She felt better after showering. In the process of dressing to visit her dad, she contemplated future visits when she’d be taking the twins. Most residents at the home loved babies. With any luck, her dad would show some interest, too.
Faith hummed to herself as she left her apartment. Motherhood—-even temporary motherhood—-was going to be such a joy. It was hard to imagine ever complaining about it, even in fun as her friends had done at the shower. Young though she’d been when she assumed care of Chloe, every new phase her sister entered had delighted Faith. Well, not the teen years, but looking back, Faith decided her problems had stemmed as much from all the responsibilities she’d had to juggle: her college classes, caring for her mom, who was quite ill by then, managing the household and mothering a young woman who didn’t want to be mothered.
Even after those rough years, Faith had envisioned getting married someday and having children of her own. That likelihood now seemed remote. Not too many men would want to take on raising twins—-if she succeeded in gaining custody. And if she didn’t, she’d still be involved in the babies’ lives. Brian might be the exception. And he’d never mentioned wanting a wife.
The attendant at the front desk told Faith her father was having a bad day. She found it to be true. He was entrenched in the past and confused Faith with her aunt Lorraine. Faith gave up after an hour of watching him flip from show to show on his small TV.
Depressed, Faith didn’t take him out to lunch as she normally tried to do. Instead, she left word to have his doctor call her at home to review her dad’s medication. If they didn’t do something, he’d never experience the joy of knowing his grandchildren.
Having jogged back to her apartment, Faith changed into a tack suit and took several baskets of laundry down to the basement, where the communal washers and dryers were. It wasn’t until her third trip that it struck her she’d have to do this several times in a week with two babies. Did she bundle them up into infant carriers and cart them up and down the stairs? How could she do that and carry laundry? And what if one of them fell ill?
A washer and dryer in her own apartment was probably the best solution. But how could she fit them into her already overcrowded place? Dashing upstairs with a basket of things that needed folding, Faith ran into movers struggling to get a tan leather couch through her elusive neighbor’s door.
She craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the man as she passed, but saw only two more brawny movers.
Back in her apartment, she noticed the message light blinking on her telephone. Figuring it was her dad’s doctor, she hooked the laundry basket over one hip and paused to play the message.
“Faith, it’s Brian. I would have called Friday after I visited the twins, but I had business to take care of in New York.”
“Good.” She muttered aloud. At least he and Nick were both out of her hair now. Except that wasn’t the end of Brian’s message.
“While I was at the hospital, Trish told me that the twins are being released tomorrow. I was on the road before it dawned on me that you don’t have my cell number. It’s the easiest way to reach me.” He rattled the number off fast. Faith had to search for a pen and back up the message so she could write it down. Although why she’d need to call him she couldn’t think of. As if he’d leave in the middle of a consultation and race to Boston to help her.
In the next breath, he said, “If you need anything, anything at all, Faith, call me. I’ll move Heaven and Earth to help. That’s the truth. Um, I’ve rambled enough and we’re both busy. See you soon. G’bye.”
For a moment she pictured them as a team. “Yeah, sure.” She snorted, placing her index finger on the button to erase his message. As if she’d ever call on him.
Still, she couldn’t help dwelling on his words. His offer sounded sincere. Had Brian done the same to Chloe? Reassured her, then not been around to follow through when she needed him?
It was how doctors were. Faith could have told Chloe that. Or maybe not back then. At the time Chloe fell in love with Brian, Faith had only worked at the hospital a year. She’d viewed doctors as kings among men, and Brian had worn the crowning jewel.
Then he’d married her little sister. And work had become just that. A place to go every day. Something to keep her mind occupied so she’d forget the doctor who’d brightened her life.
Boy, she hated all these windows opening into the past. She ought to be telling herself that Brian was only one man in a vast ocean of men. She should flush him out of her mind.
Faith dumped the clean baby clothes on her bed and sat beside them, covering her face with both hands. The naked truth was, she’d never stopped dreaming about Brian. Whenever Chloe invited her to visit, she used to worry that somehow her sister would guess. Had she ever had an inkling? Surely not.
