A Child Under His Tree

Well, duh, Kelly. Her name was written plainly in Tyler’s medical chart. How many Kelly Rasmussens could there be, particularly in the small town of Weaver?

The young blonde nurse stepped between them as she rolled the cast saw unit into the room.

Panic suddenly slid through Kelly’s veins and she snatched up their coats from the chair.

“You can stay,” the nurse assured, looking as cheerful as ever. “The machine looks more intimidating than it really is.”

Kelly’s mouth opened. But the assurance that she was perfectly comfortable with the saw stuck in her throat. She didn’t dare look at Caleb. And Tyler was starting to look alarmed.

How could she explain to any of them her urgent need to flee?

Caleb took a step past her, approaching the exam table. “I’m Dr. C, Tyler. We’ll have you fixed up in no time.”

The nurse patted Kelly’s arm comfortingly as she moved the saw next to Caleb. “He’s going to cut off your cast and put the new one on,” she chirped. “Did you decide what color you want?”

“Red.”

“Again?”

“I like red.”

One part of Kelly’s brain observed the scene. The other part was imagining herself grabbing Tyler and running for the hills.

“I was expecting Dr. Cobb,” she blurted.

The nurse blinked, clearly surprised. Kelly felt an insane urge to laugh hysterically. The practice was still clearly Cobb Pediatrics. The sign on the outside of the building said so. When Kelly had called for an appointment, that was the greeting she’d received.

“He’s on sabbatical,” Caleb said. “Put your coats down, Kelly. It’s been a long time, but you’re here and your son’s cast needs to be replaced.”

Your son.

She let out a careful breath, finally daring to glance his way as he set the medical chart on the counter next to the sink before flipping on the water to wash his hands. He was wearing an unfastened white lab coat over blue jeans and an untucked black shirt. “How’d you break your cast, Tyler?”

“Sliding down the banister at my mother’s house,” Kelly answered before Tyler could say a word. She knew it was silly not to want her son talking to Caleb, but she couldn’t help it. And she felt sure that Caleb would have already read the information the nurse had recorded in Tyler’s chart. “I would have taken him to the hospital if I’d known the doctor was away,” she said to the nurse.

“No need for that.” Just as Kelly had spoken to the nurse, Caleb aimed his comment at Tyler. “Banisters are pretty cool. How’d you break your arm in the first place?”

“Jumping out of a tree,” Kelly answered again. Even though it took her closer to Caleb than she wanted to be, she edged closer to Tyler. Every day that she looked at her boy, she could see his father in him. How could Caleb miss the similarities that were so obvious to her? “Sabbatical where?”

“Florida,” the nurse provided. “Six more months yet. He’ll miss all of Weaver’s lovely winter.” She widened her eyes comically. “Poor guy.” She draped a blue pad over Tyler’s lap. “You’re lucky today,” she told him. “Dr. C is going to take your cast off himself. He doesn’t do that for just everyone.”

Kelly’s nerves tightened even more. But she could see Tyler’s alarm growing as he stared at the saw. She dumped the coats on the chair again and rubbed her hand down his back. No matter what she felt inside, her son’s welfare was first and foremost. “It’s a special kind of saw, buddy. Only for cutting through casts. It won’t hurt a lick.”

His eyes were the size of saucers. “How do you know?”

“I had a broken wrist once, too. Remember I told you that?”

“She did,” Caleb concurred. In a motion steeped in familiarity, he reached out his long arm and snagged two gloves from a box next to the sink. “She was fourteen years old.” As he worked his fingers into the blue gloves, she hated the fact that she noticed he wore no wedding ring. Not that the absence of one proved anything.

Not that she cared, either way.

The lie was so monumental she felt herself flushing.

“Flew right over the handlebars of her bicycle,” he was saying. “Saw the whole thing. I’m sure your mom remembers that day very well, too.” His eyes snagged hers for the briefest of moments, and she looked away.

The nurse handed him the saw. “This’ll be loud, Tyler, but your mom’s right. It won’t hurt,” Caleb said. He turned it on and the loud whine filled the room.

Kelly didn’t want to, but she moved out of the way so he had more room to maneuver. Only then did she realize she was still clutching the plastic marker. She it inside her purse then moved back to the opposite corner near the door.

