His Baby Dream (Safe Harbor Medical) (12 page)

Resting her chin on her hand, Harper thought about the baby or babies they might have created. Vanessa had called her about yesterday’s implantation, which was kind of her. What if those two little boys were already growing?

How wonderful to see Peter’s intelligence and vitality in a child, and to watch the love on his face as he rocked a baby. She yearned to be there beside him, touching his cheek, sharing his happiness.

I’m falling in love with him.

Stunned, Harper knocked her hand into her drink. Half full, it sloshed a few drops before she caught it.

A waitress appeared as if by magic. “How about a refill?”

“No, thanks.” Harper set the glass aside. “I’m done, anyway.”

Zora eyed her sympathetically. “Not in a party mood, either?”

“Guess not.” Harper was pleased when Caroline returned. “Would you mind if I left?”

“Good timing.” Her friend angled her foot to reveal a broken high heel. “I’d dance barefoot, but in this crowd someone’s likely to step on me.”

The three of them paid and left. As she drove home, Harper wished she had an idea of what to do next about Peter. Mia, the book, the eggs...she’d allowed their lives to become intertwined far more than she should have.

Next weekend, she’d better tell him how she felt. Then he’d understand why she had to stop seeing him.

Chapter Twelve

All week, Harper fought her churning emotions. Despite her efforts, she could tell she came across as grumpy and distracted. Fortunately, everyone at work attributed that to suspense about the surrogate’s possible pregnancy, while Mia was preoccupied with the last week at sports camp.

Would she suffer from withdrawal when she no longer saw Peter there or at home? Tough as this situation might be on Harper, she worried more about her daughter’s emotions.

“I must be really stupid,” she told Stacy over lunch at the cafeteria the following Friday. “How could I let this happen?”

They’d chosen a table on the patio. The August heat had driven other diners indoors, and Harper was grateful for her friend’s willingness to sit out here where they could talk privately. And sweat.

“You don’t
let
something like this happen,” Stacy said, her sprinkling of freckles more pronounced than usual. That was a common side effect of pregnancy, and of summer, too. “It just does.”

Harper cracked a rare smile. “I guess I am being tough on myself.”

“As usual,” Stacy replied over a forkful of salad. Despite the flattering empire waistline of the gown she’d chosen, the bride was trying to keep her weight from ballooning before her big day.

“I’m glad we have the party to look forward to.” The combined wedding-baby shower, which Harper and Adrienne were cohosting, was the next event on their schedule. “Mia’s helping us plan the refreshments. I had to say no to carrot cake, though. She finds it hard to believe not everyone shares her tastes.”

“You guys are a lifesaver. All the same, it’s lucky my parents are arriving tonight.” They were making the twelve-hour drive from Utah in one day. “I need my mom right now.”

“I wish my mother was still alive. For Mia’s sake as much as mine.” Harper missed having family around. It didn’t help that her brother was a no-show.

After Mia’s birthday, Harper had sent him a copy of the little girl’s book about Po, in an attempt to renew contact in case her brother was suffering from one of his bouts with depression. She’d included a card from them both that said, “We love you.” He hadn’t responded. With a vacuum in the father figure department, no wonder Mia had taken to Peter so readily.

“Your daughter will be fine,” Stacy assured her. “Once school starts, she’ll be tied up with friends and activities.”

That reminded Harper of some good news. “I requested she be assigned to Paula Humphreys for second grade, and I saw on the school website that we got her.” Paula, whose mother-in-law owned the Bear and Doll Boutique, was noted for planning her lessons around her love of animals. Several parents at the hospital had raved about her.

“Congratulations,” Stacy said. “Problem solved.”

Harper hoped so. She’d purposely kept her encounters with Peter brief this week, and planned another hit-and-run when she picked up Mia tonight. She still hadn’t decided how to handle their meeting tomorrow.

That afternoon, a full patient load kept Harper on the run. Then Nora had to race to the hospital to perform an emergency C-section. Harper did her best to postpone the remaining appointments, but a few patients couldn’t change their plans. As a result, Nora played catch-up on her return, which meant staying late for both her and Harper.

Harper couldn’t ask Stacy to pick up Mia, not with her parents due in town. Since Adrienne worked Friday nights, she was tied up.

Reluctantly, she punched in Peter’s cell number. When he answered, his warm greeting shivered through her.
Keep your mind on business.
“I have to work late and I’m trying to find someone to pick up Mia,” Harper told him. “There may be a slight delay. I’m sorry. I know it’s the last day of camp, and you must have a lot to do.”

