“What are you saying?” he asked, raking his hand through his hair. “Look, Nic, I screwed up. Big-time. I realize that. Dropping you off at the hospital is one of the worst mistakes I’ve ever made and I’m ashamed for having done it. But I’ve learned from it. Nic, I’ll go to grief counseling. It won’t happen again.”
“Fine. Good. I hope you do go to counseling because I’ve never known a man who needs it more. However, it’s not my concern. Not anymore. I’m leaving, Gabe.”
“You’re what?” He’d heard her wrong, hadn’t he?
“I’m moving to Denver.”
He’d heard her right. Oh, hell. He took a step back, reeling from the blow. He’d hurt her worse than he’d realized. She was leaving him. Giving up on him.
It was his fault. He’d done this himself. To himself. To them.
“After today, I want to be near a newborn intensive care unit until the babies are born.”
He blinked. “Is there a problem with the pregnancy? Did the doctor tell you to do this?” He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
“No, it’s my decision.”
“Okay. Good. I think that’s good.” He straightened his spine and declared, “I’ll come with you.”
She looked away from him and blinked back tears. Angry tears, he knew. She wasn’t sad. She was furious. Coldly, bitterly furious.
He was losing her. Losing his family. Again. Only this time, for the first time, it was all his fault.
He knew what she was going to say before she opened her mouth.
“No, you won’t,” she replied, her voice calm and matter-of-fact. “I’m not just leaving Eternity Springs, John Gabriel Callahan. I’m leaving you.”
NINETEEN
Nic didn’t think twice about using the credit cards and accessing the bank account Gabe had set up for her to fund her summer in Denver. She didn’t spend foolishly, and besides, he was living rent-free in her house, wasn’t he? Ali had helped her find a pretty duplex to rent ten minutes away from both her perinatologist’s office and the hospital she’d use if she had trouble, and then she nested.
She enrolled in classes her doctor recommended for her. She joined a Mothers of Multiples group, wandered the aisles of Babies “R” Us, and spent a good portion of every day off her feet as directed. Most of all, she tried not to think about Gabe Callahan. Doing so invariably raised her blood pressure, and that wasn’t good for the babies.
She also entertained visitors. Her friends gave her the solitude she requested—up to a point. At least one of them called her every day to check on her and update her about summer events in Eternity Springs. The most welcome news was the return of normal summer sunshine. The town had dried out, the tourists had returned, and the season was in full swing. The June art festival had been a rousing success. The summer solstice 5K run went off without a hitch, and the theater group performed the new play based on the Lost Angel murder mystery to record crowds and Celeste’s disdain. Dear friends that they were, they never said a word about Gabe.
Nor did they settle for just phone calls. Ali welcomed Nic into her world and included her at weekend barbecues and on shopping trips as she and her daughter prepared for her senior year of high school. Sarah visited Nic her second week in town, Celeste the third. Even her mother and aunt flew in from Florida to visit, and they only agreed to return home when Nic promised to call at the first sign of labor. When her doorbell rang the first week of August, Nic figured the rotation was back around to Sage. Instead, she opened the door to find Lori, Chase Timberlake, and Tiger on her doorstep. Nic smiled with delight. “What a great surprise. What are you two doing in Denver? I talked to Celeste a little while ago, but she didn’t mention you were in town.”
Shocked, their wide-eyed gazes locked on her belly, they failed to answer her question. “Whoa, Dr. Nic,” Lori said. “You look like you’re about to pop.”
“Or explode,” Chase said.
“Gee, thanks, you two,” Nic said as she looked up from greeting Tiger, who was circling her and barking with joy. She stepped back to let them in. “I’m so glad you came all this way to tell me I look fat.”
“Not fat,” Chase hastened to say. Unlike Lori, he didn’t know Nic well enough to be aware that she was teasing. “You look gorgeous