ever since. For lots of reasons that have nothing to do with legalities or my license, I can’t practice medicine anymore, but I can be your obstetrician if you’d like. I want you to have the choice.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” Nic placed both hands on her belly and rubbed it. “I think, though, that I’ll still go to Denver. It’s not only the medical issues that make me want to leave Eternity. I need some time to myself, I think. Time away from Gabe. I need to reassess my … well, everything.”
“I understand. Would you like me to accompany you to Denver, just to see you settled? Maybe meet with your new doctor?”
“Yes. Absolutely, Sage. I admit I was worried about the trip part of this.”
“Don’t worry one bit. I’m here for you.”
Sage’s words warmed her heart and lingered in her mind as later that afternoon she returned home to Eternity Springs. When she spied Tiger lounging on the front porch, she tensed. She hadn’t expected Gabe to be home this time of day.
But Tiger’s presence proved to be a false indication. Gabe wasn’t home after all. Nic went about her tasks, retrieving suitcases from the attic and filling them with necessities. She wasn’t taking much. She didn’t need much. She didn’t intend to do much more than lounge around, grow her babies, and figure out where to go from here.
She packed her suitcases lightly, carried them to her car, then sat in the rocker in the library with Tiger at her feet.
She dialed Gabe’s cell phone. When he failed to pick up, she left a message. “I’m home. I’d like to talk to you. I’ll be here until six.”
She thumbed the disconnect button and waited.
Gabe stopped to buy flowers.
He knew he owed her much more than a dozen red roses, but he figured this would be as good a place as any to start. He had a lot of ground to make up. Walking out on her that way had been a lousy thing to do. He was counting on Nic’s forgiving nature to help him out of the hole he’d dug for himself.
Fleeing the hospital had been the single most cowardly act of his life. He still couldn’t believe he’d been such an ass. He’d peeled out of that parking lot as if the hounds of hell were at his back. He’d made the two-hour trip back to Eternity Springs in ninety minutes. On wet roads.
He’d driven home, grabbed the bottle of scotch, and taken a long, hot shower. When neither the hot water nor the potent whiskey warmed him, he’d gone to Angel’s Rest and worked outside, moving mud beneath a finally clearing sky. The physical work eventually chased away the numbness, and he’d nutted up the courage to call the hospital. Nic’s doctor had been as cold as Murphy Mountain in January when she’d given him the good news. Hearing that Nic and both babies were fine and on their way home had made him go weak in the knees all over again.
Then he’d thought about facing Nic, and his stomach took to rolling all over again.
Now the time had come to take his medicine. He’d showered and changed into clean clothes before leaving Angel’s Rest. As he pulled his Jeep into the drive, he wondered why Nic had left her car on the street. Grabbing the flowers, which the florist had wrapped in green tissue paper and tied with red ribbon, he drew a bracing breath, planned his opening sentence, and climbed the front steps. He opened the front door, spied Nic in her rocking chair looking ripe and beautiful and cold, and his smooth apology flew from his mind, leaving only the basic fact. Crossing the room, he handed her the roses and said, “Nic, I’m so sorry.”
She set the flowers aside with barely a look. “Yeah, Callahan, you are.”
So he was going to have to work for her forgiveness. He deserved that. He stepped back, noticing for the first time that the boxer sat at her feet. Funny—usually the mutt ran at him the moment he walked in the door. Hope he isn’t sick.
Dismissing the dog, Gabe rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t have excuses, just an explanation. Will you listen to it?”
“Gabe, there’s no—”
“Please?” he interrupted.
She closed her eyes and made a sweeping gesture with her hand.
“You probably figured out that I had what amounted to a flashback in the Jeep because I called you Jen.