Unbreakable (22 page)

Chris looked exasperated, his eyes dark under a furrowed brow. “Maureen and I don’t want Drake involved in Liam’s life. I thought you understood that.”

“I do, and Drake does as well,” I said, “but I know that Drake would treasure a photograph of Liam. He saved Liam’s life.” I let that sink in for a moment. “The least you both could do is let him have a picture of his son.”

“Biological son, nothing more,” Chris said tersely. “I’m his father and have been since he was born.”

“Of course,” I said quickly. “And Drake knows that. He thinks you’re both great parents and has agreed not to try to become involved in Liam’s life. But still, a picture wouldn’t hurt. Liam doesn’t have to know anything about this.”

Chris exhaled loudly. “I’ll talk to Maureen, but I really think you’re imposing on our good nature to ask.”

“You didn’t hesitate to impose on Drake’s good nature when you needed a donor. This is the least you could do,” I said again, affronted that they were both so uncaring and unappreciative of what Drake had done.

“Go and wait there,” Chris said, pointing to the small waiting room off the nursing station. “I’ll talk to Maureen.”

I nodded and left, making my way back to the waiting room. I sat so I could watch the hallway and saw that Chris went back inside the room and then they both came out, their gowns still on. They stood outside the room and spoke together, leaning in close.

Maureen had her hands on her hips, and didn’t look at all pleased. Finally, she stomped down the hallway towards me while Chris went back into Liam’s room.

“I can’t believe you’re really here. You have a lot of nerve.”

That was all she said and then she stood and glared at me.

“I’m no threat,” I said, holding my hands up. “Drake doesn’t know I’m here. He has no interest in bothering you or Chris or Liam. I’m doing this for Drake so he has something to remember Liam by. Just a photo. I could take one with my iPhone and be gone in three minutes.”

“What am I going to tell Liam?”

I shook my head, trying to come up with something on the fly. “I don’t know—tell him that I’m a journalist writing articles about kids who have survived cancer.”

She shook her head and stared at me for a moment.

“Three minutes,” she said and turned on her heel. “And if you even dare come back and try to see Liam, I’ll call the police.”

I followed her down the hall and into the anteroom where I put on a gown and mask, before entering the room through a door.

Liam was sitting up on his bed, his Gameboy on the table. Chris stood when we entered.

“Liam, this lady is going to take a picture of you for a magazine article she’s writing on kids with cancer,” Maureen said. “Is that okay?”

“Sure.” Liam glanced at me and the resemblance to Drake hit me right in the gut. Those pale blue eyes and dark eyelashes… Drake’s son. Of that there was no doubt. It made my chest constrict.

“Hi, Liam,” I said and smiled at him. “I’m just going to take a quick picture and then I’ll be gone.”

I stood at the end of the bed and Maureen fussed with Liam’s pajama top and smoothed his hair, which had a rooster tail in it from lying down. I zoomed in the image and snapped a picture, then another and another just to be on the safe side.

“That’s all I need,” I said and smiled again. “I’m on my way.”

I tucked my phone away and left the room, returning to the anteroom to remove the gown and mask. Maureen followed me, but didn’t remove her gown or mask.

“He’s still sick and will always be fragile but I guess Drake can tell you about that. Please, tell Drake that just because I let you take a picture it doesn’t mean I want him to be in Liam’s life. Drake didn’t want children when we were together so he can’t expect me to be happy if he tries to insert himself into Liam’s life now.”

I turned to her, my anger getting the better of me. “Do you blame him for not wanting a family? He had no mother for most of his life. His father neglected him. He was raised by nannies and housekeepers.”

“I know, I know,” Maureen said, raising her eyebrows. “Poor little rich boy. I know the story better than anyone. I actually met Liam and he was a sweetheart. Charities in Africa, donating his time and skills. I don’t know how the hell he produced someone like Drake.”

“What do you mean, someone like Drake?” My blood was boiling at that point. “Someone like Drake saved Liam’s life. Someone like Drake is so good, he didn’t want to impose on you and Chris and be involved in his own son’s life even though he saved it.”

