Winter Soldier (Mills & Boon Vintage Superromance)

by Marisa Carroll

  Leah was there, too, of course. She and his dad were pretty much inseparable these days. Ever since the night his dad hadn’t come home until morning. Nothing had been said about a wedding or anything, but Brian hoped they were moving in that direction. He liked Leah, and he liked the idea of him and his dad being part of a family again.

  Leah had brought an apple pie she’d had in her freezer, and he’d eaten like a pig. Then before coming out to work on the chicken run, the three of them had cleaned up the kitchen, while Juliet sat with Aurelia, who wasn’t feeling well enough today to leave her bed.

  “Juliet’s a good cook,” Adam said as he steadied a fence post so Brian could pound it deeper into the stony ground with a sledgehammer.

  “She is. She made that old hen taste like a spring chicken. I’m just glad she didn’t have to do the dirty work. I mean cut off its head and take out its guts and everything. It’s pretty gruesome work for a girl in her condition.” Brian took a swing at the fence post and landed a solid blow, then another and another. His dad didn’t blink, even though one slip of the heavy hammer would have crushed his hand. His dad trusted his aim and that made Brian feel damned proud.

  “Juliet wasn’t brought up thinking chicken only comes cut into pieces on foam trays from the supermarket. I think she could have handled it.”

  Brian took another swing at the fence post and the satisfying thud of metal on wood echoed off the hillside. “I’ve never tasted gravy like hers before. It’s practically a food group all its own.”

  “I enjoyed it, too.”

  Brian and Adam had spent quite a bit of time together over the past few days at the Cade homestead. Working between rain showers, they’d put a rebuilt alternator in the truck and, without letting Juliet know what they were up to, they’d changed the spark plugs and the starter, too. They’d gone to the Slate Hollow lumberyard and bought two-by-fours to replace some rotten porch boards, and Adam had shown Brian how to rehang the screen door.

  Brian rested the sledgehammer on the ground and leaned most of his weight on the handle. “Dad?”

  “Mmm?” Adam was hunkered down, stringing wire through a hole in the fence, twisting it together so nothing bigger than a field mouse could wriggle through.

  “I need to talk to you about something.”

  For a moment he thought he saw his dad stiffen, then Adam stood up, wiped his hands on his jeans and leaned against the fence post Brian had just made solid. “What is it, Son?”

  “Remember when I asked you to borrow money against my trust fund to help Juliet out?” God, was it only a little over a week ago they’d come to Kentucky? It didn’t seem possible that Juliet had become so important to him in such a short time, but she had, and there was no way he was going to let her down if he could help it.

  “Yes, I remember,” Adam said, frowning a little. “And I also remember that I thought we agreed it wasn’t a good idea.”

  Adam’s measured response was like a bucket of cold water thrown in Brian’s face. He hated it when his dad used that tone of voice, cool and level, like he was a talking robot. He wanted to pick up the sledgehammer and smash something, but that wasn’t very adultlike behavior, and he was an adult. He’d put a lot of thought into this decision.

  “I didn’t agree,” he said. “I just didn’t want to argue with you anymore that night. I’m worried about Juliet. Did Leah tell you Clint Fackler thinks her baby’s not positioned right? It’s lying sideways or something, not head down like it’s supposed to be.” Brian felt his face getting hot. He didn’t know much about women having babies, and he sure didn’t know the medical terms his dad would use to describe what was going wrong with Juliet’s pregnancy, but he was certainly smart enough to know that a baby lying sideways in its mother’s body wasn’t going to be born easily.

  “Yes,” Adam said, “Leah told me.”

  “Juliet’s afraid they’ll have to do a C-section.”

  “It’s a possibility if the baby doesn’t change position soon.”

  “That’s a serious operation. She said Clint is wondering if she should go to the hospital in Lexington, where they have a special, high-risk baby unit.”

  “She’s not due for two weeks. Things could change.”

  “But if they don’t, it’s going to be expensive. I don’t think she has the kind of insurance to pay for all that high-tech stuff.”

  “I don’t know the details of Aurelia and Juliet’s financial situation.”

