The Doctor's Baby

July straightened her shoulders and took a few deep breaths of crisp mountain air.

The tightness gripping her chest slowly eased.

“I know you said you wanted to be alone, but I was worried.”

Her heart fluttered and she turned. David stood silhouetted in the overhead light. His shoulders were broad and there was a strength to his face that said this was a man who could handle whatever life threw at him.

A man whom a woman—and a child—could count on.

Dear Reader,

The Doctor’s Baby is special to me because this story shares some components of the first book I wrote as an adult. I called that book Somebody’s Baby, and the rejection I received from Mills & Boon® Cherish™ was my very first rejection on the road to publication. It was a nice rejection, as rejections go. They encouraged me to start the book when the heroine is in labor and then resend it to them. At the time I was already working on another book, so I never did resend it.

That was over ten years ago. But I still liked components of the plot. Last year I reworked the story line, and this time it sold. Want to know what the two books have in common?

Baby is in the title. The couples initially meet in Chicago. The hero is a physician. The pregnancy is unplanned. The baby is a boy. That’s about it.

Still, in some small way I feel that first book has been given a second chance at life.

I enjoyed writing The Doctor’s Baby, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Warmest regards,

Cindy Kirk

CINDY KIRK has loved to read for as long as she can remember. In first grade she received an award for reading one hundred books. Growing up, summers were her favorite time of year. Nothing beat going to the library, then coming home and curling up in front of the window air conditioner with a good book. Often the novels she read would spur ideas, and she’d make up her own story (always with a happy ending). When she’d go to bed at night, instead of counting sheep, she’d make up more stories in her head. Since selling her first story to Mills & Boon in 1999, Cindy has been forced to juggle her love of reading with her passion for creating stories of her own … but she doesn’t mind. Writing for Mills & Boon® Cherish™ is a dream come true. She only hopes you have as much fun reading her books as she has writing them!

Cindy invites you to visit her website at www.cindykirk.com.

The Doctor’s Baby

Cindy Kirk

To my wonderful co-workers: Sue McHargue,

Pam Black, Vickie Richter, Janae Svagera and Jackie

Couron. I’m still working because of you.

You’re the best!

Chapter One

Giving birth in an emergency room wasn’t on July Greer’s agenda. Neither was having her one and only one-night stand be the doctor striding through the door.

Though a mask covered his mouth and nose, she’d have recognized those electric-blue eyes anywhere. For a second the pain and pressure gripping her body paled in comparison to her shock.

You’re not supposed to be in Wyoming.

The accusation never made it to her lips. Instead she cried out as another viselike pain gripped her belly.

“I’m Dr. Wahl.” Without casting a glance her way, he rushed past her to take a seat at the other end of the exam table. He dropped out of sight for a moment then pushed the sterile drape down.

“The nurse is right. We don’t have time to get you to the delivery room.” The tense set to his jaw and the concern in his eyes did nothing to ease her anxiety. Thankfully, if he recognized her it didn’t show. “How far along are you?”

July prided herself on her even temperament, but the pain had taken over her body again and now her temper flared. She’d given that information at the admissions desk and to at least two E.R. nurses. Couldn’t one person have written it down?

“Thirty-six weeks.” Her irritable tone morphed into a pant even as she fought to not bear down. The urge became overwhelming though the nurse standing beside her chanted in her ear that she must.not.push.

July vowed to stay strong, to pant like a dog for as long as it took to protect her baby. If only there was some guarantee her efforts would be enough. She wasn’t due for another month. According to all the books, a baby did a lot of growing those last few weeks.

“He’ll be okay, won’t he?” July asked when she could breathe normally again.

David, er, Dr. Wahl, must have heard the fear in her voice because he lifted his head. “If your dates are accurate, lung maturity shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Is that a yes?” July snapped as another sharp pain ripped through her body.

“The baby is crowning. Take a couple breaths, then hold and push,” he instructed.

