Family Secrets: Books 5-8

by Virginia Kantra

  Every now and then Faith stared at Abby as if she expected the kid to sprout another head at any moment.

  Finally she asked, How old is your daughter?

  She turned a year old two weeks ago, Luke said.

  So shes walking?

  Since ten and a half months, he said, remembering the first time hed seen Abby toddling across the room, heading unerringly toward him.

  Faith nodded, perhaps in approval. Talking?

  A little. Mostly she sputters nonsense only Nelda can decipher.

  If youd pay attention, youd know exactly what shes saying, Nelda said from her seat, and then she added proudly, Abby is extremely advanced for her age.

  Silently Luke agreed. But didnt every parent think their child was smarter and prettier than all the others? It was a fact of life.

  Dr. Martin, Nelda said with a wide smile. Would you like more roast? Theres plenty.

  Faith considered the offer for a moment, and then declined.

  After all, there was apple pie for dessert.

  When the meal was finished, Faith offered to help Nelda with the dishes. If Nelda hadnt quickly and efficiently dismissed the notion, Luke would have. Faith needed to stay off her feet for a while longer. Whatever had happened back there, she was drained. As soon as he was assured shed be okay, hed drive her to the motel. Even though she smelled good, had a nice ass, drove him to distraction and looked adorable in his scrubs, he would not be tucking her in.

  In the main room once again, Faith gravitated to the stone fireplace. Luke had built a fire there, shortly before dinner, as he did on the cool evenings he spent at home.

  Faith held out her hands as if to absorb the heat, stared at the flickering flames as if they held some deep, dark secret.

  Maybe you should sit, Luke said.

  Im fine, Faith insisted softly. He watched closely, waiting for her to sway. He would be there to steady her, if that happened. He would catch her if she fell.

  You didnt look fine when I found you in the lobby. Are you sure youre not coming down with something? She assured him the virus wasnt spread person to person, but what if, in this one circumstance, she was wrong?

  I dont get sick, Faith insisted, but there was a hint of bewilderment in her voice.

  Never?

  Never.

  Everyone got sick now and then, and an epidemiologist was exposed to the deadliest, most contagious diseases. Faith had chosen a very dangerous profession.

  Luke didnt press for more information, curious as he was. Abby toddled into the room and headed for him, arms uplifted and face smiling. Nelda had managed to wipe the mashed potatoes off her face and hands, and the oversize bib had kept her dress clean. She looked like an angel, all smiles and bright eyes. Luke caught his daughter and swung her up into his arms. She settled in and gave him a big kiss.

  Abby was a happy child, in spite of the fact that her mother was gone. Of course, she didnt realize that her life was different from most little girls. Shed only been two months old when Karen had died. One day she would understand, and shed ask questions Luke didnt want to answer. Ever.

  Shes very pretty, Faith said without turning to look at him.

  Abby?

  Of course, Abby. Faith posed casually before the fire, those baggy scrubs she wore draping across her slender body in a way that was undeniably sensual. She could have been a model instead of an epidemiologist, with a shape like hers, though she didnt seem to realize that she possessed a figure most women would kill for. She looks like you.

  I guess so.

  Faith glanced over her shoulder. You guess so? Goodness, Luke, cant you see it?

  He shook his head. Oh, he could see the similar wave in Abbys hair, and yes, when hed been a child his hair had been just as fine and pale blond. Her eyes were blue, like his. Beyond that, he didnt see what others saw when they said Abby had his chin, his nose, his mouth.

  Do you have any kids? he asked. He suspected not, given her job and the way she traveled, but you could never tell.

  Faith returned her attention to the fire and shook her head. No. Sometimes I wish She stopped suddenly, took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. Her tone was much cooler, almost aloof, when she said, Children and my career would not be compatible.

  I have a feeling you could find another job, if thats the only thing thats stopping you.

  I dont want another job, she said defensively. Again she glanced over her shoulder. Besides, she said, her voice lower, softer, having and raising a child requires so much I dont have.

  Like a husband. She didnt say as much, but Luke suspected that was where her mind had taken her. Maybe one day, he said, closing the uncomfortable subject.

  Maybe, she whispered.

  Luke wanted to step forward and wrap his arms around Faith. He wanted to draw her into his embrace, here with Abby. At the end of the day, after all theyd been through and still had ahead of them, it seemed like a very good idea.

  But he didnt move.

  Shed fallen into bed weary and slept too long. So why was she still exhausted? Faith pulled herself up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and stretching to awaken her muscles. They protested, as if trying to order her back beneath the covers.