Hopping up, Faith went into the bathroom and rinsed her hot face in cold water. Studying her dripping reflection with coolly assessing eyes, she knew she’d done the right thing in hiding her infatuation from Chloe. Really, she’d had no choice. But that attraction, that wanting, had never gone away.
When it came to fighting Brian for the babies, didn’t her feelings make her a bit of a fraud? She yearned for him, yearned to share the joy of these babies with him. In court, she might be forced to state, or at least imply, the opposite.
Oh, she was a fraud. It hurt to admit it. The truth was, if it turned out Brian and not Nick had fathered the twins, she might have to rethink her stand in the custody fight. But never in ten million years could Faith tell him why.
For the remainder of the day, as she raced back and forth finishing the laundry, Faith delivered convincing pep talks to herself. Nick was her nemesis. After all, Chloe had been sure he’d gotten her pregnant. Or pretty sure. Faith didn’t find it hard to think about fighting Nick Carter for custody.
At night she struggled with her conscience, but she couldn’t have slept anyway. Her new neighbor spent the night bumping around, hanging pictures or who knew what.
Bleary-eyed, she showered and heard water running next door. At least the man was an early riser. The chorus before six-o’clock feedings shouldn’t upset him.
Faith puttered until nine, when she called a cab to take her to the hospital.
Wrestling a double stroller, an oversized diaper bag weighed down with diapers, blankets, bottles and baby clothing, plus her purse, down the elevator and out the door left Faith panting.
“Looks like you brought the whole nursery and forgot the baby.” The cabby said as he helped her fold and tuck the stroller into the cab’s trunk.
“Everybody’s a comedian.” She said, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, you look like you could use a laugh.”
“Oh great, I look that bad?”
He grinned and slammed the back door. “Where to?”
“First Memorial Hospital. Without a scenic tour.”
The man yanked on the rim of his cap and glanced furtively at her in the rearview mirror. “Sorry about the jokes. You shoulda said you had sick kids.”
Faith opened her mouth to explain. She closed it again and stared out the window at the passing scenery. She was too weary from lack of sleep to go into details with a man she’d never see again. “Thanks.” She mumbled.
She tipped him well, as he’d gone to the trouble of opening and stabilizing her not-so-portable stroller. All it took was a flick of the wrist, the salesclerk had guaranteed Faith. Ha! The darn thing required a degree in mechanical engineering to set it up and break it down for travel.
“I’ll wait if you want, or come back and pick you up.” The man offered as he pocketed the money Faith thrust into his hand.
She squinted up. “It’s such a gorgeous day, I’ll walk home with the twins. But thank you, anyway.”
“Twins! You poor woman.” He shook his head. “Good luck.” He muttered as he climbed back into the cab.
What she needed luck with was manipulating the side-by-side stroller through the hospital’s revolving glass door. She wriggled it in, all right, but the diaper bag got caught in the section behind her. A teenager on his way out gave the door a hefty shove, nearly ripping Faith’s arm off. An old man came to her assistance. He saw what was happening and yanked the stroller into the lobby so she could go around again and join up with the dangling bag.
“Phew!” she exclaimed, once she’d made the circuit. “Thank you!”
“You ok, missy? I was afraid we’d need a doctor to amputate your arm!”
“Nothing so drastic. I’ll soon get the hang of maneuvering this contraption.” Thanking him again, she hurried down the hall, only to face a similar problem at the elevators. Faith eventually arrived at the nursery, flushed and more than a little denerved.
The first person she laid eyes on was Brian. Arms crossed, he lounged negligently in the doorway of the nursing office. His sandy blonde hair appeared newly cut. He wore sneakers, blue jeans and a faded blue t-shirt that molded itself to his body.
Now, even though Brian wasn’t dressed up, Faith felt frumpy. Her tank top hung lazily over her cargo jeans and a lock of hair had fallen over one eye.
