Free Second Chance Pass by Robyn Carr Page B

can feed him, change him,beg him to behave and we could take a little run around Virgin River. How’s that sound?”
    “Like just what I was hoping for.”
    “You’re very presumptuous, you know,” she said, but she smiled.
    He smiled right back. Confident. “You’re very beautiful, you know.”
    She felt her cheeks grow instantly warm. “Help yourself to something to drink from the kitchen. I’ll see about the baby.”
    “Take your time. Put him in a good mood.”
    Forty-five minutes later they were underway in Walt’s big Tahoe. Cameron had come to Virgin River in a Porsche and there was no room in it for a car seat. She drove him out Highway 299, through the redwoods, then out to sit at the Virgin River where there were only a couple of anglers, it not being the best time of year for fishing. She explained the seasonal sports—fly-fishing in the summer, salmon in fall and winter was best, bear and deer hunting season from September through October, waterfowl hunting season October to January. Forest fire season from June through October. In summer the hikers and campers were all over the place.
    While they were looking at the sights she learned that Cameron hailed from Portland, went to undergrad and medical school at Stanford and had parents, one brother and one sister in Portland, both married with kids. He did his residency in family medicine, then decided pediatrics was his first love. “I’ve disappointed my parents in the area of grandchildren, but I don’t think they should be so quick to write me off.”
    “Certainly not,” she said. “Mel, my midwife, and her husband, Jack, didn’t marry until he was forty—and they’re expecting their second now. Jack says each onemakes him feel younger. Mel frowns at him when he says that. I think the babies are a little closer together than she likes.”
    “Medical school and residency is consuming. I was thirty by the time I was ready to go into practice, and that wasn’t simple. I had big time bills to pay off and it wasn’t easy to find an existing pediatric practice in Oregon that needed me.”
    “And it had to be Oregon, huh?” she asked.
    “At the time, I thought it had to be. I’ve become a lot more flexible since then.”
    “But you like your practice?”
    “Yeah, good docs. One woman and two men—out-standing physicians.”
    Vanni continued the tour by driving him up into the foothills where sheep and cattle grazed, down through the valley where vineyards were just beginning to come to life and finally, as the afternoon had aged, they ended up at Jack’s. By the time they got there, Matt was fussing and demanding dinner. Before she could get to him, Cam had him out of the car seat and was jiggling him against his chest. Cameron had the diaper bag slung over his shoulder as well, taking charge. It was nice, having a man do that. Not just any man could—it would take someone special to be so confident with a baby. At that moment Vanni realized she’d been feeling so alone, even with her dad’s continual support. She missed her man. She would like to have a partner. She would like Mattie to have a dad.
    When they walked into Jack’s, she was pleased to see the dinner crowd included her people, her friends. The first order of business was to introduce Cam to Jack. “This is Cameron Michaels, Dr. Michaels, a friend of Matt’s parents. And Cameron, this is Jack.”
    Cameron deftly held the baby against his chest whilehe shook hands. “Pleasure,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about this place. I thought I’d drive down and look it over.”
    “Welcome,” Jack said. “What can I get you?”
    “How about a beer?”
    “You got it. Cameron, meet Paige,” he said just as Paige came from the back. “She’s married to the guy who really runs this place—our cook, Preacher.”
    “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Looks like the stork is on the way.”
    “Pretty soon now—this summer,” she said, smiling sweetly.
    Jack put a beer on