The Doctor's Accidental Family

“Good idea.” Nick recalled telling her that Bethany had died in a boating accident, but that left a lot of ground to cover. “About four years ago, I’d just finished my residency at UC Irvine and was working at a clinic in Fullerton, near where I grew up. When I met Bethany at a party, we clicked right off. Mutual attraction and all that.”

“Hot sex,” she summarized.

No point in dwelling on that obvious truth. “She was fun to be around.” Bethany had had thick dark hair, a merry laugh and, he’d discovered, a flawed sense of responsibility. “We dated for a few months. She told me she was on the pill, and I used a condom, too. Hey, I’m a doctor, not an idiot.”

“The pill failed and the condom leaked?” Zady rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. In case you forgot, I’m a nurse.”

“It turned out that Bethany only took the pill sporadically. But I’ll admit, I got careless, too. We were both responsible.”

Even on a Sunday, there was a steady stream of cars and trucks on the road, but having a passenger enabled Nick to use the carpool lane. He accelerated onto a soaring single-lane overpass, swooping above regular traffic.

“Having fun?” Zady asked.

Taking the hint, he eased off the gas. “Too fast?”

“I left my stomach back on the 55,” Zady said. “However, I appreciate the illustration of how you approach relationships—full speed ahead.”

“Unfair,” he protested.

“Finish the story.”

Blending into the carpool lane on Interstate 5, Nick dredged up more memories from that difficult period. “When Bethany told me she was pregnant, I did what I figured was the right thing. I asked her to marry me.”

Zady regarded him skeptically. “A romantic proposal with flowers, a ring and so forth?”

“More of a ‘we should get married’ proposal,” Nick admitted.

“And to your astonishment, she declined.”

“She insisted on placing the baby for adoption.”

“You didn’t object?”

“I had no right to pressure her,” he said. “How could I insist Bethany do what I wasn’t prepared for—raise a child alone?”