Baby Experts 02 (10 page)

“I might as well get the stuff I use on them and use it on
me.
It’s a heck of a lot cheaper than this special formula that doesn’t help a bit.”

“Special formula?”

“Some herbal company over in San Antonio made it up for me. Don’t change the subject. I’m not too old to notice.”

Her father was sixty-seven now, almost bald except for a fringe of gray circling his head. He was as active as he could be with his arthritis. “I wasn’t trying to change the subject. I needed time to think about the fact that you already knew Vince was in town. Why didn’t you just say so?”

He stopped rubbing and looked at her. “I wanted to hear you tell it, so I’d know what you were thinking.”

“And what am I thinking?”

“You’re feeling sorry for him and his boy. You’re already getting in too deep. I can tell by the way you say their names.”

“I’m not in too deep and I do
not
feel sorry for anyone. Vince is a great dad. You should see him with Sean.” She tried but couldn’t keep the defensiveness from her voice.

“That’s exactly what I mean. You can’t even talk about it without getting all mushy inside. I know you, Tessa.”

“So you know me, and I know you, better than we did twenty years ago. Any decisions I make this time will be without your influence.”

He sighed, soothing his shoulder and arm with his hand. “So you don’t want to hear what I have to say?”

“You can say whatever you want, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to your advice.”

He blew out a breath and put the lid on the jar. “Sometimes you are the most frustrating female.”

“I’m glad it’s only sometimes,” she teased.

After he pulled his shirt around him, he stuck his arm into the sleeve. “I didn’t think you’d stop in tonight after rounds.”

“Francesca and Emily went to a movie. I stopped in to sit for a while with that teenager who was in the accident. I just felt restless when I was done, so I came over here. Are you ready to turn in?”

“No.” He motioned to his feet. “I didn’t even pull off my boots yet.”

“I ran into Tim Daltry when I was speaking at the high school one evening. He said you gave his son a job.”

“Tim’s been my bookkeeper for as long as I can remember. He always does good work. His son’s a hardworking kid and he deserves a good education. I’m just helping him along a little.” Her dad rose, went over to his desk and picked up a pamphlet there. He brought it over to her and set it in her lap.

“What’s this?” It was a brochure about the Bureau of Land Management’s adopt-a-horse program.

“I’ve been doing some reading. The government’s thinning herds and they’ve no place for the horses to go. George Baldwin adopted one of them.”

George was a rancher her dad knew from a neighboring county.

“And?” she prompted.

“And he said they’re sturdy critters and wonderfully made. Their Spanish heritage shows. He e-mailed a picture of a mare. She’s a beauty. The thing is if these horses aren’t sold by the third auction—” He stopped. “You don’t want to know. So I thought maybe we could take a drive the day of the auction in August and bring one or two home. Rico can train them as well as the horses we have. They’ll take more time, of course. They have to be gentled with a slow, kind hand. You might even want to help.” His eyes twinkled at her.

“A father-daughter project?”

“We haven’t had one for a while. You need something to occupy your spare time. All you do is read those medical journals. You might as well be doing something worthwhile…until an adoption comes through.”

Her father had always known how much the child she’d lost had meant to her, and she’d told him when she’d gone through the process of filling out papers and being approved as an adoptive parent.

He added, “When it happens, why don’t you consider moving back in here with me. I’ve got this huge house to roam around in, and a kid should be around horses.”

“Oh, Dad, thanks for offering, but I don’t even know if an adoption’s going to come through. It might not be for another year or more. Besides, would you really want a child getting into your prized possessions, making noise, being up all hours of the night?”

After a long hesitation, he admitted, “I’d like this house filled with laughter again.”

She stood and looked into her father’s eyes that were as blue as hers. His face was weathered from years of riding horses in the sun. At almost six feet tall, and even with his thinning hair and lined visage, he could be imposing if he wanted to be.

“If I do adopt, if I’m blessed with a child, I promise we’ll be here every weekend, and you’ll hear laughter in the house again.”

She could have sworn his eyes grew a little misty, but he harrumphed, turned away from her and crossed to his desk. “Should I pencil you in on my calendar for the day of the auction?”

“You can pencil me in. If no emergencies crop up, I’ll be glad to go with you.”

“You sure you won’t be too busy helping out Vince Rossi?” he asked slyly.

“I’m sure.”

He pulled out his high-backed desk chair and sat in it, scribbling on the calendar on his desk. When he was done, he wheeled to face her. “Don’t set your heart down in front of his boots. Don’t let him trample it again.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’m not a teenager anymore.”

