by Debra Webb
Whatever they might prove to be.
“I’m not sure I can go back and just pretend that it…we didn’t happen.” He stared at the floor for a time, then continued, “You’re not like other women. You’re…”
“All grown up, Zach. I’m fully capable of facing the consequences of my actions.”
He sighed. “Point taken.” That slow, half grin tilted his mouth. “There is that one outstanding issue.”
She moistened her lips in anticipation. “And what issue is that?”
He edged closer still. “I’d like the opportunity to rebut last night’s performance.” He teased that sensitive place near her ear with his lips. “If it pleases the court,” he murmured.
Beth’s every objection melted as those wicked lips made a path down her throat. “I think we need to discuss this in my chambers,” she suggested, her words punctuated with a low moan of pleasure. “There’s just one thing I have to know first.”
“Anything.” He kissed her lips, lingering until she almost lost her mind.
“Admit you were checking up on me last night,” she demanded between his mind-blowing kisses.
He smiled against her lips. “Guilty.”
She stilled, drawing back slightly. “And the lady waiting in your car?”
That smile eased into a wicked grin. “My mother.”
Laughter bubbled up in Beth’s throat, but just like last night, Zach quickly silenced her. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to her room. They undressed each other slowly, taking the time to savor each moment. His kisses made her tremble. His sure, masterful hands moved over her body like those of a magician gifted in the art of pleasure. His ministrations were so slow, so thorough that Beth felt ready to fall over the edge of control well before the first nudge of his possession. When he sank into her she knew without a doubt that she was whole again. She almost wept with the sweetness of it.
She grabbed his waist and pulled him hard against her, urging him to send her into that place of pure sensation.
“Easy, baby,” he murmured against her skin. “I’m going to do this right this time.”
LATER BETH lay in his arms, knowing that she would never be the same again. No man would ever make her feel this way. She knew that for a certainty now. He’d brought her pleasure over and over before taking his own. His lovemaking ability took her breath, even now, just thinking about the way he’d made her feel.
The telephone on her bedside table rang.
“Don’t answer it,” he said, his arms tightening around her.
“Have to,” she murmured. She dragged the receiver to her ear and managed a hello.
“Dr. Elizabeth McCormick?”
“Yes.” She pulled free of Zach’s hold and sat up on the edge of the bed. “This is Dr. Dan—McCormick.”
“Dr. McCormick, this is Ferris Wayland from Sacred Heart Hospital in Chicago. I apologize for calling on Sunday.”
The rest of the conversation was too startling for Beth to fully comprehend everything the man said, but the bottom line was he’d called to offer her a position at his private facility. Apparently one of her med school professors had recommended her for the position. Dr. Wayland suggested a salary that was almost double her current one. She promised to let him know within the next week and hung up the phone, still reeling with aftershock.
“What was that all about?” Zach asked.
He’d joined her on the side of the bed. She smiled as her eyes gloried in admiring his completely naked and stunningly perfect masculine physique.
“That,” she told him in all sincerity, “was strange. An administrator from a private hospital in Chicago calling to ask if I’d be interested in a position there.”
Zach’s instincts went on instant alert. “I thought you were happy here.” She’d almost said Daniels…Dr. Daniels. Why the hell was she still using his name?
Beth shrugged. “I am. It’s the strangest thing. I haven’t applied for any positions elsewhere. He insists that one of my old professors recommended me for the position.”
Zach refused to acknowledge the hope taking shape in his chest. If Beth took a position in Chicago… This wasn’t right somehow. Though he certainly believed in God, he didn’t quite believe in these kinds of coincidences.
“Are you going to seriously consider it?” He purposely kept the emotion out of his tone.
She looked at him, her gaze narrowing. “Why wouldn’t I?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought you didn’t like city life.”
With an impatient huff she snatched up her dress and stepped into it, giving him a great view as she wiggled into the sheath. But the topic under discussion was too serious for him to smile.
“Is there a law against changing my mind?”
He couldn’t speak for a moment since his full attention was focused on watching her drag her panties up those long, shapely legs and over that gorgeous bottom.
“No…of course not,” he managed to say. “It’s just that it seems a little sudden.”
She glowered at him then. Obviously he wasn’t making himself clear. He stood and reached for her. She dodged his touch. He frowned.
“Don’t worry, Zach. I’m not trying to follow you back to Chicago. If I decide to take this position, it won’t have anything to do with you or our…” She glanced at the rumpled sheets of her bed. “…affair.”
Ire sprouted. Affair? What was wrong with him? Of course it was just an affair. Just because this was Beth and he thought he’d felt the earth move didn’t mean a damned thing…obviously.
“I didn’t think it would,” he snapped, then grabbed up his trousers. He hesitated. “Why do you still use Daniels?”
“What?”
“Your ex’s name. Why do you still use it?”
She glanced at him. “Because when I first moved here the divorce wasn’t final. Afterward, I didn’t want to confuse my patients.”
That sounded reasonable, he supposed.
“Beth! I’m home.”
Both of them froze at the sound of Helen’s voice as she singsonged her greeting. The front door slammed and Beth jerked back into action.
