One of Mel’s light brows lifted in amusement. “They hope.”
“Oh God!”
“Yeah, I’ve been there,” Mel said. “The whole town had me married to Jack before I had my first really good kiss with him.” She waved a hand. “Ah, hell, go with it. At least they’re not malicious. Just very nosey. I got through it. You can, too.”
Heavy footsteps started down the stairs. “Hey,” Cam said cheerily. “You made it bright and early—thanks. I have some patients this morning. Ready to take a look at that cabin?”
“Sure,” she said uneasily. And she thought, What the hell am I doing?
Ten minutes later they pulled into a clearing in the forest and she looked at a charming little cabin surrounded by huge trees. It had a peaked roof and a wide porch with Adirondack chairs. She could imagine the deer, colorful flowers bordering the porch. There was a beam of light that glanced through the trees and shone on the porch. And she said aloud, “What the hell am I doing?”
Cameron laughed at her. “Nesting,” he said. “Come on.” He got out of the car and went around to her side, giving his hand to pull her out.
He opened the door for her to walk into the house and what she saw was—a little cabin. One big room included living room, kitchen, breakfast nook and breakfast bar. There was only room for a sofa and overstuffed chair, ottoman and rocker surrounding a big stone hearth. A polished old chest served as a small coffee table in front of the sofa and there was one small side table and lamp. Back through the kitchen was a washer and dryer, water heater, pantry and stairs to the loft. It was shiny clean and quaint. Cute. Small.
The bedrooms weren’t large, but big enough, with a bathroom separating them. And the loft wasn’t enclosed by any more than a rail. There was a queen-size bed in one bedroom, a double bed in the loft. “This will be your bedroom and I’ll take the loft,” Cameron said. “I’ll take a day off so we can go into Eureka and get some baby furniture for this room.” He pulled her into what had been Mel and Jack’s nursery, bare and ready for a couple of infants.
“Here’s an idea, if it works for you,” he said. “The first thing we do is get rid of that credit-card debt, get Brie to draft a letter saying you’ve paid your bill and don’t want any more alimony, or any more contact with the ex. I’ll set you up a bank account and get you a credit card.” He chuckled. “Try to remember I’m not a filthy-rich rock star, I’m a relatively poor pediatrician and family-practice doctor who gets paid in beans a lot. Then we finish furnishing this place with cribs, et cetera. Now—it’s out here a little ways, so if we find ourselves in a situation where you need bed rest or something, we’ll just stay in town. You can have the bedroom I use at the clinic and I’ll stay in the other room, so you’re not alone. Other than picking out names, we’re covering all the bases. If you think you can stand this little cabin, that is.” He looked around. “I actually like it. It’s cozy. Sweet.”
But when he looked back at her, tears were running down her cheeks.
“Oh, Jesus, Abby,” he said, pulling her toward him. “Do you hate it?”
“No,” she sniffed, shaking her head. “I kind of like it.”
“It could be temporary while we look for something better. I just want to keep us in close quarters, so I can help.”
She shook her head and found words with difficulty. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
He wiped away a tear. “I know this is so hard for you. If you’d rather be at Vanni’s, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. But, Abby, I— Honey, I want to help, be a part of it.”
“I never thought I’d end up doing something like this. It’s so…so…calculated. Such a practical arrangement.”
“Abby, give me a chance here. I want to take care of you. I know you don’t like hearing that—you’re used to taking care of yourself.” He slipped a hand over her belly. “Right now that’s not practical. We have to think about your health. This isn’t an ordinary pregnancy.” He smiled sweetly. “It’s an extraordinary pregnancy.” She sniffed again and he pulled her close. “If there’s a better way, better for you, just tell me. I’ll do anything I can.”
She shook her head against his shoulder. She inhaled his scent, remembered the lusty night that had gotten them here. She closed her eyes. Such a sweet memory….
And he felt one of them kick him in her belly. He pulled her closer, tighter, wanting more of that. “There are a few problems with this cabin,” he said. “No TV, for one thing. Mel and Jack never installed a satellite dish. I hardly ever bother with TV. I catch the news at Jack’s, listen to music and read a lot.”
She pulled back from him just a bit and looked up into his blue eyes. “I have a portable DVD player. Vanni has lots of DVDs to loan. Maybe I’ll watch a movie sometimes, but I like to read. I go through a couple of books a week—lately most of them are about pregnancy and childbirth. I guess you already know all about that.”
“I’m pretty much up to speed. But I wouldn’t mind looking at what you’re reading.”
“Maybe, if you’re very nice, I’ll let you watch a movie with me.”
He smiled at her. “I bet they’re all girl movies that make you cry.” He used his thumb to wipe a tear away from her cheek.
“Cameron, everything makes me cry. Haven’t you noticed?”
“It’s pretty normal. Pregnant women cry a lot, whether they need to or not. When would you like to move? I don’t want you alone out here, so I’ll come at the same time. After I help you get your things transferred.”“In a day or two? All I have is clothes. Are we going to have some kind of routine or something?” she asked.
