The Twin Birthright

Two

Naomi shivered under the blankets in the ambulance as she stretched out on the gurney. She had no reason to be cold. The heater was blasting and the emergency technicians had piled blankets on top of her.

Supposedly it was the aftermath of childbirth making her teeth clatter together. That and relief. Her two little girls—Mary and Anna—had been checked over thoroughly and both declared healthy miracles.

Twins, born in a car, in a snowstorm.

Amazing.

Both her babies were bundled up and being secured by the younger of the two techs in preparation for the ride to the hospital. A pediatrician would be waiting for them there.

Her teeth chattered faster and she searched beyond the open back door for Royce. He stood a few feet away, under a spotlight the techs had placed outside. The halogen beam shone down on his hair, made all the darker by the dampness from a fresh sprinkle of snowflakes collecting and melting. She heard the low, confident rumble of his voice. The tones grounded her with reassurance far more than the blankets. Holding strong to keep him at a distance proved hard right now, with her emotions so close to the surface.

“Thank you,” he said to the older of the two techs. “I appreciate your coming out on roads as messy as these.”

“That’s what we’re here for.” The medic tugged his knit cap more firmly over his head, wind whipping flurries sideways.

“And they’re all really okay.” Royce’s broad shoulders rose and fell with a sigh so heavy she couldn’t miss it.

“Mom’s blood pressure is a little higher than we would like, but we’re monitoring her and we’ll be on the road shortly.” He nodded. “You handled everything very well, especially considering the circumstances. The babies both have a ten Apgar score.”

“That’s good to know. When they were born, they both had blue hands, but they came out crying, actively kicking.”

“That’s excellent. You did a great job in a tough situation. There’s really nothing more anyone could have done in those circumstances.”

Royce scrubbed the back of his neck, a gesture she recognized as weariness. “Other than not go for an impromptu scenic ride with a pregnant woman.”

“You can beat yourself up later, Dad.” The older man clapped Royce on the shoulder.

Dad? Naomi’s throat closed and she bit her lip against a tremble.

Royce shrugged. “I’m not...their dad.”

The pain in his voice tore at her heart. For him, for herself and for her children. She and Royce had made such plans for the future. He was a good man who would have loved her children as much as if they were his own. If only she could have escaped the feeling he was filling a void left by the loss of his own child.

By the loss of his fiancée, a woman he’d known so much longer than his and Naomi’s few, intense months together.

Turning, he walked toward the ambulance, stepping up on the bumper and then inside, his eyes trained on Naomi, his broad shoulders nearly filling the opening.

The ambulance shifted again with the arrival of the other tech, angling past him. “My bad, man. I assumed you two were married.”

Royce shook his head. “Not married. Not a couple. Not the dad. Just a...friend.”

“Then I’m sorry, sir.” The man smiled apologetically. “You’ll have to step out of the rig. You can follow us in the tow truck.”

Royce’s face went tight for a moment before he shot her a forced smile. “Naomi, I’ll see you and the girls at the hospital. I promise.”

He stepped back out and the void where he’d been seemed to expand. Naomi’s stomach sank as the doors closed, sealing Royce out. He dropped out of sight.

She thought she’d gotten used to the idea of doing this on her own, but having him with her through the birth of the babies had felt so right, the connection between them fragile, but there.

The door to the rig slammed, and they pulled onto the road, taking with them the last hint of how things might have been.

* * *

Royce couldn’t will his feet to move, eyes fixed on the glass that separated him from the nurse’s station where the twins were being settled. He watched the staff cradle the girls, tugging a tiny T-shirt and cap on each newborn before swaddling them in a blanket. Try as he might, he couldn’t avert his gaze now that he’d finally made it to the hospital.

The trek here looped in his mind as he remembered the sinking feeling in his chest, being stuck in a damn tow truck with no rights to Naomi or the babies. He’d called to postpone his guest lecture series at the university. He’d also arranged for a car to pick him up in the morning, and sent an email to his administrative assistant at the oil company to start the paperwork for a replacement SUV. A new version of the one he’d had. He didn’t like change in his life. From a make and model of a vehicle to a brand of boots.

