Nick sat back, watching as a fortyish man in a white coat scrutinized lab reports on a computer screen in the corner of the sterile hospital room. Earlier, he had introduced himself earlier as Dr. Merrell, Tess’s obstetrician.
“Tess, you’re a lucky woman. If you hadn’t come in when you did, your son might have made an early entrance and caused us even more problems. You’re also lucky you chose a hospital with a neonatal ICU for delivery and you were close to it when you started having problems.”
“I thought it was just—”
“Braxton Hicks. Yes, you told me. But they don’t cause pain bad enough to double you over. Additionally, your blood pressure is elevated, which probably accounts for the headache you had. Your feet and ankles are swollen more than normal for the third trimester too. I warned you at your last visit that you were working too hard and needed to take it easy. Have you thought about my suggestion that you ask for early maternity leave? It’s really not a suggestion any more. Because of today’s episode and your age, it’s a necessity, both for the sake of your health and that of your baby.”
It all sounded like mumbo jumbo to Nick—except the part about the baby being a boy. If he had he heard the term Braxton Hicks anywhere else, he’d have assumed it was in reference to a country music singer. But he wasn’t surprised that Tess was working hard. She was career driven for sure.
“I’m sure if I just go home and rest for the remainder of the weekend I’ll be fine by Monday.” Tess pushed herself to a sitting position and started to swing her legs over the side of the hospital bed.
“If you leave this hospital right now, it will be against medical advice, and I can tell you now that if something happens and your insurance company sees AMA on your records they could refuse to pay any medical claims.” The doctor’s tone was firm and no-nonsense. “Do you have hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover neonatal intensive care costs out of pocket if you give birth prematurely?”
Tess shoved her legs back under the covers and laid back against the bed, giving a little sigh of defeat. She gnawed her lower lip, which quivered slightly. “I can’t stay in here indefinitely. I have a job, and I don’t have any family here to help me out.”
The look of helplessness on her face tugged at Nick. He knew how much Tess valued her independence. He also knew just how strong-willed she was. And now her unborn baby’s health had been placed in the crosshairs of those two traits.
Dr. Merrell raised one eyebrow and shifted his gaze in Nick’s direction. And Nick quickly shifted his gaze to a spot on the vinyl floor beside the toe of his left shoe. He didn’t want to be around a woman who had unceremoniously dumped him without an explanation. But her pregnant belly raised a few questions; one in particular. Did the child she was carrying belong to him?
If not, then he could walk away with a completely clear conscience, knowing he’d done his good deed for the day by insisting she go to the hospital.
If the baby was his, why hadn’t she let him know? If the baby was his, how could he walk away and turn his back on Tess? On his own child?
His son.
“You’ll have to figure out something, and you need to figure it out soon. We’ve stabilized you, and the baby is in no immediate danger. I’m going to recommend you stay overnight, maybe two so we’re sure things stay steady. Use that time to make some arrangements for help at home and at work, and if I’m convinced it’s safe, I’ll release you. But if I see you’re overdoing it again, I’ll stick you back in that hospital bed.” Dr. Merrell’s tone made it clear his terms were non-negotiable.
“How am I supposed to finish getting ready for this baby to arrive if I’m stuck in bed at home?” Tess asked in an exasperated tone. “I have a to-do list as long as my arm, and I had planned on having two more months to complete it.”
“You won’t have to actually stay in bed, but you have to lower your stress levels, especially at work, and you can’t do anything physically strenuous like housework or yard work.” The doctor referred to the computer screen again. “Or assembling furniture. Get someone to help you with that.”
Once again the doctor eyed Nick, who was already feeling twinges of guilt over the snide comments he’d made when he and Tess had literally run into each other. Sure, she’d looked like she was having trouble, but goading her with sexist comments probably hadn’t helped.
Maybe he could somehow make amends for that, if Tess didn’t let her stubborn streak and her obvious disdain for him get in the way.
“Meanwhile, I need to examine you again. Would you like Mr.…uhm…?”
