She bought a double stroller that did everything but talk. Before setting out to buy one, Faith hadn’t had any idea how many types were on the market. The one she selected was blue canvas awash with daisies. It included sunroofs and a basket large enough to hold a bag or two of groceries plus a diaper bag. Perfect for walks in the park. There was mosquito netting to drape over both infants during nice weather and clear plastic that zipped on to make the interior cozy if the weather turned blustery. The whole thing folded easily to fit into the trunk of a car.
Pleased by that purchase, Faith then bought what the clerk referred to as “a diaper system”. The microfiber bag had waterproof linings and pullout changing pads and removable totes.
The clerk insisted Faith needed two infant carriers. Those were in the event she had to take the babies in a cab, to their appointments with Dr. Sampson, for instance. Faith wondered if the fact that she didn’t own a car could be counted against her at the hearing. But if she purchased one, the men’s lawyers could say she was spending Chloe’s money on personal pleasures. Not to mention she’d have to take driving lessons.
In the end, Faith elected to drop the problem in David Reed’s lap. Let him argue that she’d lived in Boston for all her thirty years without owning a car. If the judge thought she needed one to be a good mom, the expense would be her decision.
As her purchases arrived at her apartment, Faith assembled cribs and a changing table. She added two small chests of drawers and saw the room shrink. Later, when the twins were older, she’d give one of them the third bedroom. Right now, they needed to be together.
“My apartment is beginning to resemble a baby store.” Faith confided to Gwen one afternoon when she stopped at the hospital to have lunch with her friend.
“It must be costing a mint to buy all that stuff new. Babies don't know if you buy their equipment at thrift stores and garage sales.”
Faith wrinkles her nose. “True, but Brian and Nick will.” She pushed her nose up with one thumb to imply snobbery.
“You poor thing. I’ll bet you wish you’d recorded your conversation with Chloe. From what you told me, she didn’t want her babies raised by either of those jerks.”
“It all happened so fast, Gwen. I was worried about Chloe overtaxing herself. Because of that, it’s probably just as well there were no witnesses. At that point I didn’t want to sign any custody agreement. It sounded too much like Chloe was giving up. But I can only imagine how our conversation would have come across in court.”
“Yeah.” Her friend agreed glumly. “I still think you need to be lining up potential witnesses. Hey, didn’t Sue and Vince from the crash cart team hear your sister make you promise to raise her kid? The day after Finegold lost her, the cafeteria was full of wild rumors. Some were valid, I’m sure.”
“Were Sue and Vince on the team?” Faith rubbed at the frown creasing her forehead. “That tells you how rattled I was, Gwen. Much of that night is lost to me.”
“Let me hunt them up and find out, okay? You have a heavy enough load. Just ask your lawyer if you need character witnesses waiting in the wings.”
“All right. I have two appointments with him before our hearing next Thursday. Reed is coaching me on when to speak and when to keep my mouth shut.”
“Is David Reed as good as the lawyers coming down from New York?”
Faith picked at her salad. “I don’t have the vaguest idea. I’m sure Brian has someone successful representing him. That’s the way he is. And Carter’s father is a big shot. David said we could figure his whole team are top legal eagles. Even if David turns out to be lousy, I’m stuck with him. I’ll have to trust that Chloe knew he was good when she engaged him. I do know he wants to win.”
“Well, that’s a plus. Hey, you’ve hardly touched your lunch. I hate to bail on you, but my time is up. Shall I see if Trish can get away to keep you company?”
“No.” Faith rose and picked up her tray. “I really have a lot I should be doing. And I’m visiting Ellie and Evan while I’m here.”
“Stop in E.R. before you leave. If it’s slow, maybe we can grab a cup of coffee.”
“Maybe. I still have high chairs on my list and a few other things.”
“Your infant carriers will double as high chairs until the kids are four or five months old. Two high chairs! Gawd. Is there room in your kitchen?”
Faith envisioned scrunching two high chairs next to her table. “What are you suggesting? That I find a house? Even if I had time to look, which I don’t, it’d undoubtedly be farther from work, and more expensive. My being able to take at least a six-month leave of absence is based on the rent I’m paying now. I’m determined to not touch the money Chloe left, except to pay attorney’s fees.”
