Читать книгу A Man Apart - Ginna Gray - Страница 11

Matt sat on the edge of the bed with the receiver to his ear, impatiently counting the rings on the other end of the line.

“Lieutenant Werner.”

“You sorry, sneaky, scheming, back-stabbing bastard. You set me up.”

“Ah, good afternoon to you, too, Matt. I take it you’ve met Maudie and her charges.”

Matt ground his teeth and tightened his grip on the receiver. John didn’t even try to hide the amusement in his voice. Matt could almost see him leaning back in his chair, grinning like a jackass eating briars. “At least you have the good sense not to pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about,” he snarled.

“Not much point in that, is there. So how is Maudie?”

“Maudie is fine. I’m mad as hell. I swear, Werner, if I was there right now, I’d knock your teeth out.”

“C’mon, Dolan, in your condition you couldn’t whip a flea, and you know it. Of course, you’re welcome to try, but if I were you I’d wait until I recovered.”

“Funny. Real funny. Did you really think I’d go along with this? I refused to see a shrink at the hospital, so you figured you’d maroon me in the boonies with one. Maude Ann Edwards, for Pete’s sake! I steered clear of the woman when she worked for the department. Why the devil would I want to spend time with her now? Radio Hank right away and tell him to turn around and come get me. I’m outta here.”

“No way, Dolan. We have a deal and you’re sticking to it. Look, don’t go jumping to conclusions. Maudie doesn’t take patients anymore. But she is a doctor. I figured if you needed medical attention, she would be handy to have around. That’s all. She’s too busy with her kids to bother with the likes of you, boyo, so just relax, will ya?”

“Forget it. I’m not staying here with that woman and all those kids. You got that? Send Hank back for me. Now.”

“No can do, buddy. Tell Maudie hi for me and call me at the end of the summer. We’ll talk then about you coming back for that physical.”

“Wait a minute! Don’t you—”

A click sounded and the dial tone droned. Matt jerked the receiver away from his ear and glared at it, then slammed the instrument down so hard it jumped off the base and he had to hang it up again.

With a frustrated growl he flung himself back on the bed and turned the air blue with curses. He didn’t give a rat’s nose if Dr. Maude Ann Edwards heard him. In fact, he hoped she did. Maybe she’d give him the boot.

“The children will be down in a minute,” Maude Ann announced as she returned to the kitchen. “I left Yolanda supervising their hand-washing.”

“Humph, somebody has to,” Jane said. That scamp Dennis acts like soap and water are poison. So does Tyrone.”

Maude Ann’s throaty laugh rolled out. “I know. Dennis just tried to convince me his hands weren’t dirty because he’d kept them in his pockets all day.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “What those two don’t think of the devil hasn’t invented yet.” Standing in front of the big, six-burner commercial stove, she stirred a pot of gravy. “If that policeman fella is going to join us for dinner he’d better shake a leg, ’cause it’s almost ready.”

Maude Ann removed an enormous pan of biscuits from the oven. Steam rose from them filling the kitchen with a delicious aroma. She glanced at the door that connected Matt’s room to the kitchen. “He hasn’t so much as stuck his head out of there, has he?”

“Nope. I got back three hours ago and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of the man. Haven’t heard a sound outta him, either. You sure he’s in there? Maybe he decided to walk up to the highway and hitch a ride back to Houston.”

“Not likely. In his condition he wouldn’t make it a hundred yards.” Maude Ann chewed on her lower lip. “I suppose I should knock on his door and let him know it’s dinnertime.”

“Humph,” Jane poured the gravy into a gravy boat and set it on the table with a decisive thud. “I’d let him stew in his own juice, if it was me. Never could abide a foul-tempered man.”

“Detective Dolan isn’t foul-tempered, exactly. He’s just…well, intense is the word, I guess.” Maude Ann pulled two crocks of butter from the refrigerator and placed one at each end of the table. Unable to resist, she picked off a chunk of hot biscuit and popped it into her mouth, and immediately closed her eyes in ecstasy. “Mmm, heaven. Jane, you really are going to have to teach me how to make biscuits like these.”

“I’m willing. The problem is you never have a spare minute.”

Maude Ann sighed. “True.” She glanced at the closed bedroom door again and resigned herself. “Well, I guess I’ll have to call him. I can’t let him skip dinner. In his condition he needs all the nourishment he can get.”

“Suit yourself. While you roust him out, I’m going to go see what’s keeping those young’uns. It’s too quiet up there by far.”