“No problem.” He sounded relaxed. “Why don’t I take her to dinner? What time will you be home?”

“Around seven,” Harper said. “But I can’t ask that.”

“It’s no trouble. I have to eat, anyway.”

Her instincts warned her to argue, but what were the options? “That would be wonderful.”

“I have to make a stop on the way but it won’t take long,” he added. “If that’s okay.”

“Yes, of course.” She nearly offered to pay him back for the meal, but then he’d argue. She’d already kept a patient waiting too long. “Thank you.”

“I’ll enjoy it,” he said.

So would Mia, Harper reflected as she clicked off. Possibly too much.

* * *

P
ERHAPS
HE
SHOULD
HAVE
indicated the nature of his errand, Peter reflected as he pulled out of the community college parking lot. Beside him, strapped into her seat, Mia gazed eagerly out of his van.

“Can we go to Salads and More?” she asked. “I like the More part best.”

“I do, too.” The cafeteria style, all-you-can-eat restaurant, which also served pasta, muffins and other goodies, lay about a mile up the road, beyond the cemetery. Which was where Peter had to stop.

The brass vase on Angela’s headstone had been damaged, and the manager had asked him to approve a replacement. In light of the man’s impatience to complete the paperwork, Peter had agreed to stop by as quickly as possible.

“We had two hummingbirds this morning,” the girl said. “They were squeaking while they ate. I didn’t know they did that.”

“Some of them do.” Peter described how the little birds also created a shrill sound by spreading their tail feathers while diving at high speed. “The males put on an aerial display to impress the females. Plus, they dive-bomb predators that get too close to their nests.”

“Doesn’t it hurt them?” Mia asked.

“Making the noise? I doubt it.”

“Dive-bombing,” she amended. “What do they drop, exactly?”

He nearly blurted the first thing that came to mind, but that was hardly accurate, or discreet. “They bomb with their own little bodies, but they don’t hurt anyone because they don’t hit.”

“Cool.”

He stopped near the cemetery’s main building. “Let’s go inside. I have to sign something.”

“Okay.”

Before they could get out, however, Peter spotted the manager on the front walkway, talking to a middle-aged couple. The man waved and, excusing himself, strode to the van.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d drive over and take a look, Mr. Gladstone,” he said. “I’ll leave the paper on the front desk.”

“It’s installed?” Peter hadn’t expected that.

“We had a funeral today and a damaged vase doesn’t look good,” came the rejoinder. “I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Peter wasn’t certain how Harper would feel about her daughter touring a graveyard. An impressionable youngster might have nightmares. However, Angela’s grave lay only a short distance from the driveway, so there was no reason for Mia to get out of the van. “Okay.”

With a nod, the manager returned to his clients. Peter put the van into gear.

“They had to replace the vase at my wife’s grave,” he told Mia.

“What happened to it?”

“I think a lawn mower hit it.”

As the van rolled through the green expanse, the little girl pressed her nose to the window. “My grandma Harriett’s over there.” Mia pointed toward the middle of the lawn. “We brought her flowers for Mother’s Day.”

“That’s your mom’s mother?”

She nodded. “I don’t remember her. I was only two when she died.” As they drove farther, she pointed again. “Daddy’s over there.”

This child had lost a lot of loved ones for someone so young. Peter hoped the visit was more reassuring than troubling. She seemed at ease so far.

“I used to work with your father.” Peter had spent after-school hours with Sean and the wrestling team. A dedicated physical education teacher, the man had been energetic and occasionally abrasive, although never abusive. Since his death, the school had hired a series of inexperienced teachers who either quit or had their contracts dropped. He wasn’t an easy man to replace.

In a way, Peter regretted that he and Sean hadn’t grown close. A friendship might have developed had Peter accepted his invitations to go target shooting and off-roading in the desert. While he’d been tempted, Angela had disliked being left alone on weekends.

It had been during one of those adventures that Sean’s vehicle flipped and crushed him. He’d had a friend with him, but even though help had been summoned swiftly, the medics weren’t able to save his life.

Peter parked near Angela’s grave, leaving room on the driveway for cars to pass. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“I’m coming!” Mia opened her door so fast, he had to run around the high vehicle to help her down.

“Are you sure you want to see the grave?” he asked as he lifted her little body to the ground.

“Graves are pretty,” Mia said. “They have flowers and stuff.”

She didn’t seem spooked. Despite his misgivings, Peter decided the simplest course was to get this over with quickly.

As they walked between markers, Mia peered at an engraving. “That was an old man. He was born in 1920.”