  Suddenly Faith remembered that shed had the strangest dreams last night. She couldnt remember exactly what theyd been about, but theyd left her unsettled. Perhaps that was the reason she did not feel well rested. She searched the recesses of her mind for a snippet of the dream.

  A boat, she recalled as she walked toward the bathroom of her small motel room. Water. Fire. She shuddered and shook off the nightmare. She no longer wanted to remember the dark place her mind had taken her to while she slept.

  She hadnt had a vacation in years. Obviously she was in need of one. When this case was over, she would take a month off. Shed turn off her cell phone, or perhaps choose a vacation site so remote there was no cell signal to tempt her. Her server picked up no signal here in Rockland, which was par for the course. The places she worked were usually so remote no one possessed anything so frivolous as a cell phone. Here there was only one company who provided service, and that company wasnt hers.

  Yes, when this was over shed go somewhere quiet, somewhere so remote no one would find her, andAnd then what? All she had was her work. Her work was her life, and without it she had nothing. Nothing at all.

  Still half-asleep, she imagined taking a vacation with Lukeand shook the idea off before it could grow into something unmanageable.

  Faith thought of herself as a logical person, a sensible woman. She could reason out this dilemma. Her biological clock was ticking; shed made note of that fact shortly before being summoned to Montana. Shed rushed here and there hed been. Luke Winston, intelligent, caring, handsome, healthyand available. Something deep inside her, something primal that called back to her ancestors, had taken notice. In a crude way, it was like a mental elbow jab. There you go, Faith. You want a baby? You feel that clock winding down and down and down? Its not too late. Heres the answer to all your prayers.

 
In reality grumpy, possessive, overbearing Luke Winston was not the answer to anyones prayers. He was simply a man, and available at a time when shed been questioning her life and the decisions that had brought her to this point.

  It didnt hurt that he occasionally looked at her as if he might be interested.

  Knowing why she reacted to Luke the way she did would make it easier not to react at all when she saw him today. At least, she hoped that was the case.

  Hed driven her to the motel last night in his vehicle, a late-model SUV. And hed left the SUV here for her, walking home after seeing her into the room. True, it wasnt far from the motel to his cabin. Rockland was so small shed have no problem finding her way around during her time here. Everything was within walking distance, including the clinic and Lukes house.

  But he didnt exactly live next door, either. Leaving his vehicle for her and walking home had been a nice gesture. Nice gestures from overbearing men were always suspect.

  Luke had said he didnt want her walking to the clinic, expressing some concern about her episode in the lobby yesterday. At first, hed offered to drive by and pick her up in the morning, but when shed told him she planned to get to work before sunup, hed tossed her the car keys and said hed see her there. And then hed walked away.

  Perhaps he wasnt interested in her, after all. And why should he be? For goodness sake, he was prettier than she was! She wasnt vain and never obsessed about her appearance, but it did seem foolish to dream of vacations with a man who could have any woman he wanted.

  Men who could have any woman they wanted did not want Faith Martin.

  Showered and dressed in her own clothesa lightweight gray sweater and comfortable charcoal trousersshe drove Lukes SUV to the clinic. It didnt take her a full five minutes to get there. The parking lot was almost empty. Three vehicles remained; her own staffs rental car and two that no doubt belonged to nurses. There was no patrol car in the vicinity at the moment. Considering how many hours the deputies had been working, it was possible the sheriff had decreed no guard was necessary at four in the morning.

  Something hit her face, a single sharp, cold sting, as she walked briskly into the building. Snow? She supposed it was possible. This was October in Montana, after all. Winter was not yet here, but it was coming.

  She made her way to the second floor, where Dr. Gant still worked. When he saw her, he grinned tiredly. I expected you an hour ago.

  I overslept. Where are the others?

  Weve been sleeping in shifts, he explained.

  She asked about the patients and received a satisfactory report. Since she had arrived to take over here in the lab, Larry Gant gladly followed the example of his co-workers and went to find a bed. The members of her team didnt bother to go to the motel, since they were working different shifts and not one of them wanted to be far away from the action. Once it had been confirmed that this virus was indeed something new, they had recovered their luggage and started camping out here in the clinic.

  That was what she should do, Faith thought as she donned her lab coat. Claim a corner here in the clinic and make do as long as the epidemic continued.

  Then she remembered how Luke had walked in on her when shed been wearing nothing but a towel, and she changed her mind.

  Luke arrived at the clinic at seven-thirty, and walked in on mass confusion.

  The three persistent reporters were in the lobby, drinking coffee and pestering Michael for answers to their questions. When they saw Luke, he was subjected to shouted queries.

  What about this latest development?

  What can you tell us, Dr. Winston?

  Will the town be quarantined?

