Kathie DeNosky - His Baby Surprise

Freddie nodded. “But how did you two get together?”

“He said he’d had a really bad day in the E.R. and I told him about losing my job.” Lexi gave her sister-in-law a watery smile. “Ty suggested that we share dinner and a bottle of wine, since we’d both had a rotten day. I should have refused, but I didn’t feel like being alone. So I accepted.”

“Who ended up where? Was the deed done at your place or his?”

“Freddie!”

“Sorry, Lex, but this is just like a soap opera.”

Lexi shrugged. “My apartment had a gas fireplace and we picnicked in front of the hearth. He brought two bottles of wine and I supplied the cheese. We talked about being disillusioned with life and I told him about the peace I’d always found in these mountains and how I intended to come back here. Somehow, one thing led to another, and before either of us knew what happened, we were gathering our clothes and saying an awkward goodbye.”

Sitting back on her heels, Freddie shook her head. “Geez, when I have a bad day, I feel lucky if Jeff plays a Garth Brooks CD and pops a pizza in the microwave so I don’t have to cook supper.”

They remained silent for several minutes as the gravity of the situation sank in.

“I wonder what he’ll do now,” Freddie finally said.

“I’d like it if he just left me and the baby alone.” Lexi wiped at a tear as it slid down her cheek. “Forty-eight hours ago all I had to worry about was having a baby. Then, in less than a split second, my whole world is turned inside out.”

Freddie nodded sympathetically. “I can imagine it was a real shock to find out the daddy of your baby was gonna be the one to do the deliverin’.”

“You have no idea.” Lexi hiccuped. “There I was, ready to give birth, when Ty walked in. What was I going to say? Oh, by the way, you just happen to be the father of the baby you’re about to deliver. A child—” her voice caught “—you never wanted.”

“Now hold it.” Freddie’s pixielike features mirrored her confusion. “How do you know he never wanted kids?”

“He told me that night.” Lexi closed her eyes to hold back the threatening tears. “Ty didn’t say why, but I’m sure it had something to do with what he sees every day in the E.R.”

Suddenly overwhelmed, Lexi finally gave into the wave of emotion she’d held back since seeing Ty again. She cried for the circumstances surrounding their son’s birth and the uncertainty of what Ty intended next.

Freddie held her while she sobbed, then handed her a tissue once the tears finally subsided. “Maybe you’re wrong about him not wantin’ a baby.”

“I don’t think so,” Lexi said, wiping her cheeks.

“Jeff is never gonna believe this.”

“No!” Her voice desperate, Lexi pleaded, “Please don’t tell anyone. And especially not Jeff. At least not until I have a chance to work this out with Ty.”

Her sister-in-law’s hazel eyes filled with understanding. “That would probably be best. Knowin’ your brother, he’d go after the man with his double-barrel shotgun—”

“And all hell would break loose,” Lexi finished for her.

They sat in silence for a time before Freddie asked, “What’s he doin’ in Dixie Ridge, anyway?”

Lexi shook her head. “I wondered that myself.”

Freddie rose to her feet. “When do you think he’ll let you know what his intentions are?”

“I don’t know.” Lexi rubbed at the pounding in her temples. “But I don’t think I’ll have too long to wait. I think what he did with the birth certificate is proof enough that Ty isn’t the type of man to bide his time once he’s decided on a plan of action.”

Ty started counting mailboxes when he spotted the old wagon wheel leaning against a rail fence. In the city, he’d used building numbers, street names and well-known landmarks to find his way around. But here in the mountains, addresses weren’t always that easy. He found himself looking for stumps and wagon wheels, counting mailboxes and relying on a tremendous amount of luck to find where he needed to go.

He turned onto the steep lane past the sixth box, a self-deprecating smile curving the corners of his mouth. When Martha informed him that he’d have to make house calls in order to treat a few of his older, less mobile patients, he’d thought the practice inefficient and outdated.

He’d been wrong.

The more he drove the winding roads snaking their way up the side of Piney Knob, the more Ty appreciated the morning ritual, felt a little more tension drain away. For the first time in more years than he cared to count, he was taking life at a slower pace, paying attention to things he’d never had time to notice before. He was beginning to like the difference in the way it made him feel, too. He liked being able to gear down and lower his guard. Not only was he getting to know the people on Piney Knob, he was beginning to know himself.

Ty gazed out the windshield at the panoramic view. Making house calls gave him the chance to enjoy the earthy tones of autumn painting the mountains with their rich hues, to see the ancient peaks and valleys shrouded with the smoky mists the area had been named for. He found he liked the frosty bite of the morning air, the clean smell of pine, instead of the sulfuric smog of the city. And this morning the practice provided another bonus.

Glancing at the packages in the passenger seat, his smile widened. Every patient on this morning’s list of house calls had heard about the baby and asked if he would mind taking their gifts to Lexi. In doing so, they’d inadvertently handed him the perfect excuse to check on his son.

“Not that I need one,” he muttered.

As far as he was concerned, being Matthew’s father was reason enough for him to stop by the Hatfield place any time he damn well pleased.

He steered the truck around a sharp bend in the road, pulled to a stop in front of a small rustic cabin and looked around.

The place was nothing like he’d thought it would be.

In Chicago, Alexis’s apartment had been highly fashionable, ultra modern and very expensive. But Lexi’s house was humble and unassuming. The place looked like it had been constructed of giant Lincoln logs and might possibly have a little shed out back with a crescent moon carved in the door.

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