Chapter 30
30
He was just going to have to find a way to seduce the woman he wanted. Guthrie thought about that as he sank onto his bed in his condo that felt empty, generic, and lonely many long hours after his brother’s and Ronnie’s youngest children had entered the world.
He wished that woman was there right next to him. But she had insisted on staying around the hospital—with Greer. Guthrie and Aubrey had insisted Greer be admitted. Just as a precaution. He had spoken with Dr. Lewis and told the other man to order an ultrasound in the morning for his sister. Just in case.
Being head of obstetrics had its advantages.
He wasn’t going to take risks with Greer.
He could have lost so much. His brother, Ronnie, Greer, Aubrey, and Genny. Ronnie’s twins, Greer’s baby she’d just told them all about this past week.
All of them on that damned road. Guthrie would never forget. Nor would he ever forget being there for Georgiano Maxwell Hiller IV and Mira Aubrey Hiller’s arrivals into the world. His nephew weighed a hefty, for pre-term twins, five pounds seven ounces. Little Miss Mira had weighed in at four pounds fifteen ounces. They were doing great, and Guthrie suspected the initial due date calculation had been a bit off to begin with. They might even be able to avoid NICU altogether. Aubrey was going to keep him posted.
He’d been there—for his brother’s children’s births. That was a miracle he would always remember.
Now he wanted to make a handful of miracles of his own.
Maybe three?
They could do three with their schedules.
Aubrey would eventually run a hospital somewhere—she had the definite ability now—so that would take a lot of her time and attention. But she had relatively stable hours, especially compared to his. Guthrie was called out at all hours; babies came when babies came. But they could make something work with the kids. If they stayed in Value while they were having those kids, the ranch was just seven minutes away from the hospital. Or they could build somewhere on his family property. There would always be babysitters nearby…
Guthrie grabbed his phone.
He wanted to talk to her. It was as simple as that.
She answered on the first ring.
“Hello, beautiful Dr. Fisher…”
“Hello, Dr. Hiller. Is there something I can do for you?”
“How are you feeling? Are you sore? I can come back in if you need me.” They’d been two cars back from George, Ronnie, and Greer.
It was another miracle they hadn’t been hurt. They’d been there in place to help, instead. Maybe he wouldn’t be sleeping too easily tonight either.
“I’m good. I was far enough back we weren’t involved in the collision. George had slowed down a few seconds in front of us for some reason. Thankfully.”
His brother had slowed down enough that everyone had survived. Guthrie fought the sick feeling in his gut that brought. It made a man think.
No. Life was too short to not go for what he wanted. “I am lying here, in my lonely bed… planning my life.”
“Oh. And that necessitated a call to me at… two a.m.?”
“Of course. I am a planner, Aubrey Fisher, my love. What else would I be doing when I can’t sleep? Today was one hell of a day.”
“And what is it you need from me before you plan your life?”
“A quick answer… how many kids do you think is one too many? Four? Five? Inquiring minds want to know.”
Dr. Guthrie Zavier Hiller had completely lost it. Aubrey would bet her medical license on that. “Excuse me? Why would my opinion on that be relevant to you at two a.m.?”
She had a feeling she knew…
“There is no other woman on the planet who could more effectively answer that question. You do want children someday, correct?”
She looked at his sister, sitting so close to her. They had put Greer in a room right next to Ronnie’s—and George’s. George technically could have been discharged, but he’d have stayed right where he was, anyway. Now, the system just showed the second bed in the room as unavailable. To give the new family privacy to recover from the trauma of today. The babies were doing well enough that they weren’t being put into ICU—though they were monitoring both babies closely. After the trauma of the accident, they wanted to keep Ronnie’s babies near her.
Greer technically hadn’t needed to stay at all—Aubrey thought Guthrie was being a bit too overly cautious. But she understood—that was his baby sister, after all.
Aubrey and Genny could have gone home—they were just taking turns going back and forth between the two rooms. Greer was sleeping. She didn’t need much, just monitoring. They were mostly watching over Ronnie and the babies, while George got some much-needed rest, too.
Not that Aubrey minded—she held a tiny baby boy in her arms right now. Genny held his twin sister. Ronnie and George slept nearby.
She looked down at Max, as they were going to call him, just like his grandpa. So precious. “Yes, I do. I definitely want children someday.”
She just didn’t know if she ever would make that dream happen. She was thirty now, she still had a while left to have children safely. But finding a man she trusted enough, a man who loved her enough… she just didn’t know.
Taking a chance on forever was absolutely terrifying.
She wanted a man who loved her the way Chad Fields loved Genny. The way Gene Hiller loved Chantal. The way George Hiller loved Ronnie.
She had seen the love in his eyes out there on that highway.
She would never forget it.
Love like that gave a woman real hope.
“So how many? If a man and a woman both have demanding, not strictly nine-to-five jobs. But had an entire army of babysitters seven minutes away who could help?”
“Three. Maybe… four? It would just depend, really.”
And why on earth was she sitting there, his little sister watching, listening to every word?
The man was crazy.
He drove her there, too.
The baby in her arms fussed. She looked down at him. “Four; four would be the maximum, though.”
“Four sounds good to me. Perfect, actually. Who are you with right now?”
“We’re in with Ronnie and George and the babies now. Greer is sleeping soundly next door.”
“Is that punk in there with her?”
