Angel's Rest (37 page)

“I’m good. I’m wonderful. This was so nice of you all to do. I can’t thank you enough.”

“You are very welcome. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Celeste walked over and smiled at Nic and Ali. “I think we’re just about done. Ali, we need you to tell us where to take the trash bags, and Nic, it’s time for you
to make a decision. Where do you want your gifts? At your place here in town or at home in Eternity Springs?”

Nic’s gaze zoomed in on the cradles. Sarah had mentioned earlier that Gabe was still living up at Eagle’s Way. She licked her lips, then looked at Sage, who silently read the question in her eyes and nodded.
Yes, it will be safe for your babies to be born closer to home
.

Sarah slipped her arm through Nic’s and said, “Whatever you want, Nic. Know that I have your back.”

Nic drew a deep breath, then made her decision. “Home. Take it all home to Eternity Springs. We’ll be there the beginning of next week.”

On the twelfth of September, Nic returned to Eternity Springs. The trip from Denver took three hours longer than usual since she’d had to stop what seemed like every ten minutes to pee. She rode with Sage while Sarah and Tiger drove Nic’s truck for her. When they pulled up in front of Nic’s house, she took one look at her home and burst into tears. “Honey?” Sage asked.

“I’m okay. Just so glad to be home.”

Sarah pulled the truck into Nic’s driveway and opened the door. Tiger bounded out barking and bounding around the yard. “Looks like he’s happy to be home, too,” Sage said.

“Yes,” Nic agreed. “I know he missed the freedom to roam he had here at …” Her voice trailed off as she noted an addition to her yard. “Is that a doghouse? With a deck?”

Sarah joined Nic and Sage and shook her head. “I told him the deck was overkill.”

Nic walked closer and read the sign hanging above the opening. “ ‘Tiger’s Den’? Who built this?”

“Gabe.”

“Gabe? You’re kidding.” She stared at her friends in disbelief. “That sounds like he’s calling the dog by name.”

“Something like that.” Sarah shrugged. “Larry Wilson says he came into the hardware store and bought a
dog collar and an engraved tag that said Tiger and listed your address. But he also bought a tag that said Clarence with your address. There’s a sign on the other side of the doghouse that says Clarence’s Castle.”

How many times had Nic heard Gabe say that he didn’t name things he didn’t intend to keep? Too many to count, that’s for sure. And now two names? “Why give the boxer two names?”

“Larry said Gabe wanted to talk to you first. He didn’t want to change the boxer’s name if it would be a problem for the dog.”

Nic took another long look at the elaborate doghouse and shook her head. “Clarence?”

She heard the familiar whistle as Gabe came around the back corner of her house. He wore faded jeans and a paint-stained blue chambray work shirt that had two artist’s brushes sticking up from the pocket. Seeing the women, he stopped abruptly. His gaze moved hungrily over Nic. “You look beautiful, Nic. Welcome home.”

She was tired and uncomfortable and cranky. Overwhelmed. She wasn’t prepared to deal with Gabe right now. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“I was finishing up a project inside. I thought you were coming home tomorrow, not today. I’m so glad—” He paused when Tiger came running up, then stopped beside Nic and barked at Gabe. His lips twisted in a sad smile and he finished, “It’s good to see you, Nic.”

She felt bad for him. She couldn’t help it. She knew that coming back to Eternity Springs meant she had to deal with him, to allow him a place of some sort in her life. She knew that coming home was a tacit agreement to allow him to be part of the babies’ births. And yet she didn’t have the energy to tackle the problem of Gabe Callahan right now. She wanted to go inside, take a bath in her own bathtub, and have a nap in her own bed.

“Gabe, I’m tired. Give me a little time, and then we’ll talk. Okay?”

“Sure.”

He nodded to Sarah and Sage, then walked away. Nic told herself that her urge to cry was a result of fatigue, even though she didn’t really believe it.

Walking into her house cheered her. Someone had cleaned and dusted the place—she smelled lemon on the air. Celeste or Ali, perhaps? Or had that been the project Gabe mentioned? Somehow she couldn’t see him wielding a feather duster.

