“That’s Frank over there,” she said, her voice low.
“What?” Caitie followed her gaze to the reception desk, a frown pulling at her lips. “Frank? As in?” She did a double take. “Your Frank? The baby’s father?”
“Yeah.” Harper nodded, unable to take her
eyes off him.
“Which one? The guy standing next to James Tanner?” Caitie rolled on her tiptoes, her head craning to look at the group.
“Who’s James Tanner? I’m talking about the guy with the dark hair.”
“James is the doctor in the green scrubs. His parents are friends with mine. I should go over and say hi. I haven’t seen him in years.”
It was too surreal. Harper shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, but it only made her feel dizzy. She reached out to steady herself on Caitie’s arm.
She was trying really hard to get her thoughts straight. Ever since she’d seen the positive result on the pregnancy test, she’d given up hope of finding him. He was a needle in a haystack, a mythical creature, somebody who changed her life forever and disappeared.
But now he was back, standing right in front of her. If he turned he’d probably see her staring at him. James Tanner.
“Harper?” Caitie said, slowly turning to look at her. “Is James the father?”
“Yes,” Harper breathed, her head still a little dizzy. “I’m sure of it.”
Caitie’s eyes widened as she looked from him to Harper. “James is your baby’s dad?” she repeated. “This is so strange. I can’t believe it.” She turned back to her friend. “What the heck do we do now?”
* * *
James checked his watch as he waited for the registrar to bring up some details on her computer. It was more than two hours after his shift should have ended.
“Here you go,” the woman said, looking up at him from behind the counter. “Her family doctor is based in Angel Sands.” She pressed print on the computer. “Do you want me to call the office?”
“Yeah, please. Give them my contact details and ask them to send over the history as soon as they can. I can’t make any decisions until I’ve seen it.”
“You work too hard,” she pointed out kindly. “You should be resting at home.”
“You sound like my mom.”
She laughed. “Mothers know these things, I say the same thing to my kids. Maybe one day you’ll listen to us moms.”
“James?”
The voice came from behind him. His brows knitted together as he tried to place it – half recognizing the tone. He turned to look at the woman standing there. Mid-twenties, dark hair, and skin so pale she looked out of place in California.
“That’s me,” he said, still trying to figure out who she was. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Caitie Russell; Deenie and Wallace’s daughter. I knew you back when I was a kid.”
Of course it was. “Oh, hi,” he said, smiling at her. “Is everything okay? Are you here for yourself?”
She blinked. “Oh no. I had to bring Lucas’s wife in. She fell. She’s…”
“Pregnant.”
“Yeah. I didn’t know if you knew.”
“I met her at my parent’s place. Ember, right? Is she okay?”
“Oh yeah, she’s fine. Lucas is with her and they’re getting ready to leave now.”