10. Plum
Plum
P edal to the metal. Ryder wasn’t going to be late for this one, or Zoe might as well boot him out of their baby’s life right now.
It’s not like he was going to be in the room anyway, at least not this time. According to his app, skin-to-skin and breastfeeding were important in those first few minutes, and guests probably weren’t invited. Haley wouldn’t want a crowd during that special moment.
Traffic was on his side for once, despite it being a Friday, and he soared into the regional hospital’s parking lot at three in the afternoon.
Fucking made it. Gene hadn’t exactly been thrilled, when Ryder took off at the tail end of the management team’s regular Friday morning meeting.
Had he attempted to bail even five minutes sooner, like while Gene was rattling on about teamwork, he’d have been forced to stay longer.
A family man, Gene had at least understood that Ryder wanted to be there for his sister, and see his nephew right away.
But, as a stereotypical out-of-date patriarch, Gene insisted brothers weren’t as important as sisters when it came to support.
Ryder hadn’t bothered explaining the many, many things that were wrong with that assessment.
Ryder’s phone buzzed again, and he shut off the engine and caught up on everything he’d missed. The barrage of messages kept pouring in, a big group text with his siblings and with all the Halseths.
Another update from Finn. Eight centimeters. She’s getting tired but is a total champ.
Ryder grinned as he scrolled through, updates and cheering, jokes and words of love. It looked like Zoe and Evan had brought everyone lunch. Two hours ago. His stomach rumbled with hunger, realizing he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
Too late. If there were any leftovers, they would have been sitting out too long by now.
Maybe the hospital cafeteria would have something that wasn’t made of cardboard.
He grabbed the little gift bag that was miraculously unsquished from his backpack, and stuffed his keys in his pocket.
He locked the rental car and dashed across the parking lot.
A gentle breeze rustled the towering cedar trees that filled the spaces between rows, the sun casting golden rays between each.
The air tasted of mulch and dust, landscapers sprucing up a flower bed by the entrance.
Flowers. Dammit, he should have brought something for Haley, too.
Generally, he avoided hospitals, but the smell was the same in all of them.
Sterile, and a hint of something he couldn’t put his finger on, but it wasn’t a happy scent.
The signs pointed him to the back and to the right, skipped the elevators and dashed down the single flight of stairs toward labor and delivery.
Historically, the Mallorys had not been considered a wild bunch. Alone, they still probably were considered sedate. Yet there was something magical about the Halseths that brought out the fun side of everyone.
Laughter flooded the waiting room, happy yelps and jabs. Above the others, a delighted, borderline witchy laugh chimed out. Zoe was like no one else. Certainly not like anyone he’d ever dated.
Not that they were dating.
Fuck, he wasn’t sure how he got himself into these messes. Having a surprise baby, let alone with someone so connected with his family, his hometown? Of all the messes he’d found himself in, of the partners he could have ended up in this situation with… Zoe was a little life lottery victory.
The hallway widened to the waiting area.
On the right, six people sat scattered, a few together and talking peacefully.
On the left side of the waiting area, the Halseth-Mallory clan had taken over.
Standard vinyl waiting room chairs and loveseats were clustered together.
Bags and jackets told of just how long the crew had been here.
Evan caught sight of him first, and tipped a nod in greeting. “Hey. You made it, with time to spare. Not bad.”
Slowly, she turned to see. In a faded black Halseth’s hoodie with the sleeves cut off, leggings, and sneakers, her hair in a lazy ponytail today, Zoe’s smile lifted brightly, brightening her entire expression.
A flood of butterflies filled his stomach, a frog lodging in his throat.
“Hey, you,” she said, and moved as if to stand, then looked behind him and stopped.
Ice chilled him from behind, and he knew why she didn’t come all the way over.
Ryder steadied his breath and turned. “Patricia. Hi,” he said.
Her silver hair had been sliced her jaw with a razor-sharp bob, a flick of mascara accented her sky-blue eyes, and she tilted a thin-lipped smile at him. Skinny arms lifted, slowly unfolding and reaching as she approached.
Oh. She was coming in for a hug. Huh.
Ryder leaned and wrapped one arm behind her and patted her upper back before pulling away.
“I just finished a board meeting, so the timing was perfect.”
“Board meeting?” Freshly retired, but he should have known she wouldn’t sit home and quilt. Or travel, oddly enough. He’d never understood her distaste for travel.