  Brian lifted his hand to his temple and smoothed the faint ridge of scar tissue there the way he’d done when he was a kid. It always rattled him when his dad talked like this, like whoever they were discussing was a stranger neither one of them had met, or worse yet, that Brian was a stranger, someone his dad hardly knew and wasn’t too thrilled to be having a conversation with. “I want to help her out, Dad, so she doesn’t have to worry about money for a while. So she doesn’t have to give her baby away to those people from Lexington just so she can go to school. It makes me crazy to think she might have to give up her baby to get an education.”

  “Brian, I thought—”

  He didn’t give Adam a chance to come up with an argument that was so balanced and rational he couldn’t reject it. He’d made up his mind, dammit, and no one was going to talk him out of what he wanted to do. “I’m going back to Chicago, Dad, as soon as possible. I...well, I was wondering how much-longer you were planning to stay around here now that Leah’s feeling so much better....”

  He let the words trail off. He didn’t want to come right out and ask his dad if he was going to marry Leah. And to be really honest, the two of them didn’t seem comfortable enough with each other, regardless of how much time they spent together, to be planning on getting married anytime soon. It seemed to Brian there were a lot more things to keep them apart than to bring them together.

  He didn’t think Leah would want to leave Slate Hollow. She had a lot of friends here and was well-thought-of. He’d been around town long enough to see that. And his dad—how could he give up being the head of neurosurgery at one of the most respected hospitals in the country? His dad was only in his early forties, that made him a boy wonder in the brain-surgeon world. He’d already had articles written about him in big magazines and newspapers. He made a ton of money and operated on famous people from all over the world. It would be hard to give that up, unless he loved Leah so much he couldn’t live without her.

  And he wasn’t sure his dad could ever love anyone that much.

  He watched his dad pull off his work gloves and stick them in his back pocket. “Leah and I have a lot of decisions to make,” Adam said, “but I will have to return to Chicago soon. Perhaps by the end of the week?”

  “Not soon enough for me,” Brian said, remembering the pinched, scared look on Juliet’s face and the way she’d grabbed his hand and held on for dear life, when she’d told him about the problems with the baby. “I want to go right away.”

  “Why such a hurry?”

  “I’m going back to sell my car. I’m going to give the money to Juliet so she doesn’t have to worry about her insurance not paying for the operation, or have to decide whether to sell her baby and go to school, or keep it and work in a car-parts factory for the rest of her life.”

  “I told you before I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to give Juliet money. That only adds another layer to an already complicated situation.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that by giving her money you’re trying to manipulate her to make the decision you want her to make, just like the couple from Nashville who are trying to influence her in the opposite direction.”

  “Well, I don’t give a goddamn what you think!” Brian yelled, throwing down the sledgehammer in disgust. What was it with his dad? How could he just stand there and talk about Juliet like she was nobody to them? “Jesus, Dad. Don’t you have any feelings? Juliet’s scared and alone. Why are you so determined to make it as hard as possible for her? I thought
you and I were getting on the same wavelength this past week. I thought we were starting to see eye to eye.” Brian was furious with himself when he heard his voice crack on the last three words. He realized he’d raised his hand to the scar on his temple again, and that made him angrier than ever.

  “We do agree on most things.”

  “But not the most important thing! Listen to yourself. You sound like we’re discussing these stupid chickens or something, not Juliet. When I was little I always thought I’d like to be a doctor like you, but then I smashed my face up against the mailbox. Do you remember?” He was talking too loudly and he knew it. The hens were still skittish from the dog attack, and they flapped and squawked and headed for the relative safety of the coop. Lancelot was muttering under his breath and stalking back and forth a few feet away, considering whether or not to run the human intruders out of his domain. Brian ignored them all, focusing on his dad, trying to read whatever thoughts were hidden behind the stony mask he wore.

  “I remember.” His dad’s face was pale. Brian was too wound up to wonder why he looked as if he’d just seen a ghost standing behind him, instead of Lancelot.