“I know. And if the babies were yours, you’d make do. I panicked, thinking how you described Brian’s apartment. You said it was huge.”
“And elegant. And Nick Carter’s home, from the way he described it, is a mansion.”
“Don’t worry.” Gwen gave Faith a hug as they walked down the hall. “A house isn’t what makes a home. Love makes a home.”
“You’re right. There’s so much stuff coming at me, I lose sight of what’s most important. Brian will either have to find a wife or hire a nanny. Nick has a wife, but no one’s heard a peep from her. Chloe said they separated at the time of the affair. Who knows if the woman’s anxious to be a stepmother?”
“See? Beside them, you look like a candidate for mother of the year. You took care of your mom and helped with Chloe. You can bet your boots Brian won’t take six months off work.”
“Everything you say sounds logical. But I’m afraid to get my hopes up too high, though. Courts have a way of deciding kids need two parents. Believe me, if there was a man I even remotely liked who liked me back, I’d propose to him.” She shook her head. “Three contenders. And frankly, none of us can offer the twins an ideal home.”
“Quit being so hard on yourself. It’s not like every natural parent who brings a kid into the world has a flawless set-up. I hate to break into you, girl, but nobody’s perfect.”
“I’ve noticed that.” Faith smiled. “Gwen, did you ever lie awake wondering if you had what it took to be a good mom? What if the judge decides I didn’t do such a hot job of helping to raise Chloe?”
“For Heaven’s sake! You were a kid raising a kid only a few years younger than you! Now you’re an adult. But to answer your question—-yes. Parenting is a scary proposition. Unfortunately, nobody’s designed a test to see if anyone knows how to do the job. While you’re buying things, pick up a practical book on parenting. Read as much as you can before you bring the twins home. Speaking as a mother of four, I guarantee you won’t have time later.”
“What a good suggestion! I hadn’t thought of buying a book. Oh, I’m so glad you had time to have lunch with me today...”
Gwen laughed. “Off to the nursery with you. Before this shine on my halo tarnishes. And don’t mention this discussion to my kids. They’ll blow my cover. They think I’m the most inept mom in the world. Not to mention the meanest.”
Faith still had a smile on her face when she stepped off the elevator outside the preemie ward.
Her smile faded the moment she donned her gown and stepped through the door and saw Brian holding one of the twins.
“I thought you’d gone back to New York.” She said, scrabbling for balance.
“I did for a few days. The judge assigned to our case suggested Carter and I have our blood for the DNA testing drawn here at First Memorial.”
“Oh.” Faith saw he was holding Elyse. She lifted Evan to her shoulder, where he promptly spit up, then started to cry. “Poor baby.” She murmured as she rubbed a hand over his back.
“Terri said he’s been spitting up after feedings the past couple days. She said it’s nothing to worry about, just that he eats too fast. What do you think?”
Faith blinked at Brian in confusion. “Terri is a trained neonatal nurse. I would assume she knows what she’s talking about.”
He lowered his voice. “She’s a kid. I doubt she’s much more than twenty.”
“Hmmmm. At thirty-two you’re performing heart transplants? Age has nothing to do with credentials. But if you’d like, I’ll read his chart. See what nurses on other shirfs noted. Does he act sick?” She kissed the baby’s cheek, swayed with him tucked against her breast, and was rewarded with a sleepy yawn. “If he had a fever, they’d separate him from the other babies. I’m sure it’s nothing, as Terri said.”
“If you’re confident, then so am I.” Brian let Elyse grip his gloved finger. The baby claimed his full attention, and he and Faith drifted into silence.
She roused when Evan fell asleep, walked to his isolette and laid him carefully down. After rearranging the blankets, she tiptoed back to peer at Elyse over Brian’s shoulder. “Why would the judge make you guys come to Boston to have blood drawn when you have perfectly competent labs in New York?” The question had bothered her ever since Brian had explained why he’d returned to Boston.
He cleared his throat. "I don’t know if I should tell you. My lawyer says we’re adversaries, Faith.”
