She glanced at him.
He winked.
She blushed and turned her attention to the boys, who were telling her all about their day at school.
Damn, he liked making her blush. Wondered what she’d look like naked and blushing from head to toe?
Emma glanced at him again and gave him a quizzical look.
Good thing she couldn’t read minds. If she knew what he was thinking her temper would flame as hot as her face. Then he’d never have a chance with her.
Sometimes she was as prickly as a porcupine. Albeit a cute porcupine. Courting Emma was a tricky business.
Was that what he wanted? To court Emma?
She smiled at something Brian said.
That’s what he wanted—to put those smiles on her face. To tease her till she blushed. To convince her to let him really be part of her life.
If that meant he had to face her wrath along the way, so be it. As his Uncle Ray taught him a long time ago, he might as well begin as he meant to go. He’d start with subtle changes in their relationship.
Excusing himself from the table, he headed to the bathroom. On his way he intercepted Rachel with the check for their dinner. He’d invited Emma and the boys to eat with him. He’d be damned if he’d fight with her over the tab. As he returned to the table, he stopped at the register and paid the bill with a sizeable tip for Rachel. He wanted to guarantee the teenager would remember who to hand the check to from now on.
“Ready to head home?” he asked when he got back to their booth.
“I haven’t paid yet,” Emma said, looking around for Rachel, who’d wisely disappeared.
“Already taken care of,” Clint replied, helping Brian out of the booth, and moving so Emma and Ben could climb out their side.
“I can’t let you pay for dinner.”
“Sure you can. I invited you. I pay. When you invite me, I’ll be happy to let you return the favor.” He held open the door and the boys darted outside.
He had her in a precarious position and she knew it. Indecision flickered across her face. She wanted to demand he let her pay part of the bill, but she wouldn’t fight with him in front of the boys or the town gossips.
She lifted her chin and stalked past him.
Yep. Prickly as a porcupine.
On the walk home, she kept the boys between them and they did most of the talking. This time he walked on the curb side, not taking any chances with another drunk from the Wagon Wheel slamming into Emma or the boys.
How long it would be before she blew up at him over paying the bill?
He knew she wanted to stand on her own two feet. She didn’t want to make waves or cause any source of gossip for her neighbors. She’d existed on her pride for a long time.
But he had his pride, too.
When he wanted a woman as much as he wanted Emma, he would find ways to make things easier on her, to treat her with respect, and show her he was proud to be with her. Her current temper indicated they were in for some roller-coaster days, but he was a big man and could take anything she dished out.
At the house he followed them up on the porch. When she invited him in, he was surprised, but wary. She managed to wait until the boys were watching TV before launching her attack.
They stood in the hallway, just inside the front door.
“I do not appreciate what you did tonight. I have money to pay for our food.” Her back was ramrod straight, and the heat in her face wasn’t from embarrassment this time.
“I know you do, Emma,” he said, leaning against the edge of the doorframe.
“Then why did you do that? Pay the bill?” She balled both her hands into fists and pressed them firmly against her hips. “Now half the town will think we’re dating.”
“From one meal?” Good. He hoped so. He’d enlist the whole town if it would get her to understand that’s exactly what he wanted.
“Yes.” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “You really don’t get what it’s like living in a small town, do you?”
“No, suppose you explain it to me.”
A soft growl of frustration exploded from her, and he choked down a laugh. The last thing he wanted was to humiliate her, but her annoyance was just a little too irresistible for him.
“In this town people know when your cable is shut off before you do. The affair the Presbyterian minister had with the church secretary was only a secret to their respective mates.” She turned to look out the screen porch, a little of the fight gone out of her. “If people see you paying for dinner for the boys and I, they’ll blow it all out of proportion.”
Her sadness touched him to his core. He grasped her gently by the shoulders and turned her to face him. A current of awareness popped between them. “I can’t help it if people are nosy, Emma. I wanted to treat you and the boys to a dinner out. Something fun.”
“I know, but...” She never finished the thought as the phone in her kitchen rang.
He stepped out onto the porch, rubbing the back of his neck, listening to her quietly talk to whomever was on the other end. Didn’t people in this town understand she deserved some fun, someone to enjoy it with?
A few minutes later, she stepped out on the porch. “I have to go in to the hospital for a while. When Harriett brings Mama home could you ask her to put the boys to bed for me, and stay with them?”
“I could do it.”
“It will be enough if you could stay until Harriett gets here.” She gave him a pointed look that said she wouldn’t give the gossips more fodder tonight. “Harriett’s used to it.”
“Will you be gone all night?”
“I don’t know. The hospital needs me, and I need the money.” She held out her hand to him. “Thank you for dinner.”
He took her hand and held it a moment, although he would have much rather preferred to pull her into his arms. He’d pushed her to the limit tonight. He’d take his victories where he could get them.
* * *
The road swam before Emma’s tired eyes. The black trees along the side of the road stood like silent sentinels watching her pass. She rubbed her left eye, then her right, trying to wake herself for the last two miles home.
