Not Quite Married by Christine Rimmer Page A

“Come in, come in. Did Rory call you?”
    The tattooed stunner came first. The one with the flowers, following close behind, said, “Roberta Carver came in the shop an hour ago. She said she and Sal Healey carried you out of the café on a stretcher this morning.”
    Clara groused, “Shouldn’t patient confidentiality apply to paramedics and ambulance drivers?”
    “Not in Justice Creek, it doesn’t,” said the stunner.
    Clara jumped right to denial. “This is not a big deal. I’m only here overnight. Just for observation. It’s nothing to worry about.”
    Dalton considered stepping in and arguing the point. But before he made up his mind whether to say anything, Clara started in with the introductions. Jody was the one with the flowers and Nell the one in the biker boots. Clara gave the two women Dalton’s full name, but no explanation as to what he was doing there.
    “I whipped this up so you’d know how much we love you,” Jody said, looking proud, holding up the giant vase of flowers.
    Clara gave her a beautiful misty-eyed smile. “It’s fabulous. Thanks, honey.” Jody went to put the flowers on the windowsill and Clara told Dalton, “Jody’s a genius florist. She owns Bloom, on Central Street.”
    “They’re beautiful,” he said in the general direction of the flowers.
    And then the stunner, Nell, popped in with “Hold it. Hold it right there!”
    Jody blinked. “What?”
    Nell turned on him and accused, “You’re him , right? You’re the father.”
    Her candor startled him. But he pulled it together and tried to reply. “Yes, I—”
    “Nice suit.” She cut him off with a sneer.
    He decided to call that a compliment. “Thank you.”
    “Oh, don’t thank me. Where the hell have you been?”
    Jody groaned. “Nell, please...”
    And Clara chuckled fondly. “Nellie. You never hold back.”
    “I asked the man a question.” Nell braced her hands on her hips and scowled at him furiously.
    He cleared his throat. “There was some confusion. It’s a long story.”
    Nell whirled on Clara. “You just now told the guy?”
    “Not just now.” At least Clara had the grace to look sheepish. “I told him a few weeks ago.”
    “And he hasn’t shown up until today?”
    “We’ve been...in touch. And, as Dalton said, it’s a long story.”
    Nell made a snorting sound. “He shoulda been here long before now.”
    “We’re, um, working it out, Nellie. I promise we are.”
    Working it out? Not to his satisfaction, they weren’t. But that was going to change. He would make sure of it.
    Nell whirled on him again. She was not only gorgeous, but she had a certain scary energy about her. She made a man feel that it would not be wise to get on her bad side. “But you’re here to do right now, aren’t you, Dalton Ames?”
    At last, a question he could answer without hesitation. “Absolutely. I’m going to look after Clara, and I’m going to take care of my child.”
    Clara started to speak—probably to insist as usual that she could look after herself.
    But Nell beat her to it. “You’d better look after her,” she warned. “Clara’s tenderhearted. She’s not as tough as some of us in the family. But we all have her back. Including her five brothers—three half, two full. Bravo men all. Big men. Strong. Protective of their sisters. Not men you want to mess with, men who will—”
    “Nell,” Clara cut in sweetly. “I think he knows where you’re going with this.”
    Nell made a low noise in her throat. “We’ll see about that.”
    Jody piped up with “Is there anything we can do, Clara, to help out?”
    “Thanks. Just knowing I have so many people to count on helps a lot.”
    “Anything,” said Nell as she pulled up the chair Dalton had been sitting in. There was one other chair, and Jody took that.
    Dalton considered telling the two women that Clara needed her rest. But she was lying down and she seemed relaxed, so he didn’t interfere.
    A few minutes later, another sister