Chapter 16
W ith Abby settled into her room and attached to a bunch of monitors, all of which indicated she and the babies were doing well, Adam finally exhaled after the long, stressful day.
Since the Lawrys were staying at his uncle Frank’s house, Adam had booked a room at a nearby hotel. But he was reluctant to leave Abby alone in the hospital.
They were still waiting for the neonatal specialist to come by to check in with them. After that, he’d think about going to get some sleep. He knew he had to pace himself to support her over the finish line of a complicated pregnancy. Burning himself out now wouldn’t help anyone, but he’d more or less accepted the state of hypervigilance he’d fallen into weeks ago as her pregnancy became more difficult by the day.
“How’re you feeling, hon?” he asked her.
“As fine as I was when you asked me that ten minutes ago.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I know it’s super stressful for you.”
“It’s not about me. It’s about whatever you and the boys need.”
“It’s about all of us, and it’s okay to admit you’re stressed. Anyone would be after the day we’ve had.”
“I’m definitely stressed, but I’m so glad you’re here where you can get the best possible care.”
Abby’s chin quivered. “I miss Liam.”
“I do, too. I keep looking around for him.”
“Do you think we could call him?”
“Sure. My parents were at the marina earlier, but they should be home by now.” Adam put through the FaceTime call.
Liam’s little face filled the screen. “Dada!”
“Hey, buddy. It’s me and Mommy. We wanted to say good night.”
“Home.”
“Soon. We’ll be home soon. Are you being a good boy for Grammy and Pop?”
“Pop!”
“Pop is his favorite,” Linda said with a smile.
“Pop is everyone’s favorite,” Adam said.
“Indeed. How’s the patient?”
Adam shifted the phone so his mother could see Abby.
She gave a little wave. “Hanging in there. The babies are busy, so that’s a good sign.”
“Indeed it is. We’re so proud of you, Abby. You’re doing great.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Is Liam still there?” Adam asked.
“Liam, come say good night to Mommy and Daddy.”
He let out a squeal and nearly knocked the phone out of Linda’s hand.
“Easy, buddy.”
“Easy.”
“That’s right,” Adam said. “Be gentle with Grammy. We’ll talk to you tomorrow, okay? Sleep tight.”
“K.”
“Love you so much.”
“Love.”
Adam and Abby made kissing noises.
Liam kissed the phone.
Big Mac took it from him. “How’re you kids holding up?”
“We’re doing okay,” Adam said. “We miss our buddy.”
“He had a great day full of cousins. Try not to worry.”
“We know he’s in good hands with you guys.”
“We love you both. We’ll talk to you in the morning.”
“We love you, too.” Adam ended the call and sat on the edge of Abby’s bed, taking her hand.
“I miss Liam so much,” Abby said. “How will we spend weeks here when he’s on the island?”
“Mom and Dad will bring him over, and we’ll figure something out. There’s no way we’ll be without him for weeks.”
“I couldn’t do it. I’d go mad.”
“So would I. Don’t worry about anything, sweetheart. I’ll take care of it.”
“What would I do without you?”
“You’ll never have to find out.”
Fifteen minutes later, the specialist came in, apologizing for making them wait. Wearing light blue scrubs, she was tall and pretty, with light brown skin and long, curly hair that was contained in a ponytail. “I’m Dr. Isabella Connors, but you should call me Izzy. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“I’m Adam McCarthy, and this is my wife, Abby.”
She shook their hands and then took a seat on the other side of Abby’s bed. “I’ve reviewed everything that happened today. Your doctors on Gansett did a great job, and things are looking much better tonight. How’re you feeling, Abby?”
“Tired, but relieved that the medication worked to stop the labor.”
“Me, too. The babies look great. I saw that you’re expecting two sets of identical twins?”
“That’s what we were told.”
“They’re my first quads. Were you told how rare it is to have two sets of identical twins?”
“We were,” Abby said. “And how rare it is to conceive quads without fertility treatment, especially with PCOS.”
“You’re a special case, my friend, and I’m going to do everything I can to get you and your boys over the finish line.”
“We’re wondering what’s going to happen now,” Adam said as he clung to Abby’s hand.