Flushing, she stuttered. “S-sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”
“Aw, hell, let our lawyers be adversaries. That’s what we pay them for. The legal experts said if Nick and I came here to have our blood drawn at the hospital where you work, your attorney would be less likely to claim contamination or mishandling.”
“I suppose David might do that. I would never have thought of such a thing, but lawyers don’t think like normal people.” She said when Brian threw his head back and gave a warm laugh. It was a laugh that grabbed hold of Faith and sent an uncertain longing deep within her. A longing that, even in panic, made her wish she and Brian were anything but adversaries. Struggling against the unwanted emotions, she turned her back.
“I’m not laughing at you, Faith.” Brian said, sobering quickly. “Your statement was a slip of the tongue, but so very true. Everyone makes jokes about lawyers, and yet we willingly toss our hearts at their feet and shell out big bucks, hoping they can fix whatever’s gone wrong in our lives.”
“What if they can’t fix things in our case?” Facing Brian again, Faith was gripped by such apprehension she barely got the words out.
“Oh, they’ll rule in favor of someone. One of us three.” Brian, too, sounded cheerless. He crooked the back of his index finger and brushed it lightly over Elyse's soft, translucent skin. “The trouble is, there’ll be only one winner. Two of us will lose. That's the sad fact. I've seen lawyers and courts in action, and I’ve seen that it’s often the person with the craftiest, most sneaky attorney who takes home all the marbles.”
Faith saw how gently Brian stroked Elyse's cheek. Despite Gwen’s encouragement, Faith suddenly felt on unstable ground again. “Has something else happened, Brian? You sound so...cynical.”
He tore his gaze from the baby and studied her somberly.
His demeanor prompted Faith to blurt, “I’m afraid Carter will come off looking better to the judge. Aren’t you? He has a stay-at-home wife, and a huge house with a huge yard. To say nothing of a rich papa backing him one-hundred percent.”
“My apartment has twenty-four-hour-a-day security,” Brian returned, as if in self-defense. “The rooms are big and airy. There’s a nice neighborhood park nearby and good schools less than a block away. My parents aren’t super-rich, but I guarantee they’ll dote on their grandchildren. They’re currently running a free medical clinic for street kids in Brazil. But if I need them to strengthen my position in this case, they’ll fly home at a moment’s notice.”
“Is that a polite way of telling me that my position is the shakiest? My apartment is dinky compared to yours. I suppose you’ve told your lawyer that I’m also the caretaker of my dad...”
Elyse began to fuss and Brian shifted her to his shoulder. “Apparently, you have a low opinion of me. I don’t know, maybe from your prospective I deserve it. Lord knows, I screwed up my marriage to your sister. This is different. Chloe might have made a conscious decision to cut me out of her life, but the babies aren’t in a position to do that. Until they’re old enough to pass judgement on my ability to be a parent, they ought to live with me. They’re as much a part of me as they are Chloe. Dammit, Faith, surely you understand what I’m saying. You struggled to keep your family together for years. Chloe told me about the many times you and your mom staved off social workers who would have removed you girls from the household.”
“That’s right, Brian. Children belong in a loving environment. My mother was ill, but she loved us. And Dad loved her. Yes, it was tough, but strangers or nannies didn’t raise us. Chloe made no bones about how much your work took you away from home.”
Rising, Brian swayed gently to quiet the baby. “This is an argument better saved for the hearing. It’s easy to see that neither of us is going to change the other’s mind. All we’re doing is creating tension. I’d hoped we could be sensible.” He studied Faith as he rocked, missing the woman he remembered. The old Faith looked at all sides of an issue and never jumped to conclusions. Chloe had a short fuse and a hot temper. Not Faith. At least, she never used to.
“That’s some statement coming from the man who stomped off in a huff last week in the toy department.”
“I admit you hit a raw nerve that day. At the moment, though, our arguing has upset Elyse, which I’m sure is the last thing either of us wants.”
“You’re right. How long are you going to be in town? Perhaps we should set up a schedule for visiting the twins so we don’t show up here at the same time.”
