Your way of putting words together is just so romantic.”
Duke walked up to the head of the bed. Rayne had a cold compress on her forehead. She seemed a lot calmer than before. He wasn’t sure what made him do it, but he put his hand over hers. This time, when his gaze lifted to hers, two very alert eyes looked back at him. A gentle smile curved on her lips. Ready, she mouthed to him.
Duke squeezed her hand then said, “Let’s go.”
––––––––
Rayne couldn’t shake the chill she felt in the O.R. It was scary under the lights. People moved around, each one busy with their own thing. They were tending to her and yet it seemed to her she wasn’t even there. A breathing mask was put over her mouth and nose, her arms stretched out as if she was being mounted on a cross. Her eyes darted from one masked face to the other, her nervousness skyrocketing. She had so many questions, like why was she having a C-section instead of a natural birth? Why did she need the oxygen? And why were there so many people in the theater with her? This wasn’t how it had been with RD and the unfamiliarity of it left a nervous ache in her belly. Or was that just a contraction?
“How are you feeling?” A nurse, she assumed, came over to her. Only her reassuring eyes were revealed as she spoke to Rayne in soft tones. “Just relax, it’s going to be fine. Your husband is here.”
It was weird how relieved she immediately felt when she spotted him. He took a seat on the stool next to her bed, and held her hand.
“What’s wrong?” Rayne could hear how muffled her voice sounded through the mask.
“Nothing. This is just the safest way to get the baby out,” he said with a smile.
Rayne knew that he was trying to reassure her, but she spotted something she had never seen since meeting Duke. Behind the crow’s feet that formed in the corners of his eyes was a worried look that he had tried to hide. Everything didn’t seem to be okay.
“Hey, relax. I’m right here.” Duke squeezed her palm.
Rayne took a few deep breaths and focused on the warmth radiating from Duke’s hand. She focused on the child she would have in her arms a few moments from now, instead of the surgery itself. It helped, picturing the family of four at home.
She wasn’t paying attention to anything that they were saying. She just heard the sounds of their voices as they talked to each other over her, felt some pressure, then heard the most beautiful sound in the world. Her little girl was crying. A glance at Duke and she saw a tear roll down his cheek, something new that she had never seen him do before. Rayne turned toward the light weight on her chest. Her little girl’s scrunched-up face was red and angry, and immediately Rayne thought she looked just like her father.
Rayne pulled the mask off her face and kissed the top of her little girl’s head. She smiled as Duke leaned over both of them and gave them kisses. This was the moment she wanted to freeze for all eternity. All they needed was RD, and no one else to bother them.
“She’s so pretty.” Duke stroked the baby’s chubby cheek and watched in awe as she squirmed on her mother’s chest.
“You’re in scrubs,” she said, noticing his attire for the first time.
“Does it make me look handsome?”
“Very,” she teased. Duke was an Adonis twenty-four-seven of all three-hundred-sixty-five days. But today he looked sweet, gentle, kind, and beautiful. He looked like a different person with his guard down. Safe and solid, the perfect definition of a man.
Duke smiled as he got lost in his daughter’s tiny face. She watched him as he watched her, trying not to blink, because every single moment was a precious treasure to her.
“Hey, guys,” Katherine called out. Rayne hadn’t noticed her enter the room. Katherine, too, had a beaming smile. “I need to take her for a few tests.”
“What tests?”
“Relax, its routine. I’ll bring her back. I promise.” Katherine lifted the baby out of her unwilling father’s arms. “It will give you two some time to rest, think of names, and where this little girl is going to live.”
“I like how you slid in that last one in,” Rayne said.
“Katherine is an expert in interfering,” Duke said.
“You can’t blame me, I grew up with three brothers who wouldn’t tell me their secrets because girls were not allowed,” Kat quipped.
“I wasn’t that shallow,” Duke retorted.
“You still didn’t tell me your secrets.” This time, Kat had a concerned tone in her voice that didn’t escape Rayne.
Duke had always done things on his own, for the rest of the world to discover when it was already too late to intervene. It was just something he did, something Rayne hadn’t minded until recently, maybe because now she wanted an equal share in the relationship and not just to be a bystander.
“Are you taking us back in?” Rayne asked after Kat walked out with the baby.
“Sophia Rayne Henry,” Duke said instead.
“What? I didn’t—why Sophia?”
“After my mother.” He smiled to himself.
“Caroline?” Rayne asked, confused.
“No, my birth mother. Sophia Marie Bailey Henry, that’s her name. Or did my blond, blue-gray-eyed siblings escape your notice?” Duke chuckled. “She died when I was young then my father married Caroline. She was my mother’s friend and my father’s love, or something like that.”
“Do you resent Caroline?”
“How could I? My parents didn’t love each other. It was a business arrangement. Besides, Caroline was at my mother’s side when she was diagnosed with cancer. Took care of her like a sister, and she raised me like her own. How could I resent her? She turned a cold house into a home. Even my own mother couldn’t achieve that. Thawing out Harry Senior wasn’t something easily achievable.”