She blew it aside in exasperation. “What are you doing here? Yesterday, when you phoned, I thought you were in New York.”
“I was. Now I’m here. To help settle the babies in their new home.”
If Dr. Sampson hadn’t stepped off the elevator then ambled over with a wide smile, Faith would have exploded at Brian. He’d all but accused her of being incompetent.
“Anxious to get them home, are you, Faith?” Dr. Sampson reached into a closet and helped himself to a clean lab coat. “I hope you realize you can’t bring the kids back, and there are no trade-ins on new models.”
“He’s such a tease.” The nursing supervisor said, holding open the door to let Faith, Brian and the doctor into the examining room, where she’d already wheeled the two isolettes. “As if anyone would let these precious babies go.” She crooned. Then, when the couple’s situation seemed to dawn on her, she made a strangled sound.
Faith had put her foot in her mouth a few times herself in front of patients of their families. She commiserated. “Honestly, Eileen. I don’t know how you can bear to let any of them go. It’s a good thing I work on post-op ward instead of here.”
The nurse gave her a grateful smile. “We hang on to a little piece of each one.”
When Brian looked puzzled, she pointed behind him to a corkboard wall of photos. “Most parents send us one of the newborn pictures. Oh, say, hasn’t anyone provided you with information on the hospital photographs?”
Faith and Brian shook their heads.
“After Dr. Sampson formally releases you, and after the babies are dressed to go home, a photographer comes to the mom’s room and takes the pictures. Wait, you don’t have a room. Three-ten is empty. Use it.”
“This dynamic duo is all yours.” Dr. Sampson announced. He handed the nurse the twins’ charts, squeezed Faith’s arm and shook Brian’s hand. “I’ll leave instructions at the nursing station about when to bring them in for check-ups, along with sample packs of formula.” Winking, he strode off, calling over his shoulder. “Now you can get back to the important task of having their pictures taken.”
“I wish I’d known about this earlier.” Faith said as she began dressing Elyse. “I just gave all my cash to the cabdriver. Shoot, and I used all my film at the shower the other night or I’d take a roll at home.”
Brian dug in his wallet. “I have money, Faith.”
She clamped her teeth over her bottom lip. Only yesterday she’d sworn she wouldn’t accept help of any kind from him. Here she was, breaking the pledge already.
“It’s a normal sitting fee.” Eileen assured them. “That entitles you to one free eight-by-ten portrait. You’re not obligated to order any. Everyone does, though,” she said conspiratorially. “Some of them are ghastly, but there’s something special about that first photo.”
“Take the money, Faith.” Brian tossed forty dollars on the examining table. “I’d say no strings attached, but I’m going to want copies of the pictures.”
“Of course. I’ll insist on repaying you half of the sitting fee.”
He threw his hands up. “A few lousy bucks. It’s no big damned deal.”
“Don’t swear around the babies, please.” Faith scolded.
Brian smoothed a hand over his hair. “I don’t make a habit of crusing, but sometimes you can be so exasperating.”
Fortunately, before Faith could reply, another nurse opened the door and stuck her head inside. “Do you have one of the babies ready to do the oxygen saturation test in your car seats?”
Faith moved Elyse to one side of the table and covered her with a receiving blanket. She laid out Evan’s new romper. “I’m taking the twins home in a stroller. We’re walking.” She said.
“It’s a hospital rule. Babies aren’t released until their car seats are checked properly and adjusted.” The young nurse insisted.
“That’s going to be difficult. I don’t own a car.” Faith told her.
“I came to drive you home.” Brian picked up Elyse, who’d begun to fuss.
“Well, I’m walking.” Faith pursed her lips. She was having difficulty snapping Evan's romper.
“You can’t walk everywhere.” Brian argued.
“Stay here and get the pictures taken. I’ll go buy car seats. Tell me where to find them.”
“I have two infant carriers at home. The clerk in the baby department said they’d double as car seats for the next few months. I plan to buckle them into the back seat of cabs when we go for the doctor’s appointments.”