“That’s because he knows he could never be a real father.”

I felt tears spring to my eyes, my heart pounding from anger. “You’re wrong.”

Then I turned and left, unwilling to speak to her for another moment. I walked down the hallway, trying to get a grip on my emotions, as I was meeting Drake in a few minutes and didn’t want him to see that I’d been crying. I popped into one of the public washrooms and held a wet paper towel to my eyes, trying to stop the tears.

Finally
under some kind of self-control once more, I left the washroom and made my way through the hospital to the wing with Drake’s office. I popped my head into his office and saw he was busy flipping through papers in a file.

“Am I too early?”

He glanced up, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. “Never. Come in. I’m just putting some lab results back into files. We can go right away.”

I came in and watched the screen, which showed some OR technicians cleaning up after a surgery. “Was that your OR?”

He glanced up. “No,” he said. “I was just watching while I was reading over files.” Then he looked at me, frowning. “Are you all right? Your nose and eyes are red…”

“Allergy attack. Something must have bothered me. I think I sneezed ten times on the way over.”

If Drake doubted my fabricated explanation, he didn’t show it, and I heaved a sigh of relief. I wanted to keep the photo secret until Christmas Day, when I’d give him the photo under our Christmas tree.

“Let’s go,” he said and closed the file before coming to my side. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me, and I melted into his embrace. Of course, being in his arms like that brought out my emotions and my silly tears started again. I tried to cover my eyes and turn my head away, but he noticed and pulled back, frowning.

“Hey, hey,” he said and took my face in his hands. “What’s wrong? Don’t tell me it’s allergies.”

I half laughed and half-sobbed, coming up with something on the fly. “I was just thinking of poor little Liam and my emotions got the better of me. Plus, I’m a bit PMS…”

His face softened and he pulled me close once more, his face in the crook of my neck, his lips pressed there in a gentle kiss.

“Sweet, 
sweet
 Kate…”

He held me for a moment and then pulled back again, wiping the tears off my cheeks with his fingers. “I’ve been talking to Liam’s doctors and nurses, and he’s going to be fine. He’ll be staying for a couple more days and then will be discharged home.”

“That’s a relief,” I said, hoping that Drake bought my story about being sad for Liam, when I was actually sad for him.

Drake leaned down and kissed me, the kiss tender. “You are an angel.”

“Hardly,” I said, immediately feeling guilty that I’d lied to him about why I was crying. I’d confess when I gave him the picture.

“You are,” he said and pulled me into a quick hug. “Now let’s go and get something to eat. I’m starved. You need a margarita to improve your mood. How does that sound?”

I forced a smile. “Sounds like a plan.”

In the middle of the night, Drake turned on the bedside light and snuggled closer to me.

“Kate?” he whispered, kissing my shoulder. “Are you awake?”

I yawned and rolled over to face him. “I am now. What’s the matter? Can’t sleep?”

He pulled me into his arms, his chin resting on the top of my head. “Something like that. I woke up and can’t stop my mind from working.”

Usually, that meant he wanted to make love, but I felt no erection pressing into my belly. I ran my hand up his back. Maybe he was still upset about Liam and wanted to vent. We’d had a very enjoyable meal at our favorite restaurant and opened a bottle of wine when we got home, talking in quiet voices about Drake’s childhood before Louise left. He had some happy memories but they were few, for it was obvious that she couldn’t adjust to the loss of her first son.

Drake had been in a very thoughtful mood that night and I thought he’d want to make love but he hadn’t.

Now, he couldn’t sleep. “Too much alcohol?” I said, wondering if he wasn’t feeling well from the wine.

“No,” he said and stroked my cheek with his thumb. “ Too many thoughts.”

“What’s on your mind?”

He sighed heavily. “Kate, I don’t want to wait to have a family. I want a child now.”

My eyes widened at that and I didn’t know what to say. We had talked about having children when we first discussed marriage, but that was a few years off when I was finished with my thesis and we had done some more traveling. I pulled back and looked in his eyes.

“What made you change your mind?”

