Brown-Eyed Girl (Travis Family #4)(62)

“How did Hardy end up marrying Haven?” I had asked.

“Not exactly sure how or when it started,” Joe had said. “But once Hardy and Haven took up with each other, it was like trying to stop a runaway train. And eventually we all realized that Hardy loved her, which is all that matters. Still… Gage and Hardy generally keep their distance from each other, unless there’s an occasion when the entire family gets together.”

I stole a discreet glance at the corner of the room, where Gage sat beside Hardy and gave him a rough brotherly pat on the back. Hardy didn’t even appear to notice. He was trapped in some private hell, where no one could reach him. In a couple of minutes, however, Hardy’s shoulders lifted and fell in a sigh. Gage asked him something, and he shook his head in response.

For the next hour, Gage stayed beside Hardy, murmuring from time to time but mostly offering silent companionship. No one else approached, understanding that Hardy’s emotions were too raw, that one person’s proximity was all he could handle.

Why that person should be Gage, however, was difficult to understand.

I gave Joe a questioning glance. Leaning close, he murmured, “Haven’s always been a favorite of Gage’s. Hardy knows if anything happens, Gage would be nearly as torn up about it as he would. And besides… they’re family.”

A young nurse entered the waiting room. “Mr. Cates?” He rose to his feet, his face contorted with a raw anguish that I doubted she or anyone else would ever forget. She hurried over to him with her phone. “I have a picture of your daughter,” she said. “I took it before they put her in the incubator. She’s a perfect four pounds. Seventeen inches long.”

The Travises all gathered around the phone with exclamations of excitement and relief.

Hardy took a glance at the image and said hoarsely, “My wife…”

“Mrs. Cates came through the surgery without any major issues. She’s waking up in recovery – it’ll take a little while. The doctor will be here in just a minute, and he’ll let you know —”

“I want to see her,” Hardy said brusquely.

Before the disconcerted nurse could reply, Gage intervened. “Hardy, I’ll talk to the doctor while you’re with Haven.”

Hardy nodded and strode from the waiting area.

“He really shouldn’t be doing that,” the nurse fretted. “I’d better go follow him. If y’all want to take a peek at the baby, she’s in the special care nursery.”

I headed to the nursery with Joe, Ella, and Jack, while Gage and Liberty stayed in the waiting room to talk to the doctor.

“Poor Hardy,” Ella murmured as we walked along the hallway. “He’s been worried sick.”

“My sympathy’s with Haven,” Joe said. “I don’t know the details of what she’s been through, and I don’t want to. But I do know she’s gone through one hell of a battle.”

We entered the special care nursery, where the newborn had been placed in an incubator. She had been hooked up to an oxygen tube and monitoring leads, and her midsection was wrapped in a glowing blue pad.

“What is that?” I asked in a hushed voice.

“A biliblanket,” Ella replied. “Mia had one after she was born. It’s phototherapy for jaundice.”

The baby blinked and appeared to drift to sleep, her rosebud mouth opening and closing. Her head was covered with fine dark hair. “Hard to tell what she looks like,” Jack commented.

“She’ll be beautiful,” Ella said. “How could she not be, with Haven and Hardy as parents?”

“Hardy’s not what I’d call pretty,” Jack said.

“If you did,” Joe remarked, “he’d kick your ass.”

Jack grinned and asked Ella, “Did Haven tell you what the baby’s name was?”

“Not yet.”

We returned to the waiting room, where Gage and Liberty had just finished talking with the doctor. “They’re cautiously optimistic,” Gage reported. “It’s going to take three or four days before the HELLP issues are resolved. They’ve already given her a blood transfusion, and they’ll probably do another to help with the platelet count. They’re also going to put her on corticosteroid therapy and monitor her closely.” He shook his head, looking troubled. “They’re keeping her on the magnesium drip to ward off seizures. Apparently it’s a son of a bitch.”

Liberty rubbed her face and sighed. “Why don’t they have a bar in a hospital? It’s usually the place you most need a drink.”

Gage wrapped his arms around his wife and snuggled her against his chest. “You need to go home and check on the kids. What if Jack and Ella drop you off while I stay here a little while longer? I’m going to stick around and talk to Hardy.”

“That sounds good,” Liberty said against his shoulder.

“You need me for anything?” Joe asked.

Gage shook his head and smiled. “I think we’re fine here. You and Avery go on and get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

Eighteen

I woke up in the morning with the groggy awareness that I was not alone. Climbing through the blurred layers of consciousness, I recalled the events of the previous night… coming home from the hospital with Joe… inviting him upstairs to sleep with me. We had both been exhausted, sore from hours spent on uncomfortable waiting room furniture, emotionally drained. I had changed into a nightgown and climbed into bed with Joe. The feeling of being held against his big, warm body had been delicious, and in matter of seconds I had passed out.