Sweet Home Alaska. Beth Carpenter

      “Well, it didn’t for you, did it?”

      “That’s just the thing. It did. That’s why—”

      “Don’t.” She stood up and paced to the corner of the porch, then turned to face him. “Don’t give me that stupid line about how you broke up with me because you loved me. It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now.”

      But he did love her. How could he make her understand? “I was a few months away from starting my career with DEMA. You still had five more years of college and grad school to go. I couldn’t ask you to—”

      “You didn’t ask me anything. You informed me of your decision.”

      “I watched a marriage go down the tubes because my father devoted all his time and energy to his career. And he lives in Houston, whereas most of the time, I don’t know where I’ll be next. That’s no basis for a marriage.”

      “So when you said you didn’t want to see me anymore, you were just looking out for me. Protecting me. Is that what you’re saying?”

      “Yes. Exactly.”

      “It’s so good you were there to make that decision for me. After all, you were a doctor. I was only a college student. I guess my opinion was irrelevant.”

      “Volta, no. I never...” He shook his head. “It wasn’t that I thought I was smarter than you. Just that I’d lived with my father. And I’m enough like him to know I can get caught up in work to the exclusion of everything else.”

      “And you didn’t want to have to feel guilty about that. It sounds like you broke up with me for your own convenience, not for mine.”

      “Volta...” He’d made a hash out of this one. He’d only wanted to apologize, make her see why he’d had to hurt her. “I’m sorry.”

      “Yes, you’ve said that. It doesn’t really matter, though, does it? We broke up and I went home. I got married. I have a daughter. I have a career. Congratulations. You saved me from whatever terrible fate awaited me if I’d stayed with you.”

      For someone saying she’d moved on, exactly as he’d hoped she would, she was surprisingly sarcastic. He wanted to ask if her marriage had been happy. If she would have preferred her original career choice of physical therapist. But it really wasn’t any of his business.

      “You’re right. I made my choice. What I have to say now doesn’t matter.”

      “Well, then. Let’s get some sleep. With any luck, tomorrow we can fly home.”

      Home. She spoke with such certainty of where her home was. Scott didn’t have a home. Certainly not in Houston, where he’d grown up. After a couple of days there with his father last week, he’d been itching for an excuse to leave.

      He loved working all over the world, but once in a while, it might be nice to have a place to come home to. But as Volta had pointed out, he’d made his choice.

      * * *

      THE NEXT MORNING after breakfast, Libby handed Scott a handmade baby afghan and sent him and Volta to deliver it to the clinic. “Good morning,” Bridget greeted them at the door. “Daniel’s here.”

      “Good morning yourself. How did it go last night?” Volta asked.

      “Good. No problems to speak of. Lori’s feeding one of the twins now.” She yawned. “I think I’ll get a nap in until Mike says we’re ready to go.”

      “Good idea,” Volta said.

      Daniel was in the lobby, working on his laptop. He greeted them and waved them through to the exam room. Scott knocked on the door frame and entered at Lori’s invitation. Volta followed. Lori was sitting up in bed, smiling down at a sleeping infant. “He passed out halfway through breakfast.”

      “That means he’ll be demanding the other half in an hour or so,” Scott predicted.

      “Libby sent this for you.” Volta took the blue blanket from Scott and handed it to Lori. “She says she’s working on a pink one.”

      “Aw.” Lori pressed the blanket to her cheek. “Everyone has been so good to us.”

      “You’ve been good to them, taking care of everyone at the school and helping Daniel. And look at these beautiful babies. Have you come up with names yet?”

      Lori looked at Paul. He grinned. “We have. We’re both so grateful to all of you from yesterday.” He took the sleeping baby from Lori. “We’ve named this one Daniel Scott Vaughan.”

      “Daniel Scott. I love it!” Volta said.

      “I’m honored.” Scott ran his hand over the baby’s head. “And I’m sure Daniel is, too.” He turned toward the other baby, sleeping in a bassinet beside the bed. “And what are you calling her?”

      Paul and Lori exchanged glances. “Well, Volta was holding my hand—”

      “Oh, no, no, no.” Volta cut in. “I’m flattered, but please don’t do that to another innocent little baby. I’ve never forgiven my father.”

      Lori laughed. “We were thinking Morgan Bridget Vaughan. We’d call her Morgan.”

      Scott vaguely remembered Daniel introducing her as Volta Morgan. Her married name. It would take some getting used to. She was still Volta Jordan in his mind.

      “Morgan.” Volta crossed to the incubator and looked down at the baby. Color rose in her cheeks. “She looks like a Morgan Bridget. I’m sure Bridget was over the moon.”

      “She was.”

      The baby girl woke up and yawned. Volta picked her up and cuddled her. “Hi, little Morgan. You’re a sweetheart, aren’t you?” She brought the baby to Lori. Lori rearranged a shawl over her shoulder and brought her daughter to her breast. The baby made happy little noises as she nursed.

      Volta laughed. “What an appetite. By the time you bring them to the tournament in December, the babies will be so big I won’t even recognize them.”

      “What tournament?” Scott asked.

      “The high school teams play in the state tournament in Anchorage every year after Christmas,” Paul explained. “For the last three years, Volta has been letting the whole team from Sparks camp out in her living room.”

      “It’s fun,” Volta said. “Besides basketball, we take the kids to a movie and the mall. They have a blast.”

      “Sounds like a good tradition.” Traditions were something missing from Scott’s life. He loved his job, but he didn’t have connections like this. Even his coworkers were constantly changing. “Well, Daniel promised to go over some statistics with me this morning, so I need to head in that direction, but I’ll do one more health check before we all get on the plane.”

      Volta sat in with Scott and Daniel, going over infant mortality and complication rates in rural Alaska and discussing how to mitigate some of the dangers. It was obvious Volta and Daniel had discussed the subject before and they both had suggestions Scott intended to include in his report.

      Bridget stopped in at the clinic a little before two. “Mike says they’re lifting the flight ban. He’s checking all the equipment, so let’s load up.”

      “Okay.” Scott gathered up his notes and shook Daniel’s hand. “Thanks for all your help. It was invaluable.”

      “Anytime.”

      Scott and Bridget went to do a final check of Lori and the babies and get them ready for transport. Mike stepped into the clinic. “They’ve cleared us, and the plane is good. Let’s boogie before they change their minds.”

      Everyone worked together to transport the incubator holding the two babies into Libby’s SUV. Lori followed along behind, supported by Volta and Paul. Libby drove them