“I think you’re better off,” Vanni said.
“Oh, I’m sure of it. Did you know that I met him while he was in recovery from drug addiction? For a little while, he was wonderful. Sweet and charming and going to meetings every day. By the time we’d been married six weeks, he was back on tour, using again. But I screwed up, Vanni. I signed a prenuptial agreement. A very simple and uncomplicated one—if I remained faithful during our marriage, in the event of divorce I could collect alimony. There was no reason for a promise like that to make me nervous.
“But—his lawyer presented me with bills. Credit cards—credit cards that I didn’t even have! I immediately owed thousands of dollars, tens of thousands. I needed that alimony. To pay my share of
his
bills.”
“Oh God, the turd! Of course you did,” Vanni said. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about that.”
“I don’t,” she said. She smoothed her hands over her belly. “This happened right before I signed the papers, before the divorce was final. It’s irrelevant that he was already living with another woman.”
“Who’s the father?” Vanni asked as delicately as she could.
“I’m not able to talk about that, Vanni. I’m sorry. It was, in fact, a one-night stand with a complete stranger. A completely lovely, tender stranger. If I wasn’t pregnant, I’d get in touch with him, get to know him better. I could take my time figuring out if he’s really a lovely man—months and months longer than I gave Ross. But now it’s too big a risk,” she said. “He would know he’s the father. And what if he’s not as wonderful as he seemed? Vanni, I don’t really know anything about him except that he was nice to me for one night. Jeez, Ross was nice to me for longer than that and look at what he turned out to be. I just can’t take the chance. I can’t subject the babies to that.”
“Babies?” Vanni asked.
Abby looked down. “I just found out. Twins,” she said.
“Holy cow.”
“I know. That’s why I’m so big already.”
“So—what’s your plan?” Vanni asked.
“I have to hide out somewhere until the babies are at least a few months old. I figure after they’re here, no one on Ross’s legal team can prove I defied the prenup and ask me for the alimony back—but if anyone representing him discovers I’m pregnant, they might be able to subpoena tests to determine when I conceived. It was a little more than a month before the divorce was final—I’m scared to death that can be proven. Vanni, I can’t pay those bills I’m stuck with.”
“Have you asked anyone? Like your OB?”
She nodded. “It’s possible to determine the date of conception from prenatal records. I need to disppear until those bills are paid and I stop accepting the alimony, until the babies are older and Ross’s lawyers lose interest…
“So,” she went on, “I took a year’s unpaid leave from the airline and I’ll look around here for something to rent. My change of address is to my mom’s in Seattle and she’ll collect my mail and send it to me. I put my mom on my account in Seattle, and to keep the trail cold, she’ll wire me cash for my living expenses. Just six more months. Or so.” She got tears in her eyes. “Vanni, I don’t want his money. But I don’t have any other way to pay those bills, to live.”
Vanni reached out and put her hand over Abby’s. “Don’t you dare feel guilty about that! Good God, Abby—he cheated on you, lied to you, used drugs…”
“Yes, but I got pregnant.” She shook her head. “Except for that money I need to cover his bills, I’m going to find a way to give it back to him. Eventually. I don’t
want his money. It’s like it’s stained. I just have to get beyond this. Then…”
“And you’re not renting something! You’re going to stay right here with us!”
“Oh, I can’t do that—”
“You’re not staying alone, pregnant with twins! I won’t allow it! Paul won’t allow it! We’re going to get you through this, help you regroup. We have a wonderful nurse midwife—Mel. You met her at Nikki and Joe’s wedding. But there’s also a fantastic OB right down the road in Grace Valley. And recently, a new pediatrician in town. An old friend, actually. So you see, everything is going to work out.”
Abby’s face melted into tears and she leaned into her hands, sobbing. Vanni immediately enfolded her in loving arms. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “No crying! We’re having babies! Wonderful little babies.” Matt crawled over to Abby, pulled himself up on her knees and began to pat her thigh, babbling. “That’s right—we never cry about babies.”
“Oh God, Vanni. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I not only shouldn’t be having one—there’s no way I should be having two! And God help me, I want them! I want them so much!”