“I’m sorry it’s come to that, Faith.” Honest regret darkened Brian’s blue irises. “No matter how the DNA shakes out, you are always going to be the children’s aunt. Let Carter act like an uncivil ass. I’d like it if you and I kept an open line of communication.”
“Has Nick been uncivil?” Faith frowned.
“To me. In the lab. And after he had his blood drawn, he stepped into my cubicle and informed me we’d do all our talking through our lawyers. Which reminds me. Has Reed called you regarding the Carter’s lawyers’ latest brief?”
Faith shook her head. “I haven’t talked to David today. I have an appointment to see him this afternoon. Tell me. I hate surprises.”
“James Maxwell, my attorney, faxed me a copy of a complaint Nick’s team filed. They want to restrict our visits to the babies. Apparently Carter has a boat race in the Key West. He’ll be gone for the next two weeks. The gist of the brief—-Nick claims it’s unfair that we get to spend time with the twins when he can’t.”
“So the babies are supposed to be deprived of cuddling because he’s off sailing?” Faith said explosively. “That’s dumb. What’s wrong with his wife? Or his father? Couldn’t they visit?”
Brian placed the now-sleeping Elyse in her bed. He pulled the stocking cap over the tuft of light hair curling around her ears. Absently he set the pink terrycloth teddy bear in the corner nearest to her head. “Don’t get mad at me, Faith.” Brian cautioned quietly as he followed her into an anteroom where both shed their masks, gowns and gloves. “If the auburn-haired ice queen who was with Carter downstairs is his wife, Shelby, I get the distinct impression that nothing about this situation pleases her.”
“Really? Didn’t he tell us Shelby was dying to adopt a child? Even Chloe said Nick and his wife reconciled in order to try a new fertility method. That sounds as if she really wants a baby.”
“Maybe so. I could be reading her wrong. If she’s undergone a lot of fertility tests, it’s possible that being in the lab is what she found distasteful.”
As the two walked to the elevators, Faith stopped suddenly and grabbed Brian’s arm. “Say you did read her wrong. In confronting her husband’s infidelity is what’s bothering her, why is she sticking with the jerk? I mean...they weren’t even divorced, and he was screwing around behind her back.”
Brian gave a short laugh. “I’m only guessing, but the Carter fortune might be old Nick’s trump card. The lady wore more gold than they found in Cleopatra’s tomb. You know the type. She breathed money. Suit looked like a million bucks. Italian dress shoes. Fingernails that have never seen a chip.”
The elevator arrived and they stepped inside. Because they were alone, Faith broached something that still disturbed her. “David told me this custody settlement could end up costing us all a lot of money if it drags on.”
“That’s the main reason I hate to see you take a leave of absence, Faith.” Brian ran a compassionate gaze over her face. “DNA is going to prove that one of us—-either Nick or me-—is the twins’ biological father. I can’t help but think those results will be deciding the factor. Real dad gets twins. Case over. That leaves you poorer for having shelled out all your savings to Reed.”
Faith glanced at her watch. “Do you have time for a cup of coffee? I’ve got an hour before my appointment with David. There’ something I’d like to discuss with you—-somewhere other than the hospital cafeteria. I don’t want to contribute any more to the rumor mill.”
“I had a list of things to do, but sure.” He said, peeling the cuff back over his watch. He hesitated to mention his appointment with a furniture rental firm. He’d intended to tell her about taking a six-month lease on a unit next door to her, until James Maxwell cautioned him to think of Faith, as well as Nick, as the enemy. Well, she’d find out soon enough. He’d seen the rental sign the day of the funeral, when he’d stopped by her place. The location was convenient, and he’d thought being neighbors would help maintain good relations with Faith. At James’s strongly worded suggestion, he’d tried to find another accommodation nearby. There was next to nothing available. Nothing suitable.
“Is the bagel place three blocks over still in business?” He asked, avoiding explanations of private matters. “I came in fasting for the blood test. I could use a bite to eat.”
“It’s still there. And on my way to Reed’s office. I’ll buy my own. Okay?”
Resting a hand on her back, Brian guided Faith out of the elevator and toward the hospital’s front entrance. “In some ways you haven’t changed much, Faith. Still prickly as a cactus when it comes to letting a man do something for you."