“Those will do.” The nurse sounded relieved. “We’re required to run the tests.”
“Good grief.” Faith folded a blanket around Evan. “Are you saying I got that double stroller down here for nothing?” She didn’t know why, but tears pricked at the back of her eyes. She’d wanted this day to be perfect.
Brian noticed her mounting frustration. He rubbed a hand along her tense back. “Give me your apartment key and tell me where to find the carriers. It won’t take me fifteen minutes to make the round trip. Go have the pictures taken before the kids start to squall. We’ll decide after the test whether to walk home using the stroller or to pack it in the trunk and take the car.”
Faith nodded. She didn’t trust herself to speak. If she got weepy over something trivial as this, Brian would have good reason to think she couldn’t cope with two babies. It must be because she hadn’t slept well for the past two nights. After a decent night’s rest, she’d bounce back to her old self.
Evan didn’t like the photographer’s bright lights. Elyse had fallen asleep again, and the woman taking the pictures wanted her to open her eyes. Evan flailed his arms and bellowed so loudly Eileen rushed into the room to see what was wrong.
“I don’t have all morning.” The photographer said irritably. “These babies weren’t on my schedule. I have half a dozen others lined up and waiting.”
“Maybe a few sips from a bottle will calm this young man.” Eileen suggested. She turned to the photographer. “Why don’t you shoot the Benton pictures in 312? That’ll give us time to settle Evan.”
“All right.” Wadding her background sheet, the photographer picked up her portable lights and took off.
“Is it time for Evan to eat?” Faith asked anxiously when the woman was gone. “According to the schedule Dr. Sampson gave me, Evan ate at ten and isn’t due for another feeding until twelve.”
“I imagine a taste will suffice. This is generally his nap time. All this activity is new for them.” Eileen bustled out; she returned a minute later with a two-ounce bottle. Reporters from three newspapers followed her and barged in to interview Faith and take pictures.
Faith refused to allow the use of flashes, but she didn’t know how Elyse could sleep through their noisy questions. Ignoring them, she paced the floor and patted Evan's back. He wasn’t about to be appeased. At least, not until she took the bottle from Eileen and popped the nipple in the baby’s mouth. His little chest rose and fell a few times, but he latched right on. “Excuse us.” She closed the door, shoving the reporters out.
Eileen scooped up Elyse. “Dr. Littrell is back with the carriers. The oximotor test takes ten to fifteen minutes. I’ll get this one started.”
Brian came into the room just as Evan sucked the bottle dry and began to fuss again. He issued a few terse answers to the press crowded around the door, then asked what was wrong with Evan.
“I think he’s still hungry. That two-ounce bottle only whetted his appetite.”
“So feed him more.” Brian said, relieving Faith of the bottle so she could burp the baby.
“It’s not his scheduled feeding. Eileen thought a taste would do.”
“Isn’t the new method to feed on demand?”
“Well, he’s demanding, all right.” Faith acknowledged, feeling the beginning of a headache. “I hate to ask, but could you go to the nursing station and get another of those sample bottles?”
“Don’t hate to ask.” Brian said solemnly. “I want to help. As a matter of fact, I’ll feed him if you’d like to go see what’s happening with Elyse. Eileen disappeared with her through those double doors at the end of the hall.”
Faith swayed from side to side, still holding the baby. Would she be shirking her responsibilities if she left Brian to quiet Evan?
“Would you rather I checked on Elyse? I thought you might like to see what they’re doing to test the infant carriers.” Brian didn’t want to step on Faith’s toes, but he intended to share in the going-home process. She might as well resign herself to that fact.
“I’ll have someone bring you a bottle.” Faith handed over the squirming little boy. She ducked the press and ran right into the photographer. “Could you go on to the next family?” Faith asked. “They’re running a test on Elyse, and Evan is still hungry.”
The woman checked her watch. “Mrs. Littrell, you’ve already thrown my entire schedule off. I’m due to another hospital at one o’clock. I’ll give you ten minutes. If you’re not ready then, you’ll have to do without pictures.”