Though it seemed like an eternity, minutes later her son made his appearance, wailing loudly and weighing in at a respectable five pounds two ounces.

The baby was carefully inspected before Rachel Milligan, the nurse who’d been at her side, brought him close. A check of fingers, toes and body parts confirmed that while he might be small, her son was indeed perfect.

The breath July had been holding came out in a whoosh. All the sacrifices she’d made these past eight months had been worth it. Gazing into his unfocused eyes, she vowed that no matter how rough life got, she’d always be there for him.

She was only beginning to get acquainted with her new son when an RN July hadn’t seen before swept into the room. With competent hands, the nurse took him from her arms and whisked him off in an isolette. July’s heart twisted as the baby disappeared from sight.

“You did fantastic.” Rachel squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry about your little boy. We’ll take good care of him.”

Her little boy. The tidal wave of emotion continued to build. “I’m going to call him Adam.”

July was sentimental when it came to names. Unlike her own, which was simply the month she was born, she wanted her son’s name to mean something more.

“I like Adam.” Rachel rolled the name around on her tongue. “Is it a family name?”

July nodded. Adam “A.J.” Soto was like a brother to her. Had been ever since they’d done the foster home circuit together. For as long as she could remember A.J. had been her confidante, her sounding board and, most of all, a good friend.

“He certainly is a handsome boy with all that dark hair,” Rachel said.

Lots of dark hair had been what July had noticed first about her baby. While she loved her own reddish-colored hair, she was glad Adam’s hair was more like his dad’s.

“Does he look like his father?”

“He does,” July said without thinking. She wasn’t sure what David was “finishing up” down there but she felt him pause. Though she couldn’t see his hair under the blue cap, she vividly remembered running her fingers through the dark wavy strands that long ago night.

The words had barely left her lips when he stood. With one gesture he brushed off the cap, lowered the mask and fixed his gaze on her. For the first time since he’d entered the room, he focused, really focused on her. Though it was barely noon, lines of fatigue edged his eyes. Yet a curious glitter shone in the blue depths.

A sense of danger snaked its way up her spine and she started to shake. If David discovered Adam was his son …

For a second the room spun but July refused to give in to the fear.

You’ve gotten yourself out of worse.

The realization steadied her. She took a deep breath and forced the fear from her mind. One step at a time. That’s how she’d managed to get through life so far and it was how she’d get through this unexpected calamity. First, she needed to stay calm and not overreact. David had no reason to think their one night together had resulted in a pregnancy. That’s how she intended to keep it.

“Everything looks good.” His gaze never left hers. “The baby was small so despite the precipitous delivery, you didn’t tear at all.”

Perhaps she should have been embarrassed by the comment, but David was a doctor. And there wasn’t anything of hers he hadn’t seen or touched. At the moment she felt nothing but gratitude. “Thank you for everything.”

He stared for a long moment then inclined his head in a slight nod. “They’ll be taking you to a room soon.”

The professional tone was reassuring. But then his eyes softened and July knew she was in trouble. “When my shift is over, I’ll stop by and see how you’re doing.”

A knot formed in the pit of July’s stomach. He remembered her. And by the look in his eyes, he’d done the math.

Fear wrapped icy fingers around her neck. A.J. was always telling her she was too cynical, a glass-half-empty kind of person. July preferred to think of herself as a realist. Her childhood had taught her many valuable lessons … including that men couldn’t be trusted. And her encounter last summer with the smooth-talking married doctor had only reinforced that belief. That’s why David would never know this child was his.

A baby might not have been in her plans. She might not have instantly embraced the idea of motherhood. But now that he was here, she loved her son with her whole heart. Sharing him with a man who had no scruples simply wasn’t an option.

David leaned back against the gray metal locker in the Jackson Hole Memorial Hospital’s physician lounge. All afternoon he’d stitched lacerations, stabilized broken bones and told himself that the baby boy he’d delivered at 11:28 a.m. this morning couldn’t be his son. After all, when he and July had spent the night in that hotel room in Chicago, he’d made sure they used protection—each and every time.

