The Best Medicine

Chapter 25



DES MCKNIGHT’S HOUSE WAS LOCATED just a few miles from my new place, on a quaint little street full of picturesque houses with meticulous landscaping. Tyler had arrived at my apartment in plenty of time, but I’d stalled getting ready until he’d finally insisted we leave. We were headed to the baby shower for Jasper and his wife. A baby shower that was sure to be full of hospital staff, a multitude of Gabby and Hilary’s cousins, and heaven only knew who else.

I should be fine. All of this should be fine. But the truth was, I was nervous as hell about showing up at this party together. I couldn’t imagine there was anyone in Bell Harbor who hadn’t heard about us. They’d certainly all discussed my private life before. But being whispered about was one thing. Boldly walking down the red carpet together for all the Bell Harbor paparazzi to see was something else entirely. I was about to make a public declaration. Yes, I was officially involved with Tyler Connelly. His ultimatum two weeks ago had pretty much cemented that.

We stood on the brick front step until the door to Dr. McKnight’s house swung open and a pretty little girl smiled at us from the other side. “Are you here for the baby’s shower?”

“We are. Is this the right place?” Tyler said.

“Yep.” She nodded, sending a wave of curls around her face. “I’m Paige. Come on in.”

I spotted Mrs. Baker immediately. Of course she’d be here. She was the soon-to-be grandmother. That frothy, pale pink chiffon number she wore looked like it had been whipped up on a cotton candy machine. Des was next to her, holding a tiny baby. My heart gave a little hop, skip, and a flutter. Not because he was handsome, although he was, but because of the sweet bundle in his arms. A precious little junior McKnight all snuggled up right in the crook of his elbow. The pretty brunette next to him must be his wife, Sadie. Fontaine had mentioned her several times, saying they worked together when she wasn’t—as he put it—breeding. She was holding a baby too.

Twins. Oh, yes, of course. Dody had told me about the twins. My uterus clanged a Tibetan gong, sending out a particularly hollow sound in the cavern of my abdomen. I’d squashed most thoughts of babies lately, knowing that the SS Fertility was sailing off without me. Since I’d halted my husband hunt, that illusory dream of motherhood was fading away. With some effort on my part.

“Evelyn, hello and salutations!” Fontaine fluttered over, wearing white pants and a lavender-striped shirt. “How are you, darling?” He air kissed me on both cheeks and then stepped back.

“Oh! And how are you?” His voice went husky and dropped two octaves when he spotted my date. Tyler did look particularly fine tonight in a blue linen shirt and nice khaki pants. My decorator obviously approved.

“Fontaine, this is Tyler.”

“Yes, I know.” He smiled psychopathically, then leaned in and whispered, “Coo-coo cachou, you lucky little cougar.”

Oh, no. I was a cougar?

Fontaine grabbed my wrist and pulled me farther inside. “Do you love what I’ve done here? Tell me you love it. My partner and I decorate for parties too. You’ll have to let us plan the first soiree in your new house. Your furniture will arrive any day now, by the way. When do you want to move in?”

“As soon as possible. I’ve been waiting forever.”

“I know, baby girl. I’m getting things done as fast as I can, but artistry like mine can’t be rushed.”

We took another step forward and I saw . . . pink. Lots and lots and lots of pink. Bright pink vases, crimson flowers, cherry-colored balloons, even maroon lampshades. It was like the Cat in the Hat had thrown up in here.

“It’s remarkable,” I said.

“Oh, my stars! Is that my Dr. Rhoades?” An operatic voice cut through the mellow din of conversation as Mrs. Baker turned and saw me. She moved like a fluffy tornado, coming straight at us.

“Oh, it’s simply delightful to see you, dear. Fontaine, darling, get Dr. Rhoades and her escort some of that yummy punch.”

“It’s lovely to see you, Mrs. Baker.”

“Pish-posh, call me Dody. We don’t stand on ceremony around here. And who is this delectable fellow?” She flipped open a plastic fan and began to wave it at her flushed cheeks while her gaze roved over Tyler like he was a centerfold.

He smiled his flirty smile, which was to say, his normal, everyday smile. “So nice to meet you. I’m Tyler.”

“Oh, why yes. Of course you are. I’ve seen you at Jasper’s restaurant. You’re very handsome.”

He blushed adorably. She and I nearly swooned in unison.

“Thank you, Mrs. Baker,” he said.

“Oh, gracious. You can call me Dody. Or you can call me, maybe.” She held an imaginary telephone to her ear and Tyler laughed.

Fontaine came back with glasses of cherry-red punch. I almost asked if it was a strawberry dickery but immediately saw that conversation veering off in an irreparable direction. I took a sip and looked around instead. There must be close to thirty people here, chatting and laughing, and most of them were holding children at some stage of development. Tiny ones, bigger ones, wiggly ones, sleeping ones.

“You didn’t tell me this party was BYOB,” I whispered to Tyler.

“BYOB?”

“Bring your own baby?” I suddenly felt empty-handed and out of place. I should have anticipated a Bell Harbor baby shower would be full of babies.

“Have you met my niece? Come and meet my niece.” Dody pulled on my arm, almost causing me to spill the punch as we worked our way through the crowd. Tyler tagged along behind us, an amused smile on his face.

If Des McKnight was surprised to see me there, he didn’t show it. His wife gave me a warm smile too.

“Look who I found.” Dody’s singsong voice reverberated through the crowd. She’d make a good auctioneer.

“Evelyn, hi,” Des said. “Tyler. Glad you guys could make it.”

Tyler blushed as they shook hands, and I realized they’d met once before under less auspicious circumstances, when Des treated him in the ED. Des’s manner gave no indication he was thinking of that, though.


“Thanks for having us,” Tyler answered.

