Surprise Delivery Read online

  “So, we come back in two weeks then?” Eric asked after an awkward silence.

  Casper tore off a prescription for prenatal vitamins and handed it to Olivia. “Yes. Get started on your vitamins. I’ll see you soon. Remember that I’m available 24/7 should any concerns arise.”

  He handed her his business card with the emergency after-hours number on it.

  “Thanks, Dr. Rollins.”

  “Call me Casper.”

  Eric shook his hand again, and if it wasn’t his imagination, the man’s touch lingered longer than necessary.

  “See you in two weeks, Casper.”

  His pulse jumped. “Looking forward to it.”

  Chapter Four

  Eric had never thought of himself as superficial. He was a doctor and an administrator: an intellectual who appreciated intelligence, ingenuity, and introspection over a perfect jawline or bulging muscles. So why, then, was he practically drooling over Casper Rollins as he strolled down the hospital corridor?

  Dr. Rollins was gorgeous in that bad boy sort of way. He had ruffled hair that looked as if he’d just been flying down the highway on a motorcycle, eyes so light blue they were almost colorless, and pale skin that only served to make his tattoos more vivid. The tats were generally covered, either by a doctor’s jacket or long-sleeve shirt. But Eric had once covertly watched Casper strip down to a tank top in the parking lot on a hot summer day. He’d been surprised by the bright oranges and greens twisting over Casper’s bicep, and more than a little intrigued.

  Eric had never been a particularly daring man, but something about Casper made him feel like he could be. Like maybe one day, he’d work up the courage to shove Casper into a closet and have his way with him.

  As he watched Casper walking down the hall smiling to himself, he knew that today would not be that day. He didn’t have the guts or the spontaneity, but he did have a pile of paperwork with his name on it and a teenage girl’s curfew to enforce. He’d missed dinner, but he wanted to see Olivia before she went to bed. She was already cramping his workaholic lifestyle in small ways, but he didn’t mind. It was nice to know someone would be at home when he got there.

  His phone buzzed, and he checked his email. Christ. More red tape.

  He was starting to hate the sound of an email notification. Instead of the Pavlovian perking up he used to do — someone wants to talk to me! — he now cringed: Someone wants to talk to me. Again. About something asinine, no doubt.

  The closure of the hospital’s urgent care clinic had been a clusterfuck. He’d worked for years to get the hospital on board with running a clinic for the underinsured, and he’d finally achieved the goal after the town’s only clinic of a similar nature closed under a cloud of Medicaid fraud. But when a private group announced plans to open a clinic of their own, the hospital board was quick to press for an expiration of their own fledgling operation. Eric would have held out, but it was ultimately the hospital CEO’s call, and she had gone with the politically correct decision over what was best for Ashe, Kansas, patients.

  Of course, people didn’t just stop flowing in. They simply turned up at the emergency room — where they were overloaded and had a massive staffing shortage. In fact, even patients who intended to go to a clinic first showed up at the ER because of the piss-poor job the hospital did in informing the public the urgent care facility had closed. No one wants to promote bad news. But once here and sick or injured, they had no desire to drive across town to another clinic. They went up to the ER, and the intake numbers swelled.

  Eric had been frustrated by the red tape in his job, but lately, he was outright disheartened. Between having to launch an investigation into claims of impropriety of his good friend Dr. Paul Johnston a couple of years ago, and the closure of the clinic, his rose-colored glasses were well and truly busted.

  Eric pulled up the email and saw his sister’s email address, rather than that of one of his hospital colleagues. He was surprised, mainly because she hadn’t contacted him in more than a decade. He probably should have seen it coming, what with her daughter moving into his guest room.

  The subject line read: My daughter

  Swallowing hard, he took a glance at the email.

  Eric,

  Olivia told me she’s staying at your place. What gives you the right to interfere in our family business? Bruce is furious!!! Olivia is a GOOD Christian girl. She just needs to get a handle on her emotions. Don’t you DARE go influencing her decisions! I know you don’t like the family, that you’ve written us all off, but this isn’t right. She’s my daughter.

