Evergreen Springs. RaeAnne Thayne

Cole Barrett struck her as a man used to taking care of business. She ignored the ridiculous little flutter in her stomach as she thought of the man. “You need to let your brother worry about his home life. That can’t be your concern.”

      “I can’t help it. I stress about him and the children. If he wasn’t so darn stubborn, the solution to the whole problem is right there at the ranch, staring him in the face. But that would be too easy and require my inflexible brother to bend a little. I mean, Dad is right there on the ranch, living fifty yards away, but Cole will gnaw off his own leg before he asks Stanford to lift a finger.”

      “I take it your brother and father don’t get along.” The man really did have a tangled mess of a home life.

      Tricia sighed heavily. “That’s an understatement. I’m not saying Cole doesn’t have his reasons for being angry, but people can change, right? Dad is trying.”

      Devin didn’t quite know how to answer that, since she didn’t know any of the particulars, so she remained silent.

      After a moment, Tricia winced. “Sorry. You didn’t come in here to be bored by my family drama.”

      “I’m not bored. I just wish I could help somehow.”

      “The housekeeper is the critical need, especially with me stuck here. They’re going to be eating frozen pizzas and cold cereals until I have these babies. He’s the kind of man who will never ask for help. He’ll just muddle through as best he can.”

      She knew more than a few of those. “I’ll put the word out. It might be tough to hire someone right before Christmas but I’ll ask my sister if she can think of anybody. McKenzie is the mayor of Haven Point and she seems to know everything that goes on.”

      “Thank you. Seriously, Devin. Thank you. I’m so glad you were here when Cole made me come.”

      She smiled and rose. “I need to head back downstairs. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

      “You’ve done so much already.” Tears welled up in the other woman’s eyes again and Devin squeezed her fingers. This was a tough situation for anyone, especially when she was pregnant with twins and appeared to be alone.

      Tricia hadn’t said anything about her husband, though she still wore a wedding ring. Devin took a chance and though it wasn’t her business as a physician, she wanted to think their old and dear friendship gave her a little more leeway.

      “Have you been in contact with the babies’ father? Does he know what’s going on?”

      Tricia reached for another tissue. “No. He won’t care, anyway.”

      “Ah. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

      “Sean and I are...estranged, I guess you could say. It’s such a mess.”

      “I didn’t mean to distress you, honey. Forget about it.”

      “No. You should know what’s going on. It’s a long story but the core problem is he’s angry about the pregnancy. We have always been that couple who told everyone who would listen that they didn’t want children. We were both adamant about it. This was an oopsie of epic proportions...and wouldn’t you know, I’d get pregnant with twins?”

      Devin forced a smile, though she felt that familiar little ache in her chest again.

      “As soon as I found out I was pregnant, my whole mind-set shifted,” Tricia said, “and suddenly I loved and wanted Jack and Emma desperately, but Sean never came around. I thought he might eventually, but we had another big fight just before Thanksgiving. He couldn’t come to the last ultrasound. This is after weeks of him being too busy to come to other appointments. He was supposed to come out here with me, too, for the holiday, but at the last minute he volunteered for a business trip. It was the last straw, you know?”

      She didn’t, but again, she nodded.

      “It was plain to me things would never change. I decided I couldn’t raise my children in an atmosphere where they felt unwanted, even for a moment. I know what that’s like and I couldn’t put my children through that, so I decided to stay with Cole and the children, to have the babies here and stay at Evergreen Springs until I figure out what to do now.”

      She sniffled a little and wiped at her eyes. “Now here I am in the hospital with a sprained ankle. I’ve made such a mess of things.”

      Devin rubbed her arm. “You’re in very good hands here, my dear. We will take great care of you and your babies. I promise.”

      “What about Cole and the kids? While I’m in here resting on my butt, he’ll be scrambling to do everything on his own. He’s a dear, dear man but he’s in way over his head with those kids of his. He can barely boil water. They’ll be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for every meal.”

      Devin took her friend’s hands. “Your concern right now has to be keeping those babies safe and healthy and doing what you can to heal that ankle. I need you to promise me you won’t worry. It’s not good for any of you. We’ll find someone to help your brother.”

      “You know, I believe you.” Tricia rested back on the pillows, some of the strain easing from her features. “That was always one of the things I loved best about you, Dev. If you said you would do something, you did it. You always kept your word.”

      “You have to believe me about this. Your brother will be fine. We’ll make sure of it.”

      She wasn’t sure how, she thought as she bid Tricia good-night and left the room. She didn’t even know the man, but she had promised her friend.

      Cole Barrett would receive help, whether he wanted it or not.

       CHAPTER THREE

      WHEN DEVIN FINALLY parked her SUV in the garage and let herself into her house on the lakeshore, it was nearly midnight and most Haven Point residents lay tucked in their beds while the snow continued to fall and the winds blew.

      She flipped on the lights of the kitchen, a little light-headed with exhaustion. Her day had started with clinic hours at her practice beginning before 9:00 a.m. Barring those few moments of knitting with Greta, she hadn’t had time to take a breath all day.

      Why, again, had she ever wanted to be a doctor?

      Oh, yes. Because she wanted to think that some days she was actually making a difference, helping others as she had been helped by so many caring professionals.

      Seamus, the friendlier of her two cats, wandered in and rubbed against her leg in greeting.

      Devin picked him up. “Hello there, handsome. Anything exciting happen around here? What kind of trouble did you and Simone get into without me?”

      He let out a long meow, the tattletale. Both of her cats were rescues from the shelter but Simone had been with her only a few months, a replacement for her dearest and oldest friend, Trina, who had been with Devin since she was a kitten.

      The newcomer and Seamus adored each other, which was great, but so far the other cat hadn’t warmed up to Devin.

      She was working on it, though. She pulled the kibble out of the pantry and shook the container. A moment later, Simone peeked shyly around the corner. She was still trying to persuade the cat to come closer when her phone rang.

      To Devin’s great relief, it was her sister, not an emergency call tugging her back to the hospital.

      “Hey, Kenz,” she answered. “What are you doing up so late?”

      “I could say the same for you, Dr. Shaw. I was letting Rika and Hondo back inside after their last trip out for the night and saw you drive past. Tell me you’ve been on a hot date.”

      She snorted. When was her last hot date? Nothing came immediately to mind. She really needed to do something about