“Russo,” Nick said. “Nick Russo.”
“Would you like Mr. Russo to stay or not?”
Tess gave the doctor a deer-in-the-headlights look. “Not. Oh, most definitely not.”
Nick smothered a grin because he’d already seen everything the doctor was going to look at—on numerous occasions. He pushed himself off the straight-back chair where he had been sitting for the past hour once Tess had okayed his being there in her room.
“This won’t take long, so why don’t you go to the cafeteria and get yourself something to eat?” The doctor gave Nick a sympathetic look, which made Nick wonder if he knew who the baby’s father was.
Why won’t someone let me in on the secret?
“I’ll just…whatever,” Nick said as he ambled from the room. Maybe he’d do a little more than get food. Perhaps a peace offering was in order.
*****
Tess shifted in the hospital bed, adjusting her pillow and crinkling her nose against the smell of Betadine, which permeated the air. Beside her bed, a fetal monitor beeped and blinked, displaying her son’s vital signs, indicating he was healthy and strong. Seven hours had passed since she had been moved from the emergency room to the obstetrical floor, and she was bored silly. She was used to staying busy all day and half the night. Her fault. She heaved a sign of resignation. If she had just listened to the doctor she wouldn’t be here now. Beating herself up over her stubbornness was pointless. The damage had been done and all she could do now was follow the doctor’s orders and make sure she delivered a healthy baby when he was due and not before.
But what was she going to do now that she’d been ordered to take it easy? She already had a lawn service, and she could hire someone to keep house and cook. But what about her job? Her caseload? The clients who depended on her? Her plan had been to work until a week before her due date, which was eight weeks away. Her calendar for the next seven weeks held the Wilsons’ mediation, Ronald Patterson’s appeal brief, four modification trials on the same docket, and several new divorce clients who needed counsel on their options.
Tears of frustration filled her eyes. If she followed the doctor’s orders, she would let her clients down. But if she didn’t, she would put her child at risk. As much as she valued her work, the baby growing inside her had to be her top priority.
When the pregnancy test had been positive, Tess had tried to call Nick. She had no idea if he was in the country or halfway around the world. His cell phone worked everywhere. When her call rolled to his voice mail, she hung up because this wasn’t the kind of news you left in an impersonal message. Two days later she had tried to call again, then a week after that. Each time she heard his voice mail greeting and each time she disconnected without leaving a message.
He never returned her calls though he should have known from the caller ID she was the caller. She’d felt a twinge of hurt and anger over his lack of communication but knew she had no claim on Nick Russo, even though his child was growing inside her. And she most definitely wasn’t looking for a husband or a handout.
She could take care of herself and her baby. Her own mother’s circumstances had drilled the concept of self-sufficiency into Tess from an early age. She’d vowed never to make herself dependent on a man for anything. Ever.
In the two years they had known each other, Nick had called her every three to four months, whenever his job brought him back to Atlanta. But it had been nearly eight months since she’d seen him—since that last night of endless orgasms. She had presumed he’d lost interest in her, and she refused to pursue a man who wasn’t interested in her, baby or not.
She might feel a bit desperate with regard to her job, but not that desperate. She had seen too many women marry for the wrong reasons and end up in her office seeking to dissolve the marriage when the relationship went sour.
“Time to check your vitals,” a cheery voice sounded from behind the curtain shielding her bed from the doorway. An older nurse pushed the curtain aside and a look of concern crossed her face when she reached Tess’s side and saw the tears streaking her face. “Are you in pain, Ms. Callahan? Should I call the doctor?”
Tess raised one hand to swipe at the tears before remembering the IV line taped to the back of it. “No pain. Just a little pity party.”
“Here you go, dear,” the nurse said, snapping several tissues from the box on the bedside table and pressing them into Tess’s free hand. “Are you sure you aren’t hurting? We wouldn’t want anything to happen to that little fellow in there. Is there anyone I can call for you? Your mother perhaps? A sister or a friend?”