Something in Faith snapped. “First, I’m not Mrs. Littrell. I’m Ms. Hyatt. Second, I’m sure other studios have left portfolios with our hospital administrator. Are you quite sure your company can afford to lose the repeat business of so many new mothers? I’m on staff here. And we have the largest birthing center in the city.”
“Sorry.” The woman mumbled, shamefaced. “Take whatever time you need. I’ll call ahead and explain my delay. A lot of new moms eat lunch before they go home. I’m sure it won’t present a problem.”
“Do that.” Faith pushed through the double doors and heard Elyse wailing. And why not? They had her cinched in the infant carrier, which was strapped to a machine rocking her forward and back and alternately bouncing her up and down.
Eileen sprinted into the room. She ripped open a plastic packet and stuck a clear pacifier into Elyse's mouth.
“Oh, I hadn’t planned on using pacifiers.” Faith told her.
Eileen laughed. “All new moms say that, honey. My advice with twins is to stop on the way home and buy a couple sets. See, it quiets them right down.”
“I know but...” Faith didn’t go on. Already she felt as though she was treading water. She’d read the parenting book from cover to cover and had come away with such good intentions. It seemed that in the space of an hour, they’d broken all the rules.
Faith felt her energy—-or what remained of it—-drain out. Maybe she would let Brian drive them home. He could help her cart all the stuff they’d collected up to her apartment. She hadn’t realized the hospital gave care packages to new babies. Knit caps, booties, diapers and formula, to name only a few things. If Eileen had added anything else, there wouldn’t be room for the babies.
“This kid slurped down another full two ounces, which I had to get.” Brian informed Faith when she carried Elyse back into the room. “You’d better ask Dr. Sampson if you can increase the amount of his formula at each feeding.”
“Sorry.” Faith rubbed at the lines that creased her forehead. “It’s probably due to all the excitement. I told you this isn’t even Evan's regular time to eat. Anyway, Dr. Sampson has gone. I saw him get on the elevator. The good news is the reporters went, too.”
Brian started to say something, but just then the woman taking the pictures knocked at the open door. “Good, good.” She said, quickly setting up her equipment again. “They finally seem content. Do you want their pictures taken together, separately or both?”
“Together.” Faith decided aloud at the same time Brian said, “Separately.”
The photographer arched an eyebrow.
“It occurred to me they’ll both want an album someday.” Brian said, pulling Faith aside.
“I should have thought of that.” It upset her that Brian seemed to have a better grasp on parenting than she did. “Someone gave me two baby books at the shower. One for each.”
“In any case,” the photographer put in, even though no one had consulted her, “twins should be treated as individuals, Mrs. Lit—Ms. Hyatt. Although it’s not so much a problem with a boy and a girl.”
“Why’s she so confused about your last name, Faith?” Brian muttered.
“She thought we were married.”
Brian arranged the sleepy Evan on the background sheet as the idea burned into his brain. Married to Faith. An idea he’d entertained six years ago. Obviously not one that had ever occurred to Faith, judging by the way she was giving the photographer the evil eye.
“She made a natural mistake.” He growled. “No sense trying to explain. It’s no one’s business.”
“My thoughts, exactly. Okay.” She said in a louder voice, turning to the woman. “We’ve decided on separate shots.”
It took quite a lot of coaxing to film both children with their eyes open. After the woman had handed Faith a receipt for the money and left with the completed address forms, the clock had pushed past one. Evan still hadn’t had his car carrier examination. Then Elyse woke up crying.
“She’s wet.” Announced Brian. “Probably hungry, too. I’ll take care of both of those problems if you’ll round someone up to give Evan that test.”
“I’m sorry for tying your day up. I didn’t realize checking them out would be this involved. When we release patients from the surgical floor, we plop them in a wheelchair and someone escorts them out to a waiting car.”
Brian grinned. “This reminds me more of buying a car. You have to work up through five levels of sales pitches and get all the gizmos explained before you can drive it out of the dealership.”