“I’d like to keep you as our guest until the babies come.” She quickly added, “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but I think it’s for the best. While I’m giving you the bad news, I’d also like you to be on complete bed rest for the remainder of your pregnancy.”
Abby teared up.
Adam couldn’t get past the words complete bed rest .
“I’m so sorry to have to do this, but if we can just eke out ten to twelve more weeks with the boys inside, it’ll greatly reduce the potential for challenges after they arrive. While they continue to grow, we can give you meds that’ll strengthen their lungs so they’re ready for life on the outside.”
Ten to twelve weeks of complete bed rest. Possibly longer. Dear God.
“I… Of course I want to do what’s best for the babies.” Abby used the tissue Adam handed her to wipe up tears. “We have a young son at home…”
“We’ll bring him here to be with us,” Adam said.
“That’d be great,” Izzy said. “Whatever it takes to get his mom and brothers to the finish line.”
“We can do this, Abs. I’ll be right there with you the whole way. Your family will come over and my parents. We’ll have tons of visitors. We’ll get you through.”
Abby nodded as she continued to mop up tears. “Can I get up to shower?”
“Every other day for a few minutes.”
“I have to pee constantly.”
“The nurses will help with that.”
As Abby groaned, Adam’s heart went out to her. This was going to be one hell of an ordeal for her. He’d go mad if he had to spend months confined to a bed. How would she bear it?
“I’ll check on you guys tomorrow.” Izzy placed a business card on Abby’s table. “That’s got my cell number and pager info. Call me any time you need me. We’re in this together now, and I’ll do everything I can to send you home with four precious baby boys.”
“Thank you,” Abby said.
“You got it. Sleep well.”
“She seems great,” Adam said after the doctor left.
“Yeah, she’s so nice and upbeat. But, Adam… ten or more weeks or more of full bed rest… My God, how will I do that?”
“We’ll do it one day at a time. I’ll be right here with you.”
“My store and the house and Liam…”
“I’ll take care of everything. You won’t have to worry about a thing.”
“If you bring him here, you’ll have to take care of him by yourself.”
“That’s no problem.”
“How will you work?”
“At night after he’s in bed. I’ll make it happen. I don’t want you to worry about anything other than taking care of yourself and those babies. That’s your only job.”
“I’m so thankful they were able to stop the labor and that the babies are okay… But the thought of what’s ahead is overwhelming.”
“I know, honey, but you’re the toughest person I’ve ever met. I have no doubt you’ll slay bed rest and deliver these babies when they’re good and strong.”
“What if we don’t make it to good and strong?”
“We’ll cross every bridge if we come to it. There’s no sense worrying about things that might not happen.”
“Do you think you could snuggle with me for a minute?”
“I’d love to.” Adam moved carefully so he wouldn’t jostle any of the monitors she was attached to as he curled up to her and put his arm around her. “How’s that?”
“Much better.”
“I’m available for bed rest snuggling on demand.”
“That’s good. I’m going to need a lot of it.”
“I got you, babe. Whatever you need.”
“Be careful what you wish for, huh?”
Adam grunted out a laugh. “That needs to be our family motto.”
“For sure.”
“Tell me you know that we’ve got this, and we’ll get through it, and everything will be fine.”
“We’ve got this. We’ll get through it. Everything will be fine.”
“That’s the way.”
Duke was quiet on the ride home, which had McKenzie wondering what he was thinking about. Naturally, that had her also wondering when he’d become the most interesting person in her world. It’d happened over a series of surreal days after her island home was destroyed and the kindness of strangers, especially him, had shown her a sense of community she’d never experienced before.
She’d known her grandmother had loved the island for many reasons, including the rugged coastline, the pristine beaches, the excellent restaurants and the many other selling points that had Rosemary rushing to the island the minute spring had sprung and staying until the trees were dropping their leaves.
But after a couple of weeks there, McKenzie understood that her grandmother’s love for the tiny island was due more than anything to the people who lived there. She’d seen that tonight as she met countless people who’d been friendly, welcoming and supportive of her and Jax and their goal of rebuilding the cabin to live on Gansett Island going forward.
She was more excited than ever about the prospect of that after having met so many other moms with young children.
“Hope you had a nice time tonight,” he said as they took one of the last turns before home.
“It was great. I’m so glad I went. Everyone is so nice.”