Tess dabbed at the tears and shook her head. “I don’t have any brothers or sisters. My mother has Alzheimer’s and lives in a special facility so there’s no point in trying to call her.”
“What about a good friend then?”
Tess had been so busy making a living that she’d never taken the time to make much of a life for herself. She had one good friend in the world, but Maddie Worth and her husband Jack had two small daughters, the younger one just three months old. Tess couldn’t ask them to babysit her when they were busy with their own family.
“I can’t ask her to help me. She has her own small children to take care of.” Asking for help had never been Tess’s forte. Would she have gone to Maddie for help even if she didn’t have a family to care for?
“Maybe so, but I’ll bet she can take some time to just talk on the phone,” the nurse suggested. “And what about that nice young man who came in with you? He seemed very concerned about you and the baby. I came in while you were napping this afternoon and I don’t think he took his eyes off that fetal monitor the whole time I was in the room.”
“Well…he…we…” Tess gave a resigned shrug and dabbed at her eyes again.
The nurse took the cue, unintended as it was. She quickly checked Tess, recorded the results and then moved toward the door.
“Think about calling your friend,” she urged as she paused in the doorway. “She just might surprise you.” With that advice hanging in the air, she left.
Tess glanced at the wall clock and noted the time. She picked up the phone and hoped Maddie would forgive her for calling after the girls’ bedtime.
After two rings her friend answered with a tentative hello.
“Maddie? I’m sorry to call so late but—”
“Tess, what’s wrong? The caller ID shows the hospital.” Concern vibrated in Maddie’s usually steady voice.
“It’s nothing really. A little hiccup with the pregnancy, but Dr. Merrell is making me stay here for at least one night. Maybe two. But it’s no big deal.”
“No big deal? You forget who you’re talking to. I’ve had two babies, remember? Hang on.” Tess heard Maddie’s hushed tones as she explained to her husband that Tess was on the other end of the line. “Jack says hi. Now, fess up. The doctor didn’t put you in the hospital just for grins and giggles. What’s wrong? I can hear the fetal monitor in the background.”
“Remember the chest I ordered for the nursery? I went to buy a screwdriver for it, was insulted by the Misogynist of the Year and kinda started having some contractions just before I almost literally ran into Nick.” She left out the part about how safe she’d felt in Nick’s arms and how close she’d come to telling him the baby was his. The man deserved to know the truth. She wasn’t quite ready to tell him, and she had no idea how to break the news. He probably knew--or at least suspected—given how attentive he had been all day.
“Interesting. The part about Nick, that is.”
“Yeah. Of all the stores in all the suburbs in all of Atlanta…” She cut the Casablanca reference short. “So now I’m stuck in a hospital bed feeling an awful lot like Frankenstein’s monster with all these tubes and wires everywhere. The doctor even threatened he might keep me until the baby comes. I can’t stay here. What about my clients? And my mother? I’m her emotional anchor and she won’t understand if I can’t visit regularly.” Tess watched the heart rate display on the fetal monitor increase in speed, which meant her agitation was probably causing her baby distress as well.
She took a deep breath, let it hiss out between her teeth and willed herself to relax so the entire obstetrics staff would not come rushing into the room armed for an emergency.
“What’s wrong? Are you doing Lamaze breathing? Is something the matter?” Maddie’s worried questions came in rapid fire succession.
“I’m not in labor…yet. But the doctor hinted that if I don’t take it easy I could go into labor early. Oh, God, Maddie. Why did I think I could do this alone? I must be out of my ever-loving mind.” Tess shivered as her control began to slip, and a new level of apprehension swept over her in waves.
“Probably for the same reason I thought I could do it alone too,” Maddie reminded her. “And that’s not meant to be derogatory in any way. I had different circumstances than you—”
“And you ended up with absolutely the world’s best husband.”
Maddie, who practiced law at the same firm as Tess, initially had chosen to have a baby through artificial insemination after her first husband died at a young age before they’d had a chance to start a family. When she got a reality check on single motherhood, she agreed to marry Jack in the convoluted belief that they would have a marriage of convenience. Ha! Talk about true love affairs.