He shook his head, a sad expression in his eyes. “I realized when I saw Liam at the hospital, and today when you were crying about him, that life is too short to put off things that you want. I want to have children, Kate. I want a 
real
family – like you had with Ethan and your mom and Heath.”

I didn’t say anything, wanting to give him the chance to speak and explain how he felt.

“I know you wanted to finish your thesis first,” he said carefully, softly, “and I wanted to go back to Africa first, but there are no guarantees that we will even be able to have children.”

“Go on.”

“Something could happen to either of us and that would be it – waiting would mean we’d never have had children or be parents. You can always finish your thesis, and I can always go to Africa but we can’t always have children. I realized that I’ve missed every milestone with Liam. I’ll miss every milestone to come. I don’t want that to happen to us.”

I pulled him more closely into my arms and kissed him, happy that he felt able to reveal his fears to me. He was so afraid of turning into his father, but I knew that would never happen. He wanted to be like 
my
 father, the co-head of the household, involved and engaged in his children’s lives. As much as I rebelled against my father, I knew he was always there, like a fortress around our family, ready to protect us. I realized that after his stroke, and after how patient and understanding he was with Drake and with me.

If anything, Drake ran the risk of being too much the opposite of his father, and not having any fun in his life for fear of being like the carefree neglectful Liam.

“You’re not saying anything,” Drake said, pulling back to look in my eyes. “I want you to be completely honest with me. Tell me what you think about it. I need to know.”

“I want to make you happy,” I said, running my hands up his chest, his skin warm. “I want to have your children, if we can.”

“And your thesis?”

“I can still work on it while I’m pregnant, silly,” I said and smiled, squeezing him. “I’m working on the first chapter already. As long as I’m not sick as a dog, I should be able to finish it before the nine months are up.”

“Ten months,” he said. “It’s really ten months from your last period.”

“Yes, Doctor,” I said and laughed, squeezing him again. “Whatever you say.”

“You’re serious?” he said, searching my face as if he didn’t believe me. “You’re willing to try? Now?”

“Right this minute?” I said, smiling coyly. “My period is due tomorrow or the next day so, you’re out of luck for two more weeks…”

He laughed and pulled me into his arms. “Don’t take your birth control once your cycle is finished. You won’t likely get pregnant right away, because you’ve been on the pill for a while, but it’ll be fun to try.”

“This is all because of what happened with Liam? Have you really thought this through?”

He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, his arm still under my neck. I snuggled closer, my hand on his chest.

“I realized when I saw him on the hospital bed that he looked so much like me, with his dark hair and blue eyes. I felt such incredible love for him at that moment, even though I don’t even know him. I knew I’d do anything for him, even stay out of the picture until he was old enough to understand.”

He turned to look in my eyes. “I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to love children because I felt so neglected by my mother and father, but I was wrong. I could love children. I want them, sooner than later. We never know how much time any of us have. I don’t want to wait in case there’s no tomorrow.”

“Oh, Drake,” I said and snuggled even closer, squeezing my arm around his waist, my eyes filling with tears at his confession. “We don’t have to.”

He leaned down and kissed me and then he fixed me with his eyes. “I want you to think about this for the next week, and if you change your mind, I’ll understand. I’ll be sad, but I’ll understand.”

“I won’t change my mind,” I said. “I want everything with you, Drake. I want you to be the father of my children.”

He turned off the lamp and then kissed me warmly, deeply, and I thought he might want to make love, but he never made the first move and so I lay in his arms, filled with emotion for this wonderful man I had all to myself. He wanted me to have his children. He wanted us to be a real family. I wanted to give him that – something he never had growing up, despite all the wealth and privilege.

We fell asleep in each other’s arms, the light from the street filtering in through the curtains at the window.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Drake

Two weeks later…

Things had been going well since my wedding, and Lisa Monroe had been too busy with her residency to do anything more than walk down the hallways with me or sit beside me during our weekly conferences. As a consequence, I hadn’t spoken to Kate about Lisa, for if Lisa wasn’t going to be a problem, I didn’t want to make her one with Kate. If she did anything that raised my suspicion, I’d tell Kate right away, but until then, she was just an HR problem.