However as a physician, he knew condoms weren’t one hundred percent effective. Mistakes happened. The instant the thought crossed his mind, he rejected it. That baby boy—any baby for that matter—was a miracle, not a mistake. And if the child was his, he’d take responsibility.

“Why so serious? Bad day?”

“Not at all.” David turned and smiled at the lanky physician with the mop of sandy-colored hair. Dr. Travis Fisher had been a good friend since high-school days. He’d been the best man at David’s wedding and a pallbearer at his wife’s funeral two years ago.

If there was anyone he could talk to about this awkward situation, it would be Travis. But David had never said anything about his one-night stand with July and he didn’t have time to explain it all now.

“I was just thinking that Mary Karen will have my hide if I miss one minute of Logan’s birthday party,” David added.

David’s sister had been blessed with three little hellions, er, sons. She was a great mom, but the boys were a handful and in definite need of a male influence. Unfortunately, Mary Karen’s ex-husband wasn’t around. He’d left Jackson last year and was now in Boston enjoying the single life he’d missed so much. David tried to fill in, attempted to spend as much time with the boys as possible, but what the three pre-schooers really needed was a dad.

Unfortunately David didn’t see that happening, at least not anytime soon. When Mary Karen wasn’t caring for the boys or working PRN at the hospital, any free time was devoted to cleaning and cooking. Neither of which were particular strengths of hers.

“What’s on the menu tonight?” Travis lifted a brow. “Tofu?”

David laughed. His friend was obviously thinking of the time in high school when Mary Karen had made dinner for them. “Thank God, no. Logan is on a spaghetti kick, so that’s what we’re having.”

“It’d be hard to ruin that.” Travis pointed a finger at David. “But if anyone could, my money’d be on your sister.”

The fondness in his tone didn’t surprise David. Mary Karen and Trav were old friends. They’d even dated for a short time back in high school.

“Why don’t you join us?” David urged. “I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

“I appreciate the offer, but duty calls.” Travis gestured with one hand toward the door. “They’re prepping a C-section for me now and I have another on her way in.”

“Looks like it’s going to be a busy day in the nursery,” David murmured, remembering how empty the beds had been over the weekend.

“Speaking of deliveries …” A speculative gleam filled Travis’s hazel eyes. “I heard about your unexpected one this morning.”

Travis was an OB and one of the best in town. It figured he’d heard about the delivery.

“Baby couldn’t wait for you to show up.” David kept his tone offhand. “The boy sure had a good set of lungs on him. Cute little fella.”

“The mother’s pretty easy on the eyes, too.” Travis wiggled his brows. “And according to her admission form, she’s single. I stopped and saw her before I came down here. You don’t see eyes that shade of green all that often.”

“I didn’t notice her eyes,” David said pointedly. “I didn’t have time because I was too busy doing your work.”

“Ouch.” Travis brought a hand to his chest and stumbled back against the locker in a melodramatic gesture. “Felt that one.”

David just chuckled.

But when Travis straightened, his gaze grew sharp and assessing. “A man would have to be blind not to notice those eyes.”

An intern who’d been helping out in the emergency room earlier exited the lavatory and cast a curious glance their way.

“She had good prenatal care.” Travis acknowledged the other doctor with a nod while effortlessly changing the direction of the conversation.

“I’m sure the Sun Times has good insurance,” David responded then cursed himself when Travis paused, head cocked.

“She told me she’s a freelance photographer.” Travis spoke slowly and David could almost see the mental wheels spinning. “She didn’t say anything about working for a newspaper.”

“I must have misunderstood.” David grabbed his jacket. “Gotta go. I want to check on her and the baby before I head over to Mary Karen’s house.”

“No need,” Travis said. “I already looked in on her. And John Watson is following the baby.”

