Chapter Three

Reggie was no stranger to airports. In her job as an insurance adjuster, she traveled all around the country, wherever there was a natural disaster that had required her expertise. She enjoyed the satisfaction of helping people in need. She always had.

In a way, the need to help people was what drew her to Keith. They were the same in so many ways. As the doctor in a small-town clinic, Keith was a necessity for the small South Dakota town they lived in. He could have easily made more money practicing medicine in a big city hospital or working in the city in a big practice. But then where would that have left Rudolph?

The town needed a local doctor and an emergency medical center. Otherwise, the people of Rudolph and the surrounding towns would have to drive to one of the big cities every time they needed medical care of any kind. And Keith considered Rudolph his home. That’s why he chose to stay where he could be with family, and do what he loved. She loved him more than she ever thought she could love another human being. And last night she’d ripped his heart out.

All through the flight, Reggie thought about their conversation or lack of it. The words were there. I'm scared, Keith. I don’t know how to do this. She just didn't how to say that to him in a way that made sense.

Keith was always so confident about his position in life. He had deep roots with his family. And they were wonderful. All of them. Reggie loved them all. But she had never had that kind of connection with family before. The McKinnon's had become the family she always longed for when she was a child, as she watched her father, a career military man, go off on a tour, and leave her for months on end with strangers.

Of course, the only reason why she was left with strangers was because her own mother had ditched them when Reggie was so young. Maura Simpson couldn't handle the military life. That was the excuse her father had given her when Reggie was old enough to ask about it and insist he tell her.

Well, she was old enough now, and she still didn't understand how both her parents could choose to check out on their only child. It was her biggest fear that somehow she would end up feeling the way her mother had felt, and leave a loving family behind.

She’d never known what had become of her mother. She’d never tried to contact them after she’d left. Or maybe she did and couldn’t find them on another base or in another country. Perhaps her father had wanted it that way. But she didn’t think so. As detached as her father could be sometimes, Reggie knew he never would have denied his daughter the right to see her mother if her mother had requested it.

And that made it worse. Her mother had left on purpose with the sole desire never to be part of her life. She couldn't imagine a scenario where she would leave Keith and never want to see him again. But how did she know she wouldn't get restless like her mother? In many ways, they were so much alike.

Reggie loved to travel, which was why being an insurance adjuster fit her perfectly as a career, something she did right up until she started working with Ian and Ethan at the Wounded Veterans Center. Despite having to live in places that had been devastated by some sort of natural disaster, she got to see much more of the world, as she had done when she was a child and traveling from base to base with her father.

Keith was very much a homebody. He liked lazy Sundays and long nights of talking and cuddling in front of the fire. It had taken a while for Reggie to get used to a slower pace. She liked getting up in the morning, leaving the house, and heading straight to work. She didn't mind getting her hands into something and working until the wee hours of the morning. She had a passion for what she did and it was paid back tenfold when she saw the results.

But now Reggie was pregnant, and she had no idea how that would change the course of her life. She wanted children. She'd even dreamed about it. But now that she was pregnant, the fear of ending up like her mother was leveling her.

As soon as the plane landed, she waited for all the other passengers to leave before trying to find her bag in the overhead compartment. She was already exhausted and the day hadn’t even really begun. The good news was she hadn’t gotten sick at all during the flight. But that was only because she hadn't eaten anything despite telling Keith she would. Now she was starved.

Walking through the airport, she couldn't get the image of Keith standing by the car out of her mind. Guilt stabbed at her in a way that was foreign. This wasn’t them. Nothing was ever rosy, but she and Keith always managed to get through whatever quarrels they’d had.

She walked off the plane and made her way through the crowded terminal where other passengers were waiting for the ground stewardess to call the next flight. She dropped her bag on the first empty seat she found. The ground stewardess began talking over the loud speaker. In a few minutes, most of the chatter around her would fade as people boarded the plane. But she didn't want to wait to talk to Keith until the terminal was quiet. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Keith’s cell phone. She’d expected the call to go to voicemail, but he answered on the first ring.

“I hoped you would call when you landed,” he said.

Just the sound of Keith’s voice lifted Reggie’s spirits, but it made her want to weep at the same time. It did wonders to melt away the turmoil she'd been feeling since she left Rudolph that morning.

“I hated the way I left this morning.”

“I know,” Keith said. She could hear the regret in his voice, but it wasn't his fault. She’d caused this tension between them, and she had no idea how to fix it.

“I love you, you know. I just want you to know that for sure,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

The woman in the seat next to where Reggie stood, who was reading on her eReader, glanced up at her and smiled.

Reggie turned away.

After a slight pause, Keith said in a low, sexy voice, “I love you more.” She smiled. He must be in his office with the door closed. He would've never spoken that way in front of Nancy, his receptionist at the clinic.

“Has your day begun yet?” she asked. The ground stewardess called another zone and the woman who’d looked up at her, got up and collected her luggage before heading to the boarding gate. Reggie took that opportunity to take her seat.

