Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (41 page)

He
knew he wanted to say yes, but it was definitely something he had to
consider first. Was he ready for that responsibility? On one hand, he
was actually heart broken that he didn't actually have a son...on the
other hand, he wasn't sure that he wanted to take on the heavy task
of making sure Cameron went to a family who would do him well.
Technically, it was no longer his concern.

“Ye
will 'ave te let me think aboot all of this...it's...” Finlay
wanted to say that it was a lot to take in, but seeing all that Carla
was going through made his worries seem pale in comparison.

She
nodded and placed her shaking hand atop of his. “I expect that
ye would think about it, Finlay, but please...don't think too long.
I've no' got much time.” Carla did her best to put on a smile,
but she knew she would more than likely never leave the hospital.
Finlay gave her hand the softest of squeezes and nodded.

“Aye.
I'll be back.”

*****

“I'll
call you if anything changes, Mr. Shaw.” A different brunette
woman than before took the clipboard from Clay's hand and set it down
in front of her. Clay shook his head back and forth and ran both of
his hands through his hair with a heavy sigh. Abby wasn't healing as
well as they'd all hoped, and all they could do, was wait.

“No,
I'm not leaving her again.” Since the incident had happened,
Clay had spent the night going back and forth between the animal
hospital and his casino. He truly was tired, but he tried to hide it.

“Clay...”
Morgan put her hand on his shoulder and he turned to face her. His
eyes were filled with more emotions than she could count; hurt, love,
stress...she could even see the anger, anger for the man who had done
such a thing to his best friend. Above everything though, even
through his worry, she could see his exhaustion.

“Morgan,
I'm not leaving her.” He shook his head again and walked past
Morgan, to one of the empty chairs in the lobby. She followed him and
sat down next to him. “She needs me and I'm not going to leave
her alone.”

Morgan
nodded and chewed her bottom lip, but she wasn't going to give up.
“She won't be alone. I'll stay with her.”

Once
more, his head moved back and forth. “I can't let you do that.
It's not your respon..”

“Clay,
I'm not going to be here very long, and when I leave, she
is
going
to need you and you're going to be no good to her if you haven't
slept in two days.” He stared down at his hands for a moment,
not saying a word. “Look at me,” Morgan whispered and
took one of his hands between hers. His head slowly moved up and he
met her eyes. “I promise, I won't leave her.”

Finally,
his head moved again, but it was a slight nod. He knew she was right.
It had already been almost two days since he'd slept and there was no
way he'd be able to function if he didn't get some rest.
“I...wait...you can't... ”

“What
about me? I'm fine.”

“You
haven't slept either.”

“I
slept on the plane,” she lied. It didn't matter, she could
sleep there or sleep when Clay returned. It wasn't a big deal. “Come
on,” she put on a smile and stood, then grabbed Clay's hands.
There was the slightest glint of a smile as she pulled him to his
feet, but it disappeared just as quickly. Morgan continued to hold
his hands as she slowly walked backward toward the door, pulling him
with her. Once the two were outside, she gave him a brief kiss on
his cheek, then told him to leave. “Go on...I'll call
if...just...go. Get some rest and some food....and a shower.”
She laughed softly, trying to lighten the mood, not only for his
sake, but her own too.

Morgan
always tried her best to make people feel better, and at that moment,
it worked. “I'll bring you dinner.” He nodded and quickly
left, before he changed his mind. She bit her lip again as she
watched him pull out of the parking lot, and once he vanished from
her view, she finally let out a long breath of air.

“She'll
be fine,” she whispered, letting the wind carry her words to
the man. Morgan turned and went back into the hospital, then
immediately made her way back down the hallway to where Abby was
being held.

The
beautiful red Doberman was a bit more alert and lifted her head as
soon as she heard footsteps, but Morgan quickly got to her side to
prevent her from getting up. “I'm here girl, relax.” Her
hand went through the bars again and she placed it at the bottom of
her neck, scratching softly. She wasn't satisfied with only having
access to Abby through the bars of the cage for long though. Within
a few minutes, Morgan had Abby out of her cage and beside her on a
large fluffy blue bed that reminded her of a cloud.. “You don't
need to be in there.” Abby placed her chin on Morgan's leg and
closed her eyes and Morgan placed her hand on Abby's head and did the
same. There, against the far wall of the holding room, the two girls
laid together, sound asleep.

The
doctor walked in shortly after, just to check Abby one last time
before allowing her to be released from her crate. He smiled down at
the pair, and walked quietly out of the room.

Chapter
Three

Morgan
and Abby slept in that position until early that afternoon. They
would have stayed that way for hours more if Abby wouldn't have
needed to be checked, but Morgan was actually grateful for the gentle
wake up call. Feeling the dog's healthy breathing against her leg
was a great indication that she was doing well, and Morgan smiled
down before making another move. “Wake up, pretty girl.”
Abby opened her eyes, and her little tail moved with more speed than
it had earlier. “That's it.. you're fine. Yes you are.”

She
stretched slightly under Abby's head, then bent down and kissed the
tired dog on her snout. “You be a good girl and let them check
you.” She gave Abby one more kiss, then slid out from
underneath her, letting the Vet take over. “I'm going to get
something to eat... I'll be right back.” Morgan spoke to the
Vet, but kept her gaze on Abby as the assistant started to remove the
bandage around the dog's chest.