“It’s not a bother.” David kept his tone casual. “I don’t get to deliver many babies. I want to make sure everything is okay.”

Travis arched a brow. “Sure that’s all it is?”

The guy was like a dog with a bone. David exhaled harshly and raked a hand through his hair. Maybe he should just tell Travis the whole story. But before he could yield to the impulse, the alarm on his watch buzzed. No time for confessions today. He slammed his locker shut and strode to the door. “I really have to go.”

“What am I going to tell the nurses?” Travis hurried to catch up. “You didn’t give me squat.”

“What are you talking about?” David didn’t break stride.

“I’m not naming names, but the day shift told me you couldn’t keep your eyes off the new mommy. They got the impression you knew her and asked me to get the inside scoop.”

David skidded to a stop on the shiny linoleum, keeping a firm grip on his temper. Hospital gossip drove him crazy but he’d long ago learned the best way to handle it. “Tell them the new mommy and I have been having a torrid affair and I’m madly in love with her. Oh, and you can tell them that the baby is mine, too.”

As he’d expected, Travis chuckled. “I’ll let ‘em know it’s a false alarm.” He clapped David on the back. “Enjoy the party and give that pretty sister of yours a kiss for me.”

“If you want to kiss her,” David shot back, “you’re going to have to do that yourself.”

But as David left the lounge, he found his mind not on his sister or his nephew’s party. It was on the woman upstairs in room 202. And on the baby in the nursery. The boy with the dark wavy hair … just like his own.

Chapter Two

In an attempt to avoid elevator small talk, David took the stairs to the second floor. Once he reached the nurses’ station, he chatted with the staff while flipping through July’s thin chart. There wasn’t much information. She’d listed her marital status as single, her job as a freelance photographer and her address as Chicago, Illinois. There was no next of kin listed so if she was involved with someone, the relationship couldn’t be that significant.

He wondered what had happened to her job at the Sun Times and what had brought her to Jackson. While this was a beautiful part of the country and he’d always been proud to call it home, it wasn’t a “passing through” kind of place.

Well, he’d find out soon enough. David squared his shoulders and with clipboard in hand, turned and headed down the hall with purposeful strides. Only when he reached her room did he hesitate. Travis was following her now so there was really no reason for him to be here. Except he’d delivered her baby and they were old friends … of sorts.

Feeling as awkward as a fifteen-year-old, David rapped lightly on the partially closed door then pushed it open.

July sat in the bed with a tray of food before her, dressed in a simple hospital gown. She wasn’t show-stopping pretty, not like Celeste, but there was something compelling about her. Though she couldn’t be more than five foot three, with her big green eyes, shoulder-length auburn hair and a creamy complexion, she’d stand out in any crowd.

If she was surprised to see him, it didn’t show. She placed the dish of orange gelatin on the tray and stared at the red stitching on his lab coat. “I thought your name was spelled W-A-L-L.”

Relief washed over him. She remembered his name … even if she was off on the spelling. In the delivery room he hadn’t been sure she’d recognized him. And he hadn’t known how to ask.

“Because it’s pronounced the same, lots of people get the spelling wrong.” He ambled to the bed, hoping the tension that held him in a stranglehold didn’t show. “What’s this I hear? The nurses tell me you haven’t even been here twenty-four hours and you’re already asking when you can leave.”

“My insurance policy has a high deductible.” She lifted her chin. “I’m a cost-conscious consumer.”

David rocked back on his heels and cursed his insensitivity. The comment had been meant to tease, to break the ice, not make her feel bad. “If you need financial assistance, we have a wonderful social service department. I can have someone stop—”

“You misunderstand,” she interrupted. “I have savings. I just want to keep as much of it as possible.”

“Of course. Excellent. Well, if you change your mind, let me know.” David found himself stumbling over the words. Normally he could talk to anyone about anything. But here he stood, tongue-tied and awkward. Feeling this unsure didn’t make any sense. Neither did her coolness. After all, they’d parted on good terms.