“What do you mean?” Her steps faltered.
“Come on,” he scoffed. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a clue how many poor residents’ hearts you broke with that ‘I can take care of myself’ attitude. I know the common belief is that interns and residents don’t have two dimes to rub together, but we had our pride. Any one us could have bought you pie and coffee in the cafeteria. Or pizza and beer if you’d ever gone to Tony’s when you were asked. It doesn’t take too many turndowns for the guys to get the picture.”
“Oh? And what picture is that?”
“Back then, we all thought you were a snooty Boston blueblood. Or that you had your sights set on one of the senior doctors like Dr. Rueben. Did it break your heart when he married that socialite? I forget her name.”
Faith drew back in shock. “Dr. Rueben? You mean Steffan Rueben?”
“The very same one. You followed him around O.R. like a lovesick puppy.”
“I did no such thing! Dr. Rueben was one of the few surgeons who didn’t eat first-year nurses for breakfast. I followed him because I could learn more from him than from anyone else. The other doctors had me cowering in the shadows. Besides, your crowd went to Tony’s after the late shift. Mom needed me home. She was really, really sick. By then the hospice team cared for her while I worked. But she always fretted until I got home and took over. Anyway, it wasn’t as if you lacked female companionship, Brian. I was probably the only nurse at First Memorial who didn’t pay you homage on those evenings at Tony’s.”
Brian grabbed the door to the restaurant as another couple came out. He missed and the door shut in Faith’s face. Apologizing profusely, he opened it again and ushered her inside. “Surely, you don’t mean you left the hospital after working a full shift and then nursed your mother all night?” Brian’s shocked gaze said he hadn’t known.
“It didn’t kill me. Anyway, it’s all in the past. My schedule wasn’t any worse than yours when you were building your practice. I know, because Chloe used to call and talk my ear off on the nights you stayed with new transplant patients.”
“She did? I don’t recall our telephone bills reflecting that.” He stared at the board listing coffees and choices of bagel toppings without really seeing them. His mind reeled, back to the year he’d all but turned handsprings in O.R. trying to make an impression on Faith Hyatt. All these years he’d thought she’d brushed him off for no good reason.
“Chloe reversed the charges.” Faith chuckled at the way Brian’s head snapped up. She gave her order for iced coffee, paid for it and carried it to a table at the back of the room. Idly, she swirled the ice in her drink. Instead of drinking, she plotted how to introduce the topic of Chloe’s estate disbursement, which was what she needed to tell Brian. He seemed to think she hurt for money. In the interest of fairness, she thought he ought to know that in a way, she’d be using his own money against him.
“Why am I just now hearing that you subsidized my wife after we moved to New York? I swear I never stinted on household expenses. Chloe had money. I hope she didn’t insinuate otherwise.”
“Honestly, Brian. It’s not big deal. Chloe said you put her on strict budget. I was impressed, since I’d never been able to tell her no. Besides, if you must know, I welcomed her calls. I was lonely. Losing Mom and then having to place Dad in managed care so soon after you and Chloe moved to New York was hard. You guys assumed I had Daddy for company. In fact, I was more like his nurse. I did everything I knew to combat his depression. Nothing worked. Chloe said I had to place him in managed care. Eventually I had to agree that was best.”
They sat in silence for a moment. Both concentrated on their drinks, and Brian his food. Faith spoke first. “I didn’t ask you here to rehash the past. In addition to preparing custody papers in my name, Chloe made me sole beneficiary.”
“That’s good.” Brian set his bagel aside and touched the napkin to his lips. He glanced over his shoulder to see what Faith found so puzzling. Or was it something he’d said?
“Do you mean that?” She murmured, her eyes shifting to meet his.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
“The bulk of Chloe’s estate came from your divorce settlement. Including a tidy sum from the proposed sale of your beach house.” Faith shredded her napkin, waiting for him to tell her that, under circumstances, he would contest Chloe’s will.
Instead he smiled gently. “So? Chloe didn’t work. Where else would she have gotten money to live on?”
