Love didn’t stifle anything. It blossomed and grew and made lives richer. And Sean was certifiable for trying to avoid the knowledge that he loved Kate. Maybe he had from the beginning—he didn’t know. What he was sure of was that night at the view point. Something major had shifted inside him and he’d loved her then and loved her now.
Someone in the waiting room sobbed, and the sound raked along his spine like nails on a chalkboard. Kate. Her name echoed over and over in his mind. A chant. A prayer. The last two months without her had been the longest, loneliest of his life. He’d let her go because she said she loved him but didn’t need him.
“That’s a damn lie,” he muttered, flicking a glance toward the closed doors separating him from his family. “Of course she needs me. As much as I need her. And I’m going to tell her so the minute—”
Mike rushed through the double doors and hurried to the family. He was surrounded instantly with everyone asking questions at once. Until Hank clapped his hands and said, “One at a time.”
“She’s okay, so’s the baby,” Mike said first and on cue, Peggy and Betty wept. “Doc says she’s been doing too much and lifting too much, which is what I’ve been telling her, but who listens to me?”
He was smiling as he complained, and Sean could see the stark relief on his face. “I’m taking her home in a couple hours, so you guys can come see her then if you want.”
“We will,” Betty told him and rose up to kiss his cheek. “You give her our love and tell her I’ll be there tomorrow to look after her.”
“I will, thanks.”
Peggy kissed her son and said, “I’ll be there with Betty, and we’ll make sure she stays put.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
When the family left, Mike turned to Sean and breathed a huge sigh.
Everything was forgotten except for Jenny and her baby. “She’s really okay?”
“Yeah,” Mike said, smiling. “Scared me brainless, but she’s okay. Come say hi to her.” Sean kept pace with his big brother through the double doors and down the hall until they came to a curtained-off bed in the corner. Mike pushed the drapes wide and there was Jenny, propped up on pillows and smiling. “Hi, Sean, I’m so sorry I scared you guys.”
“Hey, don’t worry about us.” At the side of her bed, Sean lifted her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. The baby’s fine, too.” She rubbed her belly, then stretched out her hand for Mike, linking the three of them. “His heartbeat is strong, and he’s kicking up a storm. All good.”
Mike lifted her hand and kissed it, and Sean’s heart ached for the fear his brother had just lived through. “So what happened?”
“Apparently, I’ve been on my feet too much lately and—”
“Didn’t I tell you that?” Mike interrupted, kissing her hand again as if making sure she was still there and safe.
“Yeah, yeah, you were right. God, I hate admitting that,” Jenny said with a laugh. “Anyway, I get to go home, I just have to put my feet up more. Take it easy and quit spending all day exploring antique stores.”
“Hallelujah,” Mike muttered.
“That’s great, Jenny, really.” Sean bent over and kissed her forehead. “You take it easy and quit scaring everybody, okay? I want to talk to Mike a second, then I’ll toss him back to you.”
“Take your time,” she said, smiling as she waved them both off. “He’ll only hit me with ‘I told you so’ again anyway...”
Relief was almost painful, Sean thought. When every nerve in your body was filled with tension that was suddenly released, you were left a little shaky. He walked outside, with Mike right behind him.
“Man, I’ve never been so scared in my life,” Mike muttered, leaning back against the hospital’s brick facade. “If this is what having kids is like, I’m gonna be an old man before I’m forty.”
Sean slapped his brother’s shoulder in solidarity. “I’m glad everything’s okay, Mike.”
“Yeah, me, too.” He smiled, scrubbed both hands over his face. “Thanks, man. You were a rock. You came through for me.”
“Always. You need me to take you guys back home?”
“No. Jenny’s car’s here. We’re good.”
“Okay.” Nodding, Sean said, “Then I’m going to the condo to pack.”
Mike’s eyebrows lifted. “Going on a trip?”
“No,” Sean told him. “I’m going home. To Wyoming.”