  “I used to think I wanted to be a doctor like you because you took such good care of me that day. You picked me up and carried me home. You held me on your lap in the car while Mom drove us to the hospital. You stayed beside me all the way into the operating room so the plastic surgeon could put my face back together, and you were still there when I woke up. But after that you started to change. By the time you and Mom got divorced, I couldn’t figure out what had happened to you. I was just a little kid. I always thought it was my fault we weren’t a family anymore.” Brian waited for a moment, the little kid in him hoping against hope his dad would say it wasn’t true. Adam remained silent.

  “You know why I quit school, Dad? Because I wanted some time to think about being a doctor like you. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. What a hoot! Well, I just changed my mind again. Thanks for reminding me what a jackass you turn into when you get to play God every day of your life.” Brian turned and stalked off.

  Jeez, why had admitted he wanted to be a doctor? He’d never told anyone. Never. Well, it wasn’t true any longer. He didn’t want to be a doctor. Not if it meant turning into a heartless, uncaring monster like his dad.

  Adam was yelling something, calling him back, but Brian didn’t stop to listen. He was heading to Chicago, and he was leaving today. Now. Even if he had to walk every damned step of the way.

  LEAH SIGNED THE NOTES she’d added to the visiting nurse’s chart and replaced the chart in the top drawer of the dresser. She’d heard Juliet and Brian’s voices in the kitchen, but hadn’t paid much attention to them as she jotted down her comments on Aurelia’s condition, but now the teenagers’ voices were raised in what sounded like anger.

  She glanced over at the bed. Aurelia was awake, propped up against the pillows, her Bible in her hand. She’d had a restless night and was heavily medicated, and didn’t seem to be aware of the confrontation in the kitchen. “I’m going to see how Juliet’s doing,” Leah said as she hurried out of the room.

  Just as she entered the living room, Brian raced past, his face dark with anger. He jerked open the front door. “Don’t, Brian. Aurelia’s trying to sleep,” Leah called softly, afraid he’d slam it and startle her patient. “What happened? Where are you going?”

  “I’m going home,” he said bitterly, then closed the door behind him with deliberate care.

  “Goodness, what got into Brian? Did you two have a fight over something?”

  Juliet was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, a glass of lemonade in her hand, her lower lip trembling as she tried not to cry. “I...I don’t know. I mean, Brian had a fight with his dad, and then, well, I guess we had a fight, too.” They heard the truck engine start, then fade, as Brian drove away. “He’s really going.”

  “It would appear so.” Leah looked past Juliet toward the backyard. What had happened between Brian and Adam? Everything had seemed fine when the two of them went out to work on the chicken run.

  “Leah, what am I going to do? Me having this baby is causing everyone so much heartache. I wish I’d never been born.” Juliet started crying in earnest.

  Leah took the glass of lemonade and placed it on a table by the door. She put her arms around the distraught girl. The TV was tuned to an early-season baseball game, and Leah hoped the sound was loud enough to prevent Aurelia from hearing Juliet’s sobs. “Don’t cry. It’s not good for the baby,” she murmured. “Come on. Sit down and tell me exactly what happened.” She led her back into the kitchen.

  Adam was still outside. She could hear the thudding of metal against wood as he continued to work on the chicken-run fence. Why hadn’t he gone after Brian? What had triggered such a blowup when they’d seemed to be getting along so well the past few days? Or had she been so caught up in her own growing love for Adam she’d failed to notice the tension between father and son?

  No, she was certain all was well as little as an hour ago.

  “Brian told his dad he was going to go back to Chicago to sell his car,” Juliet said with a sniff. “He has a real expensive car. He wanted me to have the money so I don’t have to give the baby away or worry about medical expenses or anything. But his dad said he shouldn’t do it. They got into a really big fight over it.”

  The screen door opened and closed. Leah looked up to see Adam standing in the kitchen doorway, his shirtsleeves rolled up, work gloves in hand. “Is this true?” she asked him.

  “That Brian and I had an argument over whether or not he should give Juliet money? Yes.” There was little emotion in his voice, but there was anguish in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Juliet. I didn’t mean to upset you.” The harshness in his voice was tempered now with compassion. A surge of hope and love filled Leah’s heart. He was trying very hard not to retreat within himself, not to seal himself away.