She let her lashes lift slowly until their eyes met. “I’ll use my portion to fight you and Nick for custody of the twins. You said I should step aside and not waste my savings. But I’ll spend every dime Chloe left to carry out her wishes. The last thing she said to me was ‘Take care of my baby.’ Don’t forget she didn’t know there were two.”
“I see.” Brian pushed his plate aside and downed the rest of his coffee. “I guess we’ll each do what we have to do, Faith.” He said in an understanding voice.
“Then you really aren’t mad about the money? I thought you’d be furious, but I didn’t think it was fair not to tell you. Better you contest the will now, before I spend any of it and have to pay you back out of my savings.”
“It was Chloe’s money to do with as she pleased. We were partners in marriage, Faith. She apparently had qualms about a lot of issues in our marriage, but lack of money wasn’t one. I’m truly sorry for everything that went wrong between us. Sorry if I didn’t try harder.” He dug into his pocket and tossed a couple of bucks on the table for tip. Brian didn’t know what more he could add to his apology. Frankly, he didn’t know why he even felt the need to apologize. The more he thought about what had gone wrong in his marriage, the more he decided it was as much Chloe’s fault for not understanding the nature of his job as it was his for failing to see how deep her unhappiness went. He didn’t want to think that he might have married the wrong sister.
A part of Faith’s brain knew Brian had risen and pushed back his chair. She concentrated on the last of the melting ice in her drink. She was sorry his marriage hadn’t worked out. Or rather she was and she wasn’t. And that uncharitable wedge of ambivalence left her feeling like a traitor-—or worse. Chloe would probably still be alive if she and Brian hadn’t divorced. Still, she couldn’t help wondering how differently all their lives would have played out if she hadn’t been so shy when she first met Brian. Today she’d learned quite by accident that he’d known she was alive back then. Surprisingly, he’d noticed other men’s interest in her, too. And in spite of all the time that had passed, he remembered she’d been absent from the crowd that frequented at Tony’s.
If... Faith never finished the thought. She had been too shy and too bogged down with work to flirt the way other nurses did. It was far too late to wish she’d been more like Chloe so that Brian might have fallen in love with her rather than her sister. Might-have-beens were futile. Faith would die of embarrassment if Brian ever learned of her wayward dreams.
“Are you going to stay here and finish that watered-down coffee?” Brian asked, forcing Faith to look up at him.
“Yes. David’s office is only a short walk from here. Don’t let me keep you. I know you have things to do.”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure this is the part of town where a woman should walk alone anymore. The neighborhood used to be safe, but a lot can change in five or six years.”
“You’re right about that.” She said. “But not in this particular neighborhood. Thanks for worrying though, I can’t remember the last time anyone did.” She added almost to herself.
Brian thrust his hands into his pockets. “I suppose that’s, uh, because you’re so damned self-sufficient, Faith. Well, you take care, ok?”
Her heart beat fast at his words, she was tempted to turn and watch him weave his way through the wrought-iron tables. Instead, she wrapped both hands around her glass and tried to hit the straw with shaky lips.
Faith waited until she was sure Brian would have hailed a cab or disappeared in whatever other manner he chose. Luckily the street was clear except for a couple of teens, weighted down with backpacks, trudging home from school. She fell into step behind the boys and listened to their banal chatter as she followed them the three blocks. They turned and left at the corner where she turned right to go to David’s office.
On the ground floor of his building, she spotted a restroom. Faith stopped to comb her hair and freshen her pale pink lipstick. Frowning into the mirror, she tried to see herself the way a man like Brian would see her. Her dark curls rested in a becoming cut that framed high cheekbones and naturally tanned skin.
Critically, Faith decided her brown eyes were boring. Chloe’s had shone a flawless sky-blue. Faith hoped both Elyse and Evan inherited their mother’s eye color.
Chiding herself for letting her mind wander, Faith tucked her comb back into her purse and took a minute to straighten her blouse and smooth the lapels of her suit. At least she had good metabolism. She’d been wearing a consistent size since high school. That certainly helped in the wardrobe department. Snatching her purse off the mirror shelf, Faith pushed open the door and hurried across the lobby to catch an elevator heading up to David’s floor.