“Yeah, I did.” Maddie paused a few moments before speaking again. “Have you talked to Nick about this? I mean really talked and explained everything? The man has a right to know he’s going to be a father, and who knows? He might step up and offer to help you.”
“Or he might not, and I’d rather not have to suffer that embarrassment if he doesn’t. Maddie, I tried to call him and he never called back.”
“Did you leave him a message?” Maddie asked pointedly.
“No. But when he saw three missed calls from me he should have figured something was up and returned my calls.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I love Jack with all my heart. But I learned early on that he isn’t a mind reader. If I want him to know something, I have to spell it right out for him. Sometimes I think the man needs an engraved invitation handed to him on a silver platter so he’ll know exactly what I need from him.”
“Well, I don’t love Nick,” Tess replied.
Liar, her conscience screamed. Her feelings toward Nick had begun to change during the last weekend they’d spent together, and when she’d found out she was pregnant, she had even had a few dreams of picket fences and happily ever after. More than a few if she admitted the truth. The un-returned phone calls had burst that bubble into a million pieces and sent her life careening in another direction.
“You don’t have to love him, sweetie, but I still say the man deserves to know the baby is his. Are you sure he hasn’t already done the math and figured it out for himself?”
Tess had asked herself the same question a dozen times since that afternoon. And after the nurse’s comment about him staring at the fetal monitor while she napped, maybe he did suspect. He’d been awfully attentive for a friend with benefits, unless he had deduced an extra benefit—or liability—might exist
“I’ll think about telling him,” she replied with hesitation.
“Think about it. Think about it hard, Tess. What if he decides to assert his parental rights? Do you want your personal life played out in a public courtroom?
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“Are you sure?”
“You know as well as I that most unwed mothers never collect a dime of child support from—”
“That isn’t what I asked,” Maddie interrupted. “Do you want a judge making decisions about your life and your child’s life?”
Tess released a sigh. “No, I don’t. That’s usually not an optimal outcome.”
“Then you need to make some decisions soon,” Maddie emphasized. “And get some rest. Take advantage of having everyone wait on you hand and foot because after the baby comes you won’t get to rest for a while.” A loud yawn was audible over the phone. “A long, long while.”
“I promise I’ll rest. I don’t have much choice, actually. They practically have me handcuffed to the bed with armed guards at every door.”
“You, handcuffed to the bed. Now that sure brings back some memories,” a deep male voice said from just beyond the privacy curtain.
“I need to go. Nick’s here,” Tess muttered into the phone.
“So I heard. Does he look anywhere near as sexy as his voice sounds?”
Tess hesitated and contemplated whether to answer.
“Does he?” Maddie’s courtroom cross-examination tone had crept into her voice.
“Yes. And I’m hanging up now.”
“Bye, sweetie. Let me know if I can do anything. And talk to him,” Maddie urged again before hanging up.
Tess returned the phone to its cradle. She had often thought of Nick as sex on a stick. And now she had practically admitted the same to her best friend. She also had to take Maddie’s advice to heart.
She looked up to see Nick step into the room with a tall plastic cup in one hand and a vase of flowers in the other. He placed the vase on the bedside table and, grabbing a straw off the hospital bed tray, peeled the paper wrapping off before jabbing it through the opening in the cup’s lid.
“I thought you might like a chocolate shake about now,” he said, offering her the cup. “I remembered it’s your favorite. And I hope you like daisies.”
The simple bouquet caused a lone tear to trickle down her cheek.
“I can take them away if you don’t,” he stammered, his outstretched hand pulling back. “The grocery store down the street is a little low on floral varieties this time of night.”
Tess did some rapid blinking.
Damn hormones.
“I love daisies,” she admitted. She slid the straw between her lips, sucked up a mouthful of heaven then let out a slow “Ahhhh.”