  “I told him I didn’t want his money,” Juliet said. “That’s when he got mad at me. His face went all red and he almost yelled at me. He said, ‘Am I the only person here who wants to keep this family together?’ Like I didn’t know how it was to have a parent run off and leave you just like...” She looked at Adam with remorseful eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right, Juliet. I did leave Brian, or at least, I let his mother take him away, which amounts to the same thing.”

  “I’m just so confused, and I’m scared. I don’t want anything to happen to my baby, but I’m worried he won’t be born right. Or what if I don’t know how to take care of him properly? Maybe I should give him away. Maybe he’d be better off with those people in Lexington.”

  “What are you talking about, girl? Who said anything about you giving up your baby to strangers to raise?” Aurelia was standing in the bedroom doorway, her arms outstretched to keep her balance. Her face was a pasty gray, her breath coming in labored gasps. “He’s the last of our blood, Juliet. He’s the last of the Cades.” The old woman’s knees buckled. She sank to the floor, her hands clutching her chest.

  “Granny!”

  Leah headed for her, but Adam was quicker. He picked Aurelia up in his arms and carried her to her bed. Leah repositioned the prongs of the nasal catheter and increased the oxygen flow, but Aurelia continued to struggle for breath.

  “She needs to be hospitalized,” Adam said, his fingers on her pulse. “This is more than just overexertion. She’s having a reaction to her medication. When did she have her last dose?”

  Aurelia was still fighting for every breath despite the increase in the oxygen flow. “I gave her an injection about thirty minutes ago. She hasn’t had any problems with it before now, but I think you’re right. Let’s take the Jeep. We can get her to the hospital more quickly than waiting for the emergency unit to come all the way up here. I have a portable oxygen cylinder in my emergency box.”

  Adam helped her wrap Aurelia in a blanket, then carried her out to Leah’s Jeep. Leah went ahead and had the small
oxygen cylinder and a disposable nasal catheter ready as Adam placed Aurelia gently on the seat beside her. Leah adjusted the oxygen and supported Aurelia’s thin body against her, and Adam climbed into the driver’s seat.

  Juliet got in beside Adam, clutching Aurelia’s purse and slippers in her hands. She was still crying as she positioned herself awkwardly sideways so she could hold Aurelia’s hand. Adam negotiated the bumpy road off the mountain with skill, but it was impossible to miss every rut and pothole, and Aurelia moaned in pain with every jarring thump. Fortunately there was little traffic this dreary Sunday afternoon, and five minutes after they’d turned onto the highway they had pulled up under the ER canopy.

  Once inside the automatic glass doors, the ER staff took over. Leah was prohibited by hospital policy from following Aurelia’s gurney into the treatment room, so she stayed with Juliet, who was still crying and distraught. She settled the teenager in the waiting room with Adam and took a moment to call Caleb and apprise him of the situation. He promised to come right over. Then there was nothing to do but wait.

  Caleb was as good as his word. Ten minutes later he waved at Leah and Adam as he passed the waiting room on his way to the treatment area. Juliet had stopped crying and was curled up on the leather sofa at the far end of the room, dozing. Leah covered her with one of the crocheted afghans the hospital auxiliary provided for just such times. She smoothed the blanket over Juliet’s shoulders. The girl didn’t awaken, but turned her cheek into the folds of the blanket with a little sigh.

  Leah was as worried about the teenager as she was about Aurelia. Juliet’s medical situation was a serious one. Tests had shown the baby was a transverse lie, with a shoulder presentation. It would be impossible for Juliet to deliver the baby normally. Clint was already making arrangements for her to undergo a C-section in a little less than two weeks. He would tell her the details, he’d informed Leah, as soon as he had confirmed an appointment with the obstetrician at Lex General who specialized in high-risk pregnancies. He’d tried to prepare Juliet for the possibility at her last visit, but the teenager was still hoping against hope that the baby would turn and move into position for a natural birth. Leah knew the chances of that happening now were very slim.