“Yes,” he chuckled. “I’ll go to work, but my schedule isn’t demanding. I have a lot of free time when there aren’t patients, but I won’t hang around here and drive you crazy. You can do what you want—either stay here and relax, listen to music and read, or go hang out with Vanni. We’ll have dinner together when you feel like it. We’ll talk sometimes, like friends do. Pick names for the babies. When you give me permission, I’ll call my mother, who is going to freak out.”
“Oh God!”
He hugged her close. “It’s going to be fine. She might be a little put out that we’re not married, but the twins will mollify her. When you think I’ve earned the right, we’ll share a DVD.” He smiled at her.
“And after they’re born? When it’s time for me to get on with my life?”
“We’ll talk about what you’d like to do, where you’d like to be, and what you want will be a priority. I’ll see how I can fit in that plan as a dad. But, Abby, can we get to that later? One thing at a time? As long as I promise I don’t have any plan to screw up your life?”
“Sure,” she said. “One thing at a time. Aren’t you worried what people will think?”
“Hell no,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve only been here a few months, but there are a million interesting little stories that verge on scandals in this town. People love ’em. If I had the slightest worry anyone would treat you meanly, I’d never have suggested this.”
“What kind of little scandals?”
“We have lots of time for me to catch you up on the local stuff, like Mel and Jack, Preacher and Paige, and I guess you probably already know about Vanni and Paul.”
Very suddenly, Abby felt relief flood through her. She knew that whole story—that Paul had been in love with Vanni for years, but she’d married his best friend. And then, after Vanni’s husband Matt was killed in Iraq and the way to her was clear, Paul had such guilt and shame about his obsession, he couldn’t act. If that wasn’t bad enough, he thought he had gotten a woman back in Oregon pregnant. “Does everyone know about that?” she asked in a stunned whisper.
“I doubt we could find anyone around here who doesn’t know at least a version of the story.” Then he shrugged. “Abby, you have to remember—the important thing is that you’re healthy, we’re working together to bring healthy twins into the world and we’re going to do the best we can to be good parents. Who’s gonna throw rocks at that idea? Only a petty fool. And I say, screw the petty fools.”
She grinned at him. There was a reason she’d gone to that hotel room.
Seven
It was ten days after Mel and Cameron’s emergency run to Valley Hospital with Dahlia Creighton when Cheryl came to Virgin River. Mel had heard that Dahlia hadn’t survived long enough for bypass surgery. She’d had far too many medical problems to get through what might have otherwise been an uncomplicated surgery.
This was only the second time Mel had seen Cheryl since she’d entered an alcohol-treatment program over six months ago and the change in her still startled Mel and brought a bright smile to her lips. When Cheryl walked into the clinic, despite the fact that she had just lost her mother, Mel nearly beamed at her. She had to quickly reel in the reaction. This was not a time to grin stupidly. But Cheryl looked so good—fresh, healthy, pretty. It was hard to imagine her the way she’d been when Mel first met her, slouched and dirty, wearing men’s clothes, looking bruised both physically and emotionally.
“Hi, Mrs. Sheridan,” she said. “Did you hear the news about my mother?”
“I did, Cheryl. I’m so sorry for your loss. We did all we could.”
“Of course you did, as did the other doctors. My mother was very sick. Really, she didn’t stand a chance. And she wouldn’t even consider medical treatment before. Truthfully, I don’t think she thought she needed any. And between my father and I, we weren’t alert or smart enough to know, either.”
“This must be a very difficult time for you,” Mel said.
“It is. And challenging, but I have it worked out, sort of. My dad has gone to live with his brother in Yuba City, on the other side of the mountains. I have to deal with the house. It’s mine now. I can’t support my dad, so he’s better off with his brother and Medicare. That’s the best we can do. He has a ton of health problems, too. He has serious emphysema, among other things.”
“Will you move home?”
She shook her head. “I’m never living in that house again. I’m done with that part of my life. I have a decent job in Eureka and someday I might even have my own place.”
“Are you still living in your group home?” Mel asked.
“Well, I have roommates. We’re all in the same program, so it’s like a group home, but not official. I’d sell the house, but it’s just not salable. It’s falling down. I’m going to clean it out of trash. I brought some friends to help,” she said, jerking her chin over her shoulder toward the street in front of the clinic. “I’m going to stop by Jack’s and ask him if he has a problem with us filling up that Dumpster. Most of the junk left behind by my dad will be tossed and we’ll take the bigger stuff to the dump in the back of the pickup.”
“I’m sure Jack will be happy to let you use the Dumpster if it’ll help.”
“As long as we can close the lid when we’re done. Have to close the lid around here or wildlife will get in there and make a mess, disturb the town.”
“And then?” Mel asked.
She shrugged. “I might just let it go, the house. If I can’t keep up the taxes, I’ll lose it eventually, anyway. In the meantime, if anyone you know needs shelter, I can let them use it. As long as they’re not alcoholics or drug addicts. I can’t go along with that.”