Since I Found You (Crystal Springs Romances: The Wedding Chapel Book 2) Read online

  Paige’s heart squeezed. “No. Mom gave it to me years ago.” She touched the smooth surface of the heart-shaped locket and ran the tip of her finger over the initials on the back side.

  “It must be very special to you.”

  She had no idea. “Yes, it is,” Paige said, fighting to keep her voice from wavering.

  Jillian smiled and then shoved to her feet. “Well, time to waddle on home. Nice to see you this evening.”

  “Same here, and please stay away from junk food. You’re borderline with gestational diabetes and your blood pressure is elevated. I didn’t want to say anything in front of your brother, but you need to be careful.”

  Jillian’s shoulders sagged. “I do better when Stan’s home. Unfortunately, he’s gone a lot.”

  “I realize that would be difficult.”

  Jillian nodded. “It’s certainly not fun. See you in the morning.”

  Paige watched Jillian leave the restaurant, worried that her warning had fallen on deaf ears, but also knowing Jillian had to be the one to take care of herself.

  Fighting down her concern, she ate her last few bites of dinner and finished her wine. Time to head home. She hadn’t gotten the quiet dinner she’d wanted this evening, but this had still been nice. Seven o’clock tomorrow morning she was inducing a patient, and she needed to get some rest. With a sigh, she pulled a generous tip out of her purse, set it down beside her empty plate, and shoved away from the table.

  “Come back anytime,” a voice from the bar said.

  She glanced that way and saw Justin walking out from the kitchen. The man seemed nice, and goodness knows he was certainly easy on the eyes. She walked over to the bar and leaned her arms on it, determined not to run for cover like she was oh-so-tempted to do. Something about this man pulled at her, and she should scurry out of here as fast as she could, but for some reason she couldn’t find it in herself to do that. “You ever have live music here?”

  “Every Friday and Saturday. Sometimes Wednesday. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it since you practice close by.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t get out much. Work keeps me pretty busy.”

  “All work, no play,” he said with a grin.

  “Makes me dedicated to my patients,” she added. And also gave her much less time to dwell on her past.

  He rested his hands on the bar and studied her, and Paige felt her face grow hot. “Jillian’s having a rough time these days,” he finally said. “She likes and trusts you, and I can see why.” He smiled, a warm genuine smile that made her feel as if he cared, which, of course, he didn’t. The man didn’t even know her. His gaze continued to soak her up, and she felt helpless to look away. “You’re obviously good at what you do, Paige, and I admire your dedication, but you still need some down time every now and again. Everyone does. Come visit sometime when we have live music. I’ll give you a whirl around the dance floor.”

  It had been years since she’d danced, and his offer tempted her. God knows she was way overdue for some fun. “I might just do that,” she responded. “Thanks again for dinner.” Turning, she made a bee-line for the front door before Justin had the chance to make her realize with even more clarity how utterly lacking her social life had become these last few years.

  * * *

  Paige braced herself before stepping inside the room where Jillian, and probably her brother, waited for the ultrasound tech. The fact that she felt subtle excitement at the thought of seeing Justin irritated her.

  She shoved open the door, eager to watch the ultrasound. She loved ultrasounds. Loved seeing the mother’s face as she watched her infant twist and turn in his or her confined area. It never got old. Never. “I couldn’t resist coming by and seeing your baby make your stomach roll,” she said with a wink.

  Jillian rubbed her ever-growing belly. “That about sums it up. It’s nice of you to stop by.”

  “I never tire of it,” Paige said with a smile as the tech came into the room, rolling the cart in front of her.

  Jillian lay back on the table, and Justin took her hand. “Pretty exciting, but Uncle Justin is a tad nervous,” he said.

  “You are such a wuss, little brother. Wait ‘til it’s your own kids, then you’ll really be nervous.”

  “True,” he admitted with a sheepish grin.

  Paige’s heart squeezed, but she reminded herself that while she didn’t have a baby of her own, she had the privilege of seeing newborns draw their first breath, and witness parents’ reactions during this very intimate time.