“Our pleasure.” Des leaned forward. “Please understand our house is not usually this pink. Fontaine had a theme, and there is no going against him.”

Sadie nodded in agreement. “My cousin was in charge of decorations. Don’t judge us.”

Don’t judge them? I nodded and smiled, feeling more at ease already. I slipped my arm through Tyler’s. “I’ve worked with Fontaine. He is tenacious with his motifs. He thinks my bedroom should look like a sultan’s harem.”

“Well,”—Dody stepped up closer—“I think it looks simply delightful in here. Lots of pink for a baby girl. They’re having a girl, don’t you know? Another girl, just like these two beauties.” She pointed at the twins. “This one is Shelby, and that one is Sydney.” Then she scratched her head furiously. “Oh, or is that one Sydney and this one Shelby? I can never tell.”

“I’ve got Shelby,” Des answered. Then he looked at his wife. “Right?”

She slapped him playfully. “Stop pretending like you can’t tell them apart. It’s not funny.”

His glance at me told me he wasn’t kidding. I hid my smile behind a sip of punch.

“Dr. Rhoades is going to do my surgery soon, but of course you already knew that. Aren’t I lucky to have the best surgeon in all of Bell Harbor?”

“That’s very kind of you to say, Dody, but I’m sure there are lots of great surgeons in town,” I said.

“Oh, pish-posh. I know how good you are. You needn’t be so self-defecating.”

Des burst out laughing and Sadie gasped. I heard Tyler chuckling beside me.

“I think you meant self-deprecating, Mom,” Fontaine called from over her shoulder.

“I do? Why? What did I say? Oh my goodness! That damned Anita Parker is stealing all the thin mints. Anita!”

Dody bustled away, on a mission. A whirlwind in pink fabric.

“So how old are these two?” Tyler asked, reaching out and squeezing a pudgy baby foot.

“Almost five weeks. And still completely nocturnal,” Sadie answered.

“I imagine with twins your hands are pretty full.” He nodded as if he knew anything at all about babies.

“They are,” she said, “but our older kids help.”

Des chuckled. “Help being relative. The other day our son wanted to put the babies in his wagon and pull them around behind his bike. I stopped that joyride in the nick of time.”

Sadie laughed. “Where was I?”

“Taking a shower. It all went down pretty fast.”

She pressed a hand against her face in false chagrin. “I’m just not as sharp as I used to be. Two babies now is a lot more exhausting than when my other kids were little. That extra ten years makes a big difference.”

Ten extra years. She looked to be about my age. See? I was already too old for a baby.

“Was that your daughter who opened the door?” Tyler asked.

Des nodded. “That’s Paige. She’s as good a hostess as Fontaine. And speaking of proper hosting, I have to admit this punch is awful. Tyler, want a beer? Come out on the deck with me and we can escape all this pink. I think Jasper is hiding there already.”

“It’s too warm outside for the baby,” Sadie said, tipping her head at the mini-McKnight he was holding.

Des looked over at me, optimistically. “Would you like to hold her?”

Would I like to hold her? The baby? Would I like to hold the baby? That’s what he said, but what I heard was Would you like to jump from this plane with no parachute?

“Um, sure.”

I held out my arms as if he were passing me a porcupine. His motions were casual, comfortable. Clearly he trusted my ability, even if I didn’t. But oh, good heavens. What if I dropped her? What if she cried? What if everyone could tell I hadn’t touched one of these things since my internship rotation in pediatrics? That had been a mighty long time ago.

Still, a rush of warmth spread through me as I took her, repositioning her in my arms. She stared up at me, the picture of intense tranquility. As if she knew how untutored I was and was silently promising to make this easy.

And easy it was. So easy. Maternal feelings fluttered around my heart like springtime butterflies, tickling just a little. She was beautiful, and squeezable, and warm. She smelled like baby powder and pure heaven.

My uterus howled like a lonely coyote.

Damn it. I did want one of these. I really, really did.

My glance up at Tyler was involuntary.

He looked at the baby.

And then at me.

Then he looked at the baby again as if she were Pandora’s box about to burst open. And maybe she was.

His cheeks flamed red.

Des thumped him on the back and gave an amused huff of laughter. “You need a beer.” It wasn’t a question, and Tyler turned and walked away without making eye contact with me again.

“That’s Shelby you’ve got,” Sadie said when the men had left us. “This one is Sydney. Do you have kids?”

The inevitable burn of cheek flush stole over my face as I began to stammer. “Me? No. Not yet. I mean, well, no. I think I may have missed my chance on that.”

She expertly flipped the baby up to her shoulder and patted its back gently. “Why?”

“I’m thirty-five.” I held up my left hand. “No husband. Kind of want one in the picture.”

“Understandable. You’ve got time, though. I’m thirty-six, and it all went fine with these two.”

“Yeah, I don’t see it happening.” I looked out toward the deck where the men were standing around a keg, laughing and talking with animated gestures. Tyler looked visibly more relaxed than he had when staring at me with the baby in my arms. I understood his reaction. He knew I wanted one of these. I hadn’t made it a secret. And it wasn’t my fault that holding her had set off a primordial chemical reaction in every maternal cell in my body, making me sway like a human metronome.

Sadie’s gaze followed mine, and we were silent for a moment.

When she turned back to me, her smile was sincere. “You know, there aren’t many secrets in this town.”

That made me laugh. “Yes, I’ve learned that.”

“Yeah. Well, for what it’s worth, everyone in this town thinks Tyler is a pretty good guy.”

He was. There was no denying it. Tyler Connelly was a good guy.

“Yes, he is,” I finally answered. “And very sweet. He’s also eight years younger than me. What does this town say about that?”

Sadie’s smile broadened. “They say you’re probably having a really good time.”