by Francis Ray
His hand jerked. Afraid he’d pull away, her hand twisted and clasped his. “You lost your sight because of the greed and cruelty of others. Don’t let anyone else take more. Please.”
“Don’t waste your tears on me, Lilly.”
“I’m not,” she said, brushing the moisture away.
“I was an arrogant bastard. I thought I made my own destiny. I was a fool.” His thumb grazed the top of her hand. “My stupidity was just as much the cause of my losing my sight as their greed.”
“How can you say that? You don’t know they wouldn’t have attacked you anyway.”
“No, I don’t. But in my arrogance, I thought I was invincible. I had just finished a marathon surgery. Over seven hours. I was high on my own power.”
“That doesn’t excuse them,” she said. “Myron always said it was my fault that he yelled. He said he hit me because I questioned him. That was an excuse, not a reason. I realize that now.” Her hand tightened. “It took me years to realize I might not have control, but I had choices. That was the turning point for me.”
“You were right to leave.”
“I know that now.” She swallowed. “I’m never going back.”
“No, you won’t.”
The sound of the phone ringing startled both of them. Whoever called had dialed Dr. Wakefield’s private extension.
“Take a message. I don’t want to talk with anyone.”
“What if it’s your mother?”
“Tell her I’ll call her tomorrow.”
Realizing there wasn’t any point in arguing with him, Lilly rose and went to answer the phone. “Ouch.”
“What happened?”
“I walked into the foot of the bed.”
“Turn on the light before you break your neck!” Adam snapped.
“Yes, sir.” Lilly turned on the lamp on the nightstand, then snatched up the phone on the fifth ring. “Hello….
“Oh, my goodness. Wait a minute,” she said, her fingers clamped tight on the phone. “It’s Odette’s oldest son, Samuel Junior. Odette had a fracture and he wants to thank you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Come talk to him yourself,” Lilly said, experiencing a strange mixture of feelings, sadness that Odette was injured but relief that Dr. Wakefield had been right.
With smooth movements that were so different from hers, Dr. Wakefield walked to the bedside table and took the phone. “This is Dr. Wakefield. She’s resting comfortably?…I see. Put her on.
“Odette, stop fussing. Considering your diabetes and hypertension, I think spending the night in the hospital is a wise decision.” Adam’s lip twitched. “I don’t think your doctor needs to call and discuss the management of your care with me, but I appreciate the confidence. Let me speak with Samuel.
“Samuel, take as long as you need off with Odette. I can tell she’s going to be a difficult patient.…You’re welcome. Good night. Thanks for calling.” He hung up the phone, a smile growing on his face “I’m suddenly hungry.”
“It won’t take but a minute to heat up your dinner.”
“This time I don’t mind cold food, but you could do something else for me.”
“What?”
“Call Mother’s number and let her know.”
Eleanor was looking out the cottage window for Jonathan when he pulled up. Opening the door, she rushed out. By the time he had gotten out of the car, she was standing there, a broad smile on her face. “Odette and her family called Adam. He called me. Isn’t that wonderful?”
It was all he could do not to graze his knuckles down her cheek. “I was there when they called.”
She made a face. “I might have known.”
“They were hesitant to call since it was late, but I convinced them that Adam might like hearing he was right.”
She hooked her arm through his and led him back inside. “Thank you, Jonathan.”
“You might also be interested in knowing that even without a formal complaint filed by Samuel, the female attendant had already spoken to her superiors.”
Eleanor’s temper flared again. “Good for her, but it doesn’t end there.”
Jonathan palmed her cheeks. Immediately she stilled. “Let me take care of it. In the meantime, I smell something delicious.”
Eleanor laughed despite her accelerated heartbeat, her nervous stomach. “Jonathan, do you ever think of more than food?”
Brown eyes glowed. “Frequently.”
The smile froze on Eleanor’s face. Her nipples actually tingled.
Slowly Jonathan’s hands slid from her face, leaving in their wake heated flesh and a growing desire to feel his hands again. “But sometimes a man has to take what he can get.”
“Pork chops,” she managed.
“It’s a start,” Jonathan said.
Eleanor stared into his intent gaze and felt as if she were on a precipice and the dirt was crumbling beneath her feet. One wrong move and she’d go over the edge. “I’ll fix your plate.”
Jonathan watched Eleanor hurry away and almost smiled. Soon. Very soon she’d be rushing toward him and into his arms.
Hands in his pockets, he followed her into the kitchen.
A sound woke Lilly up. Lifting her head from the pillow, she listened. Music. A piano.
Reaching over, she turned on the light. She frowned, then threw back the covers and went into the hallway. It was definitely a piano, and the sound was coming from downstairs. It couldn’t be.
She turned the light on in the hall and swiftly ran down the steps, the volume of the music and her surety growing with each running step. She burst into the living room with her chest heaving.
Trembling fingers clicked on the light switch. Adam sat at the piano. His fingers danced over the keys with a precision that brought the bright sheen of tears to her eyes. She brushed them away and sat in the nearest chair.