  The tech rubbed lubricant on Jillian’s stomach and began the procedure. A few seconds later, Jillian gasped. “Look, Justin! He has Stan’s nose!”

  “Yeah, only flatter.” Jillian narrowed her eyes at Justin, and he grinned. “Okay. I’ll behave. I have to admit this is pretty cool.”

  “It’s always a miracle,” Paige said as the tech continued to take pictures, catching the infant as he rolled from one side of his mother’s tummy to the other.

  “Looks like you have a pretty active one in there,” Paige said.

  “He takes after his mom.” Justin smiled down at his sister.

  Paige couldn’t help but wonder how Justin would react if this was his wife and child. He was certainly supportive of his sister, a trait she admired immensely.

  A few minutes later, the tech wiped the gel off Jillian’s stomach, then backed out the door, pulling her machine with her.

  “Wow,” Justin said. “That was pretty amazing.”

  Jillian’s eyes filled with tears. “I have a healthy baby boy growing inside me, and he looks like his daddy.”

  Justin laid a hand on her arm. “Yes, you do, and yes he does. Poor little guy.”

  Jillian glared at him, and Paige laughed. Sitting down at the desk with her laptop, she turned her attention to Jillian and tried to forget the way Justin Coleman made her yearn for more in her life. “Your blood pressure is too high, Jillian, but you already know that.” Jillian chewed on her bottom lip but didn’t respond. “The nine pounds you’ve put on since I saw you a few weeks ago isn’t helping,” Paige added.

  Jillian rolled her lips inward and then blew out a breath. “Guess I should knit more and eat less,” she muttered.

  “Walking would help your blood pressure, but you need to go slow and easy.” She pulled up a picture from the ultrasound. “See this?” she asked as she traced the placenta with her index finger. “Remember me showing you this at twenty weeks?” Jillian nodded, a look of worry on her face. “I’d hoped it would resolve, but that’s not the case. You still have a low-lying placenta, and we don’t want you to do anything that might start bleeding. Which means no intercourse from here on.”

  “Do you think I’ll start to bleed?” Jillian asked, her voice filled with fear.

  Paige knew she had to tell the truth, but she didn’t want to alarm Jillian. “Unfortunately, it’s possible, but we’ll monitor you closely. I’m going to refer you to Dr. Warren. She’s in this office and a great doctor.”

  “But I wanted you,” Jillian said, a hitch in her voice.

  Justin took his sister’s hand and rubbed it. “I’m sure Paige is doing what’s best for you.”

  His confidence in her warmed Paige’s heart. “You will like Dr. Warren, and if there are any complications, she’s who you want.” Jillian nodded and blinked back tears, reminding Paige of why she chose to become a midwife—to do all she could to bring healthy babies into the world. In circumstances like Jillian’s, though, a doctor was needed.

  “I’m sure everything will be fine,” Justin said. “Your midwife is doing what’s best for both you and the baby.”

  Paige shot him a grateful look. “He’s right, and speaking of what’s best for you please start walking.”

  Jillian looked away. “I’ll walk today.”

  “Promise?” Jillian glanced at her and nodded. “Good. If you have any bleeding, call Dr. Warren immediately.”

  “Will you still deliver my baby?”r />
  “No. Dr. Warren will give you a C-section, but I’ll come by and see you afterwards. I couldn’t possibly stay away,” she added with a smile.

  “I have to have a section?” Jillian asked, fear on her face.

  “Yes. A vaginal birth would be dangerous.”

  “Is a section dangerous?”

  Paige knew she had to tread carefully. “You will be in good hands and at the hospital. If you bleed, Dr. Warren will be able to stop it.” She hoped.

  “I so wanted to have my baby at home.” Jillian’s face fell, but Paige could tell Justin felt relieved. He was protective of his sister, and she liked that about him.

  “You sure walking is safe with this problem?” Jillian asked.

  “Absolutely. But no jogging,” Paige added with a grin.