The noise from the saw was short-lived. After only a few minutes, Caleb turned it off and handed it back to the nurse. Then he used the long-handled spreader to separate the gap he’d just cut in the fiberglass cast. “Doing okay there, Tyler?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Tyler was obviously over his alarm and watched as Caleb worked. “You knew my mom before I was born?”

The knot in Kelly’s throat doubled in size.

“Sure did.” He took up a pair of scissors and began snipping through the padding next to Tyler’s skin.

“That was a long time ago, huh.”

“Sure was.” Caleb flicked another glance her way. What he was thinking was anybody’s guess. As a young man, she’d been able to read every thought he had.

Now his expression was completely unreadable.

Could he recognize his own eyes looking up at him from Tyler’s face and not show any reaction at all?

Then he focused on Tyler again as he pulled open the fiberglass cast and slid it gently away from Tyler’s forearm. “Still doing okay, buddy?”

“His name is Tyler,” Kelly said tightly. She was the one who called her son “buddy.”

“Tyler Cobb Rasmussen,” Tyler piped proudly. “That’s my whole name.”

“Cobb!” The nurse exclaimed. “What a coincidence.”

Hardly that. But Kelly had no desire to explain anything to the nurse. As it was, she wondered just how close Caleb and Doc Cobb had gotten over the years. Even though the elder physician had been the one to refer Kelly to a professional associate of his in Idaho Falls, she had never told him why she’d been so anxious to leave Weaver. Aside from her mother, Kelly had never told anyone in Weaver that she’d been pregnant when she’d left.

She crossed her arms tightly and returned Caleb’s look with a hard-won impassive look of her own. Mentally daring him to make some comment. Some observation.

But none came.

Instead, with the nurse’s assistance, he had Tyler’s arm recast in short order. Leaving the young blonde to clean up the small mess that remained, Caleb threw away his gloves, washed his hands again and scribbled in the chart before holding it out for Kelly. She took it, but he didn’t immediately release it, and her nerves ratcheted tight all over again. She tugged a little harder on the chart and he finally released it.

“I was sorry to hear about your mother.”

Her jaw felt tight as she flipped open the chart to scan the contents. She wished she could find fault with the notes but couldn’t, so she closed the folder with a snap. She wanted to ask him why he was sorry, but that sounded too much like something her mother would have said. “Thank you.”

She wondered if she imagined his faint sigh before he went on to explain that the nurse would give them information on cast care.

“Think I’ve got that covered,” Kelly said.

One corner of his mouth kicked up in an imitation of a grin. It wasn’t a real one. Despite the intervening years, she could still tell the difference between real and fake with him. He turned back to Tyler and stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Tyler Cobb Rasmussen.”

She felt vaguely dizzy but her little boy giggled as he manfully shook the offered hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. C.”

“No more sliding down banisters, okay? At least for now.”

Tyler nodded. “I promise.”

Sure. Easy for Caleb to elicit the promise, whereas Kelly needed to be constantly on alert where her rambunctious, active son was concerned.

Guilt squeezed her stomach. If she’d been better at her job, Tyler wouldn’t have been on that banister in the first place.

And they could have avoided this trip to Doc Cobb’s office altogether.

She rubbed at the pain between her eyebrows.

“You all right?”

She dropped her hand. She didn’t want or need Caleb’s concern. All she wanted was to escape unscathed with her son. “I’m fine.” She retrieved her purse from the chair in the corner and looped the leather strap over her shoulder before lifting Tyler off the table and handing him his jacket. She went ramrod stiff when Caleb cupped her shoulder. “It was good to see you.” The touch was as brief as it was light and shouldn’t have felt like it burned.

Yet it did.

Then he opened the door and left the room.

Kelly could have collapsed with relief.

“We all love Dr. C,” the nurse commented as she tore off the protective paper from the table and rolled out fresh. “He’s so great with the patients.” She smiled impishly. “And pretty great to look at, but don’t tell him I said so.”

Kelly wrapped her fingers around her purse strap and clutched her own jacket to her waist. “How long has he been here?”

“Almost a year now.”

The nurse didn’t seem surprised by the question. But then she probably fielded lots of questions from single mothers about the handsome Dr. C. Kelly’s fingers tightened even more on the leather strap. “I’m surprised,” she mused casually. “I’d heard he was on the surgical track. Didn’t even know he’d switched to pediatrics. Is he here permanently?”