“I’ve never bought a car. Now I doubt I ever will.” She said, and sighed, heading out to the nursing station.
“What’ll it be?” Brian asked her at two o’clock when they were finally released to leave. “So, are we walking or taking the car?”
“In view of all this junk we’ve collected,” Faith said, “it makes more sense to take the car. Unless you’re anxious to go home to New York. By three, traffic out of town gets wicked, or so I’m told.”
Brian gazed into her wide brown eyes for a moment, debating with himself as to whether he should forget James Maxwell’s instructions and tell Faith about the apartment he’d rented—-next to hers. He apparently debated too long.
“Never mind.” Faith said, bending to arrange the cartons of formula in the stroller’s basket. “Transportation in my responsibility. I might as well figure out now how to lug stuff home. I’ll be grocery shopping by stroller. This will be good practice.”
“I know you want to be independent, Faith. But I told you I want to help.”
Faith glanced up, expecting to see some version of I-told-you-so reflected in his eyes. She saw only compassion. It affected her empty stomach more than she cared to let him see. “Then quit standing around, and load this stuff in your trunk while I take Evan for his test. According to Eileen, someone on staff has to check that they’re properly installed.”
“Right. You bet.” Brian made a short work of packing the stroller and taking off. Half and hour later, he stood at the curb jingling the car keys in his hand as the nurse wheeled Faith out, a blanketed baby cradled in each arm. Her face glowed with pleasure. Brian wasn’t prepared for the longing that struck suddenly, without warning. She looked so right holding the twins. It forced him to take stock of all that was missing in his life.
Faith looked up then and saw him. She smiled hesitantly. Suddenly it felt too much like she was being wheeled out to meet a loving husband. Why had she ever agreed to let him drive them home?
Brian saw the light fade from her large, expressive eyes. This was a tender, momentous occasion. One usually shared by husband and wife. Brian didn’t know what was going through Faith’s head, but knowing her, she was probably thinking about Chloe. About how if things had been different and he hadn’t been such a jerk, he’d be meeting Chloe here right now. He didn’t know how to tell her there hadn’t been that kind of tenderness between him and Chloe for a long time before she decided to divorce him. No man liked to face the fact he’d made a wrong choice. Since this wasn’t the time or place to discuss it, Brian offered Faith what he hoped was a friendly smile. A smile of reassurance.
She struggled to stand, still seeming uncomfortable. “Here,” Brian blurted. “Give me Evan. I’ll go around to the other side and strap him in. You handle Elyse.”
It was this working in tandem with Brian that threw Faith off balance. She was awfully afraid she could get used to having him around to rely on. But he wasn’t going to be around. He was going to drop her off at her apartment and head back to his busy clinic. As he should. He had no obligations and patients needed his attention. Chloe’s babies were her responsibility now.
“Have you got her fastened tight?” Brian suddenly said directly over Faith’s left shoulder. She jumped back and struck her head on the car’s door causing bright lights to flash behind her eyes, stunning her for a moment.
“Hey.” Brian guided her gently to the curb. “Are you all right?” He asked as he massaged the top of her head. He even dropped a kiss on the spot.
“I’m fine.” Although she didn’t sound it. “We need to hurry and get to the apartment. Elyse is starting to cry louder. She didn’t have a bottle when Evan did.”
Unhappy at losing his moment of connection, Brian held the passenger door open for Faith, then closed her inside. It took less than five minutes to travel the five blocks to her apartment. He wished the ride had been longer even though Elyse was screaming her head off well before they parked.
Faith whisked the babies up to her apartment and went straight to the nursery. Brian finished carrying everything from his car.
“What can I do?” He asked, pausing to look around at the décor of the nursery as he pocketed his keys.
“Do?” Faith had placed Evan in his crib. He sprawled there contentedly. She was in the process of changing Elyse's diaper. “Oh, you can let yourself out. My door locks automatically. I hope you have an uneventful trip back to New York.”