Abby settled in with Vanni and Paul and got comfortable, feeling safe for the first time in weeks. She wasn’t quite ready to be introduced to the town. When they made their occasional trip into Virgin River to have dinner at Jack’s, she declined. She was still feeling embarrassed and shy about presenting herself as a single mother even though in this day and age it was hardly a rarity.
Later in January she was due a prenatal exam and made an appointment with Mel Sheridan. It was time to consider
her delivery options and resume her prenatal care, which she would pay for in cash.
When she had her appointment with Mel, she was as captivated as Vanni promised her she would be. And the professional way in which Mel handled her was refreshing. “Single mom, huh? That’s got it’s challenges, but you’re a lucky woman. Twins, good friends, perfect health, I can’t think what else you need.”
“I’m pretty nervous about the birth. I want them to be full-term, healthy, and then…”
“Have any idea how you’ll take care of them and work?”
“As soon as they’re big enough, I’m going home to my folks. My mom will help. She’s very excited.”
“That’s a good plan. With a supportive family, you should be able to work things out. There are options for you—you can have John Stone in Grace Valley deliver you at Valley Hospital or I can attend you in birth with John’s assistance. I don’t administer anesthesia, but honey, these are twins—they’re going to be smaller than the average birth. Probably quicker and earlier. We’ll keep up with ultrasounds to make sure they’re in the right position. And we have John Stone, in case we need anything special, like a cesarean. He’s wonderful. As luck would have it, we have a fabulous pediatrician. Did you know that Paul assisted in Vanni’s delivery of Mattie?”
“I heard something about that,” she said.
“It was a wonderful birth. We had a birthing party. Everyone was there, at the general’s house, waiting. Paul thought he couldn’t handle it, yet he was perfect.”
“This might be my only childbirth experience….”
“Oh, don’t try to plan ahead like that,” Mel advised. “You’re young. Fertile. You have a few years to change your mind.”
“This took me by surprise,” she admitted.
Mel laughed. “Yeah?” she said. “Both of mine took me by surprise, and I’m the expert. Get dressed and I’ll see you out front.”
Abby was feeling real good about her appointment as she dressed. She even felt better about coming out to the town. This was going to be okay, she decided. People were nice, accepting. Mel was everything a woman could want in a midwife—warm, humorous, delightful.
When she walked out front, Mel was waiting at the reception counter with Abby’s chart. “Everything looks great, Abby. Do you have enough vitamins or can I hook you up with a refill?”
“I’m good,” Abby said. “I brought a big supply from my last OB.”
“Good, then.”
At the exact moment Abby’s eyes grew round and startled, so did Cameron’s. They locked eyes. Cameron was sitting behind the reception counter at the desk, looking at the computer. He’d been with a patient in an exam room when she came in and hadn’t seen her.
Mel noticed they were looking at each other and said, “Abby, meet Dr. Michaels. Cameron, Abby MacCall.”
He stood. “Hello,” he said.
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
He came around the desk and put out his hand, which she took after some hesitation. “Abby…MacCall, was it?”
“Yes. Hi.”
“You’re staying here in Virgin River?” he asked.
“I’m visiting friends,” she said.
“I’m new here myself,” he said. “You’re going to like it.”
“Hmm. Well, I’m not staying long. I’d better get going.”
“See you around,” he said.
“Sure.” And she nearly ran out the door.
Cameron’s eyes were locked on her departure. When the door had been closed a few seconds, he pulled his eyes back to Mel’s.
“I thought she was here for the duration. Something weird just happened there.”
“Yeah,” he said. “How far along is Abby?”
“Four months. Why?”
He dropped his gaze, looking briefly at his feet. Then he lifted his eyes to Mel’s. “I know her. I know her pretty well, but I haven’t seen her in about…four months.”
“I’m a little confused.”
“Four months,” he repeated.
“You’d better clarify yourself.”
Cameron had had an indoctrination with Mel, training in this clinic so to speak, and knowing that she kept everything about patients strictly confidential, he said, “I think I might be the father.”
Mel’s eyes grew round and her mouth hung open. It took her a moment to recover.
“Where’s she staying?” Cameron asked.
“Vanni and Paul’s.”
“Oh fuck,” he said. “That baby’s mine,” he said, shaking his head.
“Babies,” she corrected. “It’s twins.”