Another long sip elicited a delighted moan as the cold treat slid down her throat. And damn Nick for remembering chocolate milkshakes were her favorite late-night indulgence. The same hormones that one moment made her cry over the thoughtful gesture and made her want to hate him the next. She needed to hate him for not returning her calls, but how could she when he brought her flowers and chocolate?
She sucked another mouthful of milkshake from the cup then stopped herself before she held out the cup and asked if he wanted to share; that’s what they had often done during their times together. Hot sex followed by a cold milkshake and then a trip to Do-It-Yourself Depot to look for supplies for whatever project he was working on.
But she was supposed to be hating him now, not taking a trip down memory lane.
Nick shrugged out of his leather jacket and settled into the chair he had vacated earlier. Whiskers shadowed his jaw and his dark hair was disheveled as if he’d repeatedly run his hands through it.
As she finished the milkshake Tess noticed his dark gaze wander to her abdomen and then anxiously shift to the fetal monitor.
Damn Maddie too. The man did have the right to know he was going to be a father. Maybe she had allowed her independent streak to go a little too far. Maybe Nick had been in some remote section of Borneo without cell phone reception and that’s why he hadn’t returned her calls. Maybe he had been on assignment in the farthest corner of Siberia where there were few towns and cell phone towers were unheard of. Maybe he’d been gone the entire time since they’d spent their last night together.
“We have something we need to talk about,” she said cautiously and gauged Nick’s reaction. Sure enough, he looked at the monitor again. He scrubbed his fingers across the back of his neck then ran them through his hair, causing the wayward locks to become even more tousled.
He crossed his arms defensively and leaned back in the chair. “I’m all ears.” His tone was cool and even.
Maybe she could get through this without crying.
She waved a hand over her stomach. “I guess you were a little surprised to see me like this.” Her voice faltered. She reached for a glass of water on the tray and took a long drink.
His dark eyebrows raised inquiringly above espresso-colored eyes that remained trained on her face. “Oh yeah. More than a little. Surprised is an understatement.”
“And I guess you’re wondering how this happened, huh?”
“I think it’s pretty obvious how it happened, but there’s a question that’s really burning in my mind right now. Actually it’s been burning there since I saw you this afternoon.”
He never said the words, but Tess knew what they were, and the time had arrived to come clean about everything.
Tess placed her hand gently on her abdomen and looked directly at him. “This is your baby, Nick.”
He nodded. “I pretty much suspected it was, but I don’t know whether to be excited or mad or confused.”
She could understand the first two reactions. But the third?
“Confused?”
“Well, I did use a condom. Every single time,” he said with a hint of irritation in his voice. “I take that responsibility seriously.”
“You know as well as I do they’re not foolproof. Nothing is foolproof. Abstinence is the only method that’s one hundred percent effective to prevent pregnancy, and I don’t seem to remember either one of us being a great big fan of that.” Tess felt the baby kick as if to tell her to calm down. “I didn’t date anyone while you were gone. I can have DNA tests run if you…” Her voice trailed off and she looked away, avoiding his gaze altogether.
“No, there’s no need for that. I have no reason to doubt you. I do wonder why you didn’t tell me, but we’ll table that discussion for the time being. However, I am concerned about you not taking the doctor’s advice. This is serious business, Tess. That’s our son who’s at risk.” He gestured toward the monitor that displayed the baby’s vital signs. “Since I’m between assignments, I’m going to help you.”
Tess lost her battle against the tears, and Nick was beside her in two strides. He sat on the edge of the bed and used his thumb to wipe away the tears. Then he leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek.
“If the doctor will release you from the hospital, I’ll stay with you until you can hire someone to come in and help. Is that a workable solution?”
Tess nodded, unable to speak around the lump in her throat.
“You worry about everything else, and I’ll put the chest together,” Nick offered. “After all, I do have every conceivable screwdriver known to man.”
“Thank you. I’d like that very much.”
Tess heard him chuckle softly. “That had to hurt, Tessie. You accepting help from someone had to hurt a damned lot. I was afraid you might tell me to go to hell again.”
“Don’t tempt me.”