Suddenly he stopped. His dark head twisted to one side. “Lilly?”
She swallowed the lump in her throat and found her voice: “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
He turned and Lilly’s breath caught. On his handsome face he wore a teasing smile she’d never seen before. “You didn’t.”
“You play beautifully.”
“Thanks. I haven’t played in years.”
“I always wanted to, but we never had the money,” she said wistfully, glad the old pain and anger were no longer there.
“Come here. I’ll teach you.”
Her shoulders snapped back. “What?”
“You don’t think I could do it?” He folded his arms across his chest in an obvious challenge.
“I didn’t say that,” she hastened to reassure him.
He scooted over and patted the wooden bench beside him. “Then come and sit down.”
Uneasiness moved through her. “Maybe we should wait for morning?”
“Why? We’re both up. Neither one of us has to get up early, so why wait?”
In the face of such logic, she didn’t have an answer. “All right.” Her bare feet were silent as she crossed to him. She slipped onto the bench beside Adam. The instant she did, she realized her mistake. The coolness of the cherry wood bench and the heat of his muscled body against hers jolted her nervous system. “Oh.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I, er…nothing.”
“Give me your hands,” he requested, holding his out.
She didn’t want to. Even now she remembered the softness of his and the roughness of her own.
“Lilly?”
She stuck out hands that shook. “Don’t be disappointed if I don’t learn very easily.”
He took her hands in his. “Why would you say that?”
She opened her mouth to say, “Because Myron always said so,” then said instead, “It’s the middle of the night and my brain isn’t functioning at top level.”
He smiled and the sight did strange things to her insides. “Mine is. This is easy. I’ll play the melody and you play the chords.”
“What—what song are we going to play?” she asked, extremely conscious of him in a way that she had never been of Myron.
“Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata.’ “
“What?” She tried to snatch her hands back.
Laughing, he held them firmly in his. “Lilly, I promise you can do this. You just have to trust me.”
The laughter and his words caused a warm rush of feelings inside. “I trust you. It’s me I don’t trust.”
“Then allow me to prove how mistaken you are.” Taking her fingers, he placed them on the keys, three notes for each hand. “Now, when I pause you simply strike the keys. The melody is slow, a bit haunting, but the chord gives the music power. Ready?”
Lilly stared at his long, elegant fingers on the white keys, and said a little prayer that she wouldn’t shake his emerging confidence. “Ready.”
The movement of his fingers, the beauty of the piece, almost caught her off guard the first time he paused. The second time she was ready. She struck the notes and listened as Adam played on.
She was playing Beethoven. The music was as beautiful and as haunting as Adam had said. Laughter, free and easy, drifted from her mouth. “I’m doing it. I’m doing it.”
His laughter joined in. He finished with a flourish. “Told you. Now, what else shall we play?”
Since most of the songs she knew were spirituals, she chose those, singing along with the music. She had a strong, clear voice and soon became more caught up in the words than what her fingers were playing. There were tears in her eyes when the last note of “How Great Thou Art” softly ebbed away.
“You have a beautiful voice,” Adam said.
Lilly sniffed, rubbing the back of her hand over her eyes. “Thank you, but it was your playing.”
“Seems we make a good team,” he said quietly.
All of a sudden, she became aware once again of their thighs touching, of her being in her nightgown with nothing underneath. While playing and singing, one or both of them had scooted closer. Heat flushed her cheeks.
“This team member is getting sleepy.” She stood. “I think I’ll go up.”
“I’ll go with you.” Closing the lid, he slid off the bench.
Automatically she stepped beside him and let him take her arm. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “You get to lead again.”
“Does this mean you’re not going to badger me anymore?”
“Help,” she corrected.
“Oh, yes. I forgot.”
Smiling, they went up the steps.
Chapter Twelve
Adam was restless. Not the kind of restless that had kept him on edge since his blindness, but restless with the anticipation of getting the day started. Standing in front of Lilly’s bedroom door, he contemplated for the umpteenth time that morning whether he should wake her. It had been after two when they had come upstairs for the second time last night. That was a scant five hours ago.
Folding his arms, he leaned against her door. Thanks to Lilly, he didn’t have to live in a black void wondering about the passage of time. However, now it presented another problem. Since he was well aware of the early hour, should he wake her?
The unavoidable truth was that he missed her. He’d thoroughly enjoyed playing the piano by himself, but her shy, hesitant presence had increased his enjoyment.
She had faith in him yesterday after Odette’s accident. She never doubted. Neither had Samuel and Odette. Despite his blindness, they had trusted his judgment. The male attendant had seen a blind man and prejudged him without looking for himself to see if Odette was injured. He’d judged Adam as Adam had judged himself, worthless and of no value to anyone.
But they both had been wrong. In giving reassurance to Odette, Adam knew he had received much more.