  “Very funny. Guess I’ll for sure walk this evening, even though I hate to walk by myself.”

  “I thought Stan was coming home tonight,” Justin said.

  “Not until around nine o’clock.”

  “Then I’ll walk with you this evening,” he offered. “I’ll feel better if you don’t walk by yourself just in case anything goes wrong. Which I’m sure it won’t,” he tacked on.

  Jillian gave him a grateful smile, but Paige could tell she was fighting back tears. She was positive her brother knew that, too. “Take Justin up on his offer, and try and keep in mind it’s only two more months before your baby will be here,” she said, knowing the next two months would be a long, tense wait.

  “Thank goodness,” Jillian responded.

  “Dr. Warren’s office should call you within a couple of days.”

  There was a tap on the door and the ultrasound tech came back in, handing Paige a small disc. Paige opened a drawer and pulled out a blue teddy bear, quickly inserting the disc into a slot on its back. She handed the teddy bear to Jillian. “Press this button and you can hear your baby’s heartbeat anytime you want.”

  Jillian gasped. “Oh, that’s wonderful. Thank you so much.” She held the stuffed bear close to her heart. “This was so thoughtful of you. I’m really going to miss you, Paige, even if you did take my chocolates.”

  Paige laughed. “You’ll see me again. Don’t think for a minute I won’t be by to check out that son of yours.” She typed some quick notes into the computer and then stood. “I’ll keep track of your progress and come see you at the hospital. I promise.”

  “Thanks, Paige,” Justin said as he helped Jillian off the table. “You’ve gone over and beyond.”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. Every mother needs a recording of her baby’s heartbeat.” If anyone knew that, it was her. “Take all the help your brother offers, Jillian.” Paige picked up her laptop. “Your sister is lucky to have you, Justin,” she added with a smile. “It eases my mind knowing you’ll take care of her until her husband gets home.”

  Stepping out of the room, Paige headed to her next patient, a smile on her face, even though a thread of worry wiggled its way through her, and she couldn’t help but remember only too vividly her own experience with a low-lying placenta. She would be immensely relieved when Jillian’s baby was here safe and sound.

  As she hurried to her next patient, she said a silent prayer for both the baby and Jillian’s safety.

  Chapter Two

  “Let’s go out to the dude ranch for your walk,” Justin suggested when he got to his sister’s that evening. “Dad and Dottie are there and they both want to see you. I promise to have you back here by the time Stan gets home.”

  “Fine with me. It’s a great place to visit, and it’ll be cooler in the country. It comes in handy having Dad date a lady whose son owns a dude ranch. If I weren’t pregnant, I’d go on a horseback ride.”

  “Not me. Too far to fall,” Justin said with an exaggerated shudder.

  Jillian smiled, but the worry he’d seen on her face when he’d arrived quickly returned.

  He took her arm and steered her outside to his Suburban. The minute he slid into the driver’s side, she asked the question he’d worried had been coming. “Do you think Jaxon will be okay?”

  “I do, but I’m glad your midwife has referred you to a doctor.” More than glad, but he kept that to himself.

  “Guess that means you’ll have to call Paige to see her again,” Jillian teased.

  “Who said I wanted to see her?”

  Jillian laughed, then held her stomach. “Ouch. That hurts.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me, little brother. I know you too well.”

  “Unfortunately, that would be true. Can’t deny I think she’s pretty hot.”

  “And smart. Why do men always go for the hot factor first?”

  He arched his brows. “You have two brothers. You know the answer to that.”

  “Yep. That’s how I know you’re attracted to her. I don’t think she dates, though. I heard she had a pretty nasty divorce a few years back.”

  “Everyone dates,” he responded.

  “No, they don’t. We couldn’t even get Dad out of the house for over a year after Mom died.”

  “That’s different. He was widowed. Not the same as being divorced.”