At least he hadn’t been stuck finding a ride tonight. The driver had taken pity on him and brought him all the way to the hospital before leaving with the demolished SUV.

Monitors beeped, briefly calling his attention away from the smells of disinfectant and stale coffee. Even late at night, the hospital hummed with activity here in the maternity ward. The low din of a family huddled together waiting to hear the news. A couple of grandparents at the window, tapping. A cart rattled by, pulled by a nurse. A mother walked slowly down the hall, pushing a wheeled hospital bassinet.

A rush of cold air pricked the hairs on the back of his neck as he registered the sound of doors opening. Barely enough time to digest the herd of people flooding in. Naomi’s family filled the room, rushing toward him and the glass window pane. Concern became a common, identifiable feature on everyone’s brow.

So. Many. Brows.

Her sister, Delaney; two of her brothers, Broderick and Aiden. Broderick’s wife, Glenna, and a slew of other Steeles and Mikkelsons, whose faces all started to become a blur after a while, there were so many of them.

So many people here to support Naomi and the girls. That was a good thing. He should be fine with leaving. She didn’t want him here. She’d pushed him away.

But he wasn’t anywhere near okay with turning his back on them. He needed to see her settled in with the girls after the tumultuous delivery. He could provide a buffer between her and her overprotective family. He’d already sent out messages to excuse himself from work for a few days, his research taking a back burner to this.

Delaney—a shier version of Naomi—tugged her dark ponytail tighter, her eyes welling with tears that glistened even brighter than her diamond stud earrings. “Ohmigod, Royce, what happened to my sister?”

“The babies?” Glenna’s gaze was direct.

Broderick stepped up behind his wife. “In a snowstorm?”

The Steeles and Mikkelsons were out in full, overwhelming force.

In days past, they would have been at each other’s throats. Now they were a unified wall of huge personalities.

Royce shifted toward them, while keeping his body angled enough toward the window that he could still see the infants out of the corner of his eye. “We had just left the doctor’s appointment. She got a clean bill of health, so we took a drive to get a bite to eat. The storm came out of nowhere right as she went into labor.” He gestured toward the side-by-side warmers, with pediatricians and nurses gathered on the other side of the partition glass. “Those are your nieces.”

Delaney stepped closer with a soft, “Oh, my.”

Glenna pulled her cell phone from its monogrammed leather case, smiling, her CFO, no-nonsense demeanor fading. “We need photos. Lots. Mom and Jack are already texting me like crazy for updates.”

The Steele patriarch and Mikkelson matriarch were on a belated honeymoon.

Broderick, the oldest of the Steele siblings—and a numbers person like his wife—gripped his Stetson. “Well, you certainly came through. I can’t thank you enough.”

Glenna stepped nearer to her husband, her phone in her hand and her eyes still fixed on the window. “It had to be scary for you.”

Teenager Aiden Steele didn’t even look up from the screen of his social media feed when he snorted, then said, “Like any guy’s going to admit that.”

Royce exhaled hard, muttering, “It was scary. As hell.”

Broderick’s stern face went taut. “Damn straight, it was.” He pinned his youngest brother with a quick stare. “Only young fools don’t know when to be afraid.” He looked back. “Being scared and pushing ahead, that’s bravery.”

Royce cleared his throat. “I’m just glad everyone’s all right,” he repeated, for what felt like the millionth time, but knew it could never be said enough to ease the chill inside him. The room started to close in on him with all these people.

Glenna wrapped her arms around herself, visibly trying to calm down as she rubbed her hands over the elbows of a cashmere cardigan. “Marshall—” the middle Steele son “—flew out to get Mom and Jack and bring them back here.”

“I’m sure Naomi wouldn’t want to interrupt their honeymoon.” Royce waved a hand. Despite the difficulties between them, he knew Naomi could do without the fanfare. She wanted to prove she was capable all on her own. And the last thing he wanted was for her stress level to rise right now and have her blood pressure spike as a result.

Jack and Jeannie had certainly waited long enough for a real honeymoon. They’d had to delay their wedding and their trip after Jack’s spinal injury in a horseback riding accident. Luckily, he’d made a miraculous recovery after the surgery. They’d gotten married shortly after he’d gotten the neck brace off, but their celebration trip had been further delayed.

