The Doctors' Baby Miracle. Tina Beckett

to stay?” he asked.

      A weird squeaking sound came from her throat that she disguised as a laugh. “I take it that wasn’t an invitation.”

      He smiled the first real smile she’d seen since she’d been there. “I take it you wouldn’t accept, if it was.”

      “That probably wouldn’t be wise.” Not that they hadn’t done some very unwise things over the course of their relationship. “The hospital booked me a room at the hotel across the street. It’s convenient. And close to both the hospital and the conference center.”

      “Convenient. That’s one word for it.”

      Was he saying that her being here was making it awkward for him? Of course it was. Just like being around him was uncomfortable for her. In more ways than one.

      She took a deep breath and asked a real question. “How are you, Tucker...really?”

      “I’m busy.” His smile faded, the words taking on an edge that made her tilt her head. And it didn’t answer her question.

      “You always were in high demand.”

      “With some people. Not so much with others.”

      Was he talking about their marriage? Because she hadn’t been the one to withdraw. He had. She’d loved this man. Deeply. Passionately. It was why it had devastated her when he’d shut down completely during Grace’s illness—pulling away from everyone except for his patients.

      She’d been his wife! Grace’s slow downward spiral had been just as painful for her. The worst thing was, she’d felt frighteningly alone during those first few months after her death, while Tucker had slept in the guest bedroom and spent longer and longer hours working at the hospital. Desperate to reconnect with him on whatever level she could, she’d casually said maybe they should try to have another baby. If she’d thought that would lure him back into their bedroom, she couldn’t have been more wrong. He’d looked at her as if she’d taken leave of her senses, his next words chilling her to the bone.

      I’ll never have another child.

      When she’d started to say something more, he’d cut her off with a shake of his head and walked out of the room. Any time she’d brought up the subject after that, begging him to talk to her, she’d been met with the same stony response. Rather...no response. And his hours at the office had increased so that he’d barely been home at all.

      Then had come the final blow. On the first anniversary of Grace’s death, he’d announced he’d decided to get a vasectomy, as if it was something people did every day. He’d probably hoped that would end all talk of having more children. It had.

      His unilateral decision had floored her. And infuriated her.

      The powerlessness she’d felt had been crushing. All-encompassing.

      That had been the beginning of the end. Actually, it had been more like a rapid slide to home base, only to find out that the ball had arrived long before you had.

      Three strikes and they were out. Bags packed. Papers filed. Divorce decree signed.

      Being bitter solved nothing, though. So she stuffed all that back inside.

      She went back to his cryptic comment about being in demand. “I’m sure your patients appreciate all you do.”

      A softness came back into his eyes. “I wasn’t trying to be the big bad wolf back then, Kady.”

      “I can see that...now.”

      Back then, though, things hadn’t been so clear, and he’d seemed like the villain in their particular tale.

      To her, anyway. Even now the memory of those days pinched at her heart like a pair of surgical clamps, causing a strange numbness to come over her.

      But not so numb that it staunched the weird waterworks sensation that was inching its way back onto her radar. God, she wished things could have been different between them. They hadn’t been, though. So she needed to stop looking at him with glasses that magnified those old hurts. “That’s all in the past, where I think it should probably stay.”

      He stood. “You’re right. It is. I just wanted to stop by and say hello.”

      “I’m glad you did. It was really good to see you again.”

      Good and sad and filled with all kinds of regrets.

      He walked away, leaving her on her own once again. Only this time she was ready. All decisions about whether or not to have children would be made by her. And as soon as she got home, she was going to act on them. Seeing him again had just brought home all her reasons for wanting a child, and that longing she’d had as she’d carried Grace over those nine months.

      All she needed to do was select a sperm donor and she’d be ready to start a family of her own.

      For a few brief seconds she’d wanted to throw that letter from the clinic in his face, the way he’d thrown his decision about not having children in hers, but what would it solve?

      Nothing.

      She didn’t want to hurt Tucker. She just wanted a baby. Not to replace Grace. That would never happen. She would always love her little girl and be grateful for the time they’d had together. At times, Grace’s loss still caused her lungs to seize in the middle of the night as she lay there alone in bed. Any tiny sound in the dark would make her sit up, sure she’d heard a familiar cry. Wishing with all her might that she had heard that cry. And when she realized no one was there, Kady would be the one who cried.

      Surely her daughter wouldn’t have wanted her to be stuck in limbo like this, never moving forward. She’d like to think Grace would have wanted her to go on living, to love and be loved. And she was finally ready to share that love. With another baby.

      She tried to focus on that and block out the negative thoughts that were steadily creeping into her head.

      And the best way to hold those at bay was to stay as far away from Dr. Tucker Stevenson as possible.