“No
need to rush, we have to get her up and run a few tests. There's a
great place right across the street, take your time.” The
assistant stopped moving the bandage and was clearly waiting for
Morgan to leave. It wasn't something that anyone wanted her to see.
Morgan nodded quickly, and left the recovery room, then made another
turn to the restroom. The mirror, once again, reflected a disheveled
girl that only smiled in return.

“I
know... I need a cosmetic
cuz that shit ain't cute.
”
She smiled after mocking Angel, and quickly took care of nature's
call. She also took one extra minute to straighten her ponytail
before leaving the small room, then she took her phone out of her bag
and left the building in search of food.

Abby
was doing so well that all Morgan wanted to do was call Clay to let
him know, but it was only three o'clock, and she had to let him sleep
as much as he could. “Okay, food, then Clay.” She
nearly ran across the street, and skipped onto the sidewalk with a
renewed sense of happiness that Abby was out of the woods, at least,
so far.

*****

Finlay
had never stopped thinking about the favor that Carla had asked, and
his mind ran through every possible problem that could arise. He
knew nothing about babies, and he would be on his own until Janet,
Carla's sister, could take legal custody. He had already asked his
lawyer a litany of questions, and to the best of his knowledge, the
process could take from a few weeks to a few years. His work hours
would need to change, and so would his habit of flying halfway across
the globe at the drop of a hat.

The
man paced through his house until he nearly drove himself mad, and
the worst part about the whole situation was that he couldn't tell a
soul. What he was being asked to do was illegal, and he wouldn't put
anyone he knew in a bad position of ever knowing the truth. He
opened a bottle of scotch to help calm his mind, but two drinks in,
he realized that he already knew the answer. “I can't do it.”
He spoke the words quietly in his empty living room, hoping to
convince the last part of his mind that it was the truth. He would
jeopardize everything that he'd worked for, and would have to lie for
the rest of his life. “His da' has the rights.” Finlay
stood and paced again, telling himself that Carla's ex might not be
such a bad guy, perhaps she was just being overly sensitive, or she
was hoping that Finlay would feel some responsibility to look after
Cameron over the years if she involved him now. He wasn't going to
think about it any longer, he put the bottle down and grabbed his
keys, then left the house to tell Carla of his final decision.

He
arrived at the hospital when visiting hours were nearly over, but
with the fifteen minutes that he had, he planned to tell her how he
felt. Finlay started to open the door, but was stopped by a nurse
who asked him to wait for just a few moments. He nodded, knowing
that she must have been in the middle of something personal right
then. Finlay stepped back and leaned against the wall. He felt
relieved of his decision, but telling her wouldn't be that easy. He
turned his head away from the door and his eyes roamed the long hall
and rested on the large glass wall to the nursery. Baby Cameron was
there, and he began to wonder what would become of the little guy.
Almost without thinking, Finlay pushed off from the wall and walked
down the hall, then stopped in front of the window.

“I'm
sorry, Cameron. I wish ye well.” He meant the words that he
whispered, the words that fogged the glass in front of his face, and
he wiped it away to take one more look at the beautiful sleeping
baby.

“Which
little bastard is yers?” A skinny man that reeked of dirty
clothes and stale liquor, pointed at the glass as he spoke. Finlay
didn't answer him, he instead, just looked back in the direction of
the babies. The stinking man spoke again, “that one's mine, at
least I think it is.” He pointed in the general direction of
the nursery, and Finlay could see that the man was completely wasted
on something. “Not worth much are they?” He snorted in
laughter as if he had said something amusing, then wiped his nose on
the back of his hand before muttering more words. “But mine's
worth somethin'... I'll get some money when his ma dies.”
Finlay's heart pounded through his chest and he could feel the
pulsing throughout his entire neck. He was looking at Cameron's
biological father, and he felt rage for what the man thought of his
own son.

“Which
babe is yers, again?” Finlay wanted to be sure, and kept his
composure as much as he could. If the opposing man wouldn't have been
so high, he would have seen the signs of a man on the edge. However,
he was high, and noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

“That
one. Cameron. Stupid name, that one. I reckon I'll change it.”
Finlay's fists tightened at his sides, and he let out a laugh that
should have scared the much smaller man in front of him.

“Ye
must be out of yer mind, man. That boy is mine!” Finlay
stomped away, hoping that he could keep his temper under control, and
walked straight into Carla's room with Troy following closely behind.
“He says the boy is his, tell him the truth.” Finlay
pointed to Troy, and then looked back at a wide eyed Carla. Her eyes
darted between the men, then she wet her lips as her small voice was
finally found.

“It's
true, Troy. The babe is his.” Her head dipped in Finlay's
direction, and Troy watched as Finlay's chest moved with each deep
breath that he took.

“Look,
I heard it's mine. I want a test... or somethin'.” He
nervously looked back at Finlay as the larger man took two steps in
his direction.

“Ye'll
not get near my son. Do ye understand me,
Mate
?” Troy
stepped back, and he could see the true threat of a man that would be
good on his word. He shook his head back and forth quickly, and
stepped back again.

“I...
that's what I heard...,” he looked back at Carla who was still
dumbfounded by the entire scene, “she's nothing but a whore
anyway... yer probably not the da' either, mate.” Finlay
stepped forward again, and Troy ran from the room without speaking
again.

“Well,
looks like ye made yer decision.” Carla smiled weakly and sat
back against her pillows. “I'll see ye through this, Finlay.
I promise ye that.” Finlay walked to the side of the bed, his
whole body buzzed with adrenaline. There was an ounce of remorse for
his haste decision, but he had made it, and Finlay Campbell would
never go back on his word.