Chapter 1
SAM
"I think she looks a lot like Travis," Gran exclaimed, cooing over the newborn.
My brother Travis became a father last night.
As a pediatrician at the hospital, I checked in on my niece right after she was born.
Luckily, I was on shift when my sister-in-law’s water broke, and my brother rushed her right in.
The dude was a basket case, which would've been funny if I didn’t feel sorry for him.
I’d seen lots of dads lose their cool when their first baby was born.
They wanted to do everything right, as did my brother, but at the same time felt so helpless throughout it all.
Dr. Johnson performed the delivery, and I was there to give Travis moral support afterward.
Currently, I was keeping a close eye on Bonnie, Travis’s wife.
She was happy but tired, which was to be expected.
Our gran and parents were overwhelming her, and I was completely surprised that my brothers and their better halves hadn't shown up too. I’d cautioned them that the new parents needed rest, but I'd expected them to completely ignore me. I was glad they didn't.
"Everyone, come on, out of here. You've had enough visitation time. Let them rest," I said.
"Nonsense," Gran said. "Everyone else can go. I'll stay here and rock this sweet girl to sleep."
She seemed unable to take her eyes off the baby.
I cleared my throat, using my stern doctor voice. "No, Gran. It's best if we leave them alone. The baby will fall asleep anyway, and Bonnie also needs to rest."
Gran looked at me severely. "Young man, don't think you can tell me what to do just because you have a doctor's coat on."
I grinned. "Yes, I can."
"Beatrice, come on," Mom said. "He’s right. Bonnie needs rest."
Bonnie smiled sheepishly. "Beatrice, I promise that once we're home, you can come visit as much as you want. But now we’re all exhausted."
At once, my grandmother's demeanor changed. She blinked, nodding before returning the baby to Bonnie's arms.
I was grateful that she was at least listening to Bonnie.
I knew this was a momentous day for both my grandmother and my parents. It was only the second grandchild in the Maxwell family. Even though there were six of us brothers, along with two very close cousins, only my brother Tate who had a daughter.
"It's been a while since we've had a baby in the family," Mom said, as if reading my thoughts. Paisley, Tate’s daughter, was a teenager. He was about to have a second kid soon.
Boy, time flies.
"No problem, Mom. We’re happy you stopped by. Come on, I'll walk out with you," Travis said.
Taking the now-sleeping baby from Bonnie’s arms, he put her in the crib next to the bed. Bonnie instantly fell asleep, and we all walked out as quietly as possible from the room.
Once Travis closed the door behind him, Mom exploded. "Oh, she's so pretty. I wanted to snuggle her the whole time, but Beatrice hogged her."
The look on Gran’s face was priceless as she said, "It's my great-grandmother privilege."
Mom glanced at Travis. "I'm sorry we monopolized your time with Bonnie and the baby." She sounded truly apologetic. "We thought about waiting until you were home, but…"
"She considered it for maybe five seconds before deciding it was impossible," Dad interjected with a grin.
Travis chuckled. "It's all good. Bonnie is beyond happy that the family is embracing her like this. She's just tired."
My brother was right. Bonnie’s mom was an insanely cold woman, so I could see how our family would be a welcome change.
Bonnie always seemed happy to be around the Maxwell clan, but I was going to advise her to take it easy with visits. The birthing went fine, but she needed to rest up here where people could help her. Once she got home, any relaxing with a newborn would go out the window.
"Listen, Sam, what's the policy on bringing your own food here? The breakfast we got sucked, and I want to spoil my woman," Travis said.
I waved him off. "Don't worry about it. I'll cover for you. Buy something delicious for you two to eat. The hospital food is nothing to brag about, but it could be worse. Speaking of food, do you all want to go to the cafeteria?"
"Are we keeping you from anything, son?" Dad asked.
"No, I took the shift last night, so I'm off today. I just wanted to hang around and see if Bonnie needed anything." But I was starved, too, and wouldn’t mind a strong cup of coffee.
"All right, then. Let’s go," Mom said as we all went downstairs.
The place was semifamiliar to me. It was only my second month here, as I’d recently relocated from Honduras. The cafeteria was full as always with patients and doctors milling around. As the group found a table, I bought coffees for everyone, and Dad bought muffins.
Once we joined them, Mom looked around, observing the layout. "This is a nice place. I'm so happy you decided to stay here and be close to home."
"I haven't signed a permanent contract yet," I reminded her carefully.
I didn't want her to get her hopes up. I wasn't sure I was staying in Chicago for good. I was of half a mind to go back to Doctors Without Borders. I’d worked with them for years, gallivanting around the world, and it really had been a rewarding experience. I’d been in Central Africa before relocating to Honduras.
I’d come back to Chicago for Olivia—we’d been in a long-distance relationship for a while.
I figured we could take things to the next level if I moved back here.
Turned out she was seeing someone else behind my back.
Yeah, I was bitter about it. I would eventually let it go, but not yet.
The whole thing was too fresh in my mind.
The other reason I was here was because I was in talks with the CEO of the hospital to add a pro bono clinic. After my experience in Doctors Without Borders, it was something very important to me.