  A very upset Michael placed himself between Luke and the reporters, so Luke could get onto the elevator unmolested.

  What had happened? And why hadnt Faith called him?

  The second floor was in chaos. A normally stoic Molly was crying. Sheriff Talbot argued heatedly with one of Faiths co-workers, Dr. White, and looked as if he wanted to break the smaller man in half.

  When Molly saw Luke, she rushed toward him, wiping away her tears as she ran. Thank goodness youre here.

  He knew without being told that there was another case of the mysterious disease. What happened?

  She didnt get a chance to answer. Sheriff Talbot turned his anger toward Luke. Son of a bitch! he shouted. What the hell happened?

  I have no idea, Luke said calmly. Molly?

  Again Molly did not get a chance to respond. Deputy Tyler Morris, Talbot snapped.

  Luke remembered Morris. He was twenty-one and looked seventeen. Reddish blond hair, pale skin, skinnyhis father was a rancher, but Tyler had dreamed of bigger and better things. Like being a Carson County deputy. What about him?

  His wife called me this morning, said he had a bad fever and asked what she should do. I could tell she was scared. The sheriff dragged a hand through his thinning hair. While we were on the phone, Tyler started having convulsions. I drove over to his house and picked him up, I got him here as quick as I could, and now your lady doctor tells me it might be too late! Yesterday I had Tyler out there looking for your damned dead critters. He didnt find any, but he caught this damn disease, whatever it is.

  Get every deputy who was on that duty in here ASAP, Luke ordered.

  Your lady doctor already told me to do that, the sheriff said. Theyre coming.

  Her name is Dr. Martin, Luke insisted in a lowered voice. Not my lady doctor. If Tyler survives itll be because shes here, so cut her some slack.

  The sheriff nodded. Luke didnt particularly care for Talbot, but at the moment he felt bad for the man. Carson Countys sheriff was in way over his head.

  Where are they? Luke asked as the sheriff turned his back and raked his hand through his hair again. He allowed Molly to lead him to the room where Faith and one of the Bozeman nurses, the blonde, were treating Tyler Morris. A girl who looked much too young to be a wife stood silent and pale in the far corner, watching her unconscious husband with wide eyes.

  Faith wore a pristine lab coat over her own clothes, her hair was pulled back as usual but was not neatly restrained. She looked as if shed been running, cheeks flushed and a few strands of dark hair waving wildly about her face. She did not lift her head to acknowledge him. The patient had all her attention at the moment.

  Luke stepped to the side of the bed, quietly asking the nurse to take Morriss wife outside the room and get her something to drink and make her sit down. Neither of them wanted to go, but they did.

  Thank you, Michelle, Faith said softly as the nurse walked away with an uncertain Mrs. Morris at her side.

  Faith barely glanced at Luke as he joined her. Fever 103.2. Bilateral interstitial pulmonary infiltrates and respiratory compromise. He was having convulsions when the sheriff brought him in.

  You administered the antibiotic?

  She nodded. I hope its not too late. He saw the frustration and the anger on her face. I told the sheriff to have his men wear gloves and masks when they searched for the host of the disease. Obviously my instructions were ignored, at least in this case. Do you know how much contaminant this young man would have had to take into his system in order to become this afflicted in such a short period of time?

/>   Luke shook his head. Not a clue.

  The contagion must have been inhaled or ingested, somehow, and in a great quantity. If it had been introduced through the skin I dont think it could possibly have taken effect so quickly. Were any of the others this ill when they first came in?

  Luke shook his head. No.

  He felt a rush of anger himself. Defending Faith to Talbot was one thing, but he had a bone of his own to pick with her. Why the hell didnt you call me? I dont care who you are, I dont care who sent you. This is still my clinic and these are my patients. I dont appreciate being left in the dark. I dont appreciate arriving and not knowing theres been a crisis in my own clinic. In the future I would appreciate it if you could bother to keep me advised when theres a significant development.

  Faith remained calm. Are you finished, Dr. Winston?

  He took a deep breath. Yes. Great, he had become Dr. Winston again. Still, he was certainly justified.

  Youre sure you dont have anything else to say?

  No, thats it.

  Good. She looked him in the eye. Molly called your house immediately. Nelda said youd already left. Im sure she would have called you on your cell phone if she had thought it would make a significant difference in your arrival time. She did have her hands full, during those first busy minutes, as did I.

  Great, now he was a world-class jerk. Sorry, I should have known.

  Yes, she said, you should have. She turned as if to leave the room.

  Faith, Luke said. Dr. Martin

  She stopped before she reached the door and turned to face him. There was no more warmth in her eyes, none of the vulnerability he had seen last night. Yes? she prodded when he hesitated.