“I was just about to see my first patient. Routine stuff, but the kind I like. I like it when everyone is healthy, and they can leave here happy. Let's hope no one needs stitches today. I hear there is a big hockey game out on the Miller pond today.”

“Ouch.” She chuckled, and then thought for a minute about the Miller pond out in the woods behind the property that Ethan and Maddie were building their house. “Does Ethan know about this? I mean, is that pond even safe to skate on?”

“It’s been freezing here for a while. Ethan is the one who warned me about the high school kids going there after school. I’m sure he’ll check in on them.”

She knew Keith’s body so intimately that she’d seen the faint scars from injuries he’d gotten as a young boy. It was funny to hear him talking like this now when she was sure that Kate McKinnon had spent a lot of time in the emergency room with one of her boys for some reason or another.

“I'll give you a call tonight as soon as I get to the hotel.”

She heard his sharp intake of breath. “What are the chances I can talk you into catching a flight home right after your meeting this afternoon? We can have a little repeat of last night or a continuation, however you want to see it. I’ve been thinking about that all day.”

She grinned, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention. She didn’t really care if anybody knew what Keith was saying to her. But her cheeks still flamed.

“I’m really exhausted, Keith. I’m not even sure I’m going to be able to get in with Joel until later in the afternoon. I called his office before my flight took off. I just checked my messages when the plane landed and he hasn’t called back. I really hope this trip isn’t for nothing. If I can’t get in to see him until later this afternoon, I know I won’t have enough time to fight DC traffic and the airport in order to get home tonight.”

“I get it. Pregnancy can really wipe you out. I don’t want you to overtax yourself just for my selfish pleasure.”

She giggled and glanced around. “It's my selfish pleasure, too. Don't you forget that.”

“I was hoping you’d see it that way.”

She hung up the phone after their goodbyes and looked at the center aisle of the airport that she still had to walk through to get to the Metro that would take her to the hotel. Maybe she’d get lucky and be able to check in early so she could have a nap before meeting with Joel. As she pulled her bag off the seat and started walking, Reggie couldn’t help but think it had already been a long day and it wasn’t even noon yet. But at least she now felt better after hearing Keith’s voice.

* * *

The morning sun streaming through their bedroom window made it hard for Hawk to want to get out of bed. He’d promised Logan to go over to the ranch and split some wood with him. While he was there, he’d check on his niece who’d come into the clinic the day before with a nasty cold and fever. He didn’t want her to end up with an ear infection on top of everything.

But the thought of getting up and splitting wood for hours wasn’t high on his list of fun tasks. It's not that Hawk couldn't use a little more wood for his own woodstove. But he’d much rather stay in bed and hold Regis now that she was home.

“Are you going to get up and make coffee or should I?” she asked in a sleepy voice.

“I can make it,” he said. “But you only get to have one cup.”

She turned on her side and looked at him with narrow eyes. “Why?”

“Too much caffeine. I know how you like your coffee. But too much is not good during the pregnancy.”

She nodded. “Can I cheat, and make it a large mug?”

He laughed as he climbed out of bed. “No.”

They’d fallen into a routine where they both were comfortable with their nakedness. Neither one of them used a bathrobe to walk around in front of each other. Using the bathroom, brushing teeth, or any of those other normal daily functions were just that. Normal.

But things were far from normal. They’d changed drastically. He and Regis were either about to become a family of three, or perhaps not a family all. The tension in between all the good moments told a story of how Regis didn’t want to bring up the subject of her pregnancy. Any time he said something simple, like not drinking coffee, she’d give a joke and then not say anything else, or she’d say nothing at all.

The house he’d renovated several years ago was a big one. There were empty bedrooms that still had no furniture. When the wind blew, and the wind always blew strong in South Dakota during the winter, he could hear the sound of whistling through the halls.

He'd always thought the sounds of children would fill them one day. Please God, let it be soon. He was a doctor, and he believed a woman had a right to choose her birth control choices. But when it came down to a choice of stopping the pregnancy that involved his child, he never realized how different it would be for him.

Of course, Regis had never said anything about wanting to terminate the pregnancy. She’d never even uttered the words. But she wasn't thrilled about being pregnant and he couldn’t help but think her indifference meant that she was considering it. That left him wondering what type of choice she would make, and what she was thinking.

Hawk had asked her many times during last two years to marry him. She’d said she wanted to be his wife someday. But they'd yet to set a date. Meanwhile, he’d seen family members walk down the aisle either in front of a large crowd of the McKinnon family, or sneaking off to have a small ceremony on their own. Either would be fine with him. He could easily have a big party at his parent’s house, or even here after they were married. Hell, the McKinnons were always up for a celebration. But Hawk began to wonder if Regis really wanted the same thing he did.

* * *

Hawk pulled up to Logan's ranch, and parked his truck next to his brother’s. Logan and his son, Keith, Hawk's namesake, were already outside. Keith took one look at Hawk's truck, and was already running over to greet him before Hawk even climbed out of the driver’s seat. He’d barely slammed the door before his nephew launched into his arms.