Aubrey hesitated. Greer had given the father of her baby permission to stay in there with her. Grudgingly. He’d pointed out it was his kid she was carrying, too. And that his heart couldn’t take her destroying him like that. Greer wasn’t allowed to scare him again.
Greer had told him to go soak his head in the nearest toilet. Then she’d relented and let him stay in there with her, even though Giavonna had wanted to instead. Aubrey knew what had happened between them, but she’d been sworn to secrecy. She wasn’t about to break her word.
Aubrey thought Greer just wanted him with her. Even though the younger woman wouldn’t admit it. The way those two looked at each other…
Aubrey was conflicted about him. He had been a total ass to Greer in the beginning. But the man looked at her like he idolized her now. Greer had a long way to go until things were figured out with that guy. A long way to go. “Yes. She let him stay with her.”
Guthrie cursed. “Remind me to pound him into the ground next time I see him, okay?”
Gene had already tried once.
“I’ll do that.” She shifted the baby in her arms. He fussed a little. “He was terrified for her and the baby today, you know.”
He’d been pacing all around the ED when she’d come out after Ronnie and George’s babies had been born. Demanding answers, looking for Greer. Aubrey had been there when he’d found Greer, too. Aubrey privately thought Greer had underestimated that man’s feelings where Greer was concerned.
“I don’t believe it. He is the enemy. He touched my baby sister. You are holding a Hiller baby right now, aren’t you? Which one?”
“Max. He’s wonderful, Guthrie. So tiny. He definitely has Ronnie’s eyebrows and nose and mouth. But I do think he has George’s ears. Yours, too.”
“And where is Genny-mini?”
“Aunt Genny has her. Ronnie nursed them a little a few minutes ago, but she’s still in and out. George is completely out.” He was probably hurting a great deal, too. He’d been pushing himself as it was to be with his family. Exhaustion had finally taken him out. “We’re doing baby duty for a while so he can sleep. Ronnie is doing well. No signs of complications.”
“I can come in. Be with you, them.”
“Genny and I have things handled.”
And he just kept talking to her. For half an hour. Until she could hear him yawning. Aubrey told him to go to bed. That she would see him in the morning. He made her promise that she would.
It was the only thing that would get him to hang up.
When she disconnected, someone with Hiller hazel eyes was staring at her. Amused. “Does Guthrie call you in the middle of the night often?”
“This was the first. Your brother is a bit weird.”
“That he has always been. And what was his purpose in calling? To check up on everyone?” Genny was a very shrewd woman. “Or to talk to you?”
Aubrey just blinked at that confounding man’s little sister. “For some strange reason, your brother wanted to know if I want children someday—and how many did I think was one too many.”
Genny gave a wicked, but quiet, laugh. “He has definitely set his sights on you, Aub. Which is awesome, in my opinion. But… what about yours?”
Aubrey’s arms tightened around the Hiller baby in her arms. “He’s planning to seduce me. That’s all. Wanting to, anyway. He has already gotten started. He just keeps catching me and kissing me when I least expect it.”
“Do you kiss him back?”
“Of course I do. I seem to have… no willpower where he’s concerned. Hiller brothers should probably come with warning labels.”
“Yet he’s asking about children. He’s always been one of those plan-everything types. Just like George. He’s making serious plans for you, I believe. I, for one, am all for that. We’d get to be sisters forever. Just like me and Chan.”
“He’s just wanting?—”
“Sex? To seduce you?”
“Well, yes. That he needs the challenge or something.” That was her biggest fear. That it was just casual to him. That she would get all wrapped up in him, and then something would happen. And everything would just… go away. Even though she didn’t think that was the kind of man he was at all. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do just casual, Gen. I am not hardwired that way.”
“Honestly? I don’t think Guthrie is, either. He’s dated, yes. But he hasn’t been serious about anyone in four years. Mary-Kate did a nasty number on him. And he was serious about her. Very serious. He was thinking rings, Aub. She hurt him. He changed after her. Became more serious. I think the entire experience with her showed him what he really wanted.” Genny leveled a look at her. One the brother in question was good at giving, too. “I suspect he’s found what he’s looking for. So… what are you looking for in return?”
That was the big question.
Guthrie Hiller made her feel… excited. That OMG, did he just look at me/say that?, heart-racing young girl excited she hadn’t felt since she was… a young girl. Before a monster hurt her sister and changed her world forever.
That breathless she was the center of his world kind of feeling that she thought she would never feel again. Talk about completely terrifying.
“Your brother is the most confusing man on the planet.”
“No. Chad-wicked Fields takes that honor. But that’s one of the reasons I love him. He keeps me excited. Makes me feel… like I am his entire being, you know? And he is mine.” Genny looked down at the baby in her arms. Little Mira. “And someday we plan to expand our world a little bit. We’ve decided… four, maybe five.”
And Genny was happy. Aubrey understood that. Chad Fields loved and adored Genny. Just like Genny deserved.
Aubrey was just terrified to take that chance for herself. “Three. Four, maybe. If I have time.”
Genny grinned at her, looking very much like the brother they were discussing. “Better get started. You’re thirty now, you know. Of course, twins do run in our family. Might save you some time, if Guth can hit doubles like George did.”
“You are as insane as he is, aren’t you?”
“Of course. It’s a family thing.” Genny smirked again, then kissed the baby girl in her arms on her little forehead. “But… we do make really pretty babies. You’d better get prepared.”