Newborn Daddy. Judy Christenberry

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      Until Emma had talked of a future, a family. Like a sore that had been festering beneath the skin, his conscience had erupted like a volcano, hurting Emma.

      She’d already been pregnant.

      That thought tore at him each time it came.

      So, he still couldn’t contemplate a future. But he could provide for Emma and the baby. He spun on his heels and reentered the hospital, heading straight for the business office.

      “Oh, hi, Ryan, can I help you?” a friend of Merilee’s asked. Damn, that was the problem with small towns. You couldn’t swing a cat without hitting someone you knew.

      “Yeah. I need to settle Emma Davenport’s bill.”

      The woman stared at him. “Why?” His face must’ve reflected his feelings about being questioned. She hurriedly added, “We don’t reveal financial information about patients unless it’s family or they’ve okayed it.”

      “I’m the father of her child. I provide for—I’m paying the bill.”

      “Oh!” the woman exclaimed and got busy pulling Emma’s record. She gave him the total amount due so far and offered a payment plan.

      Ryan pulled out a checkbook. “No. I’ll settle with you now. If there are other charges, please send them to me. You have my address, don’t you?”

      “Yes, of course.”

      He pressed his lips tightly together before adding, “Anything she wants, make sure she gets it.”

      She nodded, still staring at him.

      He didn’t wait around to see if she had more questions. Instead, he hurried to his truck. After driving the short distance to Dr. Steve Lambert’s office, he strode in and asked to see the doctor.

      “Mercy, Ryan, you sick?” the receptionist asked.

      “No, Mrs. McCallister. I want to ask him some questions. Oh, and I need to pay Emma Davenport’s bill.”

      He got the same reaction from her as he’d had at the hospital. He knew the town would be rocking with gossip about him by evening.

      “Uh, Miss Davenport worked out a payment plan,” Mrs. McCallister said. “She’s already made one payment since she arranged for the doctor to make the delivery.”

      “When did she make the arrangements? I understood she was seeing a doctor in Buffalo.”

      “She came in two weeks ago.”

      Her response made Ryan even more anxious to talk to the doctor. “Give me the total she owes,” he ordered tersely, “plus the cost for today.” He already had his checkbook in hand.

      When he’d taken care of that, he sat down in a chair in the waiting room, moodily watching the other patients. Several women were there with small children, and it didn’t take much of an effort to see Emma visiting the office in the future.

      Emma and the baby. He didn’t even know the child’s name. But he felt sure Emma had picked one out. She seemed to have prepared for the baby’s arrival in every other way.

      A few moments later, the receptionist called his name. “The doctor will see you now.”

      Ryan was led into his friend’s office.

      Steve stood as he entered and offered his hand. “Hey, pal. Long time no see. What’s up?”

      “I want to talk to you about Emma Davenport.”

      Steve’s head snapped up and he stared at Ryan. “Why?”

      “Because that’s my child you delivered earlier today.”

      Steve’s expression didn’t change. “I wondered.”

      “I didn’t know until I got to the hospital to see Beth. They brought the baby in with its birth-record card while I was looking at Beth’s little boy.” Ryan wanted Steve to understand that he wouldn’t have abandoned Emma as he had if he’d known.

      “Sorry you found out that way. When she first came in, two weeks ago, I asked about the father, but she refused to say anything.”

      Ryan wasn’t surprised. In fact, the surprising thing was that she’d put his name on the certificate. But he suddenly remembered her talking about being a throwaway baby, a child no one had wanted. No birth certificate, no parents. He realized Emma wouldn’t do that to her child, even if it would’ve been easier for her.

      “Why didn’t she come to you earlier?”

      Steve shrugged. “I suppose to hide her pregnancy.”

      “Did she really do prenatal care in Buffalo?”

      Steve didn’t move, didn’t reach for a file. “You know I’m legally not supposed to tell you about her medical history, don’t you, Ryan?”

      “Damn it, I’m the one responsible for her being in the hospital, Steve! I have a right to know.”

      “The last I heard, it takes two people to create a baby.”

      Ryan leaped to his feet and strode across the small office and back again. “Just tell me what I need to do. Her face has no color at all, and she looks so sad. Are they both all right?”

      “The baby is fine.”

      Ryan’s heart twisted in pain. “And Emma?”

      With a sigh, Steve reached for a file on his desk. “I just got the information faxed from Buffalo. She had gestational diabetes and high blood pressure. The labor was long and hard. Too much bleeding,” he added, a frown on his face. “We had to give her a transfusion.”

      “But she’ll be all right?”

      Steve continued looking at the chart. Then he looked at Ryan. “They told her to quit work at six months. She was working until an hour before she delivered.”

      “Why? Why would she do that? Didn’t she care about her baby?” Ryan knew that didn’t make sense. Emma wasn’t like that.

      “I would guess she worked because she needed her job to support herself and the baby.”

      “I would’ve—!” Ryan protested. But he broke off. She hadn’t even told him about the baby, much less asked for his help. And he couldn’t blame her. His behavior seven months ago hadn’t offered friendship, let alone marriage. “But you said she’ll be all right?”

      “If she gives herself time to recuperate. She’ll probably need some help the first week or two at least. I’d like her to not go back to work for six weeks. But I suspect she’ll refuse my advice.”

      “You haven’t told her yet?”

      “I haven’t talked to her since the delivery. I’ll check in with her before I go home this evening.”

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