“I haven’t been able to reach him,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.
The announcement over the PA system advised visitors it was time to leave. David glanced at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes to get to his sister’s house. Ten minutes or he was in the doghouse for life. He rose to his feet. “I’d better go.”
She didn’t say another word, merely gave him a polite smile, the kind you’d give a casual acquaintance you didn’t plan to see again.
“I’ll check on you tomorrow,” he promised even as he edged closer to the door, still reluctant to leave. “See how you’re feeling, make sure you’re up to going home.”
“There’s no need—”
The door swung open and an older staff nurse, who’d worked for the hospital since David had been a baby, stepped into the room, a blue-wrapped bundle in her arms. “Mrs. Greer, you have a visitor.”
David saw July flinch at the “Mrs.” but she didn’t correct the woman. Instead her green eyes widened and her gaze remained riveted on the baby.
The gray-haired nurse stopped when she saw David. “Dr. Wahl. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I didn’t realize you were still here.”
“It’s fine. I was on my way out.” David knew his sister and family were waiting. Knew his nephews would refuse to start the party until he got there. Even so, he took an extra second to linger and admire the baby that very easily could be his.
“Thanks for coming tonight.” Mary Karen Vaughn stood beside David on the porch of the large two-story white clapboard she shared with her three sons, their maternal grandmother, Fern, and supersized cockapoo, Henry. “Logan was so excited to see you.”
“Three little boys throwing cake at each other.” David winked. “Wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Actually, this evening the terrible trio had been fairly well-behaved. And the war-whoop the twins and Logan had let loose when he’d walked through the door had warmed his heart. Of course, with his parents on a European cruise, his only competition was Granny Fern. And while the boys loved their great-grandmother, they’d stuck tight to his side all evening.#p#分页标题#e#
After the spaghetti had been eaten and the two candles blown out on the cake, Granny had gone to her room for some well-needed “shut-eye.” Last week she’d tripped over the dog and cracked a rib.
Though Granny loved helping with the boys and watching them while Mary Karen worked an occasional shift at the hospital, David worried about her. The older woman needed more rest than she was able to get in this busy household. That was one of the reasons he’d stayed and helped Mary Karen get the boys bathed and in bed. But that wasn’t the only reason. Keeping busy kept thoughts of July at bay.
“You’re so good with the boys.” Mary Karen turned to the rail and stared out into the darkness. Far off in the distance, a coyote wailed. She pulled her coat tight around her. “You and Celeste should have had children.”
Celeste had liked Mary Karen as much as she’d liked anyone in Jackson, but David knew his sister had hoped more closeness would come when they had children in common.
David wasn’t sure it would have made a difference. Celeste had been so different from his down-to-earth sister. Different than most of the women in Jackson. He smiled. His wife had been a hothouse rose in a field of wildflowers.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say Celeste had been the most beautiful woman in Jackson. Men would stop on the street and stare when she walked by. She’d been a city girl to the core, a woman who’d loved shopping, travel and him. When they’d left California and moved to Jackson, she’d kept her job as a marketing rep for a company based in Los Angeles. He’d worried about her being on the road so much, but accepted the fact that she loved her job too much to quit.
Then two years ago, on her way to the airport for a business trip, her sports car had been broadsided by a drunk driver. She’d been killed instantly. When he’d heard the news, a part of him had died with her.
At the time Mary Karen had just delivered Logan. Connor and Caleb, the twins, had just turned two. While his sister’s household had always been chaotic, to add to her stress, her husband of three years had started making noises that he’d rather be single.
“I wish we’d had a baby, too,” David murmured into the quiet stillness. “But we wanted to wait for just the right moment. We thought we had all the time in the world.”
The darkness surrounding them made it easier to speak of the past.