The Bride Said, 'Surprise!'

John nodded. “Be her friend.”

The problem was, Luke thought, he wanted so much more than that where Meg was concerned. He always had. Always would.

Chapter Three

Monday morning, unable to shake the suspicion that Jeremy was his son, that Meg just wasn’t telling him, Luke sat in front of the hospital computer in his office staring at the screen. As a physician on staff, he could access all patient files with the push of a button. It would be as easy as that to find Meg’s medical records and discover not just if Jeremy was born prematurely, but also the estimated date of Jeremy’s conception. He could learn Jeremy’s and Meg’s blood types and match them up against his. With that knowledge he could swiftly either confirm his paternity or eliminate himself completely.

But it would be wrong to violate Meg’s privacy that way, Luke thought as he went back to the new-patient files he was supposed to be reviewing. It would be a breach of the medical ethics Luke had sworn to uphold. And Luke could not do that. No matter how much he wanted to know the truth.

“You didn’t go to Meg and ask her those questions we talked about, did you?” John McCabe asked Luke as he walked in several minutes later for their scheduled meeting.

Luke looked at the man he would be replacing as chief of family medicine. John McCabe had come over to make sure the transfer of patient files was complete and discuss the particularly difficult cases so Luke could start seeing patients later in the week. Luke was glad for the help and any wisdom John could impart about the patients Luke would now be caring for in John’s stead. He just wished John McCabe weren’t so efficient at sizing up his mood.

“No, I didn’t.” Unable to completely hide his frustration, Luke closed the folder in front of him and sighed.

“How did you know?”

Clad in a sport shirt, slacks and casual boots that fit his newly retired status, John sat down opposite Luke. He laid his Stetson across his knee. “Because I saw Meg a few minutes ago, down in the emergency room, and she looked fine. If you’d asked her what you asked Lilah and me and told her you’d been to see her ex-boyfriend, well, I figure she’d be looking as troubled as you do now.”

Luke frowned and turned a brooding glance to John. “I meant to confront her. I wanted to.”

John looked momentarily concerned. “Then why didn’t you?”

Luke sat back in his swivel chair and braced both palms against the edge of his desk. Feeling more tense and frustrated than ever, he recounted the events of the weekend. “By the time I got home Friday evening all her sisters were there. There was zero chance to talk to Meg privately. As the evening wore on, I had my hands full with my girls. Meg and Jeremy were gone all day Saturday and Sunday—where I don’t know.” Which had left him cooling his heels all weekend, still hoping he was a father to the son he had always wanted—a son who needed him desperately—yet unable to do anything to confirm or refute it without Meg’s help, which she was unlikely to give.

John settled back with a sigh. “Meg spoke at a nursing conference in Dallas over the weekend. She took Jeremy with her, and they spent the rest of the weekend going to Six Flags and the big water parks there.”

Glad to have that mystery solved, Luke nodded thoughtfully, then woefully continued his recounting. “By the time Meg and Jeremy got back last night, it was late, and I knew we both had to come into the hospital today, so…” Luke spread his hands wide and let his voice trail off.

John’s wise dark-brown eyes narrowed. “You’re having second thoughts about grilling her at all, aren’t you?”

Luke shrugged, not sure what he wanted except maybe a life with Meg and his son. He’d already missed Meg’s pregnancy and a good chunk of Jeremy’s childhood. He didn’t want to miss any more. And knowing what a delicate situation he was in if he was Jeremy’s father—and he still hoped there was a chance he might be—he was afraid of screwing things up even more than they already were. Which was exactly what would happen if he pushed Meg too hard.

“The more I think about it, the more I think confronting her now with what I found out from Kip is a bad idea. She resents me enough as it is.” With good reason. Guiltily Luke pushed on. “I have to wait for the right time. I want her to get to know me again, wait until she trusts me and wait until the kids settle in, before I tell her I went to see Kip and I want her to confide in me.”

“Don’t wait too long,” John warned. “Meg’ll be angry if she finds out you’ve figured out for certain that Kip Brewster is not Jeremy’s father and kept this from her.”

Luke scowled. He knew that was true. And it wasn’t fair. “How is this any different from her not telling me in the first place if I am Jeremy’s father?” he demanded irritably.

“It’s not any different. A lie of omission is a lie just the same. But we don’t know for certain that Jeremy is your child. Meg was very confused that summer. Upset. She made it clear to everyone that she made not just one but a whole series of mistakes.”

I’d do anything if I could go back and do it all over…do it differently…but I can’t. Meg had said. And because I can’t change things…I think it’s best that I leave those mistakes in the past. Had she been talking about their brief tryst? Luke wondered, upset. Or something…someone else? And would he ever know? If that really was the case, did he want to know?

