And Dillon.
Though part of her knew she wasn’t being very realistic, she was hoping that Dillon would once again be at the class, filling in for Callum the way he had initially.
But when Friday rolled around, not only wasn’t Dillon there but neither was Becky. In their place, looking very much like a fish out of water, was Callum. Dillon’s older brother arrived a few minutes before the class was scheduled to begin, flanked on either side by one of the twins and doing his best to look as if he was actually up to this challenge.
This was a man who had helmed the purchase of large plots of commercial properties within and around Rambling Rose. Blessed with astute business acumen, Callum had gotten in on the ground floor of what he and some members of his family referred to as the town’s “gold rush.” He was a contractor accustomed to juggling several projects at the same time, but even with all that going for him, he still appeared to be no match for Luna and Sasha, the two little girls he had adopted when he had married Becky.
One look at the man and Hailey could see that he clearly needed help.
With effort, Hailey put her disappointment at Dillon’s absence aside and made her way over to his harried looking older brother.
“You look like you’re a little overwhelmed here,” she observed with a smile. “Would you like a hand with your energetic twosome?”
He flashed a sheepish smile at the spa’s manager and said, “I’d be very grateful for any help you can possibly offer.”
Hailey’s smile widened. “My pleasure.” She turned her attention to the twins. Today they were dressed in matching turquoise leotards. “Hi, girls, welcome back.” She tousled one of the girl’s hair. “Remember me?”
Two identical heads enthusiastically bobbed up and down.
“Is it okay if I help your dad?” she asked solemnly, addressing each of the twins. “He might not know what to do since he wasn’t here last time.” Again both little girls nodded. They obviously didn’t absorb all the words, but they looked very pleased to be consulted. “Thank you,” Hailey said, “I appreciate that.” And then, sitting down next to Sasha—she silently congratulated herself at getting better at telling the girls apart—Hailey asked their father, “Where’s Becky today? Why didn’t she come with you?”
Considering the nurse’s busy schedule, Hailey thought that the Mommy and Me class would have been something Becky would have looked forward to as a break in her hectic routine.
“Linus’s father, Eric, turned up with Linus at the pediatric clinic this morning,” Callum told her, making a grab for Luna who was about to escape and fraternize with a little boy in the row behind them.
Hailey was surprised to hear about Linus’s return. Barely four months old, Linus was regarded as quite the celebrity in Rambling Rose since, his mother, Laurel, had gone into premature labor at the opening of the pediatric clinic. Becky and Dr. Green had tended to her before transferring her to the hospital in San Antonio to give birth. From all indications, that would have been the end of the story if Laurel hadn’t suddenly reappeared weeks later, only to leave Linus on the doorstep of the clinic.
Stephanie Fortune—Dillon, Callum and Steven’s sister—had stepped up to temporarily become the abandoned baby’s foster mother. Stephanie had grown very fond of the infant when Laurel’s old boyfriend, Eric Johnson, had abruptly turned up to claim the boy as his son.
That had been a couple of months ago and Stephanie, according to what Becky had told her, still missed the infant terribly.
“I thought Eric left town with the baby,” Hailey said, looking at Callum.
“He did, but he came back to talk to Dr. Green. Eric’s worried about Linus because he doesn’t think the baby’s growing at the proper rate he should. Becky said that Eric thought it might be because the baby had been born several weeks prematurely, but the baby’s father wanted to be sure that there was nothing else wrong so he brought Linus back to be checked out.”
Hailey could certainly understand that. “Better safe than sorry,” she agreed. Since Callum hadn’t mentioned it, she thought she’d ask. “I take it that there’s been no word about Laurel’s current whereabouts?”
“Nobody’s seen Laurel since the day she left Linus at the pediatric center.”
When that had happened, it had seemed to Hailey as well as several others that events had come full circle. Or, better yet, that poetic justice was involved. Leaving Linus on the doorstep of the new pediatric center seemed like echoes of the past because the center had been built on the foundation of what had once been the Fortune’s Foundling Hospital.
Callum was about to say something else to Hailey, but whatever he intended to say, she never got a chance to hear it. Luna, anxious for his undivided attention, had suddenly pulled on his arm. Caught off guard, because he had been leaning on that arm, Callum almost fell over.
Hailey managed to suppress her urge to laugh at what looked like a comical scene. Instead, she said seriously, “You have to be careful. These little girls of yours are really fast,” she warned him. “And they do outnumber you.”
“Tell me about it,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know how Becky does it, working all day and then coming home to these two live wires.” With one arm around each twin, he hugged both of the girls. “I get worn out just thinking about it.”
Hailey laughed. “From what I’ve heard, moms come with permanently rechargeable batteries,” she told Callum. “And don’t feel like you need to keep up with Linda, either,” she said, indicating the instructor who had just walked into the room. “She’s been doing this sort of thing for a few years now. Just do what you can,” she advised. “The key thing to remember is to have a good time bonding with your girls.”
Callum smiled at Hailey as he nodded.
