The Twin Birthright. Catherine Mann

the room, she steadied her gaze on the clock, watching the second hand move like molasses.

      The creaking of the door cut through her thoughts, and for a sliver of a second, her heart screamed out for Royce. His calming presence.

      Instead of the enigmatic man, Delaney lingered in the doorway, her hand balled into a tense fist as she held on to the sleeves of her green sweater.

      Naomi didn’t want to think about feeling disappointed.

      Had he left? She swallowed hard and focused on her sister with a smile. Extending her arms for a hug, she drew Delaney close, breathing through the physical and emotional pain that racked her body.

      “Naomi, the babies are beautiful. Glenna took a million photos already and I’m sure we’ll take a million more. How are you?”

      “Relieved. Eager to see my children. Grateful Royce was there to help.”

      “I can’t believe you actually delivered in a car.” Delaney tugged a chair close to the bedside and sat. “You always did have to one-up me. Two babies and now giving birth in a snowstorm. I’ll never top that.”

      “What can I say?” Naomi shrugged, adjusting her hospital gown. “I strive to overachieve.”

      “I’m just glad you’re all three okay. And the girls, wow. I can’t wait to spoil them and buy tons of little pink outfits. I can’t believe how tiny they are. So precious. You’re so brave.”

      “I didn’t have a choice.” Her mind flashed to the terror she’d felt when she realized she wouldn’t make it to the hospital. “They were coming out.”

      “I mean, to be a single mom.”

      Single.

      Not engaged. Not married.

      No future with Royce.

      She didn’t even have her mother to turn to for advice. Naomi fought back tears, working to remind herself of all she had to be grateful for tonight. “It’s not like I don’t have a ton of support, an even larger family now that Dad’s remarried.”

      But no Royce. No father for her children. It had all seemed clear when she’d opted for in vitro fertilization with eggs she’d frozen prior to her treatment for cancer. Now everything was...complicated.

      In the wake of her relationship with Royce, she better understood all that was missing in her life.

      All that might have been for her girls.

      “We’re here for you.” Delaney covered Naomi’s hand with hers, careful of the IV. “What’s the deal with Royce and you being out there together?”

      Naomi sighed. “I should just put a sign on the door explaining, so I don’t have to repeat myself. He’s been helpful during the pregnancy. He cares about the babies.”

      “And about you. Be honest.” She touched Naomi’s forehead, pushing away loose strands of dark hair.

      Naomi bit her lip and weighed her sister’s words. “We’ll always care for each other. But it was just...infatuation. Lust.”

      “Lust. Whoa. Friendship and lust and caring. Sounds pretty cool to me.” She gave an exaggerated wink.

      “Trust me,” Naomi chuckled softly, “lust is the last thing on my mind right now.”

      “Understandable. You must be exhausted and I should let you rest.” Delaney kissed her forehead. “Is there anything I can get for you? Some water? A nurse?”

      “Perhaps ask the nurse to take my blood pressure again to see if I can get up?”

      “Absolutely. I’ll ask on my way out.” She nodded to the nurse backing through the door. “You’re in good hands. I’ll see you in the morning.”

      The middle-aged nurse with silver strands in her jet-black hair barely made it five steps into the room before Naomi’s question burst from her lips. “So, do we get to check my blood pressure again?”

      Bowed lips drew into a smile, and for a flash of a moment, Naomi saw a glimpse of her mother in the woman. A painful thought, an ache that never seemed to ease.

      “Of course, dear. Let’s see what your number is now.”

      Naomi took a deep, steadying breath as the nurse set up the blood pressure machine. Low. Low. Low. The wish looped in her mind like a mantra. Her body needed to respond to the command.

      An eternity seemed to pass as she stared at the nurse’s equipment, waiting for the verdict.

      “Well, there, Miss Naomi, I have some good news for you. Your blood pressure is back to normal.”

      “I’m going to see my babies.” Flinging back the sheets, Naomi prepared to swing her legs off the bed.

      A gentle hand met her wrist. “Hold on there, dear. I know your pressure’s back down, but doctor’s orders—you get a wheelchair until he says otherwise.”

      “As long as I see my children.” Naomi took a deep breath, the kind she reserved for stepping into a trial, the type that filled her lungs and soul with determination, then she eased her feet to the floor. She was a little wobbly, but overall better than she expected.

      “This is my favorite part of my job, dear.”

      Naomi craned her head back to examine the nurse. Faint smile lines adorned her cheeks, and the nurse’s green eyes were alight.

      “Wheeling people around?” Naomi asked, wringing her hands in anticipation. Doctors and nurses rushed past them, carrying charts and chatting hurriedly.

      “No. Uniting mother and child. There is nothing as rewarding.”

      Her pulse pounding like she’d ran a marathon, Naomi swallowed, a lump of nervous anticipation welling in her throat, rendering her unable to speak. As they turned the corner to the nursery, her heart did a cartwheel. Royce. He stood near the babies, decked out in borrowed green scrubs. Looking handsome as ever, as he spoke to the pediatric nurse in a tone so hushed and gentle Naomi couldn’t make out a single word he said.

      He hadn’t left, after all.

      Even though she knew he was here for the babies, she still couldn’t deny how glad she was to see him. He was a part of her past, but he’d also been a part of this miracle.

      She couldn’t help but wonder if she was feeling too drawn to him, weakening in an emotional moment. If anything, the other nurse’s presence, with reminders of Naomi’s mother, made her think of how she should be turning to the relatives she still had. She shouldn’t rely on Royce. She wanted to be independent. Even leaning on family would need to be short term—just until she recovered physically—or they could all fall back into the overprotective ways she’d found so stifling as a teen with cancer. She walked a fine line with them in making sure her girls had the joy of the love of a big family.

      She smiled her thanks at the nurse who’d helped her down the hall, then rolled the wheelchair toward Royce. “Where is the rest of my family?”

      He looked up, lifted an eyebrow and smiled. “Hey, Mama. Good to see you up and about.”

      The pediatric nurse at the bassinets grinned before turning away and busying herself with another newborn.

      Naomi gestured to her wheelchair. “If you can call riding in this ‘up.’”

      He knelt in front of her. “Your blood pressure’s down?”

      “Yes. And now I want to see my babies.”

      “Of course.” He reached for the first bundle, Mary, and settled her in the crook of Naomi’s arm. Then followed with Anna.

      Naomi soaked in the sight of them, clean and sleeping. And beautiful.

      She looked up at Royce, finding his eyes locked on hers. She resisted the urge to fidget nervously and