  I’ve talked Bruce into not storming over there and breaking your door down, but I don’t know how patient he’ll be. Please convince Livvie to come home and respect her parents’ wishes!!!

  Laura

  ***

  Casper walked down the hospital corridor on the way to the ground-level exit, grinning like a loon. He’d just come from the delivery room, where he’d brought Maria Ortiz’s baby girl into the world without a hitch. No matter how many babies he delivered, he felt incredibly blessed to see life start anew each and every time. His first two years as an obstetrician/gynecologist he’d even cried, but he’d gotten it down to just a bit of misty eyes thankfully.

  A crying doctor tends to scare new mothers.

  He spotted Eric Holtz down the hall. He was walking haphazardly, zig-zagging as he read something on his phone. It must not be good news because Eric was frowning and shaking his head.

  Every damn thing about the guy was throwing negative vibes in the air. Casper was still buzzing with the thrill of new life, and he couldn’t let it stand.

  “Burning the midnight oil, Doctor?”

  Eric startled so badly he almost dropped his phone and clutched his chest. “Jesus!”

  Casper laughed. “Oh man, that was too good. I wasn’t even trying to spook you.”

  “Now, I know why the nurses call you Ghost,” Eric said dryly.

  “Yeah, that’s it. Has nothing to do with my name.”

  Eric visibly regained his starched administrator persona, tucking his phone into the pocket of his gray slacks. He’d exchanged the doctor’s jacket he often wore at the hospital for a charcoal sports coat thrown over a dark blue shirt, looking more businessman than health professional.

  “Have a good delivery?” he asked, slipping back into his role of medical director.

  Casper drew closer, clearing the hall for a nurse who walked like she was in a race. She didn’t spare them a glance, probably afraid one of them would ask her to do something.

  “Beautiful baby girl,” he rattled off. “Six pounds, seven ounces. She’ll be a knockout.”

  Eric chuckled. “You sound like a proud father.”

  Casper shrugged. He knew his enthusiasm came off as naïveté to some of the older doctors, but he loved his job. “I am proud. Mom really struggled the last few weeks, but they both came through it like champs.”

  “I can tell you love what you do.”

  Casper grinned. “I really do. And soon I’ll be delivering your new baby.”

  “Not my baby,” Eric objected. He nodded toward the vending machine. “Come on. I’ll buy you a Snickers to celebrate.”

  “I’m more of a Skittles man, and you’re wrong.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Casper watched Eric fish coins from his pocket, and found his gaze straying to his crotch as the material pulled taut. He forced his attention to Eric’s eyes, darker than his own and much more appealing, and attempted to get his mind back on track.

  “You may not be the biological father—” and thank God for that — “but you’re raising this child. That is what Olivia said during the appointment, right?”

  “We’re still working out the details,” he said. “But I told her I’d help however I can, and if that means helping her raise a child, so be it.”

  Eric punched in the code for a package of Skittles and bent over to scoop it from the bottom of the machine. Casper’s gaze
naturally scoped out his ass because otherwise it would be a wasted opportunity, and Casper was a waste not, want not kind of guy.

  “Don’t sound so excited about it.”

  “Oh, it’s not that,” Eric said as he handed over the sugary treat. “It’s been a long day with too much red tape. Sometimes I really hate being an administrator.”

  He did look exhausted. Casper had playfully accused him of burning the midnight oil, but in truth it wasn’t that late. Still, 9 p.m. was well past office hours.

  Casper nudged him toward a chair and held out a handful of candies. “My mother always taught me to share.”

  Eric smiled weakly. “Thanks.”

  “Dr. Holtz …”

  “Call me Eric.”

  Casper dipped his head in acknowledgement. “Eric, I’m pretty sure Baby Isaacson won’t care about red tape when he needs his ba-ba, if you get what I’m saying.”