“They really are.”
“I can see why you wouldn’t want to give up this place, even for love.”
“I suppose it wasn’t really love if there was a choice.”
“You love your home more than you loved her. That’s the choice you made.”
“And I’ve never regretted it, even if it gets a little quiet after the tourists go home and people hibernate for the winter.”
“Do you get lonely?”
“Not really. I’m with people all day, and I’ve got friends I see outside of work. It’s just, you know, you go home alone. That’s the only time of day that I wonder whether I did the right thing.”
“You did. You’d have yearned for everything you gave up here, because you’d lived long enough by then to know what you found here doesn’t come along every day.”
“Neither does a relationship that makes you happy.”
“True.” She looked over at him. “Were you happy with her?”
“Most of the time, other than that one major bone of contention.”
“When I was with Eric, I thought I was happy, even though I could tell he was holding back. I thought maybe he was protecting himself from getting hurt, but it turned out he was holding back because he had a wife and kids.”
He took a left turn into the driveway. “I’ll never understand why people get married if they don’t intend to be faithful.”
“I know. That’s why I’m sort of anti-marriage. I never want someone to feel like they have to stay with me if they’d rather be somewhere else.”
As he put the truck in Park, he said, “Anyone would be lucky to get to stay with you. And Jax.”
Taken aback by the emphatic way he said that, McKenzie stared at him.
“Sorry to be so blunt, but it’s true. That guy was a fool and a dick to lead you on and then walk away when you got pregnant.”
“You’re very cute when you’re indignant.”
He scoffed. “I’m never cute.”
“Yeah, you are. Quite often, in fact.”
“Stop that. You should be running for your life away from me.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because.”
“You’re going to have to do better than that.”
“You’re too young for me, for one thing.”
“I’m a fully grown adult with a mind of my own, and besides, age is just a number. You’re thirty-six, not sixty-six.”
“Sometimes I feel sixty-six.”
“But you’re not, so what else have you got?”
“You’re a beautiful woman who could have anyone you want.”
“Okay…”
“You could do much better than me. You’re probably looking at me differently because I helped you out during a tough time, but once you get back to reality?—”
“I’ll always look at you differently because no one has ever been kinder to me than you’ve been.”
He shrugged that off. “I just did what any decent person would do.”
“No, Duke. You went above and beyond to make sure Jax and I were taken care of during a difficult time. That makes you a unicorn of the highest order.”
“Don’t make it out to be more than it was.”
McKenzie was trying hard not to get mad—and not to cry—at the gruff way he was suddenly speaking to her. “Can I ask you something?”
“I guess.”
“Why are you trying to talk me out of liking you when earlier it seemed like that was what you wanted?”
He stared straight ahead for the longest time, so long she’d begun to think he wasn’t going to reply. “It doesn’t feel right.”
“What doesn’t?” Her heart had begun to beat in an erratic staccato as she realized this conversation could turn out to be one of the most important she’d ever had.
“To like you this way.”
“Why?”
“You’re Rosemary’s granddaughter. You’re younger than me. You’re… you, and I’m…”
“You’re wonderful . How can you not see that?”
He shook his head. “My life is boring and small compared to what you could have with someone else. You could have anyone you want.”
“And yet, the only man who has my attention is the one who’s been kinder to me than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“I’m sure you’ll get over that when things return to normal.”
Now he was just being mean in his attempt to talk her out of liking him. She didn’t understand where this was coming from, so rather than continue to make her case, she unclipped Jax’s seat belt, got out of the truck and reached for the baby carrier. “Thank you for taking me tonight. I had a great time. Tomorrow, I’d be happy to help with your books, if you’d still like me to.”
“Sure.”
“All right. I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
“McKenzie.”
She stopped walking but didn’t turn back.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I just think you can do better.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree about that. Good night, Duke.”
She kept her head held high as she walked away, even if she was crushed on the inside. Why had he taken a step toward her only to take two steps back a short time later? Had something happened while they were at the marina? Had someone like Sierra warned him off her or made him feel that his interest in her was wrong?
McKenzie wouldn’t put it past her.
Which wasn’t fair, and she knew that. She’d barely met Sierra and had no reason to believe her capable of anything like that.
But something had happened, and she had no idea what.