“Barring anything unforeseen, you should be able to go home tomorrow,” he said finally when the silence grew intolerable. “One of our home health nurses will check on you twenty-four hours after you leave the hospital. It’s an extra service we offer.”

July’s emerald eyes took on a distant look. “I’ll need to buy a car seat and then come back for Adam—”

“When you leave here you need to take it easy,” he said in a firm voice, as if she were one of his patients. “The baby will be staying with us for a while longer so there’s no rush on the car seat.”

“The nurses told me he was doing fine.” Fear skittered across her face and her eyes filled with tears. “Has something happened to him?”

“He’s a little jaundiced. Not unexpected in a preemie,” David said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. Though he didn’t have a lot to do with obstetrics, the hormone surge experienced after delivery was well-documented. He should have chosen his words more carefully.

“When my water broke, I knew it was too early.” Her voice cracked and she collapsed back against the pillows, looking much younger than her twenty-six years. “I couldn’t stop it. Everything went so fast …”

“There wasn’t anything you could have done differently.” He resisted the urge to pat her on the shoulder. “Your body was ready to deliver when you walked through the door.”

“I don’t know how that happened,” July continued, almost to herself. “The doctor swore I’d go late.”

“What was your due date?” David asked in as casual a tone as he could muster.

“April 15.”

The tension that had been gripping his shoulders slid to his chest. He’d been calculating dates in his mind from the moment he’d recognized her name on the medical record and had seen her swollen belly. If she was due the middle of April she’d had to have gotten pregnant around the time they’d been together in Chicago. Though he thought he was doing a good job at keeping his emotions from his face, he knew he’d failed when her gaze narrowed.

“Don’t worry.” She waved a hand. “He’s not your baby.”

“How can you be sure he’s not mine?” The second the question shot from his lips David wondered if he’d lost his mind. She’d just handed him a free pass and he was arguing? But a man didn’t walk away from his responsibilities. “The dates match.”

“We used a condom,” she reminded him. “Every time.”

“Are you telling me you had unprotected sex with someone else around that time?”

“Look.” She shoved the tray table out of the way and leaned forward. “The Sir Galahad act is unnecessary. Adam is not your son.”

She sounded sincere. What she said made sense. But he remembered that night as if it were yesterday. There had been nothing practiced in her responses, which told him she hadn’t been with a man in a while. Yet now she expected him to believe she’d spent the night with him then promptly went out and had sex with another guy? It was possible, but something in his gut told him she was lying.

He didn’t like doubting her. She’d impressed him from the onset as being one of those people who told it as she saw it. He’d liked that about her.

David opened his mouth to ask one of half a dozen questions poised on the tip of his tongue, but shut it without speaking. The set of her jaw told him he wasn’t going to get anything more from her. At least not by going the direct route.

He rocked back on his heels. “Are you really going to call him Adam?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

David hid a smile at the challenge in her tone. Feisty. That was another of the qualities that had drawn him to her in that hotel bar. “When I was a boy our next door neighbors had two bulldogs. One named Adam. The other, Eve.”

“Well, I have a good friend named Adam and he’s definitely not a dog.”

A good friend? By the caring in her tone … definitely. But more? David fought an unexpected surge of jealousy, before remembering she hadn’t even given this guy’s name as an emergency contact. “How’d you meet? Neighbors?”

July lifted a shoulder in an unconcerned shrug. “Foster care.”

Just when he thought he was beginning to get a handle on her, she’d surprised him again. Without waiting for an invitation, David dropped to sit on the edge of her bed. “You never told me you grew up in foster care.”

“If you remember, once we got to your room we didn’t do much talking.”

David thought back. She was right. Once that hotel door had clicked shut and they’d hit the bed there hadn’t been much conversation. Lots of moaning but not much intelligible communication. But had she forgotten how they’d sat in the hotel bar for hours doing nothing but talking?