The woman in the bed was crying. Shaking her head. “I can’t. I can’t.”
Kelly bent over her, giving the exhausted woman a shoulder to lean against. “I know how tired you are, Maria. But you’ve got a baby who needs you. And we’re all here to help you.” Her hands were white where the woman was squeezing them so tightly. “I’m here. Dr. Yarnell is here. You’re not alone. Now let’s do this together. Push!”
Caleb backed away from the curtain. He slowly returned to the nurses’ station where his cousin was updating a chart, disposing of his gown and mask along the way. “Why didn’t they take her up to labor and delivery?”
Courtney slid the chart into the appropriate slot on the wall behind her. “No time. Plus, they’re already full upstairs.” She looked back at him when the distinctive wail of a baby filled the air. “Nothing like a baby being born, but a terrible way for it to come about.” She shook her head. “Head-on collision out on Bekins Road. Daddy was DOA.”
“What was Kelly doing there? And where the hell is Tyler?”
Courtney gave him a wary look. “Criminy, Caleb. Take a breath. Tyler’s fine. He’s at Leandra’s. Kelly had me call her to say she’d be late picking him up. All I know is that Kelly was there and tried to help. If you want to know more than that about the accident, talk to Sam Dawson. She was the officer on scene.”
Caleb exhaled and pulled in a long, deep breath. He gave David Templeton a nod when he saw the physician head behind the curtain. He was a pediatrician based in Braden but did regular rounds in the afternoon at the hospital, the same as Caleb did in the morning.
Courtney’s expression softened. “Heard the daddy didn’t have a chance of making it. Bled out in a matter of minutes.” Then she frowned. “Don’t you usually have patients this time of day?”
He grimaced. “Usually. Give me an emesis basin, would you?”
“Planning to vomit on me?” She gave him a wry smirk before retrieving a kidney-shaped pink basin from her supply. “There you go. We charge twenty-two fifty per,” she added, “but since you’re a relative, I’ll give it to you for twice that.”
“Ha-ha. Put it on my tab. I left my dog in the truck. Last thing I need is some interested bystander accusing me of mistreating my animal.” He filled the basin with water from the fountain in the waiting room and took it out to Bingo. The puppy was snoring away on Caleb’s leather seat.
He left the water container on the passenger side floor and went back inside.
Kelly was standing outside the cubicle, slowly pulling off her paper gown. Even across the distance of the ER, Caleb could see the tears in her eyes.
“Here.” Courtney shoved a plastic-wrapped bundle into his hands. “Take her some scrubs. She can clean up in the break room.”
Caleb knew from experience that the break room was little more than a closet with a lumpy couch, a fridge and a hot plate. But it had a private bathroom and was better than nothing.
When he reached Kelly’s side, she was holding the gown bunched in a ball at her waist. He recognized her dress as the one she’d been wearing that first day when she’d brought Tyler in for his cast.
He gestured toward the contaminated-waste container and held up the bundle. “Clean scrubs. Come on. I’ll show you where you can change.”
She didn’t say a word but simply disposed of her gown and gloves in the container and followed him to the break room. “Bathroom’s here.” He pushed open the door, and she silently went inside.
He heard water running. A few thumps. Then she opened the door. The scrubs dwarfed her slender figure. Even with the high-heeled shoes she was wearing, she’d had to roll up the pant legs. The scrubs were also pale green, similar to the underlying tinge in her pale face. She’d wrapped her dress in the plastic bag the scrubs had come in. “I was supposed to pick up Tyler two hours ago.”
“I’m sure he’s fine with Leandra.” He studied her face. “Did you get hurt in the accident?”
“No.” She pressed her lips together for a moment. “I, uh, I was on my way back from Braden. The court gave me permission to have the auction, and I had to s-sign some paperwork for the auction house. The accident happened right in front of me.” Her brows pulled together. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you were here. Was there any blood exposure? Courtney told me the husband bled out.”
She shook her head. “I had a first aid kit in my car. Gloves. An insulated blanket. I was careful. Maybe if I hadn’t taken the time to be careful, that poor woman’s husband would still be—”
“Don’t.” He took her arm. Whether she liked it or not, she wasn’t looking particularly steady. “There’s no point thinking that way. Come on. I’ll take you home.”
She didn’t resist as he led her back through the ER. The curtains were still closed around Maria’s cubicle, and the baby was still wailing. Kelly pulled away long enough to throw out her plastic-wrapped dress in the same waste container where she’d left her gown.
“I thought you didn’t get his blood on you.”
“I didn’t,” she whispered dully. “But I’ll never want to wear that dress again.”
Before they headed outside, Caleb shrugged out of his jacket and pulled it around her shoulders. She accepted it without reaction.
When she saw his truck, though, she stirred. “My car. It’s still out on the highway.”
“We’ll get it later,” he promised.
She made a faint sound he decided to take as agreement and pulled open the passenger door. Bingo popped up, wagging her tail. Caleb scooted her into the rear seat and closed the door once Kelly was inside.
He rounded the hood and got behind the wheel. She was staring at her shaking hands in her lap.
