The Rebel Doctor's Secret Child
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Deanne Anders
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A trainee midwife has a family-sized surprise for the new obstetrician at Legacy Women's Clinic in this Nashville Midwives story. HE'S BACK…AND IN FOR A SHOCK! Dr. Knox's reputation precedes him… As the son of country music royalty, he has always been the center of attention. And his first day as a temporary obstetrician at Legacy Women's Clinic is no exception. The rumor mill has been in overdrive since the reformed bad boy arrived. But it's midwife-in-training Brianna who has a revelation that will truly shake the foundations of Knox's carefree existence. Because she's kept an eight-year-old secret that could force the rebel doc to finally consider becoming a forever family man…
PROLOGUE
EXCITEMENT VIBRATED THROUGH Brianna Rogers as she followed the office manager, Sable, into the crowded conference room. With her arms loaded down with boxes of donuts, Brianna looked across the table at all the people she’d soon be working with. She’d done it. In just a few months, she’d be working as a certified nurse midwife. The opportunity for a residency at Nashville’s Women’s Legacy Clinic was one that she’d never imagined receiving. It was known as the premier women’s clinic in the city, so the experience she’d receive here would be priceless.
As the door opened and a silver-haired man with kind blue eyes came in, the room went quiet. Bree rushed to her seat. She had only met the founder of the clinic, Dr. Jack Warner, once during an interview, but she admired the practice he’d built and especially the home for pregnant women in need of a safe place to stay that he had founded.
He took his seat at the end of the table then reached for the tablet Sable had told her contained the itinerary for the meeting.
“First off, I’d like to welcome two new colleagues. I hope you’ve all met our new resident midwife, Brianna Rogers. She’s a recent graduate of Vanderbilt and came to us highly recommended.”
A man yelled, “Go Commodores,” from across the room, taking the attention off her, something she appreciated. One of the midwives, Sky, waved at her from down the table. Bree waved back. Even with the unwanted attention, she was already feeling at home here.
“Also, I want you to welcome Dr. Knox Collins, who will be filling in for Dr. Hennison, who, I’m sure you all know, just welcomed another baby boy.”
Bree’s heart skipped a beat and her arms and face prickled with tiny pinpricks. No. It was impossible that he could be there. A roaring in her ears started as her eyes scanned the room, stopping when she saw a man with laughing gray eyes and a devilish smile that should have come with a warning.
Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined herself stuck looking across the table at the man who had broken her sister’s heart and left Bree to pick up the pieces. Especially since one of those pieces had been a newborn baby. She’d never forget the first time she’d heard that name. It had been when her phone rang. She hadn’t spoken to her sister in months and was so happy to see her name on the display.
Suddenly, she was back there, eight years earlier. Brittany, her voice overflowing with a happiness Bree hadn’t heart in years, laughing as she told Bree the news. “It’s a girl, Bree. A beautiful baby girl. I have a daughter. You’re an aunt.”
Stunned, Bree didn’t know what to say. Brittany had been pregnant? How was that possible without Bree knowing about it?
“Well, aren’t you going to congratulate me?” her sister asked.
“Of course,” Bree said, recovering from the shock of her sister’s words. “Where are you?”
Bree listened closely as her sister explained how she’d gone into labor early and the baby was still in the hospital.
“Who’s the father?” Bree asked, unable to hold back the question any longer. Brittany had been known to hook up with some less than desirable types in the past.
“It’s Knox Collins, Gail and Charles Collins’s son. But you can’t tell anyone. Me. This baby. We mean nothing to him. He’s messed up, Bree. He drinks and parties all the time. I don’t want that for my daughter. Promise me you won’t tell anyone, Bree. Promise me.”
Bree had no choice but to agree. If Brittany thought the man would be a bad influence on her daughter, she had no choice but to believe her. She’d ask for more information the next time her sister called her.
But the next call she received wasn’t from her sister. Instead, it was from the hospital. She could hear the woman’s voice. “I’m sorry, Ms. Rogers, but there’s been a terrible accident.”
She told the woman that she was wrong. She’d just spoken with her sister only hours earlier. Her sister couldn’t be gone.
She remembered holding her niece in her arms for the first time, knowing it should have been Brittany standing there to take her baby home. Not Bree.
Overwhelming grief had threatened to overtake her then, but she pushed it back. Just like she had when she’d realized she was suddenly responsible for her sister’s newborn baby. There was no time for grieving. Because if she let it take hold of her, she’d never climb out of the dark pit of it. She’d never be able to take care of the child who had no one else. Just like Bree had no one else but that child.
The noise of the room rose, bringing her back to reality as everyone around her stood up to leave.
Looking down the table she saw Knox accepting the greetings from the clinic’s staff. How was it that he stood there, smiling and happy, going on with his life while her sister’s life was cut so short?
Bree shook her head. No. She wouldn’t let herself go there. Ally had to be her first priority. The little girl had given Bree a reason to keep on going for years now, to keep pushing to better herself so that she could provide a good life for her niece. And there was no way she was going to let some hotshot rebel doc like Knox Collins get in her way.