"Oh, honey, don't say that. We just got you back," Mom said. She knew what happened with Olivia—they all did—and although they were disappointed in her, my family was happy we didn’t stay together. My brothers thought she wasn’t that “into” me. They’d never met her because she’d always found excuses to ditch family gatherings, but they were spot-on, considering she was dating someone else.
"Careful, brother. Next thing you know, Mom and Gran will emotionally blackmail the rest of us to convince you to stay," Travis said.
Mom straightened up. "Oh, we don't need you kids to do our dirty work. Beatrice and I are clever enough."
I chuckled. Damn, I’d been away for too long. I missed my family a lot. We’d always been one for all and all for one, having one another’s backs.
"Haven't you missed us at all?" Mom asked.
"I see. You really are going straight for the punch," I teased. "Of course I missed you. And I'm not saying I'll necessarily leave again. I just want you to keep in mind that everything's up in the air. I don't want you to get your hopes up."
"Hmm." Clearly she didn't agree with me. "Sam, have you thought about moving from Travis's hotel? You can't stay there forever."
"I'm looking for something else."
I heard Travis snicker and glared at him in warning. He knew my plan. I didn't want him to spill the beans. I was sure my family would have a lot of opinions, and I wasn't ready for them.
“That's great," Mom said, her eyes lighting up. That was her getting her hopes up. Now I felt like an ass.
While we finished our coffee, we spoke a bit about when Bonnie and the baby would be allowed to go home, and then my parents and my grandmother rose from the table.
"It's time for us to go. You tell us when we can come visit again," Mom said, looking at Travis, who glanced at me. He needed me to use my “doctor voice,” as he called it.
"I don't think any more visits are necessary, Mom, because Bonnie's probably going home tomorrow,” I explained. “You're all welcome to visit her then. For now, she needs rest."
Gran sighed dramatically. "Come on, let's go. We're not wanted here."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Travis chuckled. "Man, they're laying it on thick, aren't they?"
I shrugged. "You've got to give it to them. At least they did listen when Bonnie told them to leave."
"Why didn't you tell them you plan to move in with Avery?" He flashed me a shit-eating grin.
“Because then they would give me crap like you're about to do. And besides, that's not set in stone either."
Avery Sinclair had been my girlfriend during high school.
Our relationship ended abruptly after prom, and I hadn’t seen her since.
Our high school had set up an alumni Facebook group, and someone posted about a loft that was available.
We were both interested in it, but she needed someone to share it with her.
The rent was high, and the loft itself was huge.
I could afford it myself, and I didn't need a roommate, but I thought I’d help her out.
I'd told Travis last night after I saw the Facebook post. He’d given me shit then and clearly still wasn’t done with it.
"Just saying, I think it's a bad idea. And if the family knew, they would tell you the exact same thing."
I smiled lazily. "See? That's why I don't ask their opinions. I don't need anyone to tell me I'm wrong."
"Spoken like a true doctor," he said, rolling his eyes. "You're playing with fire."
I wasn't. He was ridiculous. Avery and I had broken up more than ten years ago. Besides, there would be very little actual “living together.” I worked crazy hours, so I'd be at the hospital more than at the loft.
"Man, you can't lie to me," Travis said. "Check out that look on your face. You want to see Avery again."
"Why not? I'm sure it's going to be interesting to catch up."
"Hah! 'Catch up.' I'd make a bet, but there's no one here to bet with."
"You all are still betting?" I asked. My siblings and cousins started this habit a long time ago. It used to be fun, but since now it was about me, I wasn’t sure if I was thrilled.
"Only on special occasions."
"Why am I not part of that?"
"Because you told us you don't want to be part of the WhatsApp group. Remember, dickhead?"
That was true, but it had been for practical reasons. First, I'd been in a different time zone. And second, everyone texted constantly in that group. I couldn't keep up with it. At best I could check it only once a day, and by then it was overwhelming with over a hundred messages.
"I've always been the odd man out," I said.
"I agree," Travis agreed, and we laughed.
Almost everyone in my family went into business.
My grandparents and parents had owned Maxwell Bookstores, a very successful chain of stores.
They sold it many years ago, and each of my brothers had gone into business in one way or another.
Tate owned wineries. Declan, the oldest, was a lawyer.
Considering how much trouble anyone got into at any given time, it was good we had a lawyer in the family.
Luke owned an architecture company. Both our cousins, Reese and Kimberly, worked with Travis in his hotel.
Our brother Tyler was the only other odd man out like me. He was a pro hockey player.
I knew from an early age I wanted to be a doctor. It was my calling. I’d never regretted my choice.
I was the odd man out in another way too. I was the only single brother left. It was bizarre. When I left for Doctors Without Borders, all my brothers were single. Now they were all either engaged or married.
"You know what? I could ask everyone’s opinion in our WhatsApp group," Travis suggested.
"You really want to broadcast this, don’t you?” Man, he was such a smartass.
"Nah. It makes you uncomfortable, so I won't do it. But knowing our family, it's going to get out sooner rather than later."
"You and I are the only people who know. If it gets out, it's because you spilled the beans."
He grinned. "You know it."
I took out my phone and messaged Avery on Facebook. I'd wanted to see her again for years, but after she moved from Chicago, we'd lost track of each other. For a long time, I didn't think she'd want me to contact her anyway.
Sam: Hey! It’s been a while. Want to set up a time to visit the loft? Can’t wait to catch up.