Judy Christenberry - Newborn Daddy

And she’d been desperately afraid he’d insist on an abortion.

There was no way she’d agree to such a thing. She’d been left on a doorstep when she’d been born. At first, she’d been sick, so no one had wanted to adopt her. The years slipped away, and she moved from one foster home to another. She got healthier, but she’d never been the “cute” baby anyone wanted.

She’d vowed that her baby, if she ever had one, would be loved, wanted. And that was a vow she’d keep, no matter what. She had to be back at work next Monday, but she’d prepared a little space for her baby behind the counter. She’d take Andrea with her.

So far, however, she couldn’t even get out of bed without assistance. She hoped and prayed she got better fast. Because she couldn’t afford too much time in the hospital. And she couldn’t stay in bed at home. It was going to take her forever to pay the hospital bill as it was.

Her door opened again, and the man she loved, the man who hated her, came back into the room. At least he wasn’t yelling this time. But she reached for the call button anyway. She was too weak to deal with him now.

“Emma, are you all right?”

His softly worded question took her by surprise. But she knew better than to read anything into it. The nurse had probably warned him not to be so noisy.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry someone told you—”

“They didn’t. I was looking at—at the babies when they brought yours in. With the card listing me as the father.”

Yours. He couldn’t have chosen a better way to make it clear he had no interest in the baby. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and looked toward the small window.

The door opened again. “Ryan Nix, I told you not to come in here again.” Margie Long, the nurse who’d thrown him out last time, glared at him.

“Come on, Mrs. Long, I’m being civilized. I just wanted to ask a few questions,” he protested, glaring at Emma because he’d probably figured she’d summoned the nurse.

“Emma, dear, do you want visitors?”

Emma kept staring toward the window, knowing if she looked at Ryan, she wouldn’t be able to send him away. “No, I’m tired.”

“Emma!” Ryan protested, but she continued to stare at that tiny window, using it as a lifeline to get her through his visit.

“Sorry, Ryan, but new mothers are the bosses around here. Out you go.” She took him by the arm and tugged him out.

Emma didn’t move until she heard the door close. Then she stared where Ryan had been, wishing she’d had the strength to stare at him. To memorize those features, to remember his gentle touch. His loving.

She’d believed his touch had been loving. Instead, it had just been sexy. She didn’t know a lot about men, hadn’t believed they could make love and feel nothing.

Now she knew. Ryan had made it very clear.

So it was just her and baby Andrea. She’d prepared in every way she could so they wouldn’t need help. But she hadn’t planned on being so weak. Still, they’d make it, the two of them.

She was determined.

“Didn’t you read that birth card?” Ryan demanded, angry again. “She says I’m the father. Doesn’t that give me some rights?”

“Sure does, if you’re also the husband. Otherwise, nope. Have you told your mother?” she asked, a scolding tone in her voice that irritated him even more. He didn’t need her to tell him his mother would be upset with him.

“No. Damn it, I just found out a few minutes ago!”

“Oh.” The woman pressed her lips together. “We were all a little surprised ourselves.”

He thought about all the trips to the doctor Beth had had. “Didn’t she have prenatal care?” his voice rising in concern and anger.

“She said she did, in Buffalo.” There was doubt in Mrs. Long’s voice. Buffalo, Wyoming, wasn’t large, but it did have a bigger hospital than Franklin, their town.

“Buffalo? Why there?”

“I guess she didn’t want anyone here to know. There were a few whispers, but she wasn’t dating anyone, so we all thought she’d just gained weight. She wore loose clothing.” After another pause, she added, “You two broke up a long time ago, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe she started seeing someone else, but she put your name on the certificate.”

Fierce protectiveness wouldn’t allow him to let even the whisper of such a tale get started. “No! No, the baby’s mine.”

“Okay.”

“What’s wrong with her? I know you said it’s because she just gave birth, but I saw Beth, and she’s doing fine.”

“Miss Davenport had complications.”

“Is the baby okay? She seems small.”

“Oh, she’s a fine little darling, as sweet as can be,” Mrs. Long said, a grandmotherly smile on her face.

“Then why is Emma so pale?”

They’d reached the nurse’s desk. “She’s normally pale, I believe,” Mrs. Long said.

“Don’t give me that,” Ryan snarled. “I want to know what’s wrong.”

“You’re not her husband, Ryan. You don’t have the right to know her health status.”

“Is Steve her doctor? Did he deliver the baby?” he asked, naming an old friend, the man who’d delivered his son, the man who’d tried to save both Merilee and his child after the accident.

The elevator opened and another nurse arrived at the desk. “Sorry I’m late, Margie. Hi, Ryan. You here to see Beth’s baby? I heard she delivered today.”

“Yeah, Susan. I’ve seen him. He’s a fine boy.”

She reached over and patted his arm. “Good for you. I knew you’d come through, even if it is tough.”

He and Susan had gone to school together. If Margie Long was going off duty, he knew he’d have a better chance getting information from Susan. Maybe he could even visit Emma again.

“Don’t let this young man near room 212. She doesn’t want any visitors,” Margie said, as she bent down to get her purse. “Besides, she’s not well enough for them.”

Then she nodded to Ryan and left.

“Who’s in 212?” Susan asked.

Ryan answered, since Margie had left. “Emma Davenport.”

“Are you and Emma together again, after all this time? I thought—”

“No. But she had my baby today and Mrs. Long wouldn’t tell me anything.”

Susan was stunned by his blunt statement. “Your baby?” she asked, her voice rising.

“Yes. And I want to see Emma.”

“I can’t let you in that room. Not after Margie said not to. I’d get fired.” Susan looked over her shoulder, as if she feared Margie might be hiding around the corner.

Ryan sighed in frustration. “Okay, can you tell me why she looks like death warmed over?”

Susan pulled out the chart and scanned it quickly. “I’m not supposed to, but I could, uh, generally tell you a few things.”

There hadn’t been much in Emma’s file because she hadn’t had any prenatal care records there. Steve had written a note that he’d requested information from the Buffalo facility.

Emma had reported to the nurses that she’d had gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. Plus, she’d bled too much during delivery and had had to receive a blood transfusion, which had further weakened her.

Susan couldn’t tell him anything else.

Since she again refused his request to see Emma a third time, he gave up and left the hospital—after one more peep at the tiny baby wrapped in pink.

Ryan stood on the hospital steps, staring at the town he’d lived near all his life. But suddenly, everything had changed. What was he going to do?

He couldn’t accept what had happened. He couldn’t pretend to be a happy new father…or an anxious husband. He doubted he would survive risking his heart again. Laced with his mourning for his wife and child had been utter guilt. Though he hadn’t committed a traffic violation, he’d walked away from the accident that killed them.