He thought of returning to his room and letting Lilly sleep, but the thought quickly disappeared and he gave in to temptation. He rationalized his decision by thinking there was no schedule to follow. Smiling, he raised his hand and knocked. The day was theirs to do as they pleased.
Lilly snuggled deeper into the pillow, but the persistent sound continued. Finally the sound penetrated. Knocking. Someone was at the door.
She jerked upright in bed. Throwing back the lightweight comforter, she scrambled out of bed, grabbing her robe from the foot of the bed as she passed. Opening the door, she was shocked to see Dr. Wakefield, arms folded, leaning against the doorjamb. “Dr. Wakefield!”
“Good morning.”
“Is everything all right?” Her gaze ran over him silently. He certainly looked fit and well. He had on a turquoise Polo shirt and a pair of snug-fitting jeans that encased his long, muscular legs. Lilly shivered and pulled the lapels of the cotton robe closer together.
He tucked his head sheepishly. “I’m hungry.”
Relief swept through her. She should have known. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll come to your door and knock.”
“Thanks.”
Closing the door, Lilly quickly got the clothes she always laid out the night before and went to the bathroom to bathe and dress. In less than the time allotted she knocked on his door.
The door opened before she lowered her hand to her side. He stepped into the hallway. “You’re right on time.”
She smiled as he took her arm. “I may regret getting you that clock.”
“That’s a distinct possibility.”
At the stairs, she paused and allowed him to find the railing with his left hand and take the lead going downstairs. She remained silent until they reached the bottom of the stairs. He might act casual, but his fingers had tightly gripped her arm on the way down.
“What would you like for breakfast?” she asked when they entered the kitchen.
“Surprise me.”
“Since you’re hungry, how about a quick omelet? You can beat the eggs.”
His steps hesitated. “We might have a small omelet.”
“You didn’t doubt me on the piano; I don’t doubt you whisking eggs.” She paused by the curved end of the kitchen counter. “Stool or the breakfast table?”
“Since you’re going to make me work for my breakfast, the stool.”
She took his hand and placed it on the padded seat. “Watch it when you slide on. The cabinet has gotten my knees a couple of times.”
“As I recall, it’s jumped out at me a time or two.” Sitting, he placed his hand on the sparkling countertop. “Ready to work for my breakfast.”
Lilly hoped she was doing the right thing. Finding a bowl, she cracked six eggs, picked up the whisk, and took everything to Adam. “Eggs can be slippery little devils, so I always start slow.”
Silently Adam took the bowl and whisk. Lilly made herself move away and not watch. “Bacon or sausage?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Lilly heard the tightness in his voice and opened the refrigerator. “Why don’t I fix both?” Removing the meat, she reached for a knife and heard the scraping of the whisk against the side of the bowl. She glanced around to see Adam’s stiff movements. But he was trying.
“Together, we’ll have breakfast in no time. Remember, we’re a team.”
“I don’t think you’ll ever let me forget,” Adam said, his lower lip tucked between his teeth in concentration, stirring instead of whisking, but Lilly couldn’t have been prouder.
Eleanor walked briskly along the path from the cottage toward the main house. She needed a cup of coffee and had used the last of hers yesterday morning. She made a face. After seeing Adam, she was going grocery shopping. She didn’t want a repeat of Jonathan checking out her food supply. Even as the thought annoyed her, she felt a little thrill of delight that he cared enough to check.
She was going up the steps to the kitchen when the sound of laughter caused her to go stock-still. Then she closed her eyes and gave thanks. She’d despaired of ever hearing Adam’s carefree laughter again.
“Good morning, Adam, Lilly,” she greeted them, opening the screen door and comin
g inside.
“Good morning, Mother,” Adam said.
“Good morning, Eleanor. Have a seat. I’ll get you a cup of coffee, and thanks to Adam, there’s plenty of French toast and fixin’s for an omelet.”
Eleanor glanced at the smug expression on her son’s face. “Explain.”
“I had to work for my breakfast. I did the eggs,” Adam told her. “I did a pretty good job, if I do say so.”
Pulling out a chair, she sat down at the round table across from her son. “I can’t wait to taste for myself.”
Lilly set a cup of black coffee by Eleanor. “Here’s your coffee. Black.”
Eleanor sipped her coffee and studied her son’s happy expression. “I like that smile on your face.”
Pushing the plate away, he leaned forward and placed his arms on the table. “I put you and Kristen through a lot. Thanks for hanging in there.”
“What else would your family do?”
“Here’s your breakfast,” Lilly said, setting the plate in front of the other woman and handing her flatware and a sunny yellow napkin.
“Looks good.” Eleanor forked a bite of the omelet in her mouth. “Ummm, delicious. Can I come back every morning?”
“You aren’t moving back into the house?” Adam asked, pausing with his cup of coffee in his hands.
She laid her fork aside and came to a quick decision. “I rather like the cottage. Besides, you and Lilly can do whatever you’ve planned without having to worry about entertaining me.”
His brows bunched. He took a sip of coffee, then replaced the mug on the table. “I haven’t thought much past this morning.”
