Hummingbird Lake Read Online Free PDF Page B

crowd had gathered downstairs and the helicopter was waiting to take them to the hospital. After a brief discussion and a phone consultation betweenSage and the obstetrician in Gunnison, the decision was made to send the bird back without any patients. Nic and the girls were doing fine.
    Nic and the girls. His girls.
    Emotion shuddered through him, and Gabe closed his eyes and fought back tears. Celeste shooed him out of the room to announce the births to those gathered downstairs while the women tidied up. He was glad to have a brief escape. He needed to get hold of his emotions before he broke down and bawled like a baby.
    Walking to the landing and gazing down at the gathering in sort of a shell-shocked gaze, Gabe felt a sense of belonging that went all the way to the bone. As he fumbled for words to express himself, Lori Reese lost patience.
    “Well?” she demanded. “We heard crying. What did she have?”
    His smile broke like sunlight on Easter morning. “Girls. Nic and I have girls. Mama and babies are doing great.”
    A cheer went up, and Gabe gave a little wave, then turned away. He didn’t want anyone to see the tears he no longer could quell. He retreated down the hallway toward the room where his family awaited, then collapsed against the wall. He closed his eyes and his fingers found the small silver medal he wore around his neck, the gift from Celeste designed by Sage that the older woman had called the “official healing center blazon awarded to those who have embraced healing’s grace.”
    Gabe didn’t know about that. He wore it as a symbol of his own rebirth. He was John Gabriel Callahan, son, brother.
    Husband.
    Father.
    When he opened his eyes, Celeste stood before him,her smile warm, a tender look in her eyes. “Congratulations, Gabe.”
    “Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
    “You are very welcome. Now, you have three ladies waiting on you inside. The three of you need some alone time.”
    “Okay.” He pushed away from the wall, but before he could take a step, Celeste placed her hand on his arm.
    “You should get in touch with your family, Gabe. Tell them your glorious news.”
    He nodded. “You’re right. I’m ready. I think I’ll do that. Or, better yet, once the girls are old enough to travel, I think we should pay them a visit.” A wistful smile touched his lips. “Maybe for Christmas.”
    “Yes. The season of miracles. It’s fitting.”
    Gabe bent and kissed her cheek, then walked into the bedroom, where Nic had one baby at her breast. Sage sat in the rocking chair with the other. The babies appeared to have been washed, and Nic’s hair was freshly brushed. “You are so beautiful,” he said to her.
    Sage rose from the rocker. “It’s about time you came back, Daddy,” she said, handing the baby over to Gabe. “I have it on certain authority that there’s a plate of barbecue waiting for me downstairs in the kitchen. Holler if you need me, but I don’t expect you will.”
    As Sage quietly left the room, Gabe kicked off his shoes, then sat beside Nic in the queen-sized bed. “I love you, Nicole Callahan.”
    “I love you, too, Gabe Callahan.”
    He smiled from one baby to the other. “I want to say that to these little bits, but I don’t know what to call them. Do you?”
    “I thought …” Nic glanced up at him. “Maybe after our mothers?”
    Gabe thought back to when his mother was still alive,and his father’s pet name for her. “Meg, for Margaret? Or Mary.”
    “Meg, I think. And Carolyn for mine? Meg and Cari Callahan?”
    “Works for me. What about middle names?”
    “Hmm …”
    “I have an idea,” Gabe said, gazing at his girls. “It’s probably hokey.”
    “Tell me.”
    “I don’t know—I guess it’s the Eternity Springs influence—but somehow it just feels right.”
    “What feels right?”
    “I think—if you don’t mind—I’d like their middle names to be Faith and Joy.”
    “Oh, Gabe. That’s sweet. A little hokey, but