and her child fit, so he could head out.
A young clerk walked toward him. Her gaze skittered from Cal’s unruly hair to the tips of his toes. She gave him a smile that ordinarily would have charmed Cal clean down to the soles of his rented shoes. Only his mind was occupied with thoughts of a courageous green-eyed woman.
The hospital worker pointed to an office across the hall. “Sir, we need to get some information. If you’ll come with me.”
He started to protest, but followed her for lack of anything better to do. “I don’t know much that will help.”
“This is my first day on the job, so I appreciate your cooperation.” She directed him to a chair and took a seat in front of a computer. “What’s your name?”
“Calvin Lee Tucker.”
A nurse hurried past with Sara’s baby. Cal jumped to his feet to follow, but the clerk motioned for him to stay.
“Where are they taking Jessie?” he asked.
“Probably to the nursery to get her vitals.”
Cal slumped in the chair beside the desk.
“Have you ever been here before?” she asked.
“Hmm? Yeah. A horse kicked me and broke a couple of ribs a year or so back.” He ran the pad of his thumb along the jagged scar on his chin, a souvenir of his rebellious days when he’d thought riding broncs would get his parents’ attention. “And I had to get stitches about ten years ago.”
The woman tapped the keys of the computer. “Is your address still Route One, Willow Grove, Texas?”
“Uh-huh.”
“The mother’s name?”
“Sara Jamison.” Cal tried to remember anything else Sara might have mentioned, but couldn’t. “Look, I don’t—”
“Wait a minute.” When her computer screen went blank, the clerk sent him a sheepish grin. “Guess I pushed the wrong button. I’ll have to start over.”
Cal left his chair to pace in the confined area. Finally, he pulled a business card from his billfold and handed it to the young woman. “Here’s my address and phone number. Take down what you need. I’m going to check on Sara.”
She stared at the card a moment. “Sara is the mom and Jessie is the baby?”
“Jessie Lee,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.
The nurse who’d taken Sara away earlier paused in the door. A grin split her face. “You can go to room 324.”
“Thanks.” He needed to see Sara and the baby. Just to make sure they were both all right before he left. That’s all. Then his obligation would end, and he could change and meet James.
Cal hurried down the hall, following the numbers around the corner. He paused a moment outside the room, then knocked.
“Come in.”
He opened the door and moved to stand at the end of the bed. His gaze roamed the contours of Sara’s face, taking in the way she smiled at him as she reclined on a pillow. Cal drew an easy breath for the first time since the delivery. Sara looked great. No, he grudgingly admitted. She looked better than great. He wondered if it was her special radiance that made it difficult to look anywhere but at her.
Irritated by his response to Sara, Cal told himself to leave, but instead stood surveying the hospital room which was puke-green with gadgets stuck in every conceivable place. It was certainly different from his veterinary clinic, where he cared for horses.
“Have you seen Jessica?” Sara asked, her happiness shining from the inside out. The bloom of motherhood colored her freckled cheeks.
Cal had an inexplicable urge to sit and stay awhile. “Only when they rushed past headed to the nursery.”
She plucked at the blanket. “When will they bring Jessica?”
He shrugged, reminding himself again he needed to leave. “You want me to ask?”
Sara’s smile widened. “Would you?”
“Sure,” he said, doing his best to ignore the warmth that filled him. He couldn’t understand why looking at Sara should make him feel so good. He turned to leave, then paused. “What did the doctor say? Are you okay?”
Her eyes sparkled. “I’m great, thanks to you.”
Cal coughed to clear the tightness in his throat. He and Sara had shared a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One he’d never forget. That’s all this odd feeling was.
A twinge of guilt seized him. When he had run across Sara, he’d cursed her and his bad timing. He’d even wished he could turn the other way. Thank God he hadn’t. But the time had come to go. He’d check on Jessie, then leave.
He looked at Sara once more. A man could drown in the happiness he saw reflected in her eyes and die with a smile on his face. Cal silently cursed and forced himself out the door.
A baby’s cries echoed in the hallway seconds before a nurse rounded the corner. A red-faced Jessie lay on her back in the center of a small, plastic cart on wheels. The infant squalled louder than he’d thought possible. She stiffened inside the blanket tucked tightly around her body, then pumped her tiny legs.
After growing up an only child, Cal had always planned to have kids, lots of ’em. But his children wouldn’t be raised by a horde of nannies and housekeepers. His babies would know his touch, his love. But there was no need to consider that now.
He reached out and ran his forefinger across Jessie’s cheek. Warmth flooded his chest. “Has the doctor seen her?”
“Yes.”
He decided now was the time to leave and stepped aside so the nurse could push the cart into Sara’s room.
“The doctor has called in a pediatrician to check her over. Then, we’ll take her back to isolation,” the nurse said.
Cal’s breath left in a whoosh, and he followed her into the room. “Isolation? Why? What’s wrong?” He hated the helplessness in Sara’s eyes as she looked from him to the nurse.
“When a child is born outside the hospital, it’s kept away from the other babies in case it picked up something. It’s just hospital policy, hon.” The nurse patted Sara’s arm and recited instructions about nursing and proper infant care.
Cal glanced at the baby, needing to see for himself that she was fine. “There’s nothing wrong that you know of?”
“Well, she’s sounding a little raspy. We wanted to get her down to see Mom for a minute before the pediatrician arrives,” the nurse said as she checked Sara’s and Jessie’s hospital bracelets, then headed toward the door. “Now, she can’t nurse until after the pediatrician sees her. And I’m afraid this will be a short visit. I need to check with the nurse’s desk down the hall. Ring the buzzer if you need anything.”
Cal
