23
I didn’t see Alex around the clinic the day after our argument, but there had been evidence of him finishing a few jobs around the property. The extra wood he’d used for random projects was now cleaned up and stacked in a tidy pile under the brand-new lean-to he’d installed on the side of the shed, and the tools he’d used were neatly organized and put away, far better than they had been when he’d first arrived. All of it felt like he was just tying up loose ends to make his departure easier.
I saw Alex and Roxy outside on my walk home and invited him over for dinner. He just shook his head, though, saying he’d helped himself to a large lunch and he would be okay for the night. He didn’t look as pissed as he had the night before, but there was a definite edge to his shoulders when he turned away from me. It stung when he didn’t bother to say goodnight or even acknowledge me as he walked away.
The distance between us only grew when he started his job at Ruby Red Landscaping the following week. Though some of the anger had faded, and Alex at least presented me with an obligatory smile when we saw each other, he hadn’t really let himself be near me. He’d find an excuse to leave if he saw that I was coming or would purposely make himself busy if he thought I wanted to talk.
I fucking hated it, but worse, I hated that I couldn’t escapehimeither. Alex waseverywhere, even when he was physically away at another job. All the work he’d done around the place, the dedication he’d shown to my business, and all the little touches he’d added had plagued me at every corner. It all reminded me of him.
Every night, when I stepped outside to walk home and darkness had fallen across the lawn, I’d look over and see the floodlights beaming up at my sign and wonder if he’d really meant it. If any of this had ever meant something to Alex or if it had all just been a job to him.
No.I refused to believe that. I’d seen the truth in his eyes when we made love, and I knew in my gut it hadn’t been more than just a way for him to get off while he was here. Alex had feltsomething,even if he wasn’t ready to admit it. So what was I supposed to do?
A week after our argument, when I finished with my final patient of the night, I started to make my way to the desk to help Melanie sort out our files. I had been considering asking her for some advice because she had gotten to know Alex as well as I had. Maybe she’d know how to reach him. But when I came around the corner, I found her pale as a ghost and holding a hand to her stomach.
“Mel?”
James was on the phone, talking to someone in a rushed, worried tone. “…two hours, but I think they’re coming fast now. Only about four minutes apart.”
“Oh, God. You’re in labor?” I asked.
She nodded, eyes closed through the pain of another contraction.
Thank God we were about done for the day. If she had gone into labor even just a couple of hours ago, there would have been no one around to drive her to the hospital, since James and I had been away on an emergency call.
“Let me drive you,” I said.
James heard me and relayed the message to Lee. Melanie quickly gave me a thumbs-up and I scrambled for our coats in the closet.
“I’ll lock up and follow,” James said. “Meet you there.”
Nodding, I led Melanie to the truck and helped her in, then climbed in on my side. She dropped her head back to the headrest as another contraction hit, breathing through it as she bounced one leg.
“We’re not far,” I reminded her. It was a pointless thing to say, since we’d both lived in this small town practically our entire lives and knew exactly how far away the hospital was, but the encouragement had been for my benefit as much as hers. Which was ironic, really. I’d helped birth plenty of animals in my time as a vet, yet I felt completely and utterly useless, sitting next to one of my dearest friends while she breathed through a series of long and painful contractions.
“Ohh, God,” she groaned, flattening her palm against her stomach. “You stay in there, Sophia. Just a little longer.”
My heart was racing as I drove, and I had to remind myself not to press on the gas too hard. The last thing we needed right now was to get pulled over or wind up in an accident. When we finally pulled up in front of the emergency entrance of the hospital, I parked and ran inside for a wheelchair. In a matter of minutes, we were in the elevator on our way up to the maternity floor. The nurse checked us in and took her vitals, strapping a scary-looking contraption around her abdomen that supposedly measured her contractions. Melanie had barely let go of my hand the entire time, muttering to herself between contractions.
“Don’t you dare come before your daddy gets here, Sophia, or so help meeeeeohhgod!”
I wanted to laugh but cried out when Mel’s grip nearly crushed the bones in my hand.
After several minutes, a doctor came in and examined Melanie, offering to get an anesthesiologist in the room for an epidural. He’d barely gotten the first two syllables out before she was nodding so hard I thought her head was going to roll off.
“Okay. Just settle back. You’re not very far along, so we might be here a while.”
She groaned and let her head fall back to the pillow. “Tell me again why I wanted a baby!”
I laughed. “You won’t feel that way once you hold her,” I said soothingly. “So, Sophia, huh?”
She nodded. “Sophia Renee.”
“That’s pretty.”
Shoes squeaked on the linoleum seconds before we heard, “Mel? There you are!” Almost as soon as she’d heard the frantic harsh voice, Melanie had dropped my hand in search of her husband’s, and Lee bent to plant a kiss on her forehead.
“I’ll leave you guys alone,” I said. “But I’ll be in the waiting room if you need anything.”