Broderick shook his head. “Like Dad was going to take our word for it that his little girl’s okay?”

“Fair enough.” Royce scrubbed a hand over his bleary eyes. The magnitude of the night’s events threatened to overwhelm him until he rocked back a step. “I’m going to find the coffee machine. Text me if you hear any news.”

He wouldn’t have been able to sit idly by, twiddling his thumbs, until he’d seen Naomi and the babies. He still needed to clamp eyes on them again.

Then he could walk away.

* * *

Naomi’s shakes had waned, but reality was just as rattling now that she was tucked in her hospital bed.

The magnitude of all that could have gone wrong kept pounding through her head. She’d faced the possibility of death as a teenager with cancer, bringing memories too close to the surface anytime she visited a hospital. But the thought of something happening to her babies?

That scared her more than anything she’d ever experienced.

Hospital beds, even in the maternity ward, never did Naomi’s back any favors. The hospital decor spoke of an attempt at making the place seem more like a homey living room, but fell short of the mark. Doing her best to adjust her position, she sat straighter, determined to make a rapid recovery. The interminable bed rest of her pregnancy had made her stir-crazy. She blinked against the harsh lights of the room as her doctor and the pediatrician exited into the too white hallway.

Despite the roadside delivery, the pediatrician had given her a positive report that ought to have put her mind at ease. Instead, Naomi fidgeted, rubbing her fingers together as the redheaded nurse with freckled constellations on her cheeks adjusted the covers and set a glass of room-temperature water on the rolling bedside table.

The nurse closed the door behind her as she left, and the hushed sounds of hallway conversation dimmed.

But Naomi’s heart was with her babies. She felt like the exams had taken longer than if she’d delivered the babies here. In fact, her daughters would have to stay in the nursery for observation tonight, since they’d been born in such unusual, unmonitored circumstances. The doctor had told her that once her blood pressure came down, she could see them.

The wait was driving her crazy. At least she didn’t have a headache like she’d experienced during pregnancy with her preeclampsia.

Scanning the room, she steadied her gaze on the clock, watching the second hand move like molasses.

The creaking of the door cut through her thoughts, and for a sliver of a second, her heart screamed out for Royce. His calming presence.

Instead of the enigmatic man, Delaney lingered in the doorway, her hand balled into a tense fist as she held on to the sleeves of her green sweater.

Naomi didn’t want to think about feeling disappointed.

Had he left? She swallowed hard and focused on her sister with a smile. Extending her arms for a hug, she drew Delaney close, breathing through the physical and emotional pain that racked her body.

“Naomi, the babies are beautiful. Glenna took a million photos already and I’m sure we’ll take a million more. How are you?”

“Relieved. Eager to see my children. Grateful Royce was there to help.”

“I can’t believe you actually delivered in a car.” Delaney tugged a chair close to the bedside and sat. “You always did have to one-up me. Two babies and now giving birth in a snowstorm. I’ll never top that.”

“What can I say?” Naomi shrugged, adjusting her hospital gown. “I strive to overachieve.”

“I’m just glad you’re all three okay. And the girls, wow. I can’t wait to spoil them and buy tons of little pink outfits. I can’t believe how tiny they are. So precious. You’re so brave.”

“I didn’t have a choice.” Her mind flashed to the terror she’d felt when she realized she wouldn’t make it to the hospital. “They were coming out.”

“I mean, to be a single mom.”

Single.

Not engaged. Not married.

No future with Royce.

She didn’t even have her mother to turn to for advice. Naomi fought back tears, working to remind herself of all she had to be grateful for tonight. “It’s not like I don’t have a ton of support, an even larger family now that Dad’s remarried.”

But no Royce. No father for her children. It had all seemed clear when she’d opted for in vitro fertilization with eggs she’d frozen prior to her treatment for cancer. Now everything was...complicated.

In the wake of her relationship with Royce, she better understood all that was missing in her life.

All that might have been for her girls.

“We’re here for you.” Delaney covered Naomi’s hand with hers, careful of the IV. “What’s the deal with Royce and you being out there together?”