  “Being divorced might be worse in some ways, depending on what went down during her divorce,” Jillian said. “I’m told her husband was a total jerk. She’s probably sworn off men. If anything ever happened to Stan, I’m not at all sure I’d ever date.”

  “That’s what Claire thought after her fiancé broke off their engagement, and look how long that lasted,” Justin responded. “Paige would date if the right man came along.” Not that he could claim that status, but he’d be glad to help her get back into the dating pool.

  He turned onto the dirt road leading to the ranch. “You think I’m shallow?” he asked out of the blue.

  “No. I think you’re immature.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m only twenty-nine. If I’m still this way when I’m thirty-five, I give you permission to harass me.”

  “I’ll remember that.” He’d bet money on it. Pulling up in front of the main house, he cut the engine.

  Jillian shoved out of the Suburban. “I have to go pee before I can walk. Be right back.”

  Justin watched her go and wondered for the first time in his life, what it would be like to be a dad, watch his wife’s stomach grow as she carried his baby. The thought brought a smile to his lips. Someday he’d love to be a father, but that day was a long time coming, because he had a whole lot of things to do before he settled down enough to be a husband, let alone a father.

  * * *

  Paige sank down on her sofa and propped her tired, bare feet on the coffee table. It had been a long, hard day, but her patient and baby were doing fine. She rubbed between her eyes, where a headache brewed.

  Shoving to her feet, she went into the kitchen to see what she could find to eat. She was too tired to go back out, so she hoped she had something that would get her by.

  Pulling open the refrigerator door, she peered inside at the bareness. “Guess it’s another pizza night,” she muttered, heading back to the living room for her phone. She was about to punch in the number of her favorite pizza place when she remembered the delicious dinner she’d had last week at Justin Coleman’s pub. She grabbed her laptop and looked up their menu, deciding another steak sounded good, then called in her order. No way did she want to eat in the restaurant this evening. She didn’t have the energy to deal with her unwanted reaction to Jillian’s brother. The man might be a total hunk, but he definitely wasn’t her type. A moot point, because the last thing she wanted was a man complicating her life, especially a man who made her heart flutter every time he looked at her with those baby blues of his.

  Hunger gnawed at her stomach as she slipped on her shoes and hurried out to her car. A few minutes later she pulled up in front of Justin’s pub and slipped in the ‘take-out’ door.

  The second she stepped inside, she saw Justin behind the bar, laughing with a woman. A beautiful brunette to be more precise
. A huge smile covered his face as he winked at the woman. Much to her dismay Paige felt a pang of jealousy, which was totally ridiculous. She hated that she found this man so attractive, and she wasn’t even sure why. She’d been around a lot of hot guys since her divorce, and none of them had affected her like this man did. Maybe it was his easy-go-lucky manner, something she probably needed in her life, but whatever it was, the man made her remember those long-ago days when she was carefree and flirty. But carefree and flirty had gone down the tubes years ago, and she hadn’t even realized how much she missed that part of herself until right this minute.

  Justin looked up and saw her, and his brows rose. Excusing himself, he made his way toward her. “Nice to see you again,” he said by way of greeting.

  “I decided to take my own advice and eat healthier. The dinner I had here fit the bill, so here I am.”

  He grinned. “Sit at the bar and I’ll wait on you hand and foot,” he teased.

  “I ordered take-out. Besides, looks like you’re busy.”

  He took her by the elbow. “My almost-step-sister. Come meet her.”

  Paige let herself be led over to the brunette, who turned to her with a huge grin. “Ashley, this is Jillian’s midwife, Paige Dillingham. Ashley’s mom and my dad are dating,” he added.

  Paige took the woman’s outstretched hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard good things about you from Jillian.”

  “I like that woman,” Paige said with a smile, “but I’m no longer her midwife. She now has a doctor. Matter of fact,” she added, turning to Justin, “Dr. Warren called me today to let me know your sister is doing well. She must be walking because her blood pressure is down, and she’s only put on two pounds this last two weeks.”

  “So I heard,” Justin said. “Have a seat and eat with me,” he suggested.