Lone Star Baby (McCabe Multiples Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

you again today.”
    At 6:00 p.m. she’d expected him to be headed home to bed after pulling the twelve-hour ER shift the previous day, then staying on to help out through most of the afternoon.
    He reached into his truck for a file folder, then flashed her a brief smile. “Mitzy stopped me on the way out of the hospital. She wants us to fill out some questionnaires on what we’re looking for in adoptive parents for Ava.”
    “You didn’t have to bring it all the way out here.”
    “She wants us in agreement on the answers before she sees them. I figured it would be easier to do it in person than on the phone.”
    Violet wasn’t sure she understood his logic. Except that doing it in person would allow them the opportunity to gage the expressions on each other’s face to more effectively read their mood.
    Not that Gavin was helping her out right now with that. His handsome face was poker-inscrutable. As always.
    She sighed, not sure why the fact he was such a mystery was so frustrating to her.
    Pushing aside her pique, she asked, “Do you have to work tonight?”
    He shook his head. “I don’t go in until midnight tomorrow. But if this is a bad time...”
    Truth be told she had nothing ahead of her that evening but finishing her current chore and trying to restore order to the mess she’d made of her Conestoga wagon bedroom that morning. “It’s not. I just need to finish what I’m doing here. You can come on up, if you want. The front door is open.”
    She backed out of the window and by the time she had it shut and locked, he was standing in the room, looking like a dark angel in the fading sunlight pouring in through the glass.
    As he strode closer, she drank him in from head to toe. Up close, she could see how tired he looked around the eyes. Her heart went out to him. She knew how it felt to come off a long shift. She also knew what it took to keep going and to do what had to be done, regardless of bone-deep fatigue. It was something they’d learned in med school and never forgot.
    He inclined his head at the camera in her hand. “What are you filming?”
    “The interior of the house, pre-renovation. My sister Callie—”
    “The marketing and social media whiz?”
    Violet nodded, impressed he could keep all five of her sisters straight. Not everyone could. “She’s going to put together a short film about my late grandparents. Show how they started the hospital as physician and nurse and helped build it into the state-of-the-art county medical facility it is today.”
    He fell into step beside her. “I know they were active on the board of directors, even after they retired.”
    Proudly, Violet admitted, “John and Lilah helped raise a lot of money to add oncology, neonatal intensive care and cardio-pulmonary care, as well as the medical residency programs for all three. Turning this ranch into living quarters for families dealing with medical crises was their last wish.” She took a breath. “And although they left enough money in their estate to redo the house, and eventually the stable-house, where I’m currently staying—which will eventually house the new director—we’ll need to raise more money if we’re to expand and keep it going as a nonprofit.”
    He folded his arms in front of him, the action delineating the strong musculature of his chest. “And that is where the video comes in.”
    “We’ll use it to show exactly where the money is going and how much good any donation does.” Violet moved along the hall, filming the empty rooms with the faded paint and wallpaper.
    He gave her enough room to work unencumbered. “So when does the construction start?”
    Determined not to let him see how much his nearness affected her, Violet raised a blind to let more light into the last room. “They’re bringing the Dumpster tomorrow morning. Once it’s set up, the teardown of the interior will begin.”
    “Sounds noisy.” Finished, she turned off the camera and led the way downstairs.