He started the engine, rolled up her window and turned on the heat. “You okay?”
“He died in my arms,” she murmured. “All the classes, all the training, and I’ve never—” She broke off, shaking her head. “I’m a nurse. I should be better at this.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t forget you also just helped a woman bring her baby into the world.”
Kelly’s eyes flooded. She looked at him. “After she saw her husband die right beside her.” Her voice was hoarse. “She didn’t want me to leave her.”
“And you didn’t. So cut yourself a break. Boy or girl?”
“What? Oh. Boy. Seven pounds, eight ounces. Two ounces more than Tyler was.” Kelly sniffed hard, blinking several times. “I want a shower.” Her throat worked. “Before I have to pick him up.”
Driving out to her mom’s farm wasn’t as easy as popping over to the corner store. Going back into town and out again to Leandra’s would take even longer. “It’ll be supper time at least before I can get you back to Leandra’s. My place would be faster.”
He expected a protest to that, too.
The fact that she didn’t told him just how affected she was by the trauma she’d witnessed.
“Fine,” she whispered.
He turned up the heater another notch. “Fasten your seat belt, honey.”
She dutifully pulled the shoulder belt across her chest and pushed it into place. Then she leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes.
He was glad he didn’t pass any sheriff’s vehicles on the way to his apartment.
He’d have gotten cited for speeding for sure.
* * *
Kelly rubbed the foggy mirror with the thick gray towel Caleb had provided.
She looked like a drowned rat.
But at least she no longer felt like she was swimming in that poor man’s lifeblood.
She sniffed, willing away the weak tears that still threatened even after she’d already spilled them in a shower that smelled of Caleb.
If she’d been smart—if she’d been stron
g—she would have just asked him to take her straight to her car.
But she wasn’t smart. And despite everything she’d accomplished with her life since leaving Weaver, she wasn’t strong.
Not when it came to him.
“Hey.” He knocked softly on the door. “How you doing in there?”
She had to clear her throat. “Fine.” She briskly rubbed the towel over her wet head. “Sorry I’ve been taking so long.”
“Take as long as you want. I’m not in any hurry.”
But she should have been. Tyler was still out at Leandra’s. Kelly had left him there that morning and only expected to be gone a few hours.
She’d taken the entire day.
She finished drying off. The idea of wearing anything she’d had on at the accident scene was anathema, including her bra and panties. She pulled on the scrubs without them, bundling them into a ball that she stuffed into the pants pocket, thanking her stars that the scrubs were well over a size too large. So long as she kept the V-neck of the top from sliding too far down, the only one who would know she was alfresco underneath was her.
She gave her bedraggled reflection a stern look.
She’d do well to keep it that way.
She hung the towel on the bar next to the one that had already been there. His. And when she realized her fingers were lingering, she snatched them away and yanked open the bathroom door.
She walked down the short hall, keeping her gaze from wandering through the open door of what could only be his bedroom, and went back into the living room. He’d turned on the gas fireplace. She was pretty sure it was for her benefit. When they’d gotten to his apartment, she’d been shaking so hard her teeth were chattering.
The sight of him standing in the kitchen at the stove, spatula in hand, was unexpected.
“I thought you couldn’t boil water.”
He glanced at her. “You think I’d get as many home-cooked meals as I do if I let anyone know otherwise?” He turned back to the stove, flipped whatever he was preparing, then turned to her again. “Your shoes are by the couch. I couldn’t see any blood on them. But I pulled out a pair of my socks if you’d rather just use those for now.”
Sure enough, a clean pair of thick white gym socks was sitting on the couch.
Her feet weren’t particularly cold. If anything the apartment was feeling almost too warm.
It was possible that was a hangover from the lengthy shower. Or it could have been the fact that she was buck naked under her scrubs within touching range of Caleb Buchanan.
She sat on the couch and picked up the socks. “I don’t think I left you any hot water.”
“I’ll live.” He came around the breakfast counter with a plate containing a golden-brown sandwich cut in two. “Grilled cheese. It’s about the only thing I had in the place.” He set the plate on the side table next to the couch. Then he took the chair opposite her. “I talked to Leandra while you were in the shower. They were having supper. Evan took in another litter of animals. Kittens this time. Needless to say, the kids are having a great time.”
“Perfect. More cute baby animals.” She glanced around. “Speaking of—”
“Bingo’s outside.”
“It’s not too cold for her?”
He looked amused. “If you’re worried, I’ll buy her one of those doggy sweaters.”
Her cheeks warmed. She blamed it on the heat coming from the gas logs in the fireplace. “You were the one who grew up with dogs. My mother never allowed one. Said—”
“They’d scare the chickens out of laying eggs. I remember. I also called the hospital. Your Maria and her baby are doing well. Or as well as they can be under the circumstances.” He held out the plate. “Eat.”
Kelly didn’t have the energy to argue. So she took half and nibbled on one corner, because she could see he wasn’t going to give it a rest otherwise. “I pretty much lived on grilled cheese sandwiches when I first started nursing school. Tyler was still on baby food then.” She took another bite of sandwich.