Sage and Sarah carried her bags inside for her, then prepared to leave. “See you at Angel’s Rest tomorrow?” Sage asked.

“Absolutely. I still can’t believe Celeste delayed the grand opening a week to give me a chance to be there.”

“If you’re not busy doing something else, that is,” Sarah said, giving her belly a pat.

“Thanks for all the help, you guys. I love you both.”

“Glad to do it.” Sarah headed for the door. “Love you, too, little mama.”

Feeling anything but little, Nic stuck out her tongue at her best friend in the world.

Sage laughed and said, “Call me if you have any questions or concerns and I’ll be here in a jiffy. Otherwise, see you tomorrow.”

Alone, Nic climbed the stairs to her bedroom, where she found the furniture rearranged to accommodate the two cradles, now trimmed with yellow gingham bedding that matched the window curtains in her room. “Oh,” she murmured. “It’s perfect. They’re perfect.”

That made her want to play with her shower gifts. Walking to the guest room she expected to use as a nursery, she found it as she’d left it and empty of presents. Thinking he must have put her shower gifts in the room
he’d used before they began sharing a bed, she looked there next. But no, nothing there, either.

“Where’s my stuff?” she grumbled aloud, feeling put out. “What did he—”

She broke off abruptly. Gabe. Paintbrushes in his pocket. Finishing up a project inside. In that moment, she knew where she’d find her gifts.

Nic walked to the end of the hallway and opened the door that led to the unfinished attic. She flipped on the light switch and gasped aloud. The attic wasn’t merely finished. It had been transformed.

He’d chosen a mountain wildlife theme for the nursery that suited the space to a T, and he’d included two sets of everything—two cribs, two dressers, two changing tables, and even two full-size rocking chairs. Both rockers sported cushions that had been embroidered with two words:
Mama Bear
on one,
Papa Bear
on the other.

“Oh, Gabe,” she said with a sigh. She sat in the Mama Bear rocker, rubbed her belly, and that’s when she saw the mural on the wall. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, two Baby Bears, and a crooked-tailed boxer sprawled at their feet. Papa Bear held a T-square. Mama Bear had a stethoscope draped around her neck. In the sky to the right, a happy-faced sun shined down upon them. In the sky to the left, two silhouettes with angel wings sat perched at the apex of a rainbow.

Gabe walked as far as St. Stephen’s church before turning around. Although he was determined to be patient and give Nic the time she needed to trust him again, he was up against a deadline that in the past few weeks had become vitally important to him. He desperately wanted to witness the birth of his children.

He realized he’d forfeited that right when he’d acted like an ass and deserted her at the hospital. For that matter,
he’d been skating on thin ice from the very beginning with her. But he’d dealt with his demons and put them behind him, and he was ready to be a father to the twins. Nic needed to know that. Today. Now.

From the looks of her, she might pop at any moment.

By the time he reached Nic’s house, Sage’s car was gone. He knocked on the door and stepped inside. “Hello?”

He heard no immediate response or conversation. Sarah must be gone now, too. Good. Nic was probably upstairs. She might have lain down to take a nap, but he doubted she’d gone to sleep this fast.

He climbed the stairs and headed for what for a short time had been their bedroom. Before reaching it, he noted the attic door was open. She’d found it already. He wiped his suddenly sweaty palms on his pants before climbing the stairs to the nursery.

She sat in a rocker, the dog at her feet. In the soft light beaming through the dormer window, she appeared luminous and luscious and ripe. Staggeringly beautiful.

She opened her eyes, luminous blue pools of emotion he could not identify. “Why did you do this?”

“Is it okay? Do you like it?”

“I asked first.”

“Okay.” He shoved his hands in his back pockets and paced the length of the room. “I won’t try to make any more excuses for my behavior, Nic. You have every right to hate me for leaving you that day. I know I can’t make up for the hurt I caused you, but I wanted to do more than just apologize. Words are important, but they’re not everything. Like the saying goes, actions speak louder. I looked for a way to prove to you that I won’t let you and the babies down again.”

