Page 98 of The Bitterroot Inn (Jamison Valley 5)
Dr. Peterson was Emmeline’s primary care physician but I’d stuck around, wanting to learn from a doctor with incredible experience. I hadn’t delivered many babies outside my residency, and since I was staying in Prescott indefinitely, eventually I’d be the senior doctor at Jamison Valley Hospital. I couldn’t have picked a better baby to welcome into this community. Nora Slater was as perfect as newborns could be.
Rushing to the locker room, I changed out of my scrubs and dug my phone out of my jeans pocket. Then I called Maisy. It was three in the morning but I didn’t care that I was going to wake her up. She wouldn’t either.
“Hey, baby,” I said when she answered.
“Hi. Is everything okay?”
“Healthy baby girl. Seven pounds, three ounces. Ten fingers, ten toes.”
She sighed. “Oh, good. Are you coming home?”
Home. I smiled. “I’m on my way.”
“Okay,” she yawned. “See you soon.”
I hustled home and into bed, curling my Maisy into my arms.
Then I made myself a promise.
Tomorrow, I’d arrange for Coby to spend the night with Brock and Marissa one night this week so I could tell Maisy everything.
As soon as my confession was behind us, we could move forward. She’d be wearing my ring, Coby would be my son, and my baby would be growing in her stomach.
This was the last chalk mark on an otherwise clear slate and it was time to wipe it clean.
“Hey,” I called into the lobby of the motel.
“Hi!” Maisy rushed from behind her computer at the counter to give me a kiss. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see if you wanted lunch. I had a break.”
“Okay, sure. Do you want to go somewhere or just eat upstairs?”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I’d like to finish those leftovers from dinner last night. Especially if Coby is spending the night with Mom and Dad tonight. That way we can go eat wherever.”
“All right.”
It had been two days since Nora Slater’s birth and my resolve to tell Maisy the truth was as strong as ever. Tonight, she’d learn everything. Then I’d fight through the tears, the yelling and the hurt to get us to the other side.
The door behind me opened and I turned to see a man in a gray suit walk into the lobby.
“Hi,” Maisy greeted. “How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for,” he glanced at the manila envelope in his hand, “Maisy Holt.”
“That’s me.”
“Can I see some ID, ma’am?” the man asked.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. Some ID? What the fuck did this guy want? He wouldn’t make eye contact with me so I couldn’t get a good read on him, but my gut was telling me something bad was coming.
Maisy went to her purse on the counter and dug out her wallet to get her driver’s license. When the man looked it over, he handed it back along with the envelope.
“Maisy Holt, you’ve been served.”
He wasted no time leaving the lobby as Maisy and I stared at the envelope. With shaking hands, she ripped open the seal and slid out papers. As her eyes scanned the white sheets, her face paled and her mouth fell open.