“Hello, Ms. Hyatt.” She’d been there so often this past week, the receptionist knew Faith on sight. “Mr. Reed just buzzed out to see if you’d arrived yet. Help yourself to coffee or tea while I let him know you’re here.”
Smiling, Faith shook here head. “I just finished some before I came. I’ll read a magazine until he’s ready. If he’s started something else, tell him I don’t mind waiting.”
The receptionist hung up the phone and beckoned Faith. “He sounds anxious to see you. Please, go right in. You know the way.”
As Faith reached for the doorknob, David flung the door open. “I’m glad you’re here a little early.” He said. “Come in. Sit down. It’s crunch time, Faith. It seems Nick Carter has to go out of town for a few weeks. His team convinced the judge to advance the preliminary hearing.”
“Advance it? To when?” Faith hovered over the edge of the chair David had pulled out. She neither stood nor sat.
“Relax.” He placed a beefy hand on Faith’s shoulder and eased her into the chair. “We’re to meet in Judge Brown’s chambers at ten tomorrow. Carter and his wife are in town because he had blood drawn at First Memorial. They’re staying the night. Don’t look so horrified. Sooner is better. This way, we’ll get some rules established up front.”
“Is Dr. Littrell going to be there, too?” Faith asked. If Brian had known that the meeting had been moved up, why hadn’t he said anything? He hadn’t heard yet, she decided. He would have shared that information with her.
“The court clerk said Dr. Littrell is also in Boston. She spoke with his counsel. Maxwell said advancing the date wouldn’t pose a problem.”
Faith twisted the topaz birthstone ring she wore on the middle finger of her right hand. She wore her mom’s wedding band on the ring finger of the same hand. She gripped it now as if it were her strength of speech. “I saw Dr. Littrell at the hospital today. He said Carter’s lawyers objected to our visiting the babies while Nick’s away in Florida.”
David thumbed through a stack of papers on his desk. “I’d intended to talk to you today about the drafting of a response. If you want to object, we’ll need to file before four o’clock. That will force the judge to deal with the issue tomorrow. Otherwise, I’m afraid the judge might give Carter what he requests, at least until results of the DNA tests come back.”
“That’s absurd! Of course I want to object. Don’t these people know babies need to be held and rocked? Infants who are left on their own fail to thrive. Some stop eating. Even the good eaters can end up with developmental problems.”
“Good, good.” Reed said, scribbling as fast as he could on a legal pad. “I’ll have the firm’s paralegal look up some specific cases to quote. I thought it was a silly point for Carter’s team to insist on. It’s not as if you or Littrell asked to remove the twins from the hospital. Plus, it was Nick’s choice to sail off for a week.”
Faith glanced guiltily away, then back. “I thought you said I’d have no problem taking Evan and Elyse home when the doctor releases them.”
David fiddled with his pencil. “I didn’t expect the case to heat up so fast.”
“I’m ready to bring them home.” Faith said. “I mean, I’ve outfitted a nursery like we discussed. Dr. Sampson, the twins’ pediatrician, said he might let them go home as early as next week.”
“Next week? That changes things.” David snapped his pencil in half. He raked one hand through his hair. “And the first hearing’s tomorrow. I counted on having more time to prepare for our presentation. I haven’t hired extra legal assistants or the secretary I mentioned we’d need.”
Faith slipped out of her suit jacket and rolled up her sleeves. “I’m a good typist, David. And I’m a good organizer. I’ve also pulled back-to-back shifts in my time, so I can run on a lot of caffeine and a little sleep.”
He studied her helplessly, massaging his jaw.
“I made a promise to my sister. I said I’d be there for her child. And you promised me you’d work hard and win this case. I’m holding you to that promise.”
“I did do that.” He agreed. “All right.” He slapped a broad palm down on his desk. “By damn, what are we waiting for?”
“Nothing. I’m ready when you are.” Faith hoped he couldn’t hear how her heart nearly hammered out of her chest. In all her life, she’d never made waves. But this newfound assertiveness felt good.
Pretty damn good, in fact.
