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Chapter Thirty-Four
“Welcome back, honey.”A handsome blonde with the greenest eyes Lucy had ever seen was staring at her so intently that if she could have gotten away from him, she would have.
“From where?” she asked, wondering why her voice sounded so groggy.
“You passed out, sweetie. We have you hooked up to an IV now, and you will be good soon. Don’t worry, the babies are just fine in there. Perfectly safe.”
“For now.” She ran a hand over them, noticing the tubes running into her left arm as she did.
“Don’t worry about it.” He patted her on the hand as he checked another monitor, then turned back to Lucy. A tear ran down her face. She was endangering her babies even before they entered the world.
“No tears, everything is fine. Nothing happened that can’t be fixed. Nothing ever happens that can’t be fixed.”
“What if I feed them the wrong thing?” Lucy asked, her biggest fear.
“I don’t think you ever will.” He sounded so confident, but he didn’t know Lucy.
“How do you know? You don’t know me.”
“Because you’re asking, and you still have months left in this pregnancy. You’ll do just fine,” he assured her.
“I … I can’t read,” she admitted. She had never said it out loud before.
“Nor could my grandma, and she raised ten kids, five of which were still in school when my grandpa died. If she can do it, so can you,” the man said, no judgement about her confession.
“What if they have allergies?”
“If they do, just ask every question you can think of to the doctor who diagnoses them. Talk to friends and family. Someone who has allergies and can help you out. The great thing about parenting is that so many others are in the same boat as you. You’re really never alone,” the nurse said and looked at her chart.
“I have no money and don’t have a job anymore. I’m broke.” The words just spilled out of her; she wasn’t able to stop them.
“Money doesn’t raise kids; love does. You have all the love in the world, and these babies will have the best life ever.”
Watching him, she said, “You seem to have all the answers.”
“I just have some of them. I don’t know everything. New moms are full of worry and doubt—you’re not the first or the last. Just remember to follow your heart, not your mind. Your mind tends to overthink things, but your heart doesn’t. It just knows,” he assured her, probably realizing that she needed to talk more than anything else right then.
She was skeptical. “My heart has led me astray before.”
“Or has it just been a part of your path? Sometimes it isn’t straight, you know. Corners make life interesting.” He smiled.
“That’s a different way to look at it.”
“Sometimes being different is what makes you you.” He closed out of the computer, spun in his chair, and looked at Lucy. “Are you ready for company? There are some people in the hall waiting to make sure you’re okay.”
“I don’t think I will get any more ready.” She smiled at him. “What’s your name?”
“Owen.” He smiled and waved and headed for the door.
Once the door was open, her mind went blank as Harper rushed in, followed closely by Leo. Leo was in a suit and tie, and his eyes were on her with a look of concern. How he could look even better, she didn’t know, but she figured he would be disappointed with how she looked. Again, in a hospital bed.
“Are you okay?” Harper asked as she rushed to her bed.
“Yes, I think so. Babies are great.” She couldn’t take her eyes off Leo.
“I am sorry, Lucy, so sorry. I am an idiot who took you for granted and then didn’t talk to you about our business, even after I realized juat how much of our business you were. I may have been the chef, but you were the heart,” Harper stated as if they were in the middle of a conversation Lucy couldn’t remember starting.
“What?” She looked at her sister. Her words made no sense at all.