  Eric snorted. “And here I thought babies loved bureaucracy.”

  “Babies love parents who are home,” Casper said, not letting Eric dodge the point. “These hours you work …”

  “I know,” Eric said with a groan. “I thought about hiring a nanny, but that’s a cop-out, isn’t it?”

  Casper shrugged. “That’s not for me to say.”

  “Tell me what you think anyway.”

  “I think babies need love, unconditional love, not the kind based on a paycheck. And who better to provide that than Uncle Eric?” he said with a grin.

  “Unconditional love is a myth,” Eric said bluntly.

  Casper tossed a candy in his mouth and rolled it on his tongue, letting the tartness zing his taste buds. “Maybe so. But isn’t it better to find that out later in life, if at all?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Besides, once you hold that baby for the first time, you’re gonna fall in love. I’ve seen it a million times. You’ll want to be there for your new family. All this,” Casper waved a hand, “will just seem like administrative hell.”

  “It’s already hell,” Eric muttered.

  That gave Casper the perfect opening to change the subject. “Let me ask you a question now. Do you do anything besides work?”

  “Like what?”

  Casper grinned and jumped up, buzzing with the need to release some of the adrenaline he’d built up. He felt like being reckless.

  “Like skinny dipping in my neighbor’s pool at night?” he suggested, waggling his eyebrows. Suddenly, he wanted Eric to go there with him. To be impulsive, even if it was a bad idea.

  “You’re nuts.”

  Casper laughed in the face of Eric’s surprise. “You need to learn to live a little. Pretty soon, you’ll have a baby calling you home. Might as well break out of that workaholic cycle now. You can have some fun while you’re at it.”

  “Well, tonight I’ve got my bed calling my name.”

  Casper pushed down his disappointment. Eric looked wiped out, so he knew it wasn’t a lie. What he didn’t know was if Eric’s answer would be any different if he wasn’t worn out after a long day at work.

  “I’m taking a raincheck,” he teased. “I’ll convince you to get naked in a pool yet.”

  Eric’s eyes widened, and Casper choked on an embarrassed laugh. He was usually so much smoother. Of course, he was usually hooking up with men through an app — no flirting required — or women at a nightclub, entirely too much flirting required. But hitting on a hospital administrator? Yeah, he’d never done that, and he wasn’t sure what had gotten into him that he was doing it now.

  Other than an urge to be impulsive and throw caution to the wind. Something about Eric’s reserve made Casper tilt in the opposite direction.

  “That came out wrong,” he said, though it’d represented his desires perfectly.

  “I’m sure.” Eric patted his stomach. “Not as young as I used to be.”

  Casper rolled his eyes. “Not so old either.”

  “Goodnight, Dr. Rollins,” Eric said, continuing down the hall. Casper’s car was parked on the other side of the building, and he was tired now too, his adrenaline crashing fast, so he headed for the exit.

  But he couldn’t help thinking on Eric and Olivia’s situation and whether he could do anything to help them make the transition to parenthood more smoothly.

  Chapter Five

  A few days later, Eric made the effort to get home closer to dinner. He’d still missed it by a solid two hours, but it was better than the 9 p.m. arrival time he’d clocked the rest of the week. A block from his driveway, he spotted an unfamiliar car and frowned.

  He and Olivia had agreed she would let him know before inviting anyone over. It was one of their basic ground rules, along with being home by 10 p.m. on school nights once the fall semester started and midnight on weekends, sharing cooking and clean-up duties and attending all doctor’s appointments. In the meantime, she had a summer job and too much time on her hands that he hoped wouldn’t lead to trouble.

  She hadn’t tested any boundaries. Yet. But if it was starting already, it couldn’t be a good sign for their future as housemates.

  He parked and walked into the house, ready to send whatever high school girl or boy he found perched on the sofa — please, let it be a girl — on their way. He stopped in the doorway, speechless, to see his sister there instead.

  “Hi, Eric,” she said.