“Hey, Scout!”

“You came to help us!” Keith said.

“Course, I did. Was there any doubt?”

He glanced up at Logan who lowered his hat and stared at him with a frown. “Well, after talking with Mom last night, I wasn't sure.”

“Is that right?” Hawk said flatly.

“Did you really think it wouldn't get out?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Hawk lied. He glanced down at Keith, who’d apparently missed his outburst. Keith was busy making lines with a stick in the snow bank made when Logan had plowed the driveway.

Logan rolled his eyes. “Fine, have it your way. Keith and I have already gotten a head start on splitting wood.”

Logan reached down and pulled just slightly at Keith's hat making the little boy turn away from his snow writing and giggle. Then he swatted at his father’s hand.

Hawk’s heart hurt watching his brother and nephew together. He loved the relationship Logan had with Keith. He wanted that for himself someday.

He cleared his throat. “So where is this pile of wood you’ve been working on?”

Keith dropped the stick and pointed toward the barn. “Over there, Uncle Keith.”

Hawk glanced over by the big barn where Keith was pointing.

“That’s it?”

Keith nodded.

He looked at Logan. “It’s a good thing I’m here. It doesn't look like the two of you got much done,” he teased.

Keith’s mouth dropped open. “That's only because Daddy won't stop pulling at my hat.” Keith giggled. “Uncle Keith, tell him he has to stop.”

Hawk chuckled. “Not a chance, buddy. He's your dad. I had enough of him when I was growing up.”

They got right down to work splitting the wood. Both Logan and Hawk made sure that Keith was a good distance away from anything dangerous. Hawk noticed Poppy glancing out the window every so often, most likely to make sure of the same. Keith was more than happy to rearrange the log pile with freshly cut logs as best he could with whatever strength he had. They both made a big deal out of telling Keith it was big job. Keith liked big jobs and they counted on that. No doubt, Logan would come out later when Keith either got cold or bored, and fix it.

About two hours later Poppy appeared on the porch.

“Hey, are you guys going to come in and have some lunch? This food was slaved over.”

Logan laughed. “You heated up some of the beef stew Mom gave us yesterday,” Logan called out. “I hardly call that slaving.”

“Someone slaved over it. I didn’t say it was me. Beside, you weren’t up all night with a sick child. I let you sleep.”

Logan gazed lovingly at his wife. “Keith, why don’t you go inside and wash up for lunch. Uncle Keith and I will be in soon.”

“Okay, but do I have to eat beef stew again?”

“Are you telling me you don't want to have Grandma's stew?” Hawk asked. “Are you nuts? Grandma makes the best stew.”

Keith made an exaggerated sigh. “I had stew for lunch yesterday. It was a half a day at school so I had to spend the afternoon with Grandma until Auntie Poppy picked me up.”

Logan frowned. “Had to? Since when do you not like hanging out with your grandma at the diner? I thought Alex was there, too?”

“He was,” Keith said. Alex was their older brother Wade's son. Wade had been assumed dead for the first five years of Alex's life, and had only recently reunited with the McKinnon family. Now Wade was married to Alex's mother, Skye.

“Then what's the problem?” Hawk asked.

“Grandma wouldn’t let us play outside. We had to play in the back room because she said it was too busy.”

“Did she give you ice cream?” Logan asked.

Keith nodded.

Logan pulled Keith's hat off his head and tossed it to him. “Then quit complaining and go inside and wash up for lunch. Maybe Auntie Poppy has some ice cream she can give you for dessert.”

As soon as Keith disappeared into the house, Logan turned to Hawk. But Hawk stopped him before he could get going.

“I don't want to talk about it.”

Logan frowned. “So what? Since when did that ever stop anyone from asking if everything is okay?”

“It's fine.”

“Really?”

Hawk stood up straight and looked at his brother. “What makes you think anything is wrong?”

Logan glanced at the pile of wood and then back at his brother. “Because the way you were going at that wood, I was pretty sure you wanted to get two days’ worth split in two hours. You're chewing on something, and I know it wasn't just the wood to heat the house.”

Hawk glanced back at the pile of wood. It wasn't stacked because they hadn't expected Keith to do much. The little boy just liked to be out in the fresh air with his father.

And that was the real reason Hawk was moving with a vengeance. He envied his brother. For a man who had a tumultuous marriage with his first wife who ultimately died of cancer not long before he reunited with his first love, Poppy, Logan was incredibly happy. And Hawk wasn't sure he felt that happy even though he knew he should be.

He wasn't going to hide his emotions from his brother. It wouldn’t work anyway. Hawk knew he didn't have to say the words. Logan already knew there was something going on, even if he didn't know the details. Brothers were like that.

“There's just some things I need to work out,” he finally said.

Logan stared at him and then gave him a quick pat on the back. “If you need any help, you know where to find me. I'm always here.”

Thank God. “I appreciate that. Let’s get warm with Mom’s stew. Then I can see how my favorite niece is doing today.”

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