A horn blast sounded, startling her as a dark car zoomed past her on the highway. Its presence on the desolate stretch of the highway as much a shock as the noise of the horn. Suddenly the vision of another dark sedan almost running her and the boys over popped into her mind.
That was ridiculous. No way was it the same car.
Nerves. It was nothing more than a case of exhaustion and nerves. Driving in the dead of night always made her jumpy.
Now she wished she’d had that extra cup of coffee Jacqueline tried to get her to drink before leaving, but it would’ve kept her awake for hours if she had.
“If I get to sleep at all tonight,” she told herself, shaking her head.
God, she hated nights like this. Usually hers was a happy job. Bringing babies into the world—she really loved it—but nights like this one, well, death wasn’t something she’d ever handled gracefully. Oh, there were doctors and nurses who faced death on a regular basis, helping others accept it in a compassionate, caring way. She didn’t fall into that category. That was one of the reasons she planned to go into obstetrics after nursing school. She could hide from the darker part of medicine for the most part there.
Her drive appeared on her left. Emma turned into it, thankful that she had made it home in one piece. Glancing at the clock, she put the car into park before turning off the engine.
One in the morning. Not too bad. If her luck held, she might get enough sleep to be a nice mom in the morning. She lifted her canvas bag and purse from the car and headed to the darkened porch.
A soft glow from the porch swing caught her attention.
“Who’s there?” she gasped and took a step backward.
“Just me, Emma.” Clint’s voice rose from the shadowed porch corner.
“You scared the daylights out of me, Clint. W
hat’re you still doing here?” She took a step toward him and smelled the cigar he held in his hand. “And why are you smoking on my front porch?”
“I’m smoking because I like an occasional cigar and it helps me pass the time. I’m here because I wanted to talk to you before you went to bed.” The old swing creaked as he shifted to one side. “Have a seat. The stars are bright tonight.”
With a weariness she felt clear to her soul, Emma set the bag inside the front door then settled herself in the space he’d made for her. The swing moved back and forth with the gentle movement of his leg.
Hundreds of stars twinkled at her through the dark night.
They sat that way for some time. How long she didn’t know. The cool, early-autumn night air finally penetrated the thickness of her denim jacket. She shivered. Without a word, Clint stretched his arm behind her shoulders and drew her against his side. Emma leaned against his warmth, his strength. Then it happened—the damn broke. From nowhere, the tears filled her eyes. They flowed down her cheeks. She reached to wipe them away, but they kept coming. They grew more forceful and she clutched at his flannel shirt. Her body shook with her soft sobs.
Clint pulled her closer, smoothing her hair with his free hand. She felt something soft against the top of her head. It took a few minutes for the words he whispered to penetrate her own sadness.
“Sh, Em. Take it easy. It’ll be all right. Sh. Settle down, darlin’.”
She hiccuped once, then twice, finally regaining control of herself. Yet, when she tried to move away from him, Clint’s arms tightened to hold her in place.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” she mumbled against his chest.
“It’s okay. I’m sure this shirt will dry some day,” he teased.
She couldn’t resist smiling into the damp fabric.
“Now how about you tell me what happened tonight?”
“How did you know something happened at work?”
“I was here when you called Harriett to tell her you wouldn’t be home early. She said you sounded upset. I sent her home once the boys were asleep.” His hand smoothed her hair once again. “So, what has you so sad?”
“I love working at the hospital. It’s why I want to become a nurse. And most of the time it’s fun and happy, helping people have their babies. It really is the best part of medicine. But sometimes...” She stopped to take a breath and control the tears threatening to start again. “Sometimes...the worst part of this job is when a baby or a mother dies.”
He squeezed her tighter. With that encouragement, she continued. She couldn’t have stopped the words if she’d tried. Dwayne never cared enough to listen to her. And her parents were from an age when people didn’t discuss the intimate topic of childbirth. For once, her work interested someone.
“We had a baby die tonight. It was too premature to survive. The mother’s water broke and she developed an infection.” Emma leaned her head onto his shoulder and let out a sad sigh. “It was her first pregnancy. She wanted this baby. The nurses tried to keep her as comfortable as possible, but her fever shot up and that always makes the pain worse. Then this little life just slid out into my hands.”
“Where were the doctor and nurse?” Clint asked gently.
“The doc was home in bed. I don’t mind that she missed this one. She’s not the most compassionate person under the best of circumstances. The nurse had been called to deliver another baby the same doctor missed.”
“That doesn’t say too much for my colleague, does it?”
Emma shook her head. “There seem to be many like her out in the world, Clint. It’s why I made the decision to be a nurse instead. I need to have the freedom to give compassion.”
He reached under her chin and tipped her face until they were eye to eye. “I’m sure you helped the parents through it as easily as you could.”
“It’s just so sad to hand them the lifeless body of a baby they’d hoped and dreamed for.”
A tear slipped its way onto her cheek.
He brushed it away with his thumb, leaning closer, his lips just a breath above her own. “Don’t cry, little Emma.” The words caressed her lips for a second before he settled on them.
