But she didn’t mind working hard. And she was well-organized. She could take on a lot of tasks, even drudgery.
With her aunt’s blessings and some savings left over from her parents’ insurance, plus her paper route, baby-sitting and lawn mowing money, she’d started classes at the local college the week after graduation and had devoted the next six years of her life to earning degrees, with only a short break for a honeymoon between classes.
Going into the bedroom to change into fresh clothes before picking up the twins, she wondered when she’d had time to date Jack, not to mention get married and take over home responsibilities, too. She must have been crazy…..
No. Lonely. The haunting sadness strummed through her again. Her college days had been busy, but she lived them basically alone, running from work to class and back to work. There’d been little time for fun.
During her senior year, her aunt had decided to sell the house, the only home Ally had known since she was eleven, and move to a retirement community in a warmer climate.
When her aunt had told her, Ally had realized she would have no one nearby. She’d lived in an apartment in Durango while completing her studies, but she’d spent one Sunday each month with her only relative.
At least it had been contact with a person who had some kind of bond with her. In fact, she and her aunt had dealt very well with each other once she was grown.
Ally thought the responsibility for rearing a child had weighed on her aunt, who had never been around children much. Now they visited once or twice a year, usually with Ally going down to the senior citizens’ community at Tucson in early spring and her aunt coming to Buttonwood for Thanksgiving. It was a satisfying arrangement.
She wondered if the visits would continue now that she had two children to raise. That would probably frighten her aunt into moving to Florida or somewhere equally remote.
Grabbing her handbag, she headed for the garage, her spirits high once more as she went to claim the children she’d wanted for so long. She laughed as she backed out of the drive, the two infant seats already strapped into the back of the family-size vehicle.
One thing for sure, she wouldn’t be lonely for the next eighteen to twenty years.
Chapter Three
Ally discovered Rose wasn’t at the clinic when she stopped by the administrative office after signing the insurance forms and paying the hospital bills. The older woman had gone home with a migraine.
A tremor of unease ran over her. Her mom-in-law was supposed to help her with the twins that evening, in case she had trouble getting them settled.
She could manage. After all, babies slept most of the time. She had a fresh supply of formula in neat little plastic pouches, the twin bassinets were ready and boxes of diapers and infant gowns were stored in the closet.
“Is Taylor still here?” she asked Rose’s secretary.
“She’s checked out. She said to tell you she had a paper to turn in tomorrow, but would be in touch.”
Ally nodded and smiled as if she didn’t have a qualm in the world about taking home two babies and being responsible for them for the next eighteen years…all by herself.
She suddenly felt young and vulnerable, the way she had at eleven when she’d arrived in Buttonwood, with only her clothes and a favorite doll, to live with her aunt. Or when she went off to college, living in one room in an old Victorian house and working two jobs to make her own way.
This was a far cry from those days, she reminded herself. She was an adult and a child psychologist. She knew all about children. Sure, from a textbook standpoint, a less confident part of her replied.
Yes, well…
She hurried down the corridor to the nursery. Rachel Arquette was on duty. The nurse was pretty, young, single…and pregnant. She wasn’t saying a word about the father. Although Ally had heard the gossip going around, she didn’t believe for an instant it could be Dennis Reid, who was chief of staff at the clinic. He was old enough to be Rachel’s father, for Pete’s sake.
“Rachel, hi,” Ally said upon reaching the desk. “How are the twins?”
Rachel put away the folder she’d been reading. Although she smiled, her eyes had a certain harried look. Ally had always felt a kinship with the quiet nurse…maybe as one lost soul to another?
She pushed the thought aside as another nurse bustled out of the nursery. Ally smiled in relief at seeing Nell Hastings on duty.
Nell had taken care of the twins at the birthing. She was a delight to work with—calm in an emergency, soothing and kind in her dealings with nervous mothers and fathers, and simply wonderful with newborns.
“Well, here’s our mom,” Nell said cheerfully. “Hope you had a good night’s sleep.”
Her eyes twinkled with humor. Nell was such a contrast to her older sister, Blanche, who was one of the town’s two main gossips.
“Are the twins ready to go?” Ally asked with more poise than she felt.
“Yep, fed, burped and changed. The little angels are sleeping. Finally,” Nell added with a chuckle.
Ally’s heart lurched. “Did they have a restless night?”
“A tad,” Rachel spoke up. “They’ll be okay.”
“I’ll help you out to the car,” Nell volunteered. “Are you parked at the front?”
“Yes. I signed all the papers before coming up.”
“The office called up clearance.” Nell bustled off. “Let’s get the babies. You have any questions?”
“Not that I can think of.”
Ally took one baby, her hands shaking just a tiny bit, while Nell carried the other. At the car, the nurse strapped them into the infant seats with the skill of long practice. The darlings slept right through the process.
“Well, thanks,” Ally said.
Nell patted her back. “Sleep when they do, if you can. Tuck them against you if they get to crying. They’re used to sleeping in cramped quarters.” Her smile was reassuring.
“Right.”
Ally drove off at five miles per hour, suddenly afraid that someone was going to hit her car and injure the twins, afraid she wouldn’t see them in time, afraid she wouldn’t notice a red light and would run through it….
Her knuckles were white all the way to the cottage. She parked at home with a sigh of relief, as if she’d completed a major and dangerous feat.
Unbuckling Nicholas, she carried him into the house and gently tucked him into a bassinet, then returned for Hannah. Both slept peacefully throughout the transition. Ally checked that the baby monitor was on, then tiptoed out of the nursery and into the kitchen.
Well, there was nothing to this, she decided four hours later, checking the sleeping twins for the umpteenth time. She’d been worried for nothing. She could relax.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. She closed the nursery door and dashed lightly into the living room. Her eyes widened when she recognized Spence outside the door.
“Hi,” she said, opening up and letting him in. “What are you doing in this neighborhood?”
Stupid question. His mother lived a quarter mile up the road. He was on his way there, most likely. He was dressed in blue shorts and a polo shirt. She noticed that his arms and legs were very tan. She imagined him playing golf or tennis with all the attractive single women at the apartment complex.