Tina Beckett - A Christmas Kiss With Her Ex-Army Doc / Second Chance With The Surgeon

He was struck by the soft glow of her eyes as she cradled the baby, murmuring softly to her as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Her hair slid over the side of her face, and she tucked it behind her ear before her glance came up and caught him staring. She bit her lip, color flooding her cheeks.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. She would have made a great mother. Her babies would have been gorgeous and, oh, so…

Cut it out. You’re not here for her. Or for yourself.

He dragged his gaze away and forced himself to do what he’d come here to do, moving closer and studying the baby’s face. The cleft was unilateral. He met Hollee’s eyes, keeping a tight rein on his thoughts this time. “Do you know if it includes the palate?”

“Yes, but it’s not a large space.”

“Good. Let’s bring her over to the bed.”

Marilyn’s husband was again on his feet, a wariness in his demeanor that needed to be addressed. It was really important for him to show support and love for his child, or he would risk Marilyn blaming herself for that as well. He caught the man’s attention. “Your baby is beautiful.” He said it with meaning, hoping that the man would catch his drift. He evidently did, because he gave a slight nod.

“Okay, Marilyn. I’m going to tell you how I normally repair babies with clefts like… Sara, wasn’t that her name?”

“Yes.” The response came as a whisper that was barely discernible.

“I like it. It fits her, don’t you think so, Hollee?”

“Yes. I do.” Her smile was warm and genuine. “I’ve always loved that name.”

Would she have named her own baby Sara?

And here he was back where he’d started: on shaky ground.

He got down to business, detailing how he would go about closing the cleft and repairing the lip. He used general terms so that the mom wouldn’t be more frightened than she already was. “Do you think you can hold Sara so I can show you?”

Marilyn’s throat moved, and she glanced at her husband and then at Hollee and the bundle she held. “I think so.”

Clancy nodded. “Go ahead and help her hold her baby, but stay close in case she needs a little extra support.”

Doing as he asked, she carefully placed the baby in her mother’s arms, keeping the blanket pulled high on the side closest to Marilyn. Then, much to his surprise, the baby’s mom eased the cover down, looking into her newborn’s still face.

“She’s just…sleeping, isn’t she?”

The heartbreaking question threatened to breach the wall of detachment he’d built after years of working in combat areas. “Yes. She’s sound asleep. See? Her lip doesn’t hurt her, but it will need to be fixed so that it’s easier for her to nurse and eat.”

“You’re sure you can?”

“This is an easy fix.” Unlike his mixed feelings about working with Hollee. “We’ll put her under anesthesia so she can’t feel anything, and in an hour or two she’ll be as good as new. She won’t remember a thing. She might have a tiny scar here…” He pointed from the open area of Sara’s lip to her nose. “…but it will be barely noticeable. Not like mine.”

Hollee gave him a sharp look that he ignored.

“Can I nurse her?”

“Let me talk to her pediatrician and see what his thoughts are, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Her face showed immense relief. “Can you do surgery today?”

“No. Not today. We want to give her a little time to adjust to her world. You’ll be able to take her home once you’re released, and then we’ll probably do surgery when she’s six to eight weeks old.”

“That long?”

“We want to make sure she’s strong and healthy. It’s not dangerous to leave it for a bit.”

Sara’s mom kissed her baby’s forehead, as her blood pressure continued to drop.

“Do you have any questions?”

“No.” Marilyn looked at Hollee. “I’m so sorry for grabbing your arm like I did. I was scared.”

“Don’t worry about it. Giving birth is scary under normal circumstances and everything happened so quickly that you didn’t have a lot of time to process what was going on.”

Clancy frowned. Had she been hurt? She hadn’t mentioned there being an altercation, just that Marilyn was upset. Her concern had been wholly for her patient and the baby. Not for herself.

He’d known Hollee when she was just beginning to know who she was. Now he was seeing her standing here as a competent, self-confident nurse who was good at what she did. If Jacob hadn’t reinforced what Clancy had already believed about himself, would she be where she was now? Would she have fallen in love with him instead?

It was a question no one could answer. Maybe they would even be divorced by now. He doubted he was the easiest person to live with. He didn’t show his emotions easily. Even now. Especially now, after everything he’d seen in the world.

He pushed all those thoughts aside. “Do either of you have any more questions?” He probably needed to get back to his first patient, as he was now running a few minutes late. But this had been important.

“I want you to do the surgery.”

He smiled. “I wasn’t planning on letting anyone else do it, so that’s a good thing.”

There was something about this young family that touched him. Sara’s parents had a lot of growing to do, but he saw a lot of hope in the situation.

Marilyn reached over and gripped her husband’s hand, tugging him closer. And, thank God, there wasn’t an ounce of revulsion or fear in the man’s face.

“Hollee, can you let me know when Sara is getting ready to be discharged? I have a little something for her from Santa’s visit.” If anyone deserved a fresh start, it was this couple.

“I will.” The smile she sent him contained gratitude, relief and a touch of something else. Attraction?

Maybe he wasn’t crazy after all.

As she walked him toward the door, Hollee peered up at him. “When did you want to meet with Mom about Gordy?”

“I guess it needs to be soon, since we’re less than a week out.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know.”

“That would be great.” He nodded at the couple and said goodbye to them, and to Hollee, who mouthed, Thank you, Clance.

“Anytime,” he said aloud. And for the first time since they’d met again he actually meant it.

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