“No, you’re not. But where he’s concerned, I’m not sure you have any common sense.”

“You don’t know the man Vince has become. Don’t make judgments.”

“And you’re saying you
do
know him?”

“I know what I’ve seen, Dad. Actions always speak louder than words. He gave up his life—a life I think he liked—to take in this little boy. He’s changing it all around for him and he’s doing a good job. Nothing and no one is more important to him than Sean. He’s doing what every good parent should, putting his child first.”

“That’s right. A good parent does put his child first, whether the child likes it or not.”

Tessa shook her head. There were many things she and her dad would never agree on, but there were many things they did. She never doubted his love for her and she hoped he never doubted her love for him.

“So how about some gin rummy before I leave?” she offered.

“Are you still trying to win back the five hundred thousand toothpicks you owe me?”

“Better take a look at your records. I think I only owe you four hundred and twenty-five thousand now.”

Her dad laughed and pulled open his desk drawer to find a deck of cards. Tessa knew she was using a card game with her dad as a distraction. If she went home, she’d think about Vince. She’d relive his lips on hers as well as his hands on her skin. She wondered how Sean was today. She wanted to call, but she wouldn’t.
Don’t set your heart down in front of his boots,
her father had warned her.

That was advice she was going to try to take.

Vince had e-mailed Janet over the weekend telling her Sean’s surgery had gone well. He’d included a couple of photos from before surgery. She’d replied that she’d received the pictures and she’d call in a few days to inquire about her great-nephew.

That’s all it was, Vince told himself. She just wanted to make sure Sean hadn’t suffered ill effects from the surgery.

“Hello, Janet.”

“Vince. I’m sorry to bother you at work, but I want to make a decision about something and needed to talk to you.”

Vince kept a lid on musing about what that decision could be. “It’s okay, Janet. I have a few minutes.”

“First of all, how’s Sean?”

“He’s well. As I mentioned, he has to wear the sling for three weeks and we won’t be able to start real physical therapy until then. He’s energetic and alert and tries to crawl with one arm.”

“Soon he’ll be walking simply because it’s easier.”

“Could be.”

After a pause, Janet said, “The reason I’m calling is that my vacation is coming up—I have a month—and I thought this might be a good time to visit you and look in on Sean.”

At sixty, Janet had worked at an art gallery in Santa Fe most of her adult life. She’d never been particularly close to Scott and Carol, but maybe she regretted that now. Vince knew he had to tread carefully. After all, Janet was his son’s only living relative. “You’re welcome to come, of course, but I don’t know if I can show you around, with my position as chief of police being temporary and having already taken time off for Sean. And I’m working some overtime.”

“I see. Well, instead of being a burden, I’m sure I can help.”

“Help?”

“Yes. I can take some of the responsibility for Sean off your shoulders. You said you have a housekeeper-nanny, but if you’re spending more time at work, I’m sure she’d prefer a break, too.”

If he told Janet that Rhonda had slipped into the mode of grandmother for Sean, she might resent the fact. He didn’t know Janet Fulton very well so he wasn’t exactly sure how to handle her.

“When were you thinking about coming?”

“The week after next. I’m going to rent a car so you don’t have to worry about picking me up at the airport. I want to be able to get around on my own. I made reservations at a delightful bed-and-breakfast that gave me a week-to-week rate—the Blue Bonnet Inn. I spoke with the innkeepers, a retired couple who seem very nice.”

“I have a spare bedroom,” he offered reluctantly.

“Oh no, I don’t want to impose or disturb your routine. I plan to be a tourist while I’m there. I’ve never been to Texas. So I’ll be in and out.”

In and out. No, she wouldn’t be disrupting his life at all. “If you change your mind and want me to meet your flight, just let me know.”

“I’ll e-mail you when I finalize everything. But I think I’d prefer to rent a car and be on my own.”

After, “It was good talking to you,” and a friendly goodbye, they hung up.

Vince felt as if a lead stone had settled in his gut. Was Janet really just coming for a visit? Or was she coming to inspect his life with Sean?

If so, would it pass inspection?

After Tessa examined Sean, she let him play with the plastic dinosaur Vince had brought along for him. It was meant to keep him occupied while she checked him over.

“He came through surgery with flying colors,” she told Vince, hoping to allay any of his fears or worries.

“I can tell he can’t wait to get that sling off. I can understand that.” Vince paced back and forth in the small room.