He opened his mouth and promptly closed it again at James’s objections replayed inside his head. Nick and Faith were his opponents. He’d been warned about getting too chummy. Yanking the string on one of the crib mobiles, Brian listened to the first tinkling strains of “Lullaby” before muttering, “You have my cell number if you need me.” He’d planned to fix lunch, but something in Faith’s frosty manner changed his mind.
“Um...yes. I wrote it down. But don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”
Brian ran a finger softly down each baby’s cheek then waved to Faith and left.
She sat in the rocker and fed Elyse. When the musical mobile ran out, she leaned back and enjoyed the silence. This was what she’d envisioned. Their lives were going to be perfect, after all.
Only not for long. Faith had no sooner settled Elyse in her crib than Evan woke up bellowing. A dry diaper didn’t satisfy him. It was way too soon for him to eat again. He spit out the pacifier Eileen had included in the packet and kicked and wailed nonstop. In a matter of minutes, paradise had turned to chaos.
Finally, hours later, Faith rocked the fussy boy back to sleep. The babies were reacting to new surroundings, she told herself. Bigger cribs. Both of them—-all three of them—-would eventually adjust.
By midnight, Faith was dead on her feet. The babies’ schedules were completely off. Nothing coincided. They were supposed to eat at the same time. She’d bought a special pillow to hook around her waist in order to feed them simultaneously, but neither baby would take a bottle while lying on it.
Dawn broke and Faith had yet to sleep a wink. She stood tensely at the window and promised herself she’d get them on track today. How hard could it be?
As the second evening rolled around, she was near tears. She hadn’t found time to shower or eat more than a few bites. One or the other of the twins seemed to cry constantly. Faith didn’t know if she could survive another night without sleep. But, of course she could. Other single mothers did.
At one in the morning, she thought she’d succeeded. Both babies had closed their eyes. Suddenly Evan stiffened his legs and let out a bloodcurdling cry. She walked the nursery floor with him. His cries woke Elyse. As the nursery clock edged up to two, Faith joined the chorus of tears. She’d consulted her book but found no firm answers.
She was making her hundredth revolution around the small room when someone pounded on her front door.
“Oh, no.” she sobbed. “We’ve woke our neighbor.”
Faith’s arms ached from holding both babies for so long. It wasn’t easy shifting both so that she could unlock and open the door the length of the chain.
“Please, I’m sorry.” She said into the dim hallway. “I have new twins,” she explained. “One’s very fussy. I’m planning to call the doctor as soon as I—-the office is open.”
“When in hell were you going to call me?” Growled a familiar voice on the other side of the door.
“Brian?” swabbing at her tears, Faith loosened the chain and let it fall. She swallowed back more than tears. Brian was barefoot and bare-chested. His well-fitted jeans were zipped but not buttoned. His eyes were heavy-lidded and his face bore a two-day stubble that made him look rather dangerous. Dangerous and sexy.
“Wh-what are you doing here dressed like that?” Faith squeaked as he herded her back into the room and pushed the door shut.
“For two days, I’ve been sitting next door listening to these babies cry, waiting for you to call. Which you refused to do—-but I’m not letting my babies down to accommodate your stubbornness.”
“Next door! You’re living next door?”
“Yes. How long since you’ve slept? Hand me those two. You hit the sack.”
Faith jerked back, pulling the babies right out of his hands. “I’m not letting you have them! I know why you’re doing this, Brian. To make me look bad!”
“Give me a break. I don’t have to do that. You already look like hell.” With that, he wrenched the babies away from her. Stripping them out of their blankets, he draped two sweating little bodies over each of his shoulders. Like magic, after a few snuffles and shudders, the infants snuggled their faces into his neck and both fell asleep.
Faith’s shaking legs gave out and she collapsed onto the couch. A part of her muzzy brain wanted to kiss Brian for the blessed silenced. Another part wished for the energy to boot his sneaky, sexy body straight back to New York City. Before managing to do either, she toppled to the side, snoring softly.
Her last puzzled thought before she fell asleep was ‘Brian’s living next door. What does that mean?’'