“So you sent the cradles.”

“Yes.”

“You went to childbirth classes by yourself.”

“I did.”

Her gaze broke away from his and he watched her as she studied the walls. “You’re an excellent artist.”

“Architects learn how to draw. I considered asking Sage to paint the murals, but …” He shrugged. “I wanted to do them.”

“Why?”

Gabe’s heart began to pound. It was one thing to admit it to himself or to Celeste, but something else entirely to say it to Nic. To commit to Nic.

Last chance, Callahan. If you have any doubts at all, you need to keep your lips zipped
.

He waited a beat, searched within himself, then smiled.

“Why?” he repeated. “Because it was a labor of love.”

He walked over to her, went down on one knee, took her hand, and kissed it. “I’m not afraid to love those babies anymore. I love them. I want to be there when they’re born. I want to help you raise them. I want to be their dad.”

Tears swam in her eyes and she swallowed hard. Gabe went down on both knees and claimed both her hands. Held them tight. “I said this before, but my timing stank, so maybe you’ll get the message better now. Nic, I’m not afraid to love you anymore, either. I love you. I am in love with you. Please, give me another chance. Give us another chance. I won’t let you down again. You have my word. My oath.” He kissed one hand and then the other. “Nic, you have my heart. Please, be my home.”

A single, glistening tear slipped from her eyes and trailed slowly down her cheek. “I think this time I’m the one who is afraid.”

“Don’t be afraid, sweetheart. Just believe. Believe in love.”

She smiled crookedly. “If you have fireworks set to go off, I’m going to think something’s really fishy.”

He took a risk. “I think we have to wait at least four weeks after the babies are born for the fireworks. At least, that’s what they said in my childbirth class.”

She gave a little smile that broke his heart but at the same time gave him hope, so he persisted. “When I came to Eternity Springs, I’d lost my ability to believe in anything but pain. This place healed me. You healed me. Your love healed me.”

Her lips pouted, and with a touch of petulance in her voice she replied, “I never told you I loved you.”

Not gonna make it easy for me, are you?
But he had won. He could see it in her eyes, the subtle softening of her body. He kissed her hands, gently nipped her skin, and said, “Then tell me now.”

She wrinkled her nose and kept her mouth stubbornly silent.

“I love you, Nicole,” he repeated. “You are my heart, my soul, my world. You and Eternity Springs have taught me an invaluable lesson. Even if tragedy strikes my life again and God takes you away from me, as horrible as that would be, I know that I’d survive it. Love can hurt, but if you’ll let it, love also can heal. It truly is a miraculous medicine. You believe that, too, don’t you?”

When she nodded, her eyes now swimming in tears, he said, “That’s why I know that eventually you’ll forgive me. Love heals. Now, my love, you say it. Tell me you love me.”

She reached out, grasped the silver medal that hung around his neck, and rubbed her thumb over the angel’s wings. Then she released the medal and tenderly touched his cheek. “I do love you, John Gabriel Callahan. I forgive you. Just don’t do anything so stupid again, okay?”

“I won’t. I promise. I love you. And since I’m on a roll here, there is something else I want to ask you. Have you chosen names for the babies yet?”

“You want to name the babies?”

“I’d like some input.”

Gladness filled her expression, but her lips twitched. “I don’t know, Gabe. You haven’t exactly made me confident with the name you chose for Tiger. I mean, really, Clarence? Why Clarence?”

“He was the angel who saved George Bailey in
It’s a Wonderful Life
. Seems like an appropriate choice. That dog saved me.” He kissed her hands one more time. “That dog and
you
saved me.”

This time she didn’t try to hide her smile. “Okay, that makes sense. And actually, Clarence fits him better than Tiger.”

“Will it confuse him if we change his name, Dr. Delicious?”

She rolled her eyes but shook her head. “No, he’s smart. It’ll be fine. However, as far as baby names go … what are you thinking?”