He straightened abruptly, shocked. “Double fuck.” He took his coat off the rack inside the front door, picked up his medical bag, which would be like an extension of his arm from now on, and said, “I have to step out for a while. I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’m not expecting patients.”
“Um, wait,” Mel said. “Just one second.” She dashed behind the desk and got into the supply cupboard. She pulled out a couple of large plastic bottles of prenatal
vitamins. “Here,” she said, tossing them to him one at a time. “If you find yourself in a delicate spot, you can always pretend you’re delivering these.”
“Thanks, Mel. Hey, I’m sorry…”
She smiled. “Can I assume you two don’t have a…relationship?”
He returned the smile, but his was hurt. Melancholic. “Don’t assume anything right now. Except—we’ve got a…situation.” And then he was gone.
The knock on the Haggertys’ front door came not ten minutes after Abby returned from her visit with the midwife. She ignored it and kept folding her things to put into a suitcase. She had come home to find the house deserted. The doorbell rang, then there was more knocking, but Abby didn’t respond.
Rather than being worried about another confrontation with Cameron, the thing that occupied her most was what excuse she’d give Vanni for leaving so abruptly. She wasn’t prepared to say, “The man who knocked me up lives here!” Next, she worried—where would she go now? Nikki and Joe in Grants Pass was out of the question—too close to the scene of the crime. Cameron knew Nikki was Abby’s friend. Maybe some anonymous little town down the coast where she didn’t know anyone.
The knocking had stopped. Seconds later she heard, “You don’t have to run.”
She jumped in surprise and whirled around, her face ashen. “How did you get in?”
“The key under the flowerpot,” he said. “Same place I always kept mine. Pretty unimaginative. And pretty rare, this door locking in Virgin River. Abby, it’s too late for you to run.”
She lifted her chin, but her eyes were moist. She put a protective hand over her tummy.
He stepped into the bedroom doorway. “What are you so afraid of, Abby? You think I’d do something to hurt you? You know better than that. If I meant to hurt you, I had a perfect opportunity in Oregon.”
“Cameron, look, this is real complicated, and I can’t let it get more complicated. Please.”
He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. He leaned against the door frame. “Catch me up a little—tell me why you’d be so damn afraid of me making your life more complicated. And stop packing, for God’s sake. I’m not the enemy.”
She crumbled to the bed and, putting her face in her hands, began to weep. Cautiously, not making any fast moves, Cameron sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m not going to say or do anything to make you nervous or afraid,” he murmured. “If you don’t want anyone to know about us, about that night, I’ll never breathe a word,” he said softly.
“I never meant that night to happen,” she said, lifting her head to turn teary eyes to him. “I wasn’t waiting for you in front of the elevators. I was going to my room. I wasn’t about to spend the night with a stranger.”
“How did that night happen? How does a good friend of Vanessa’s end up in my town?”
“We were all there—it was our best friend Nikki’s wedding. Joe is Paul’s best friend. Even Jack and Mel were at the wedding.”
“Are you kidding me? And I didn’t see a single familiar face.”
“I wish you had,” she sniffed. “It would have saved us both a world of trouble.”
“I didn’t force you. It wasn’t a bad night for you. Not bad at all. And you already know—for me, it was wonderful.”
“It was a huge misunderstanding,” she said. “I’ve just been through a horrific divorce, complete with tabloid pictures.”
“I know. I read all about it. I was looking for you. I wanted another chance with you,” he said.
She turned toward him, desperately grabbed the front of his jacket in both hands and said, “If you know who I am, where I am and that I’m pregnant, and if you tell anyone those details, it could be very, very bad for me. You have no idea how bad.”
Cameron wanted to know everything, but there was no mistaking panic. If he backed her into a corner, even slightly, she could get away from him again. “I think you’re okay here, Abby. I don’t think anyone in Virgin River will make the connection.”
“But you did,” she said, letting go of his jacket.
“Yeah. But I was looking for you. And not for a bad reason.”
“I don’t even know you!”
“Well, that’s arguable. But we’ll go with your perception for now—you don’t know me well enough to give you peace of mind, but I’m pretty easy to check out. Probably lots easier than you were. So—you’re hiding? From him or from me?”