“Thawed out? Your father?” Rayne asked in disbelief. She hadn’t seem a more buttoned-up man in her entire life. Everything he said had reason and purpose. She had never even seen the man laugh. That coldness was something Duke had inherited from his father. Rayne wondered what traits were from Duke’s mother.
“Sophia Rayne Henry,” she said with a smile. “I like it. Bailey Marie Henry isn’t so bad, either. We can keep it in mind, just in case.”
“Just in case what?” His husky voice, low and seductive, pulled her in. She held his gaze, slowly drowning in the brandy-colored pools. They were take-your-breath-away gorgeous. The lines of his face were hard; stubble shaded his jaw, and his brown eyes were hooded and watchful. She was determined not to let him go, how could she? She was in love with him now, more than ever. Rayne’s tumultuous pregnancies, both with RD and now with Sophia, hadn’t allowed her to stop and find her glow. But staring at Duke made her feel like she had finally found it. That elusive glow.
“Just in case,” she whispered, and smiled.
“Just in case,” he repeated.
“Just in case what?” Duke’s gaze lifted to the voice, his face turning sour.
Rayne grabbed a fistful of blanket in her palm before turning to her friend. She wondered why Jake had to interrupt. She had just been about to secure her ticket back home. Kit’s words had haunted her. She had been thinking of a way to have Duke ask her back home. She was finally about to cross the finish line when Jake interrupted.
“We’ll talk about it later. I’m going to change.” Duke walked past Jake, not giving him any acknowledgement.
“Jake, you have really bad timing,” Rayne muttered.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s fine, I don’t think I was going to get an answer from him today, anyway. I have a couple of days in the hospital to figure it out,” Rayne said, hopeful. It was a good thing she’d had a C-section. That required longer hospital stay, as opposed to if she had delivered naturally. She had at least three days to convince Duke that she wasn’t betraying him by going home with her brother—and that it was important to have their family together.
“Is my family out there? Can you ask them to come in? Thanks.” Rayne turned toward the window, hoping that an idea would fly by.
***
Rayne smiled, laughed and chatted to Reno, Issadora, and Dennis, her new family. She was trying not to seem distracted, but glancing at the door every couple of minutes wasn’t helping. Where was Duke?
“How are you feeling, dear?” Dennis, her father, put his hand over hers and Rayne resisted the urge to pull it away. A business arrangement versus a love relationship: she couldn’t help but wonder which her mother was and which Issadora was. She would ask, one day. She wasn’t attached to either of her parents, so she didn’t mind whatever response would be given. She was just trying to satisfy her curiosity.
“How’s Danny?” she asked Reno. There were only three good things that had emerged from this drama; her two brothers, and that her best friend was actually her sister.
“She’s going to come in a little later. Kit has her on a tight feeding and resting schedule,” he teased.
Rayne smiled, wishing that Duke would be that obsessed over his new baby. Sophia Marie seemed to be the only way for Rayne and Duke to be in the same room without any tension.
“It’s a full house, isn’t it?” Harry Senior’s voice rumbled through the room. The hard lines on his face were a complete contrast to Caroline’s smiling eyes. Rayne wondered if Duke’s mother smiled so brightly whenever she stood next to her husband. Or was it a civil don’t-cross-over-to-my-side-and-we-won’t-have-a-problem kind of atmosphere. “It’s nice to actually meet you.”
Rayne wanted to dive under the covers and not emerge until her shame—and Henry—had left the room. The room went cold and suffocating silent at his words, and the air was only let back in when Caroline spoke up.
“Congratulations, dear,” she chirped as she squeezed Rayne’s feet. “I had a C-section with the twins. It will hurt for a while, but we will take care of you.”
There it was, her ray of hope. We will take care of you. Did it mean they were moving in to the Henry home? Rayne didn’t mind living in with Harry Senior, as long as Harry Junior was coming along.
“Rayne is staying with us for a while. Isn’t that right, Reno?” Issadora put in.
Rayne wished her so-generous stepmother would keep her good intentions to herself, for the next fifty years. Or just until she and Duke were married, or had their skins sewn together. “Duke will decide,” Rayne said, as everyone talked over each other.
“Rayne—” Reno began.
“Duke will decide,” Rayne said firmly. “Whatever he is comfortable with.”
Where was he?
Rayne perked up when the door opened, but it wasn’t Duke. Katherine rolled in the baby bed, her little pink bundle wrapped tightly inside it. “The newest addition to the Henry family is here and she gorgeous.”
Rayne watched, pleased, as the grandmothers cooed over the babies and the grandfathers watched from a safe distance. Reno picked up his niece, kissing and whispering to her as he rocked her. Dennis pulled her little hat off, stroking her dark hair. He was definitely the more affectionate grandfather. Henry just looked at her, nodding as if he was impressed, and approved of the new acquisition. Sophia was passed from one grandparent to the other and finally landed with her grandfather Henry.
