In spite of her uncomfortable condition, she managed to raise that delicate chin in an attempt at bravado. Her skin was dewy and pale, a startling contrast to pink lips, dark hair and the vulnerable but rich green of her eyes. The thought that some man had tasted those lips, brushed his fingers through that silken hair and gazed into those eyes as he joined his body to hers nine months ago skimmed through Mick’s mind, and his breath snagged in his throat. Instantly he felt like even more of a heel than the jerk who’d left her to deal with the consequences.
But she was still staring at him, waiting. Obviously she wanted him to leave. No surprise. This was an intimate situation. He could understand her reluctance to share it with a stranger. She’d be even more reluctant to have him here, and so would Megan if they knew who he was and that he was at Maitland Maternity under false pretenses.
“You’re quite a gutsy lady,” he said with a nod of admiration at his dark-haired woman. “Make sure and say hello to your little one when she arrives.”
He started to rise, but Megan shook her head.
“Not yet,” she said, before turning to her patient.
“I admire your determination, dear, but I hope you’ll reconsider,” Megan said gently. “I’ve gone through labor alone, and believe me, it’s much better to have someone coach you along, even if they’re inexperienced. Mr. Hannon’s been given the green light to stay. It’s unorthodox to have him here, perhaps, but we’ll find him a help. You will help, won’t you?”
He wanted to say no, but there didn’t seem to be any answer but yes. If he left, who would she hold on to when the pain came? Megan’s fingers looked much too fragile. The nurse who had entered moments ago had other details to see to.
“I’ll stay,” he agreed.
“That wouldn’t be fair,” the woman was saying. “You just had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And really—I don’t need anyone. I want to do this by myself.”
He really ought to be relieved at her dismissal. The thought of staying here and watching this woman suffer ranked right at the top of the list of things he didn’t want to do today or ever. But the memory of that lost, frightened look in her eyes was still fresh.
“I’d consider it an honor if you’d let me stay,” he said, countering her request. “Who knows when I might need to know how to do this again?” he tried to tease, and it seemed to work.
“See there, dear. You’d be doing Mick a favor for when he has his own children,” Megan agreed brightly.
Even though he’d never have any children, Mick thought.
Still, when the next contraction started, he reached out for her hand and welcomed the soft pads of her fingertips pressing into his skin. He stroked his thumb over her palm.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he whispered. “You’re the bravest woman in the city right now. Your baby’s going to be lucky to get someone who’s such a fighter.”
He slipped his hand behind her and rubbed small circles over her slender lower back as Megan directed him to.
The woman looked up at him helplessly.
“Hold on to me,” he whispered. “Let me help you. Yell at me if it helps. Tell me what you think of the male race,” he urged when she simply clamped her hands down harder on him.
That made those green eyes flash. “Men—I—yes. I—I just can’t say. I don’t want to talk now. I can’t think straight,” she choked out, but the words were said with such intensity that Mick hoped that she’d found some release.
Finally the contraction slid away. The woman slumped back in her chair. She cast a slightly guilty look at Mick, but not too guilty, he noted. There was a little resentment thrown in, as well.
He grinned at her. “I almost got you to swear, didn’t I?” he asked.
“I never swear.”
“But you wanted to. And you didn’t think about the pain while I was irritating you, did you?”
A wan smile lifted one corner of her lips. “Now I’m on to you,” she said tiredly. She looked down. “Thank you,” she said in a small voice. “You ever consider doing this for a living?”
“I’ll take it up with my boss. If any of the guys go into labor, maybe he’ll make use of my services.”
Megan chuckled. She’d been coaching Mick during the contraction, but now she took up the clipboard the nurse had carried in with her and turned to her patient. “Well, dear, we really seem to be doing things backward today,” she said, “but we do need to get a bit of information from you, now that we have some breathing space.”
The woman seemed to gather a cloak of pride around her. She withdrew her hand from Mick’s. Her fingers absently pleated a fold of her yellow maternity top. “You want to know who I am.”
“For starters, yes,” Megan said gently.
The woman took a long, deep breath. For a minute Mick thought she was going to have another contraction, but then she squared her shoulders and nodded slowly.
“I’m Laura Maitland,” she said in that soft voice.
To her credit, Megan barely blinked. “From Las Vegas?”
Laura’s body stiffened slightly, as if someone had traced a probing finger down her spine. “Yes. A long time ago.”
“My late husband William’s niece,” Megan said. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you.”
Laura looked away.
“Yes, I know. I’m—afraid my family hasn’t been very good to yours. I can understand why you’d want to confront my brothers and me. Our family has wronged you terribly.”
Mick had read the story about how Janelle Maitland had kidnapped Megan’s grandson. He knew of the eventual recovery of the child. He’d heard that Janelle had a sister.
“If I could change the past, I would,” Laura whispered to Megan. “I don’t expect you to welcome me. I wouldn’t have come at all if I’d had anywhere else to go, but there wasn’t much money and no insurance. I was worried about my baby, and…well, I’ve seen news of the clinic on television and you had sent me that invitation to the Maitland Christmas reunion, so I just…headed here. I—I can’t pay you right away, but my baby’s birth won’t be charity, I promise. If you let me have my child here, I’ll make it up to you, somehow.”
A long silence followed. Laura turned sad, worried eyes to the blue-eyed matriarch of the Maitland clan.
Megan laid a gentle hand on the woman’s shoulder. “My dear, any woman in the world would ask for help when her child is at stake. I’ve been a woman in need myself, so please don’t distress yourself. Of course you’ll have your baby here. And please, don’t worry about the other just now. It wasn’t your doing, and the past doesn’t matter one whit when there’s a baby being born.”
But Mick knew the past did matter. If a person forgot his history, he made mistakes. He could hurt people. It helped to remember that and to know which paths were open to a man and which were closed.
But then the nurse looked at him, and his only thought was to get out of the way so that she could help prepare Laura for what lay ahead.
He took Laura’s hand into his own and touched his lips to the soft skin of her palm. “You’re doing great, angel,” he told her with a smile. “I’m just going to leave you to the pros now. Don’t swear too much at the medical professionals,” he teased.
But she hung on to his hand when