Naomi sighed. “I should just put a sign on the door explaining, so I don’t have to repeat myself. He’s been helpful during the pregnancy. He cares about the babies.”

“And about you. Be honest.” She touched Naomi’s forehead, pushing away loose strands of dark hair.

Naomi bit her lip and weighed her sister’s words. “We’ll always care for each other. But it was just...infatuation. Lust.”

“Lust. Whoa. Friendship and lust and caring. Sounds pretty cool to me.” She gave an exaggerated wink.

“Trust me,” Naomi chuckled softly, “lust is the last thing on my mind right now.”

“Understandable. You must be exhausted and I should let you rest.” Delaney kissed her forehead. “Is there anything I can get for you? Some water? A nurse?”

“Perhaps ask the nurse to take my blood pressure again to see if I can get up?”

“Absolutely. I’ll ask on my way out.” She nodded to the nurse backing through the door. “You’re in good hands. I’ll see you in the morning.”

The middle-aged nurse with silver strands in her jet-black hair barely made it five steps into the room before Naomi’s question burst from her lips. “So, do we get to check my blood pressure again?”

Bowed lips drew into a smile, and for a flash of a moment, Naomi saw a glimpse of her mother in the woman. A painful thought, an ache that never seemed to ease.

“Of course, dear. Let’s see what your number is now.”

Naomi took a deep, steadying breath as the nurse set up the blood pressure machine. Low. Low. Low. The wish looped in her mind like a mantra. Her body needed to respond to the command.

An eternity seemed to pass as she stared at the nurse’s equipment, waiting for the verdict.

“Well, there, Miss Naomi, I have some good news for you. Your blood pressure is back to normal.”

“I’m going to see my babies.” Flinging back the sheets, Naomi prepared to swing her legs off the bed.

A gentle hand met her wrist. “Hold on there, dear. I know your pressure’s back down, but doctor’s orders—you get a wheelchair until he says otherwise.”

“As long as I see my children.” Naomi took a deep breath, the kind she reserved for stepping into a trial, the type that filled her lungs and soul with determination, then she eased her feet to the floor. She was a little wobbly, but overall better than she expected.

“This is my favorite part of my job, dear.”

Naomi craned her head back to examine the nurse. Faint smile lines adorned her cheeks, and the nurse’s green eyes were alight.

“Wheeling people around?” Naomi asked, wringing her hands in anticipation. Doctors and nurses rushed past them, carrying charts and chatting hurriedly.

“No. Uniting mother and child. There is nothing as rewarding.”

Her pulse pounding like she’d ran a marathon, Naomi swallowed, a lump of nervous anticipation welling in her throat, rendering her unable to speak. As they turned the corner to the nursery, her heart did a cartwheel. Royce. He stood near the babies, decked out in borrowed green scrubs. Looking handsome as ever, as he spoke to the pediatric nurse in a tone so hushed and gentle Naomi couldn’t make out a single word he said.

He hadn’t left, after all.

Even though she knew he was here for the babies, she still couldn’t deny how glad she was to see him. He was a part of her past, but he’d also been a part of this miracle.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she was feeling too drawn to him, weakening in an emotional moment. If anything, the other nurse’s presence, with reminders of Naomi’s mother, made her think of how she should be turning to the relatives she still had. She shouldn’t rely on Royce. She wanted to be independent. Even leaning on family would need to be short term—just until she recovered physically—or they could all fall back into the overprotective ways she’d found so stifling as a teen with cancer. She walked a fine line with them in making sure her girls had the joy of the love of a big family.

She smiled her thanks at the nurse who’d helped her down the hall, then rolled the wheelchair toward Royce. “Where is the rest of my family?”

He looked up, lifted an eyebrow and smiled. “Hey, Mama. Good to see you up and about.”

The pediatric nurse at the bassinets grinned before turning away and busying herself with another newborn.

Naomi gestured to her wheelchair. “If you can call riding in this ‘up.’”

He knelt in front of her. “Your blood pressure’s down?”

“Yes. And now I want to see my babies.”