“Why yes. I may as well put my expertise to good use.”
“Good for you,” he said, smiling painfully wide as he took the moment for his mother. Promotion. Baby on the way. After years of disappointing his mother with his lack of upward traction, the woman would be elated, but…
Ryder stepped back again, shifted the gift bag on his wrist and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
“Patricia, come on and have a seat,” Claire said, crossing over and taking Patricia by the arm. “Have you been keeping up with the texts?” she asked, and peeked over her shoulder and winked at Ryder.
Thank you, he mouthed.
A cozy group, even with Patricia’s injection into their fold.
As he stood still, calculating where to sit, who to sit by, who to visit with, Zoe rose from her spot and rounded the waiting room loveseat to reach him. She stuffed her hands in the kangaroo pocket of her oversized hoodie. “You must be starving. Unless you ate on the plane?”
Tightening his middle couldn’t mask the noisy rumble at the very mention of food. “I’m okay,” he said.
Zoe tipped her head back with a delicious laugh and came up shaking her head at him, her bottom lip teasing between her teeth. “No wonder you don’t lie, to your clients and, so far, not to me. You are terrible at it.”
Desperation tingled under his skin, an urge to sneak his hands into her pockets with her, to dip in and taste where she’d bitten her lip. In another reality, he’d wonder if she’d cast some sort of spell over him.
“Where’s Raphe?” he asked.
“Oh, he’s… not here.” She answered with a forced laziness. She nodded toward the others again, and this time, he followed and sat next to her on the little loveseat.
From under the seat, next to a cute gift bag and another sweatshirt, she pulled out a small cooler. Setting it on the floor, she lowered the handle and popped open the lid. Where there had been plenty of room for a small feast, a neatly wrapped sandwich remained, nestled amongst the ice packs.
Zoe withdrew the sandwich and extended it.
“You saved one for me?”
“Of course,” she said with a subtle shake of her head and a big drop in her dark eyebrows. “I knew you’d be here.”
A long leg extended and a big foot nudged his.
Ryder turned to see Evan grinning mischievously, one side of his mouth turned up with a hint of a challenge.
“You owe me. Zoe nearly had to hide the cooler to keep me out of it. My salad was good, but… I’m going through carb withdrawal.
That’s Cascade Bakery sourdough, fresh this morning. ”
Zoe cozied up in the small seat they shared and drew her legs up, dropping her knees to rest on his lap.
A cozy group, so she probably had no idea how badly she was torturing him, toned legs in snug leggings, her warmth radiating over his legs.
“Oh, I forgot you’re shredding,” Ryder said, laughing subtly and nodding.
“Give it up,” Scott said with a snort. “You’re already in better shape than the rest of us, and if he doesn’t see that—”
“I know,” Evan said, firing an unheated glare back at his father. “He sees me for my obvious hotness,” he teased, and puffed up his chest. “But, you know.” He shrugged instead of finishing his sentence.
Ryder unwrapped the sandwich and snuck a glance at Zoe.
Not that she’d succumbed to slowing so far, but…
she was the defensive coordinator for a high school football team, and had three big guys in her life she could tackle as if she was twice their size.
From what Evan had been telling him, anyway.
In one bite, Zoe converted him into becoming a cold sandwich person.
A groan vibrated down his throat as his tastebuds announced his new favorite flavor combination.
Evan was right about the sourdough. Best he’d ever tasted.
But the sharp cheddar and Havarti, chipotle in there somewhere, tomato.
Halseth’s was famous for their smoked meats, for good reason.
This smoked turkey wasn’t like anything you could buy at the store.
At his side, Zoe beamed as she watched him smile over a sandwich.
“What?” he asked through squirrel cheeks, grinning wider as he met her look.
“You. I think that’s the most honest and obvious expression I’ve ever seen on you,” she whispered, and winked playfully. “Except that other time.”
He snorted a laugh and tamped it down so he could swallow.
Scott lifted his phone and grinned broadly at the screen. “Finn says it’ll be awhile before the next update. She wants to push, so the nurse is getting the doctor.”
The room erupted into chatter. Patricia regaled them with tales of Haley’s birth, and how she’d just slid right out. Third babies and all. How Grady had been a difficult birth. Ryder had been the most beautiful baby she’d ever laid eyes on, dark hair and a smile since birth.
Zoe’s eyes widened.
“What?” Ryder asked.
“My mom was Even smaller than I am. How did she fit my brothers?”