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“Her older sister,” Bea clarified. “And very protective.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He placed the takeout bag on the narrow table next to the door and held out his hand. “Although the circumstances aren’t ideal, I guess we’ll see quite a lot of each other in the upcoming years.”
Bea ignored his outstretched hand as her gaze darted between Ryder and Esme. “You can’t be serious. Two strangers don’t raise children together.”
“Grandma did with Aunt Vanna,” Esme pointed out.
“This isn’t the same thing,” her sister insisted as Ryder shoved his hand into his pocket. He’d changed out of his suit into dark jeans and a gray Henley that hugged his broad shoulders and an incredibly toned chest and arms.
Now was not the time to get distracted by her too hot parenting partner, Esme chastised herself as she focused on her sister. “Dad wouldn’t have grown up feeling like he had Peter as a brother if their moms had tried to manage on their own. Ryder and I can be better parents together, Bea. You have to believe me.”
When Bea looked like she would continue arguing, Esme held up a hand. “Or don’t. That’s your choice. But this is mine. Ryder and I are in this together.”
She hadn’t realized her hands were clenched at her sides until he reached out to hold one of them. The small gesture of solidarity made her heartbeat accelerate.
“I’m going to take care of your sister,” he said, speaking directly to Bea. “And our sons. You have no reason to trust me.” He squeezed Esme’s fingers. “Neither of you do, but I’m going to work to earn it every day. That much you can take to the bank.”
“Speaking of the bank,” Bea said to her sister, “or our fairy godbanker, as I like to call her. Have you talked to Freya about this?”
Esme shook her head. She thought about pulling away from Ryder, but her hand felt too right cradled in his grasp. “You’re the only one who knows. I need a couple of days to process everything, okay? Then I promise I’ll talk to Freya and Asa. Please support me, Bea.”
Bea groaned and threw up her hands. “I always support you, little sis.” She ran a hand through her long red hair and stepped forward, hugging both Esme and Ryder at the same time. “I’m here for both of you. So when do I get to meet my new nephew?”
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Esme promised. “I think the babies need time to adjust to their expanded family, as well.”
“Call or text any time.” Bea drew back. “You, too, Ryder Hayes. Let me know if you need anything.”
Esme nearly smiled at the look of consternation on his face at Bea’s words. He didn’t seem bothered when her hackles were raised but was clearly disconcerted by her kindness.
“Okay,” he agreed slowly.
Bea gave Esme another hug. “Call me,” she whispered, then let herself out the front door, leaving Ryder and Esme standing in the living room still holding hands.
The air between them sparked with something she couldn’t name, but she yanked her hand back and stepped away. This arrangement would only work if they stayed focused on the boys, which should be simple enough. One baby was a lot of work, so two should keep her busy enough not to fixate on her attraction to Ryder.
Good luck with that, her body and heart whispered at the same time. Esme chose to ignore them both.
Chapter Six
Besides the continued runaround they were receiving from the hospital administrator and attorney after Noah’s test confirmed what they already knew, the next three days were the best Ryder could remember in a long time. Sharing parenting responsibilities with Esme, who was calm and competent in the face of blowouts, crying jags and even an unexplained rash on Noah’s back, gave him the ability to breathe easy for the first time since he’d held his son in his arms.
He knew he wasn’t the most capable parent but hadn’t realized how much his obvious lack of skill added to the normal stress of being a new dad. Esme’s presence relieved his anxiety as easily as if she were yanking a sheet from the bed.
He couldn’t hope to compete with her soothing presence and natural aptitude for mothering babies, so Ryder became more determined to discover how the mix-up had occurred at the hospital the night his sons were born.
Greg Oachs called or emailed at least once daily, asking the two of them to sign paperwork that would absolve the hospital from responsibility for the mistake. Although neither he nor Esme had any desire to pursue legal action, he wouldn’t let the smarmy lawyer off that easily.
In contrast, the hospital administrator, Mary Dill, sounded genuinely apologetic and willing to help, contritely explaining she’d been given strict instructions not to share any information about the on-duty staff back in October.
However, Ryder wasn’t giving up, especially since, earlier in the day, Esme had suddenly remembered overhearing that one of the nurses was called Nancy. It hadn’t taken long to narrow down the employees with that name working at County Hospital.
Despite knowing it would anger the attorney and administrator, he’d called all three Nancys and discovered that one of them was a labor and delivery nurse who’d remembered the night of the terrible storm and the chaos on the floor after the patients had been moved into their temporary rooms.
He had a meeting scheduled with her tomorrow for breakfast at the diner in town and hoped she could shed some light on the situation or point him in the right direction to get to the bottom of how something with such long-term consequences could have happened.
“Is everything okay?” Esme asked as she came down the steps. “That’s a pretty serious frown you’re sporting.”
Ryder sighed and made a concerted effort to fix his face. “It’s been a long day.” He hated to admit how familiar a scowl felt for him. But he’d smiled and laughed more since meeting Esme than he had in ages.
