Judy Duarte: His, Hers and...Theirs?

“Lucky me,” he said, meaning it. Hopefully, Fate had decided to give him a break, at least for the rest of the day.

Eva took Kaylee into the ladies’ room and came out several minutes later. The little girl’s hair and face were wet but clean. And Dan was able to get a good look at the half-inch gash that marred the upper left side of her forehead and the bruise that surrounded it.

“What do you think?” Eva asked, gripping his gaze and setting his heart off kilter.

He didn’t dare tell her that he was thinking of her as some kind of superhero right now. So instead, he glanced at her water-splattered, bloodstained white blouse and smiled. “I think I’m going to owe you a new outfit.”

“That’s not what I meant. Look at that gash, Dan. It’s pretty deep.”

The bleeding might have stopped, but the wound definitely gaped open.

“You know…” Eva cocked her head and studied the little girl’s forehead. “She’s probably going to need a few stitches.”

“No!” Kaylee, who’d been a little standoffish with Dan the past couple of weeks, clung to the woman. “I don’t want stitches.”

If Dan had been looking in the mirror at his own face and had seen the cut, he would have let it pass without any treatment at all. But on a little girl?

“Why don’t you want stitches?” he asked.

Kevin jumped in with the answer. “’Cause when we lived at our old house, Jimmy Milburn got stitches on his face and got to be a pirate for Halloween.”

“Being a pirate is cool,” Dan said, hoping to convince the kid that it was some kind of adventure, rather than something to be afraid of.

“Yeah,” Kevin said, “but Kaylee doesn’t like swords and stuff. She wants to be a princess. Besides, when I told Jimmy that I wanted to have stitches like his, he said it really hurt.”

“It won’t hurt Kaylee,” Eva said. “She has a princess cut. And doctors are very careful when dealing with a princess.”

The girl turned to Eva, her tears coming to a rolling stop. “Really?”

“Oh, yes. I’m sure of it.” Eva ran her hand along the dampened strands of Kaylee’s long, blond hair. “The doctors at the medical center can spot a princess a mile away. And they know just what to do with royal injuries.”

Kaylee cocked her head to the side. “They do?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then, okay. I’ll get princess stitches.” Kaylee looked at Eva as though she were a fairy godmother.

But hell, Dan didn’t blame the kid for that. He was thinking of Eva as though she’d fluttered into his life with a pair of wings and a magic wand, too. She’d been a real godsend, and he wished he could take her home with them until the kids turned eighteen.

“Will you ride with us to the medical center?” he asked her, hoping like heck that she would agree. Having her along would make the ordeal so much easier for Kaylee. And for him, too.

“Me? Well, I…” As her gaze caught his, he spotted more than indecision in her eyes. He noted apprehension, too.

Finally, at about the time he’d expected her to blow him off, she said, “All right, I’ll go with you.”

Dan didn’t know when he’d heard sweeter words, when he’d felt more relief. “Thanks, Eva. I’ll make it up to you.”

Of course, he didn’t have a clue how he was going to do that, but he’d figure out a way.

When Eva had set out this morning, she had thought the scope of her adventure would be simply checking out the Parents of Multiples picnic at the park and getting a feel for what would soon be in store for her.

Now, as she sat in the dual-wheeled Chevy pickup across from cowboy Dan Walker, she felt as if she was living someone else’s life. For a woman who was basically shy and introspective, it was both exciting and unnerving at the same time.

She wasn’t one who basked in new experiences, and this was certainly a first for her. One minute she was on the edge of the playground, watching the kids chase after each other, and the next she was standing by helplessly while little Kaylee tripped and flew headfirst onto the steps of the slide.

Instinct had taken over, and Eva had rushed to the little girl’s side. Looking back, she was thankful to know that her lousy childhood hadn’t disabled whatever internal button had kicked in at just the right moment.

Thank goodness her instincts were functioning properly, since she’d be having a set of twins of her own in six months or so.

And now here she was.

She stole another glance across the pickup at the handsome cowboy in the driver’s seat, wondering if she would have even given him the time of day on any other occasion. Not that he wasn’t attractive, but he was well over six feet tall and as buff and brawny as the good Lord made them. He was just the kind of man who could easily toss stacks of hundred-pound bales of hay to the left and right without breaking a sweat. Yet there was something about the soft brown color of his hair and bluebonnet shade of his eyes that spoke of a gentle side.

That, she suspected, along with the way his expression had crumpled around the crying child, had made Eva trust him well enough to get into his truck in the first place.

Her stepfather had been a brute of a man who’d mentally—and sometimes even physically—abused her, so she tended to avoid men who reminded her of him. She’d had a couple of boyfriends in college—each of them budding scientists who had been brainy and slightly built—but the relationships had never lasted very long.

So when, after much thought, she’d decided to create a family of her own, she’d opted for in vitro fertilization. It had been easier that way. She hadn’t needed to make any decisions about whether to have a man in her life or not.

She had to admit, though, that she was still a little apprehensive about being a mother and bringing home two newborns, which is why she’d come to the park today. She’d read about the Parents of Multiples event in the online newspaper and had decided to observe things from a distance.

It was a scientific approach to her problem, and it seemed to be the most logical way for her to proceed.

If she liked what she saw and the people she met at the park, she would take it a step further and attend one of the evening meetings, where she might connect with another mother of twins who could offer her advice—and maybe even friendship.

Of course, she hadn’t been at the park long enough to observe much of anything when little Kaylee was injured.

She glanced over her shoulder and into the small backseat at the rear of the cab, where the twins sat in matching car seats.

When Kaylee’s gaze met hers, the little girl smiled, but her bottom lip quivered a bit, as if she was trying to be brave. Eva’s heart went out to her for the second time in just minutes.

According to Kevin, their mother was in heaven, which was sad. But there hadn’t been any mention of their father or any indication of why the kids had come to live with their uncle. If Eva and Dan were alone, she might ask him, but she couldn’t bring it up in front of the kids. Not when the answer might be painful for them.

As Dan pulled into the driveway that led to the Brighton Valley Medical Center and turned left toward the entrance of the E.R., Kaylee peered out the passenger window.

“Is this where the princesses come to get their owies fixed?” the girl asked.

“It sure is. And if we’re lucky, my friend Dr. Nielson will be working. She’s the royal physician, and she takes care of all the queens and princesses.”

Kaylee settled back in her seat.

“You’re good with kids,” Dan said, sliding a grin her way. “I’m impressed.”

His praise nearly knocked her off balance, since she didn’t work with children in the lab. But she’d had to draw her share of blood when she’d been in training, and she’d learned a few tricks when working with frightened kids. Of course, once she’d graduated with her master’s degree in biology, she no longer worked directly with patients.