“We’re all hoping so.” It was hardly the definitive answer Kelly wanted, but the nurse pulled the door open wider as she led the way from the room, pushing the saw unit ahead of her. She smiled brightly at Tyler. “Take care of that cast like Dr. C said, okay?”

“I will.” Tyler tucked his left hand in Kelly’s. “Can we have ice cream?”

The vise around her nerve endings eased up as she looked down at his hopeful face. Everything she did in her life was worth it when it came to her precious boy.

Even facing his unknowing father.

She leaned over and kissed Tyler’s nose. “After dinner.”

“When’s dinner?”

“Trying to tell me you’re already hungry?”

He nodded.

She led him through the rabbit warren of hallways until they reached the exit where the billing desk was located. The white-haired woman sitting at the desk was a welcome sight. “Mary Goodwin! You’re still here? You were threatening retirement even when I used to work here.”

The woman laughed. “I tried a few years ago. Went stir-crazy after only a few months and begged Doc Cobb to give me back my job. I heard you were back in town. Haven’t changed a single little bit, either. Still as pretty as a picture. How’s married life?”

Kelly faltered. “Excuse me?”

Mary looked awkward for a moment. “I... Nothing. You know how word gets around in these parts.” She focused quickly on the paperwork in the chart. “No follow-up appointment?”

Kelly hesitated. Had Doc Cobb told people that she’d gotten married? It was far more likely that such a story had originated with her mom. Though for what purpose, Kelly couldn’t imagine. “We’re only here for a few weeks. I’ll take Tyler to his regular pediatrician back home when it’s time.” She handed over her credit card before pushing her arms into her jacket sleeves. “You can put the co-pay on that.”

Mary ran the card. “I saw your mother’s obituary in The Weaver Weekly.” She set the card and the printed charge slip on the desk in front of Kelly. “My condolences.”

She quickly signed her name on the authorization. “Someone is still publishing The Weaver Weekly? Surprised that hasn’t died off by now.”

Mary shook her head. “Quite the opposite. Comes out twice a week now.”

“Any other changes around town I should know about?” She managed to keep her tone light.

“Just drive on down Main Street and see for yourself,” Mary advised. “Weaver’s grown a lot since you left. There’s even a—” she cast a quick look at Tyler “—a particularly popular fast food place on the other side of town. Bekins Road, right before the highway on the way to Braden. Arches on the sign,” she added, raising her eyebrows for emphasis.

“Never would have expected that.” Maybe in Braden. The town was a good thirty miles away and had always edged out Weaver in terms of available services. Kelly slid everything back into her purse and took Tyler’s hand again before pushing on the exit door. “Take care, Mary.”

“You too, honey.”

They stepped out into the weak October sunshine and Kelly hauled in a deep breath.

“Mommy! You’re squeezing my hand too tight.”

“Sorry, buddy.” Kelly quickly loosened her hold as they walked to the small parking lot that was full of vehicles. Hers was the only one sporting an out-of-state license plate. She let go of his hand and unlocked the car doors. He climbed into the rear onto his booster seat. He was particularly independent about fastening his own safety belt, and she waited while he worked at it, not closing the door until she tugged the strap to be sure it was secure.

Then she straightened, glancing back at the building over the roof of her car.

Six years had passed since that night she and Caleb had unintentionally conceived the brightest light in her life. Six years since they’d had any sort of contact. Intentional or otherwise.

She’d gotten over Caleb a long time ago.

He, of course, had never needed to get over her.

Six years.

That time had evidently brought a lot of changes to Weaver. But none of them mattered to her. She and Tyler had a life—a good life—in Idaho. One she’d worked darned hard to achieve. They had friends. They had a home where Tyler had never known anything but love. She’d returned to Weaver to do her last duty as Georgette Rasmussen’s daughter.

She wasn’t going to let herself think about anything else.

Caleb Buchanan included.

Chapter Two

“I heard Kelly Rasmussen and her little boy are in town.” Caleb’s sister, Lucy, leaned past his shoulder to set a bowl of salad on the kitchen table. “Staying out at her mother’s place. I should take them a meal or something. Can’t be easy for her.”

“I’m sure she’d like that,” Caleb answered smoothly. He wasn’t sure if his sister was fishing or not, but knowing Lucy, she probably was. “Last time I saw Georgette’s house it was practically falling apart, and that was years ago.” He’d gone to see Kelly’s mother only once after he and Kelly had parted ways for good. Only because he could hardly believe the story around town: that she’d moved to Idaho and gotten married. There were even stories about a kid.

