left Bri’s condo with a smile on his face. For the first time, Bri had admitted the girls were his daughters. She’d given it away when she’d threatened to tell everyone he’d abandoned her.
He was coming to know Bri better, and he was pretty sure she told the truth. Except to him.
When he’d seen the tuxedo stud, he knew it was the one he’d been unable to find the morning he’d left her room. And she’d kept it. And she’d said the father of her babies had abandoned her when she’d wanted him to love her.
She wanted him to love her.
He was willing. But he was pretty sure she couldn’t handle any pressure about her life right now. It was taking a lot of work on his part to keep her blood pressure from rising too high. The best thing he could do now was to take care of her and the girls. Later, when they were safely born, he’d woo her, convince her he hadn’t left her.
The last thing he’d wanted was to lose her. He climbed into his SUV and looked up at her windows, dark now so she could sleep. If he was lucky, he’d get his cake and eat it, too. He’d have Bri to love and three little girls to complete his life. All he had to do was wait.
THE NEXT MORNING, the tenth of December, Bri got to work early. The hospital opening had occurred before Hunter had arrived. She hadn’t wanted Christmas decorations up until after the opening.
Today they would be hanging two angels in maroon robes with golden halos on their heads, playing their horns, in the huge windows of the lobby. The angels would be seen both from inside and outside the hospital.
At the other end of the lobby, there would be a huge Christmas tree, a real one. The fragrant scent of pine would fill the air. Twinkling white lights would cover the tree, as well as oversized ornaments.
All the departments would get a regular-sized artificial tree. Though Bri hated to use the artificial ones, she did because some patients might be allergic to the smell of real evergreens. The staff members would decorate their trees. Overnight, the entire hospital was going to be festive.
She loved Christmas.
“Bri, nice job,” April called as she crossed the lobby at eight. “I wondered when we would have decorations.”
“I wanted to wait until after the opening. By then it was hard to get on the schedule,” Bri explained.
“This is perfect. We’ll have at least a couple of weeks to enjoy them. How’d your checkup go yesterday?”
“Fine,” Bri said, thinking that at least here was one person Hunter hadn’t called. “Abby says the girls are in good shape if we have to deliver any time soon, but late January is still the expected delivery.”
“Great. I heard we got several more patients in the hospital last night. Let’s go to the cafeteria and have some breakfast, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Did Hunter put you up to this?”
She regretted her question when April looked at her with surprise.
“No. I didn’t eat breakfast. All I could think about all the way here were those cinnamon rolls Sam makes. Don’t you love them?”
With a sigh, Bri agreed. “Yeah. Let me tell the guys where I’ll be if they run into any problems.” She consulted the workers and then followed April to the cafeteria.
Soon she was indulging in a cup of hot tea and a big cinnamon bun, warmed to just the right temperature. “I’d worry about the calories, but Hunter is encouraging me to eat more.”
“Wow! That’s my kind of doctor. I thought Abby was your ob-gyn, though.”
“Uh, yeah. Dr. Callaghan is a hands-on supervisor.”
“I see.” After taking a bite, April looked at her friend. “There are a lot of rumors circling the wing.”
“About what?” Bri asked cautiously.
“About you and Dr. Callaghan.”
Bri chewed deliberately on her bite of cinnamon bun, giving herself time to answer. “Don’t believe anything you hear. People make things up,” she said with a big smile.
The level of noise in the room mounted, and they both turned around to see what had caused the uproar. Two men brought in big boxes and began putting together the artificial Christmas tree for the cafeteria. It was bigger than most of the trees because the room was so large.
“I guess everyone’s pleased about the decorations,” Bri said, delighted to change the conversational topic.
“Yeah, some of them thought we wouldn’t have Christmas decorations this first year, since we had the big opening.”
“Oh, no! I should’ve said something. That didn’t occur to me. I just didn’t want them up until after the opening, that’s all.”
“I know. But it’s going to lift the spirits of everyone. And having the new patients will, too.”
“You haven’t told me about them.”
“One lady is having twins, but her blood pressure got too high. Her doctor thought she would carry them longer if she remained in bed.”
“Oh,” Bri groaned. She hoped that didn’t happen to her.
“The other is a teenager. She’d been living at a boardinghouse nearby. Dr. Beaumont got her on the approved list for a charity case and they moved her in last night. She’s only a little over six months and she’s carrying quadruplets. I’ve heard they’re small. She didn’t get any prenatal care until she saw Dr. Beaumont a couple of days ago.”
Bri shuddered. “That’s terrible. I hope the babies make it.”
“Yeah, I think they said she’s twenty-six weeks, so she’s three or four weeks behind you.”
“Well, I’d better finish my breakfast and get upstairs. I’ll want to be sure they have everything they need for both patients. But I’ll stop and check on the twins we already have in the nursery. Aren’t they sweet?” Bri asked.
“They’re terrific, and already gaining weight. I think they and their mom will go home tomorrow,” April said. “Our first successful multiple birth for the wing.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
After checking on the twins and stopping in their mother’s room to see if she had any complaints, Bri went back to the lobby to make sure everything was progressing as it should.
The foreman came over to speak with her. “Ms. McCallum, the new head doctor wanted us to add a banner that says Peace on Earth beneath the angels. We have a really nice one with gold-leaf trim that looks as if it’s on a roll, but it will cost an extra five hundred. He said to ask you about the expense.”
The budget was tight, but she decided to grant Hunter’s request. Everyone was so excited about the decorations. It made her feel guilty that she hadn’t let them know they would have Christmas decorations before now.
“All right, that
