There was a pause on the other end, and at last, she said, “I’ll tell you when you get here. You can meet him.”
“Him? Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Aaron hung up and drove a little faster than he should have to get to the clinic. He had to know what happened. What doeshimmean? Did Gordon come looking for Ruth? Was she going to go back to him?
She’d better not.
Aaron never liked the jerk, and after dumping his eight-months-pregnant daughter…well, the guy was a coward. Thank goodness Ruth had erased his memory of their family’s secret.
Pulling into the parking lot, Aaron saw Kizzy’s car. He wondered why they would need another driver, but he’d find out in a minute. He slammed the car door and charged into the clinic.
“I’m Ruth Samuels’s father. Can you tell me where she is, please?”
The woman behind the desk pointed to the double doors on her right.
“Thank you.”
Aaron hurried through the double doors and checked the hall before he came to a room with three beds. His daughter and granddaughter were lying in one of them. Kizzy and Gabriella stood on either side.
“Hi, Dad!” Ruth handed the baby to Gabriella.
Aaron rushed over to Ruth, leaned over the safety rail, and gave her a big hug. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, honey. Are you all right?”
“Never better. Do you want to meet your granddaughter?”
“Absolutely.” He rounded the bed and met Gabriella at the foot of it. She handed him a little pink bundle of joy. The baby seemed healthy. Pink cheeks and a shock of brown hair and eyelashes. He parted the blanket a bit and saw ten tiny fingers. He was betting there would be ten toes under there too. “What a beauty. Well done, Ruthie. But who is this ‘he’ Kizzy mentioned?”
A handsome young doctor strolled into the room. Kizzy brought him over and said, “Dr. José Ortega, this is my father, Dr. Aaron Samuels.”
José took a brief glance around the room and then whispered, “Is he a witch too?”
Aaron’s jaw dropped. Before he could fumble the baby, Gabriella grabbed her back and brought her to Ruth, who anxiously reached for her.
“You did the delivery?” Aaron asked José.
“Yes, I did. Your older daughter assisted as well.”
Kizzy smiled and said, “Ruth wouldn’t be here if not for Dr. Ortega. He saved her life.”
Aaron’s eyebrows rose. He extended a hand and shook José’s hand. “I can’t thank you enough, Dr. Ortega. That’s my precious baby girl lying there, holding her precious baby girl.”
“Thank heavens for both of you,” Gabriella added.
José moved over to Ruth’s side and asked, “How are you feeling, Miss Samuels?”
“Like I just won the lottery—and you can call me Ruth.”
He smiled. “Have you decided what to name her yet?”
“I was thinking of a few different names, but there must be a perfect one. I just don’t know what it is yet. I’m sure it will come to me.”
The doctor nodded. “Well, let me know when you decide. We’ll need to put something on her birth certificate before you can take her home.”
“Oh, that’s right. I guess I have to come up with something pretty quickly.”
“You have about twenty-four hours. I want you here for observation, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let your stitches heal a bit.”
“That isn’t necessary.” Ruth put her hands on her own abdomen and closed her eyes briefly. “There. All healed.”