Georgette had confirmed it, though. The woman had wallowed in her bitterness as she told him how Kelly had abandoned her in favor of her new life in the city. She then told him about Kelly’s new man and the baby they’d had together.

Georgette’s attitude hadn’t been particularly surprising. She’d always given new meaning to the word ornery. But the fact that Kelly really was married? With a baby, no less?

Even though there was nothing between them anymore, the confirmation had knocked him sideways.

He eyed the platter of pork chops Lucy put on the table. His mouth had been watering for her cooking since that morning when she’d called to invite him for supper. But his thoughts kept straying to his encounter with Kelly.

He’d seen Tyler Rasmussen’s name written in as a last-minute addition on the schedule but hadn’t thought twice about it. There were dozens of Rasmussens around Weaver. The family seemed to have more branches than his own.

Then he’d opened the boy’s chart and Kelly’s signature had all but smacked him in the face.

His only thoughts when he’d opened the examining room door after that were to keep his act together. He was a physician, for God’s sake. Not a stupid kid who hadn’t known what he had until he’d thoughtlessly tossed it aside in favor of someone else.

She’d always been pretty, with otter-brown hair, coffee-colored eyes and delicate features. But Kelly Rasmussen all grown up? She’d held herself with a confidence that she hadn’t possessed before. She was still beautiful. More...womanly.

He pushed the disturbing image to the back of his mind and focused on his three-year-old niece bouncing on his knee. “What do you want more, Sunny? The salad? Or the pork chops?”

“Gravy,” she said promptly. “And ’tatoes.”

“You have to eat some carrots first,” Lucy said firmly. She moved the toddler from Caleb’s lap to her high chair and ruffled her daughter’s dark hair. “She’d eat mashed potatoes and gravy morning, noon and night if I let her,” Lucy said with a wry smile.

“Girl knows what she likes.” He winked at the tot, who awarded him with a beaming smile. “Kelly’s boy is cute,” he commented casually. “Tall for his age.”

Lucy stopped in her tracks and gave him a surprised look. “You’ve seen them?”

He knew from long experience there was no point hiding anything from his family, especially his sister. It was better to head her off at the pass than to keep things secret. Then he’d never hear the end of it.

“She brought him to the office today.” He got up and brought the mashed potatoes and gravy to the table himself, giving Sunny another wink that earned him a giggle from her and an eye roll from her mama.

“You’re as bad as a three-year-old.” Lucy set a few carrot sticks on Sunny’s plastic plate then went to the kitchen doorway and called, “Shelby! Come and eat.”

Only a matter of seconds passed before Lucy’s stepdaughter raced into the kitchen. “Uncle Caleb!” The girl’s light brown eyes were bright as she launched herself at him. Caleb caught her, wrinkling his nose when she smacked a kiss on his lips.

“Kissing boys now, are you?”

She giggled, shaking her head violently. “Boys are gross.”

“Sometimes,” Lucy joked. She filled Shelby’s milk glass. “Caleb sure was for a long time.”

“Spoken like a loving older sister.”

She just grinned at him, forked a pork chop onto her plate and began cutting it into strips for Sunny.

“Mommy, when’s Daddy coming home?”

“He’ll be back from Cheyenne tomorrow night, sweetie.” She transferred some of the strips to Sunny’s plate.

“Good.” Shelby sat up on her knees and attacked her own meal.

Caleb followed suit. “How’s Nick doing?”

“He’s twenty-five, as handsome as his daddy and spending the year in Europe, studying.”

Like Lucy’s stepson, Caleb had been studying when he was twenty-five, too. But medicine in Colorado versus architecture in Europe. “In other words, he’s doing pretty fine. Is he going to go into business with Beck?”

“Beck certainly hopes so. Father and son architects and all. So, how was it?”

Caleb doused his plate with the creamy gravy. “How was what?”

Lucy whisked the bowl out of his reach when he went in for another helping. “Don’t pretend ignorance. Seeing Kelly again, obviously.”

With her mother otherwise occupied, Shelby slyly palmed some dreaded carrot sticks from her and Sunny’s plates. Beneath the table, Caleb reached out and Shelby dropped them into his hand.