“You have to get out of here,” she whispered sharply, thrusting his shirt at him.
“How am I supposed to do that?” he demanded as he stepped into his loafers, took the shirt and at the same time grabbed his scattered socks. He wanted to shake her. Not only did he have the distinct feeling that she wasn’t telling him the whole truth where this out-of-the-blue job offer was concerned, she wanted to hide their affair from her mother.
She sure knew how to deflate a guy’s ego.
“Here,” she ordered, still whispering. She pointed to the window.
Zach swore silently as he stomped over to the window and raised the lower sash. Lucky for him the cottage was only one story. He had one leg out and was about to duck through the window when Beth stopped him.
He glanced at the hand on his shoulder then at her. As angry as he was, her sweet smile made his heart lurch.
“Thank you. This morning was very special. I’ll always remember it.”
He couldn’t help himself. He grabbed her with his free hand and kissed her with all the emotions churning inside him. Emotions he didn’t fully understand. She cupped his face with her soft hands and kissed him back.
“Beth! Are you in there?” Helen called through the closed door.
Zach reluctantly released her. “Later,” he promised, then slipped away. He heard the window close behind him but he didn’t look back. If he looked back now, he wouldn’t be able to leave. No matter what Helen or anyone else thought, he would have walked back up to that window, climbed back inside and kissed Beth again.
Because whether she knew it or not, she was his.
In every sense of the word.
“WE HAVE TO TALK.”
At the sound of Helen’s voice Colleen looked up from her novel, the long-awaited sequel to her all-time favorite. The tone and the look
on her old friend’s face told her this wasn’t going to be pleasant. Not to mention it meant she wouldn’t be getting back to her book for some time.
Colleen sighed and carefully marked the page before setting her new favorite book aside on the cocktail table. “Well, sit down and tell me what’s put a bee in your bonnet now.”
Helen sat down on the club chair directly across from her. She looked weary enough that Colleen’s attention perked up. This must really be serious, she decided.
“They’re having a…relationship,” Helen said tightly.
Colleen suppressed the urge to jump up and do a little jig. Instead, she angled her head and looked directly at her friend with all the skepticism she could muster. “Really, and why would you think that?”
Helen glared at her. “Unless my daughter has taken to wearing men’s silk boxers, I’d say that’s the case.”
One eyebrow inched a tad higher than the other. “You found a pair of silk boxers in your house?”
“In Beth’s room under the edge of the bed.”
Colleen tapped her chin thoughtfully. “What about that young man she had a date with? Lane or Blaine or whatever?”
Helen’s glare grew more pointed. “That’s another thing we need to discuss.”
Colleen feigned indignation. “Why would you want to discuss your daughter’s social life with me?”
“Because I know you set that up. Beth hasn’t dated anyone since her divorce. She told me herself that she wasn’t interested right now.”
“I might have mentioned her stagnant social life to Lawrence the last time we talked.” Colleen smoothed an imaginary wrinkle from her skirt. “I can’t remember for a certainty, mind you.”
“You always have had a selective memory.”
Colleen lifted her chin and gave her friend a challenging look. “You’re just mad because you didn’t think of it first.”
“I didn’t think of calling Chicago first either,” Helen accused.
“Chicago?” Colleen assumed a put-upon expression. “Why I haven’t a clue what you’re proposing.”
“I’m proposing,” Helen said hotly, “that you’re paving the way for my daughter to follow your son back to Chicago.”
Colleen shucked all pretenses then. “Would that be such a bad thing?”
“Of course not. Not if it’s what they both want.”
“I believe that may very well be the case. I’ve seen the way Zach looks at Beth. He’s in love with her. Anyone can see that.”
“I’m not blind, Colleen,” Helen relented. “I know how the two of them feel, probably better than they do. But they don’t know the whole story. That could change things.”
Colleen tensed. “I’ve told you I won’t discuss that subject with you. We’ve agreed to disagree.”
“Risk your relationship with your son, if you please,” Helen warned. “But I will not risk the one I have with my daughter.”
“Don’t forget your promise, Helen McCormick,” Colleen cautioned. “Because I certainly won’t.”
Helen stood. She looked at Colleen for two beats then left without even saying goodbye. Colleen let go a shaky breath. Time was running out for her. Though she trusted Helen completely, she wasn’t sure how much longer she could fight the battle that had been more than three decades in coming.
BETH PICKED AT her dinner that evening. Her mother had made a wonderful pot roast, just the way Beth liked it. But her appetite had vanished hours ago as she pondered her predicament. She kept replaying that kiss Zach had stolen before disappearing out her bedroom window. The promise of “later” he’d made. She trembled inside at the mere thought of being with him again.
Then there was that job offer. If she were in Chicago, maybe there was a chance things could work out between the two of them. She stabbed at a lettuce leaf and scolded herself. That was ridiculous. Zach had already told her that he wasn’t interested in marriage. What if she relocated to be near him only to lose him when he grew bored with her? What would she do then?