* * *
The end of summer in Wyoming carried a hint of the fall to come in the breeze that danced in the trees and the thick, heavy clouds gathering on top of the mountains. Kate was really tired of being hot, so she was looking forward to fall and winter. Now, though, she ignored the late summer sun and picked her way carefully across the forest floor.
Seth and Billie, the Celtic Knot artists, had finished up their work on the cabins and were now busily handcrafting the murals in the main hotel. With her crew busy on a job site in town, Kate wanted to take a look at the gazebo they’d erected last week. No ordinary lakeside pavilion, this structure was as fanciful as the jewel-toned cabins nestled in the pines.
Scrollwork highlighted every pillar, and the bench seats followed the hexagonal line. There were carved dragons perched on the roofline like gargoyles and the view of the lake was just as mystical. Sean really was going to have an amazing place when it was all finished. Kate walked up the gazebo steps and sat down, because at seven months pregnant now, she was just tired.
But more than tired, she felt...sad. She lifted her face into the wind and thought of last winter and those precious snowbound days with Sean. She wished he was there with every beat of her heart.
“You know,” a voice said from right behind her, “I just realized how much I missed this place.”
Kate gasped and spun around to look at Sean walking toward her in long, purposeful strides. He wore a black T-shirt, black jeans and boots. His black hair blew in the wind, and his sharp blue eyes were locked on her with so much heat she could barely breathe. If this was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up.
He came up the steps of the gazebo, then paused to turn and look around. “The trees, the mountains, the sky—” He shot her a look and a half smile. “God, you’re beautiful. I really missed looking up and seeing all those stars every night, too.”
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Kate stood up slowly, her gaze locking with his.
“Believe it.” His gaze was steady, his voice warm and strong. “I’m here because I missed you, Kate. Like I’d miss my right arm, I miss you.”
“God, Sean—”
He shook his head and moved up to her in one long stride. Then he put one finger against her mouth to keep her quiet. “Nope. I came a long way to have my say, and I just want you to listen.”
As glad as she was to see him, Kate wasn’t going to stand there and be shushed. From behind his finger, she grumbled, “Excuse me?”
“There’s my girl.” He laughed and shook his head again. “Damn if I haven’t missed that stubborn streak of yours.” Before she could argue that ridiculous point, he bent and kissed her fast and hard, then lifted his head to look at her again.
Her lips were buzzing, her heart pounding. Even the baby felt like she was jumping up and down inside, as if she sensed her mother’s excitement.
“We’re getting married, Kate—”
She inhaled, but he cut her off.
“Before you start in on not wanting to risk more pain, think about the pain we’ve both been in for the last two and a half months,” he stressed. “Admit it, Kate. You can’t lie to yourself or to me about this. We’ve been too separate, lonely, miserable.”
“We have, but...married?” She’d already done that, and it had ended in heartbreak. And if she lost Sean as she’d lost Sam...she didn’t think she’d survive it.
Sean laughed and sighed all at once. “I can see in your eyes exactly what you’re thinking, Kate. But see, the thing is, I love you.”
She swayed a little and was grateful he took hold of her.
“Yeah. Surprised the hell out of me, too,” he admitted. “But more than that, I need you. And you need me.”
Kate wanted to argue that, but what would be the point? They would both know she was lying. Of course she needed him. And missed him. And loved him.
“See,” he said softly, “when you said you didn’t need me, that kind of gave me a hard punch.” He blew out a breath and scowled. “We all have secrets, Kate. It wasn’t only you in that boat. Ten years ago, I thought I was in love and she got pregnant and I...let her down.” His features softened in memory then hardened in shame. “I wasn’t what she needed because I was too selfish to see past my own life.”
“Sean, I’m sorry...”
“She lost the baby, Kate, and then told me to leave because she didn’t need me around anymore.” He shrugged. “So, when you said it, I just pulled back and locked down. Stupid.”
“Not stupid,” she said, her heart breaking for him. They all had losses, she thought now. Everyone had pain; no one got through life with just a series of one rainbow after another. “I lied, you know. I do need you.”