All Luke knew for certain was that Meg was not only responsible to a fault, she was one of the most selfless people Luke knew. She was always the one giving help, whether it be as a nurse, a sister or a friend. She never asked for help for herself. But that didn’t make what Meg had done right, either, in cutting not just Jeremy’s father, whoever he was, out of her and Jeremy’s lives, but Luke, as well. As a friend he could have helped her. Sure it would have been difficult if he wasn’t Jeremy’s father, but he had still loved her and wanted to be with her and they would have figured out a way to work everything out.

“In any case,” John continued, oblivious to the direction of Luke’s thoughts, “this situation is going to take very careful handling, Luke.”

Wasn’t that the case, Luke thought, as footsteps sounded in the adjacent waiting room. Seconds later, Kate Marten—the hospital’s thirty-year-old grief-and-trauma counselor—rapped on the door to Luke’s private office and popped her head in. Looking as pretty and capable as ever, she said, “John, one of your nephew’s boys is down in the E.R. Apparently, Kevin—the six-year-old—fell off a porch roof into some bushes. His brothers rescued him and brought him in. They’re all pretty shook up and they’re asking for you.”

“Where’s Sam?” John asked, frowning. Both men rose simultaneously.

A baffled expression on her face, Kate lifted her hands and spread them wide. “According to Meg Lockhart, no one’s been able to locate your nephew thus far. That’s why they want you. They figure if anyone can track Sam down, you can. They want Luke, since he’s now the family doc of record, to take a look at Kevin.”

Together the three headed to the E.R. at a brisk clip.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do without you when you leave next fall,” John McCabe told Kate affectionately.

“Where are you going?” Luke asked curiously.

John was quick to fill him in. “Kate’s getting married to Major Craig Farrell. He’s an air force pilot.”

“Oh, yeah?” Luke held the elevator door for them. “When?”

Kate suddenly looked a little uneasy. She situated herself at the back of the elevator between John and Luke, while Luke pushed the button for the first floor. “We haven’t set the wedding date yet.” Kate smiled and turned her eyes to the closing doors. “But we will as soon as Craig knows when he can get leave.”

“And after you marry?” Luke asked, seeming to recall someone telling him that Kate had spent her entire life—except college—right there in Laramie, first as a guidance counselor at the high school, where her dad still worked as the football coach, then as a crisis counselor at the hospital.

“Craig is career military,” Kate elaborated as the elevator came to a stop. She continued casually as the doors opened and they headed out, “So he and I will go wherever he’s stationed for the next twenty-five years. Then he’s going to leave the service and work for a commercial airline—hopefully one based in Texas.”

“Sounds like an adventure,” Luke said as the trio continued making their way through the halls.

Kate smiled, a little less enthusiastically than Luke would have expected, and said nothing else. Clearly preferring not to talk any more about her personal life, Kate led the way around the corner, past a big sign advertising the hospital’s annual chili cook-off, to the emergency room admitting area.

Four boys were gathered anxiously in the waiting room. The oldest looked like a senior in high school and was wearing running shoes and athletic clothes. The next tallest was dressed in neatly pressed khakis and a shirt—his hair was blow dried to perfection and he radiated expensive cologne. The third tallest was wearing trendy clothing and had an air of mischief about him. The youngest of the four standing out in the hall looked to be about twelve or so and wore glasses and clothes that could only be described as nerdy. All four boys rushed forward out into the hallway when they saw John McCabe. All spoke at once.

“You gotta do something, Uncle John! Kevin’s bleeding!”

“I can’t find Dad—I forget where he’s supposed to be today.”

“I know we were supposed to be baby-sitting him, but it wasn’t our fault.”

“No one told Kev he could go on the roof. Honest.”

Immediately taking charge of the situation like the veteran doc and family man he was, John held up a hand.

“I’ll locate Sam. You see to Kevin,” John told Luke. “You four,” John regarded his nephews sternly, “calm down, and don’t go anywhere until I get back to you. Kate, maybe you’d like to stay out here with the boys?”

“Sure thing.” Kate smiled.

Luke couldn’t help but note Kate looked a lot more comfortable and enthusiastic about her professional duties than she had about her pending nuptials.

“C’mon boys.” Kate herded them off to the waiting room sofas while Luke headed inside the examining room.

Meg was bending over Kevin, talking quietly, as she gently tended to lacerations on his face and arms. Although his face was streaked with tears, Kevin McCabe was no longer crying. Impressed by the tenderness Meg showed their young patient, Luke strode forward. “Hi, Kevin, I’m Dr. Luke. I heard you took a tumble this morning.”

Kevin said nothing.

Noting the boy seemed alert and that his pupils were equal and responsive, Luke tried again to engage him in conversation. “Must have been something pretty important to get up on the roof. How’d you get up there, anyway?” Luke continued, noting Kevin’s pulse and blood pressure were okay.