  “Laura. I didn’t expect you.”

  His gaze shifted to Olivia. She looked apologetic. “I told her to call first, but she insisted on coming in and waiting.”

  Eric’s mouth twisted. He knew from the tone of Laura’s earlier email and his reply that this wouldn’t be a pleasant meeting. He’d emailed Laura to say he had no intention of influencing Olivia’s opinions, but that he would support her wishes to stay in Ashe and have her baby. He knew that if Livvie’s parents decided to go to the police, he’d have to let the courts decide what happened, but for now, he wasn’t going to kick Livvie out based on an angry email.

  “Bruce isn’t with you?” he asked.

  Laura stood up, meeting his gaze directly. “He’s too angry. I didn’t want to risk any ... ugliness.”

  “The ship has sailed on that, don’t you think?”

  Eric turned and headed for the kitchen. He knew his sister well enough not to grab the beer he desperately wanted. Instead, he flicked on his coffee maker and swapped out the filter.

  “You want some coffee?” he asked as he scooped up fresh grounds. He could hear her hovering behind him on the other side of the breakfast bar. It might be good to have a barrier between them for this talk.

  “She’s my daughter,” Laura said.

  “And I’m your brother. Blood relation doesn’t really mean much in this family, does it?”

  He turned around, crossing his arms. Laura looked annoyed.

  “This isn’t about you.”

  “No? I think the way you treat one family member might set a precedent for how you treat others who don’t line up with your expectations.”

  “But you’re ... this has nothing to do with that. Olivia is a good girl. She made one mistake, and she’ll learn from it.”

  “I agree.”

  The stream of coffee broke the silence, and Eric turned to stick his mug under the boiling stream until it was full, then returned the glass carafe to its place. He turned back, taking a sip of the hot liquid and letting the caffeine soothe him. As a workaholic prone to long hours, he was an addict.

  “Bruce doesn’t want her here, and he’s not going to stand by and watch his daughter be corrupted by—”

  “By living with a successful doctor? Yes, I can see what an awful influence that would be.”

  “By a gay man!” she burst out. “Look, I know you have a good heart, Eric.”

  Her words surprised him into silence. They’d once been close before he came out. Laura’s unwillingness to defend him in the face of his parents’ outrage had hurt.

  “Our values don’t line up, and my heart breaks for you. I s
till pray you’ll find your way.”

  “To what? A wife?”

  She smiled a little. “Yes. A wife, a church, and a closer walk with God. There’s still time.”

  He closed his eyes and sighed. This was the most difficult part of dealing with his family. They believed what they said. They shunned him in the hopes he’d change and return to them a better man. Only his experiences in college and medical school — exposed to so many individuals of other beliefs and sexual identities — had made it possible for him to hold tight to the truth that he was a good man, even if he was a gay man.

  “There are churches that accept—”

  She interrupted. “Well, sure. They’re losing congregation numbers by the day. Some churches are willing to make concessions to keep people coming back. They’re a disappointment, Eric.”

  There was no point to debating any of this. He’d accepted his family’s rejection years ago. He’d never had the opportunity to have a discussion with Laura about it, but they should focus on Olivia.

  “Livvie came to me because she doesn’t want to go away and hide like she’s ashamed. She doesn’t want to give up her child.”

  “We’ve been over all the options,” Laura said. “There are good Christian couples who can’t have children. Olivia can turn this mistake into a precious gift for someone.”

  “Why can’t it be a precious gift for me?”

  They both turned to see Olivia watching their exchange from the dining room. She moved forward, speaking again.

  “My baby is a gift, but not for some stranger. Peanut is my miracle, okay? I will raise him or her.”

  Laura scoffed. “How do you plan to do that? You’re in high school!”

  “Uncle Eric will help.”

  Laura looked more skeptical. “You’re going to raise a baby with a gay man? Honey, you’re too innocent to understand, maybe, but his lifestyle isn’t appropriate for a child to be around.”