She hadn’t exchanged this intimate human contact with a man in such a long time. Yet, she knew he held back for her sake, making the kiss one of comfort. A gentle pressure, neither taking nor demanding more than it offered.
Emma tasted him, his cigar’s burnt tobacco, a bit of chocolate from one of Lorna’s cakes and the masculine flavor of him. She wanted more. Her lips parted in open invitation and she leaned into him.
With a hungry groan, Clint pulled her to him, crushing her breasts against his hard chest. His tongue slipped inside to graze the sharp edge of her teeth before stroking her tongue. Emma matched him stroke for stroke, moving closer to his heat, his desire.
She couldn’t taste enough of him, couldn’t touch enough of him. Her hands gripped and molded the tight muscles of his arms, his shoulders. Then she caressed his neck. Finally she curled her fingers into his hair at his collar.
The kiss continued and deepened. Emma moved even closer to the source of heat, wanting everything his kiss promised.
Just when she was sure of what she wanted, Clint eased away.
“Emma,” he said in a strained whisper, his forehead pressed against hers. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
His words doused the fire of her desire like a bucket of cold water. Humiliation quickly replaced passion as she pulled herself free of his grasp. Dwayne had tolerated her emotions and desires with condescension for years. She’d promised herself never to repeat that experience. And certainly not with Clint Preston.
Pride straightened her spine despite her weariness and she pushed herself up from the swing. “I’m sorry you were forced to tolerate my emotional outburst, doctor. You can be sure it won’t happen again!” She turned on her heel and headed for the door.
Clint’s hand slammed the door shut before she got it open six inches. His body pressed her up against the screen, his hands on each side of her head, trapping her in place.
“Em, I didn’t tolerate you. I enjoyed kissing you very much.” To emphasize his words he caressed her neck with his lips. A shiver ran through her as he moved closer to her ear. His chest pressed against her back. His hips thrust the thick bulge of his erection against her buttocks.
A sigh escaped Emma’s parted lips as she realized he truly desired her as much as she did him.
“Believe me, Em,” he continued, breathing warmly, softly against her ear, “I want nothing more than to strip you naked and love every luscious inch of you. In fact, I’ve been fantasizing about just that—” he kissed her ear “—since the moment I saw you all rumpled in your bed that first morning.”
He moved back and turned her around to face him. His lips came down on hers hard and fast, a possessive kiss that left no doubt in her mind about his desire for her. It ended as fast as it started.
“I want you. But I don’t want the fact that I need you to be confused with my need to comfort you. That is what I meant when I said I didn’t want the kiss to get out of hand before. When you need comforting, I intend to be there to do it. But when I need to love you, there will be no doubt that it’s because we’re both emotionally and physically ready to do so. Is that clear, Red?”
So stunned by his confessions of need, both to love her and comfort her, Emma barely managed to nod her head in agreement.
“Good.” Clint leaned in to kiss her once again, starting out hot and masterful, but softening it just before he released his hold on her. “Now get some sleep.”
With those words he turned and walked down the stairs, disappearing into the night.
He couldn’t be serious.
He announced his plans to make love to her and actually believed she’d ever be able to sleep again?
Chapter Nine
After getting both boys settled in their first-grade classes for the day,
Emma stood in her kitchen sipping her orange juice. She desperately tried to calm her nerves before seeing Clint this morning.
She couldn’t believe he’d kissed her last night. Her fingers went to her mouth and she traced its contour. The feel of his lips still lingered on them and in her mind.
Boy, what a kiss. In all her life, she’d never been kissed so thoroughly. Certainly not by her louse of an ex-husband.
Clint kissed her like she was a piece of New York cheesecake and he wanted to devour every morsel. The biggest problem was she feared she wanted more. More of Clint and his kisses wouldn’t be a good thing. His presence in her and the boys’ lives was temporary. When his aunt and uncle returned in January, Clint would return to his ER practice in the city, and she and the boys would remain in Weston. She needed to keep that fact firmly planted in her mind.
Somehow, she needed to keep her distance from Clint. The problem remained that until they’d finished all the remodeling on what she now called the great room, she and Clint would work side by side nearly every day. She also still needed to pay him back for all the supplies he’d bought for the project.
Lifting the phone, she dialed the café’s number. At least she could do something about earning extra money. Working extra shifts would also help her keep a little distance between herself and the good doctor.
When she finished scheduling some morning hours for this week, she spread out the blueprints for the remodel on her kitchen table. Then she got out her notebook and the building plan to decide the day’s work schedule.
She had to admit that between Clint’s supplies and his own organized work routine and skills, the remodeling had jumped way ahead of her original schedule. She looked at the gaping hole between her kitchen and great room, surrounded by the original support beam and temporary four-by-fours to brace the weight. Today she and Clint, with Joe Hillis from the lumberyard’s help, would frame in the new pass-through wall between the rooms.
Pleasure spread over her and she found herself smiling at the semi-state of disaster in her house, imagining what the future would be like once it was finished. Soon, she, Mama and the boys would have a family room to watch TV and play games in. She could be in the kitchen and still keep an eye on them through the pass-through.
Close To Home (Westen Series) Page 11