Peter noted that the fellow had died in 1944, during World War II. Not old at all. But pointing that out might make her sad.

Then, with a familiar twist of grief, he reached the flat stone recording Angela’s name, birth and death dates, along with “Beloved wife and teacher.” The day of her burial, the pastor’s words of comfort—which hadn’t comforted him at all—had reached Peter dimly as he tried to accept that the woman he loved was gone forever. That she couldn’t feel the sunshine, or see the family and friends gathered around. That he’d never laugh with her or sleep curled together again.

To his embarrassment, tears slid from his eyes. Peter wiped them with the back of his other hand.

“Are you crying?” Mia put her small, warm hand in his. “Does this help?”

“Yes.” And it did.

“She smelled nice.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mrs. Gladstone.” She studied the marker. “I just ’member her perfume.”

They must have met at a faculty gathering or a wrestling match. “She thought you were adorable.”

“She’s a real angel now,” Mia said. “Do you think she knows Daddy and Grandma?”

“She certainly knew your father when she was alive.”

Mia gazed up at him, her face a younger version of Harper’s. “You have to come back.”

“Come back?”

“Mommy says you’re moving,” Mia answered. “But you’ll still visit your wife, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course.” Strange that he hadn’t thought about that when he decided to go. Maybe he should relocate Angela’s body, especially since her family lived in Virginia. Yet this was supposed to be her final resting place.

And what was he going to do with her china collection? Peter wondered suddenly. He’d rather not ship those cabinets and collectibles to his new home. Maybe he should sell them and donate the money to charity. But that seemed disloyal.

I’m not leaving you behind, honey. I’ll still visit when I can.

He imagined he could feel her disapproval. Maybe he
should
have her body relocated. Not something to worry about yet, however.

His attention turned to the new vase, which was, after all, the reason for this trip. It bore a simple leaf impression instead of the elaborate floral engraving of the original, which Angela had commissioned during her final illness. On the phone, the manager had explained that he hadn’t been able to match the custom design. With a silent apology to his wife, Peter decided to accept it.

“Will you bring my little brother to see me?” Mia asked. “I want to play with him.”

“I’ll do my best.” Gently, Peter released her hand. “We should go eat.”

“He’ll like the hummingbirds,” she said as they walked. “Hey! You can give him a feeder, too.”

“That’s a good idea.” He’d install one as soon as he bought a new house, Peter decided, as a reminder of a special evening.

* * *

W
HEN
H
ARPER
OPENED
HER
door, Peter noticed strain lines around her eyes. What a long day she’d worked. He’d like to give her a shoulder rub, and they could sit on the porch again and talk about all the things she’d been doing these past two weeks. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” She absorbed the impact of Mia’s enthusiastic embrace. “Have a good time, sweetie?”

“We went to see Daddy and Angela!”

So much for introducing the subject gently. “I had to check out a replacement vase at the cemetery. That was the errand I mentioned.”

Harper angled aside to let her daughter pass. “I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone our meeting tomorrow. Adrienne has to work an extra shift, and I’m watching Reggie. But on Sunday she’ll be taking both kids, so let’s meet at the Fullerton Arboretum. The unusual plants should attract some different types of insects.” The gardens lay a half-hour drive north.

“Good idea.” Peter swallowed his disappointment at the delay. “I’ll pick you up.”

“Thanks, but I’d like to do some shopping in the area.” Her gaze flicked across his, avoiding contact. “Two o’clock at the front entrance?”

“Sure.” Was she pushing him away because she was tired, or had he offended her? “I didn’t mean for Mia to see the graves. I thought I’d just be running into the main building.”

“Did she act upset?”

“I’m the one who needed consoling,” he admitted.

“I’ll talk to her.” Harper shrugged. “It’s better to face her feelings, anyway.”

“You’re not angry?”

Her expression softened. “No. I appreciate your help tonight. It’s hard, being a single parent.”

“I guess I’ll find out.” At their feet, a black-and-white face poked out. Seeing the kitten’s muscles bunch, Peter bent down to thwart a dash for freedom. “No escape for you, Po.”

Tiny claws pricked his hands as he lifted the little creature. They didn’t penetrate the skin, a sign that the kitten was displaying annoyance rather than attacking.

“Good catch. I didn’t see him.” Harper reached for the furry creature. As her arm brushed Peter’s, her sweet fragrance stirred his longing. Impulsively, Peter brushed a kiss across her temple.

Harper stepped back, her eyes wide, her breathing rapid. “Why...?”