“What did spur the career choice?”
“Don’t you mean what spurred a girl like me to pursue any sort of career?”
He gave her a look.
She polished off the first half of the sandwich. As far as grilled cheese went, his was better than some. “Well, it’s true, whether you are too polite to say so or not.”
“Jesus, Kelly.”
She lifted her hand. “Until I left Weaver, my greatest ambition had been to be Doc Cobb’s receptionist. I was the ultimate small-town girl with small-town dreams.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“And you chose someone else over me. Someone who had aspirations just as big as yours.”
He sighed. “Kelly—”
“I’m not trying to pick an argument.”
“Oh, yeah?”
She couldn’t blame him for his skepticism. She managed a faint smile. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll have the energy to still hate you for that.” Right now, her entire body—head to toe—smelled of his clean, spicy soap.
“Don’t blame me if I don’t want tomorrow to come, then.” He smiled faintly, too. “So what changed? The guy you left Weaver for?”
God help her. “Having Tyler changed everything,” she said finally. Truthfully. If it was only part of the truth.
“The advent of children always does.”
There was a faint roaring in her ears. She opened her mouth to tell him. Just tell him. But she still couldn’t make the words come.
“Here.” He held out the plate again. “Finish that.”
She shook her head. “I really can’t.”
He looked ready to argue. But then he just took the remaining half of the sandwich and ate it in two bites before taking the plate back into the kitchen. “If you’re feeling better now, I’ll take you back to get your car.”
As a hint that he was ready to get rid of her, it was pretty plain.
She swallowed the unwanted pang of disappointment and bent over to pull on his socks. “I can find someone else to give me a ride.” She glanced up at him when he came back into the living room. “You’ve already done a lot. I guess you must not have had any appointments this after—” She broke off, realizing he was staring at her a little fixedly.
Then she flushed, slapping her hand against the gaping vee of the top that had allowed him a straight-on view of her bare breasts. She sat upright and propped her foot on her knee to finish pulling on the second sock.
The corner of his mouth quirked. “You can’t blame me for looking.”
Nor could she blame him for the way her nipples had gone so tight they ached. But she wanted to.
She dropped her foot onto the floor and stood.
“And you don’t need to find someone else to take you out to your car,” he continued. “I’m gonna get the dog.” He turned back toward the kitchen.
She snatched at the shoulders of her shirt, dragging them back as far as they’d go so as to draw up the neckline another inch.
The puppy tore through the kitchen and living room when Caleb opened the door, disappearing down the hall and then returning just as quickly to sniff around Kelly’s feet, probably wondering why her master’s socks were on someone else. Kelly started to lean over to pet the dog, only to feel her top gape again. So she scooped up the warm little body and stood, lifting her face away from Bingo’s enthusiastic kisses. “Yeah, you’re a good puppy, but the tongue’s out of control.”
“Here.” Caleb dropped his jacket over her shoulders.
She held the collar closed beneath her chin, maneuvering the puppy from beneath the enveloping leather. “I started out the day with a coat,” she told him. “I guess I left it in my car. And my purse,” she realized suddenly. “The car keys.” Dismay swa
mped her. “I left everything just sitting there.” On the side of the highway where she’d pulled off at the scene of the accident. “Oh, my God. What if it’s not even there? I left an open—”
His mouth covered hers.
“—invitation,” she mumbled stupidly against his lips.
His hand cupped the back of her head. “It’s going to be fine,” he murmured.
Bingo was squirming between them.
“How do you know?”
His hand brushed hers as he took the puppy and let her jump down onto the couch. Then his arm slid behind Kelly’s back, pulling her closer. So close that she could feel every hard inch of him against her. “Because I know Sam Dawson. She probably has your stuff safe and sound at the sheriff’s station. Now will you be quiet for a minute?”
She huffed slightly, but that was all he needed. He angled her head slightly. And kissed her in earnest.
Her head whirled.
The whole world whirled.
“Caleb—”
He lifted his head just long enough for a soft “shh” before touching his lips to hers again.
Lightly. Teasingly.
Achingly.
“Caleb, we can’t do this.” So why were her fingers sifting through his rich, dark hair?
His lips worked their way toward her ear. “Feels like we can.” His hand brushed over her breast, and desire swamped her. “I like the way you look in scrubs.”
She shuddered. “They’re too big.”
“Easier to get under.” His hand swept beneath the fabric of her top, and his palm found her breast. “See?”
She couldn’t stop the sound that came out of her throat any more than she could stop the ripples dancing down her spine. Which got more intense as he loosened the tie at her waist.
She inhaled sharply when his fingers made their way inside her waistband, then slowly inched down her belly.
And lower still.
She groaned. Because nearly every cell inside her wanted him to keep going, to keep doing exactly what he was doing for about a hundred years. Except for a part of her brain that shrieked, “Oh, no, not again,” so annoyingly loudly that she managed to plant her palm against his hard chest and push far enough away that she could yank the tie at her waist tight. “We can’t go back to the past, Caleb. I can’t go back to the past.”
A Child Under His Tree Page 12