“What’s her name?” he asked.
“Duke should tell you. Where is he?” Rayne asked.
“He’s just out in the waiting room with Rachael,” Kat said, as if unwilling to share the information.
“Give him a few minutes. This little one’s early arrival caused a bit of a mess her daddy has to take care of,” Henry said.
It wasn’t what he said, but how he’d said it. As if Sophia wasn’t a priority but an inconvenient interruption to his business plans.
“Duke was well aware that my sister was pregnant,” Reno said defensively.
“Yes, he was also aware that she was to come three weeks from now. However, nothing with your sister has been ordinary and according to plan, has it? Well, at least not Duke’s plan. Besides, when you picked her up yesterday, Duke rescheduled everything that he had cleared from his calendar. He was confident you would be able to take care of your sister and my grandchildren for the rest of the month.”
Rayne couldn’t help but notice the words “my grandchildren” were directed at her. It was like he was telling her that one false move and he was going to take them away. It was probably his idea for Duke to file for full custody even before their daughter was born. Henry was trying to secure what belonged to him before anyone had the idea of snatching the children away.
“It’s just three days. Sophia Marie will barely miss him,” Henry added.
“You know her name?” Rayne asked, surprised.
“What else is he going to name his daughter? My son is more sentimental than he lets on.”
“Sophia Marie.” Caroline gave a nostalgic smile. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if she grew up to look just like her?” It was just for a second, but Henry returned Caroline’s soft gaze. It seemed like Duke’s mother was still a very sensitive topic between the two, but not in a negative way. They both seemed like they genuinely missed her. That even made Rayne even more confused.
“Wait, what did you mean by ‘it’s just three days, we’ll barely miss him,’” Rayne asked. “Is he going somewhere?”
“He was in the jet when he got the call. He’s on his way to London to finish some business.”
Henry’s matter-of-fact tone was like a nail being drilled into Rayne’s skull. It was beyond annoying. “I just gave birth.”
Henry signaled to the baby in his arms. “That didn’t escape our attention. We didn’t all come to visit you because you had your wisdom tooth pulled out.”
The door opened and Rayne hoped that Henry was going to be sucked out by some random gust of wind. Instead, Duke walked in, a furrow deep in his forehead. “Don’t aggravate her, Father.” He gently lifted Sophia from his father’s arms, smiling at her. Rayne was relieved. She wasn’t sure how much more dark matter she wanted transferred to her innocent baby. “It’s just three days. You’ll be too busy with Sophia to notice.”
“I’m glad you named her that,” Caroline put in.
“Duke,” Rayne called his attention back to her.
“It’s just three days. I’ll be back before you and Sophia are released from the hospital.”
“When are you leaving?”
“Tonight.”
“Are you serious!” Rayne couldn’t stop herself from losing her temper. She had been a witness to his absentee parenting to RD and now he was trying to fall back into that bad behavior again. “If you go, I’m moving in with Dennis and Issadora.”
Duke looked up from the baby, locking eyes with her, apparently in disbelief that she had actually challenged him. Rayne wasn’t backing down this time. However, she couldn’t help but feel silly. Just a few minutes before, she had announced that she would be going with whatever Duke’s decision was, and here she was changing her mind.
“If that’s your decision,” Duke simply said and Rayne couldn’t help but feel like she had shot herself in the foot. Her ultimatum had just blown up in her face.
“We’ll discuss this when you are back Duke, okay? Don’t say anything you won’t be able to take back,” Caroline said, a firm hand on Duke’s wrist. She’d raised him, so she probably understood him better than anyone else in the room. “Dear, the meeting can’t be helped. We’ll do something about the rest of his schedule for the next three months. I promise,” she reassured Rayne.
Rayne suddenly realized that the only way to understand Duke more was to align herself with Caroline. Caroline was the only one who understood how to deal with Henry and Duke.
A knock on the door announced Racheal. “Boss, it’s time.”
Duke nodded and handed Sophia to Caroline. At least he looked pained, handing his baby over to his stepmother. Maybe missing her would make him cut his trip short.
“What about RD?” Rayne asked, trying anything to hold him back a little longer.
“I’ll see him before I go. He’ll be here to see you and his little sister tomorrow.” Reno stopped at the foot of her bed and held her right ankle. “Kat, take care of my girls for me.”
“Definitely,” Katherine said.
“I’ll see you in a few days,” Duke said, staring at Rayne, and only leaving after getting a begrudging nod from her.
“Can I have her?” Rayne held out her hands for her daughter. “Kat, I’m tired.”
“Guys, let’s give both mom and baby time to rest,” Katherine said as she ushered the visitors out, starting with her own parents.
“We’re always happy to have you and the kids, dear.” Dennis placed a kiss on Rayne’s forehead. “Unfortunately, my son is a little bit too much like me. Don’t give him an ultimatum; you won’t like his response.”
To Rayne, it felt like Henry was only saying that as a response to what Dennis had said. It was not a well-intentioned piece of advice but rather more like a warning.