“Of course.” He reached for the first bundle, Mary, and settled her in the crook of Naomi’s arm. Then followed with Anna.

Naomi soaked in the sight of them, clean and sleeping. And beautiful.

She looked up at Royce, finding his eyes locked on hers. She resisted the urge to fidget nervously and reminded herself of who she should be depending on now. “Where’s my family? Delaney said they were all here.”

She’d especially wanted to see Isabeau who was expecting a baby with Trystan Mikkelson.

“They fawned over your babies and then headed home to give you rest.”

“Oh, they just left?” She frowned. That wasn’t like them.

“Your blood pressure was up. I sent them away.”

She sat up straighter, stunned...irritated. “You did what?”

“It’s late. I told them we’ve got this covered. And they said they’ll be back in the morning.”

She looked around at the busy staff and kept her voice low. “What gives you the right to decide who stays with me at the hospital?”

“There’s another weather warning out, so they left to get ahead of the storm,” he said, with such practical calm it set her teeth on edge.

But then she’d always been far quicker to lose her temper than he was.

“And if they’d wanted to stay?”

He stared back at her silently.

Reason trickled through her anger. Nothing could have made her family leave if they hadn’t wanted to—or unless they had an ulterior motive. “They’re all hoping we’ll get back together.”

“Maybe. Regardless, I want to help. Is that so bad?”

“I have help. Or rather, I did until you gave them all their marching orders.” She tamped down her anger. “Who’s watching your dog?”

His Saint Bernard, Tessie—named in honor of the scientist Tesla—was his big, lovable, constant companion.

“My neighbor’s got her. She fine. Don’t worry. Just rest.”

Sagging back, Naomi relented. She had been surprised at how much it hurt saying goodbye to Tessie when she’d packed up her things at Royce’s place. She’d cried more than a few tears into the soft fur.

So many tears. So much grief. She was weary with the hurt.

But it was for the best, because she couldn’t risk falling into a relationship with him again.

Naomi cradled her babies, upset, but not wanting to let anything spoil this first night with her girls. And Royce really had been there for her today. They had meant so much to each other once, even if for only a brief time. “I guess this was our plan, back before.”

“That it was. I spent a large part of your pregnancy expecting to be their father. It’s not so easy for me to just shut that off.”

Tears became heavy in her eyes, compromising her vision, as all the words she knew seemed wrong, inadequate. “I’m so sorry for any pain I caused you. I should have known sooner that—”

“Stop. This isn’t the time to rehash that.” He slid an arm around her, the strength and heat of him so familiar.

So missed.

She shrugged off his arm and the temptation it held for her to slide into their prior routine. “No offense. But touch me and I’ll cry. It’s the hormones. And I wish they were in my room with me and everything was...normal.”

“Understandable. How about we sit together, you put your feet up here—” he pushed a chair in front of her and lifted her legs to rest on it “—and we’ll hold the babies all night long.”

She looked up from her daughters into his deep brown eyes, finding his gaze full of emotion, of memories. Their memories. And this time there would be no escaping them or hiding from each other. Not now.

As they spent the night together, pretending to be the family they never could be.

* * *

Milla Jones pushed the flower cart down the quiet hospital corridor, careful not to wake the sleeping patients, the babies and their families.

One family in particular. Her reason for being here tonight. She’d been unable to stay away, even though she would have a legitimate reason to see them all in two weeks. Revenge required patience, and God, she’d waited for so long. Surely she could allow herself this small indulgence after all that had been taken from her. All the reasons she had not to trust anyone.

Milla wheeled past a janitor mopping up dried mud and stains from people tracking in wet snow, and stopped outside Naomi Steele’s door. The cart held four arrangements for the new mother of twins, and a cluster of pink balloons. Milla didn’t plan to make this a full-time job. It was a one-time gig with a purpose.

She hadn’t been able to resist the chance to scope out the Steeles and Mikkelsons. She’d heard about the twins’ birth and had conned a hospital volunteer into letting her deliver arrangements to the patients. Which technically wasn’t cool on so many levels, but Milla had long ago given up playing by the rules. Life had been too harsh. She’d fought hard to build a future for herself, independent of anyone.