Lucy’s eyes narrowed suddenly, darting from Caleb to her daughters. “What are you three grinning about?”

“Nothing.” Caleb blithely folded his napkin over the carrots. He hated them, too.

“Who’s Kelly?” Shelby was only nine, but she’d already developed the art of distraction.

“Uncle Caleb’s old girlfriend,” Lucy said. She smiled devilishly at him. “One of them, anyway.”

“I don’t rub in your old mistakes,” he argued in a mild tone.

She blinked innocently. “Well, I wasn’t the one going around breaking girls’ hearts.”

Not all that long ago, before an injury had sidelined her career, his sister had been a prima ballerina with a dance company in New York. Now she ran a dance school in Weaver, and despite her blessedly relaxed rules over her personal diet, she still drew admiring looks everywhere she went. “Pretty sure you broke a few hearts along the way, Luce.”

“Then she met Daddy and I got to wear a beautiful dress.” Shelby’s expression turned dreamy. “When you get married can I be in your wedding, too, Uncle Caleb?”

He nearly choked on his food, and Lucy laughed merrily. “Sounds like a reasonable question, Uncle Caleb.”

He ignored his sister and answered his far more agreeable niece. “Maybe I’ll just wait until you’re grown-up and marry you.”

That elicited peals of laughter. “You’re my uncle. I can’t marry you!”

Far be it for him to explain the finer aspects of blood relations. “Then I’ll just have to stay single,” he drawled.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Sure. Blame your loneliness on an innocent child.”

Shelby’s brow knit with sudden concern. “Are you lonely, Uncle Caleb?”

“No,” he assured her calmly. “Your mom’s just teasing. How could I be lonely when I have all of you around?”

To his satisfaction, everyone seemed happy to let the matter go at that.

He was wrong to think the reprieve would last, though.

Two hours later, after he’d told Sunny two bedtime stories and played two games of checkers with Shelby, Caleb was ready to leave. But Lucy trailed after him as he headed to his truck. “You never answered the question.”

He set the container of leftovers she’d packed for him inside the cab before climbing behind the wheel. “What question?”

Coatless, she hugged her arms around herself, dancing a little in the cold. “What it was like seeing Kelly again.”

“It wasn’t like anything,” he lied. “We broke up nearly ten years ago. She even married someone else, remember?”

“One of my students’ moms works for Tom Hook, and she says there doesn’t seem to be a husband in the picture. If Kelly’s little boy were a few years older, he could’ve been yours.”

“For God’s sake, Luce!” If he hadn’t known better, he’d have wondered himself about that boy. But even as impetuous as that night had been, they hadn’t been irresponsible. He’d used a condom. They’d always used condoms. From the first time until the last.

“Hey!” His sister had lifted her hands innocently. “Don’t blame me for what other people find interesting topics of conversation. So...no sparks between old flames?”

“It was just another appointment, Luce,” he said smoothly. “Thanks for supper. Tell Beck I’ll be in touch about the house plans.”

“Have you decided where you want to build?”

“Not yet.” He nudged her out of the way so he could grab the truck door. “It’s freezing. You’ll catch a cold.”

“You’re a doctor. You’re supposed to know that being cold and catching a cold aren’t related.”

“Tell that to Mom. She still thinks wearing a scarf during winter keeps a cold away.”

Lucy smiled and lifted her hand, heading back to the house while he drove away.

Lucy and Beck lived on the outskirts of Weaver, on the opposite side of town from the condo he’d been renting since he’d moved back home. Since he had nothing and no one waiting for him at home once he got there, he pulled into the hospital parking lot on his way. He didn’t have to be there, but he also didn’t have to be anywhere else. Might as well look in on the newborn he’d examined first thing that morning.

His presence didn’t raise many eyebrows as he made his way to the nursery. The staff there were pretty used to him by now, ever since he’d joined Howard Cobb’s practice. When Caleb entered the nursery, he washed up and pulled on gloves.

“Come to rock the babies, Dr. C?” Lisa Pope, one of the swing nurses, gave him a friendly smile over the minuscule diaper she was changing.

“Any who need it?” He glanced at the clear-sided bassinets. The majority of them were empty. It was a slow night in the nursery.

“Babies always need rocking.” As if to prove her point, she cradled her freshly diapered charge and sat in one of the wooden rocking chairs lined up against one of the walls. “But none of them tonight are missing a mommy or a daddy.”