“Not hungry, dear?” her mother suggested, interrupting Beth’s worrisome musings.
She summoned a smile. “I’m just thinking about that call from Mr. Wayland.”
Helen stared at her plate. It wasn’t until then that Beth noticed that her mother had hardly touched her dinner as well.
“Is something bothering you, Mom?”
“No. I’m fine.” She moved the food around on her plate, not choosing to eat any of it. Not even the potatoes, which were her personal favorite.
“It looks like your appetite is missing, too.”
Helen looked up, tears glittering in her eyes.
Worry crept into Beth’s heart. “Mom, you and Colleen aren’t fighting again, are you?”
“Excuse me.” Helen pushed back her chair and hurried from the room.
Startled and confused, Beth followed her. She found her mother staring at the collage of family photographs on the mantel in the living room.
Beth came up behind her and stood silently for a long moment. “Don’t push me out. Let me help.”
Helen shook her head. “You can’t help. This isn’t a medical problem.”
“I can at least listen,” Beth insisted, disappointed that her mother would assume if it wasn’t a medical problem she couldn’t help.
“I know about you and Zach.”
Beth took a moment to absorb the impact of her words. “I see.”
Helen faced her, a somber combination of emotions wrenching her features. “No, you don’t see.”
The worry Beth had felt only moments ago was now replaced by fear. “What is it I don’t see? What are you keeping from me?”
Helen wiped her eyes with her hands, no longer able to hold the tears at bay. She leveled her gaze on Beth and shook her head. “You don’t know how much it pains me to tell you this, but I can’t keep this secret any longer.” She swayed with the weight of whatever was making her cry.
Beth took her mother by the arms and steadied her. “This secret, is it what you and Colleen have been at odds about?”
Helen nodded. “She doesn’t want to let the truth come out, but I can’t risk you being hurt with what she and I did all those years ago.”
“Let’s sit down.” Beth guided her mother to the sofa and sat down next to her. She had a feeling that staying vertical wasn’t going to be easy for either of them if what Helen was about to say was half as bad as it sounded.
She waited for Helen to regain her composure a bit, then she said. “Now, tell me what this is all about.”
Helen looked directly at her, her eyes weary. “First, you have to promise me that you will never repeat what I’m about to tell you unless it’s a matter of life and death.”
Beth frowned. “All right. I won’t say a word to anyone.”
“Think, Beth,” Helen cautioned. “When you say anyone that includes Zach, too.”
Beth thought about that for a moment, then she nodded. “I understand. I won’t betray your confidence.”
Helen smiled faintly. “I know you won’t.”
“So.” Beth took a deep, steadying breath. “Tell me.”
“Before you and Zach were born, Colleen and I both had tried for many years to conceive.”
Beth resisted the urge to press her hand to her abdomen as she listened to her mother’s words.
“Your father and I weren’t too worried because I was only twenty-seven and there was still plenty of time before fearing that it might not happen at all. We were both healthy and there was just no reason to be concerned.”
Beth nodded, urging her mother to continue when she fell silent for a moment or two.
“But that wasn’t the case with Colleen. She was thirty-seven and she’d just found out that there was a problem.”
“A problem?” Beth studied her mother’s face for any sign of what came next, but couldn’t quite decipher the tangle of emotions she saw there.
“Colleen sought out a specialist in Chicago. He discove
red that for some reason, which they didn’t understand at the time, Colleen’s body created antibodies to her husband’s sperm. Because of that she would never be able to conceive.”
Beth laughed, a short choked sound. “But that’s ridiculous. She had Zach.”
Helen’s lips trembled and tears welled in her eyes once more. “No,” she said tautly. “She didn’t.”
Numbness settled over Beth. “What do you mean she didn’t?”
“Understandably Colleen was devastated by the news.” Helen shook her head. “She didn’t tell a soul except me. Well, and her husband. He knew, of course.”
“This can’t be,” Beth denied.
Helen smiled and squeezed Beth’s hand. “You see, I loved Colleen very much. Still do. She’s like a sister to me. I would have done anything in the world to have helped her.” She moistened her lips and took a deep breath. “So, I did. By complete accident I came upon this young girl who lived outside Indianapolis. She was visiting some of her folks in Cartersville.” Helen frowned, concentrating. “She was barely eighteen. She was pregnant and unmarried.” Helen shrugged. “She was desperate. And so was Colleen.”
Beth swallowed. She knew what was coming. Oh, God, this couldn’t be.
“Colleen made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. The girl would get a fresh start, the money to go to college, her own home, whatever she needed. And Colleen would get the child.”
Beth shook her head. This just couldn’t be.
Helen squeezed her hand tighter. “To keep anyone from knowing that the child wasn’t actually hers, Colleen went to Chicago. Zacharius told everyone that she was caring for an elderly aunt and wouldn’t be back for months. The girl joined Colleen there and they stayed until the child was born.”
“But how…I mean, what did they tell everyone when Colleen returned with a baby?”
“They simply explained that because they’d waited so very long to have a child and any number of things could have gone wrong that they’d chosen not to tell anyone until the child was safely in this world.”