“You’re all set for physical therapy?” she asked.

“All set. We have an appointment July sixth.” He continued to pace.

“Vince, what’s wrong?”

He stopped and looked surprised that she’d noticed.

“You’re as agitated as a horse cooped up in his stall for too long. Do you have concerns about Sean?”

“You don’t have time for this,” he said, going to his son and scooping him up into his arms.

She didn’t know exactly what had gotten into her, especially after her conversation with her dad, but she crossed to only a step away from him. “I have time.”

He blew out a breath and rocked Sean a bit to keep him happy. “His great-aunt is coming to visit next week. The only thing is, I don’t think it’s a visit. She’s coming to keep tabs on me, what kind of father I am, how Sean is relating to me.”

“She told you this?”

“She didn’t have to. If I don’t cover all the bases, she could try to take him away from me. I won’t let that happen.”

Tessa remembered finding out she was pregnant at seventeen, being thrust into parenthood feeling totally unprepared. Was that how Vince still felt? “What makes you think she’d have grounds?”

Frown lines etched Vince’s brow. “Maybe I’m not with Sean as many hours as I should be. Maybe I rely on Rhonda too much. Maybe the condo isn’t big enough, airy enough. Maybe I don’t have enough diapers. How in the hell should
I
know?”

“She might just be coming for a visit,” Tessa suggested calmly. Vince usually kept his emotions in check, maintained a calm exterior. He
must
be stressed.

“I have a gut feeling about this, and I can trust my gut.”

Trying to be helpful, Tessa asked, “Do have the condo baby-proofed? The cabinets baby-locked or empty of anything he could hurt himself with?”

“Of course I do, and I’ve got enough food for the next year. Rhonda makes sure everything’s clean. I don’t think he needs more toys. I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about the things that matter. Am I doing those? How’s a real father supposed to act? What would a real dad do with his son at this age?”

“Whoa!” Her gaze met his and didn’t waver. “You
are
a real dad, Vince. You play with Sean, don’t you? You do his exercises with him. You feed him when you’re home. Those are all the things you should be doing.”

“What else?”

She thought about it. “There is something that moms sometimes do to socialize their babies. Can you find an hour or two during the week to spend with Sean and with other children and their parents?”

“I’ll find the hour or two. Where do I go and what do I do?”

Tessa almost smiled. Vince had always been a bottom-line, give-me-the-direct-route kind of person. “Let me make some inquiries. We have parent-and-child groups that meet here at Family Tree. I’ll get a list for you, and you can see which one fits into your schedule the best.”

“I know I’ve said this before, Tessa, but I am grateful for your help.”

She really hadn’t helped that much. She’d just shown him which way to turn. “If you just do what you’ve been doing, if you put Sean’s concerns first, his great-aunt will have nothing to complain about.”

Vince tenderly ruffled his baby’s hair, then hiked him to his shoulder. “I hope that’s true. My life is very different now than it used to be. I love Sean and I’m going to fight for him.”

The intensity and passion she’d always loved in Vince was flaring high right now. She could understand his wanting to fight for Sean, for a different life and a home for the two of them. But she had to wonder. Why hadn’t he fought for their marriage? Why hadn’t he fought for their future? Had he not loved her enough? Had he loved her at all? Or had he simply felt it was his duty to marry her and to take over the responsibility of a child? Had she been so mistaken about the life they could have had?

There was no point wondering about it now. There was no point trying to relive what couldn’t be rewritten.

Now it was Vince’s turn to ask, “What’s wrong?”

There was no way she was going to tell him what she’d been thinking. She glanced at her watch. “I don’t want to be late for my next patient.”

Vince’s jaw set and he patted Sean’s back. “I won’t hold you up. I didn’t mean to take up so much of your time.”

She was quick to assure him, “Vince, it’s all right. I told you, I’ll help you any way I can.”

They were walking a tightrope between the past and the future, between being friends and being more, between not being involved and falling over the cliff into something that had hurt them before.

Yet she couldn’t let Vince leave with him thinking she didn’t care, with him thinking that Sean was just another patient. “When Sean’s great-aunt arrives, if there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to call me. I mean it, Vince.”

After a long look, he gave a nod, said, “I’ll keep that in mind,” and left the office.

Tessa doubted that he’d call her again. He’d always had plenty of pride and that pride was one of the reasons their marriage had broken up.

With a sad feeling wrapping around her heart, Tessa picked up Sean’s chart and carried it out to the receptionist.