Jane marched out of the kitchen with a militant step and headed for the stairs.

Wiping her hands on the towel slung over her shoulder, Maude Ann went to the door and tapped on it lightly. “Detective? Dinner is ready.”

She waited a few seconds, but there was only silence on the other side of the door. “Detective Dolan?” she called again.

She hesitated, then turned the knob, eased the door open and stuck her head inside. “Detective Dolan, are you in here?”

The sun had almost set and the light coming through the windows was rosy and dim. At first Maude Ann thought the room was empty, but as she crept inside she saw him through the gloaming, lying back motionless across the bed, his arms flung over his head.

Her heart leapt with fear and guilt. Dear Lord, was he dead? If so, it was her fault. How could she have let him stay in here by himself for so long without bothering to check on him? The man had just gotten out of the hospital a few hours ago.

Holding her breath, she moved closer to the bed. When she finally stood over him and spotted the steady rise and fall of his chest, she closed her eyes. Thank God. He had only fallen asleep.

She opened her eyes and stepped even closer, intending to nudge him, but she hesitated. Tipping her head to one side, she took shameless advantage of his unguarded state to study him.

As her gaze ran over his face, her own softened and her tender heart contracted. He looked so exhausted, so pale. So defenseless. How sad it was, she thought, for this proud, strong man to be reduced to a state of near helplessness.

He had incredibly long eyelashes for a man, she noticed for the first time. They lay like feathery black fans against his skin. Beneath their sweep, bruiselike shadows formed dark circles under his eyes.

Her eyes trailed down his body and her concern deepened. Though a big man, Matt had always kept himself trim, but now he looked much too thin.

Never in a million years would she have thought to see Matt Dolan brought down to such a state. How very close he’d come to losing his life, Maude Ann thought. As her darling Tom had two years ago.

Through Matt’s light blue shirt she could see the faint outline of a bandage on his right side and the bulge of another one beneath the denim covering his right thigh.

They were sure to need changing regularly, yet she knew that any offer to help him would meet with a curt refusal.

Suddenly Maude Ann realized that Matt must have fallen into a deep sleep, no doubt involuntarily, soon after making his telephone call. His sneakered feet were still flat on the floor and around his body the cream-colored chenille bedspread was undisturbed.

Compassion softened her face. Poor man. The trip from Houston must have exhausted him. Apparently he hadn’t moved so much as a muscle in more than three hours.

She hated to disturb him. Still, to regain his strength he needed nourishment. Bending over, she reached out to touch his shoulder, but she drew her hand back when he jerked and mumbled something in his sleep. From the way he was thrashing around on the bed, he appeared to be having a nightmare.

“Detective? Detective Dolan, wake up.”

His hand shot up like a striking snake and clamped around her wrist, and Maude Ann let out a shriek as she was jerked down on top of him.

The sound cut off almost before it started as his other hand clamped over her mouth.

Matt’s head came up off the mattress, and Maude Ann’s eyes widened above his fingers as she found herself looking into his dark, furious face, just inches from the end of her nose.

His wounds may have weakened him, but there was still a surprising amount of strength left in those powerful arms and shoulders.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing, sneaking around in my room?”

She tried to answer, but her words came out in an indecipherable mumble against his palm. She gave up and glared at him, and he finally got the message and removed his hand.

Maude Ann shook back her hair and tried for a haughty look, which was difficult to achieve when one was sprawled, half-dressed, on top of a man. “I was not sneaking around in your room,” she informed him. “I came in to tell you that dinner is ready.”

“Yeah, right. Have you ever heard of knocking?”

“I did knock. Several times. But you didn’t answer. I was worried that something had happened to you, so I came inside to check. You seemed to have been having a bad dream.”

Those deep-set blue eyes narrowed as he searched her face for the truth. In the rosy glow of sunset they glittered like sapphires in his dark face. After a time he seemed to come to a decision and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“I’m fine, as you can see.” He paused, his eyes locked with hers. Suddenly the air seemed thick, and an odd tautness surrounded them. “And feel,” he added.

Maude Ann’s eyes widened. Horrified, she realized several things at once. First, that he still gripped her right forearm in an unbreakable hold, and his other hand was splayed across her bottom. Second, not only was she sprawled on top of him, her bare right thigh was nestled intimately between his legs, and his body had responded to the contact. He might have been weakened by the gunshot wounds, but there was certainly nothing wrong with his sex drive.

Heat raced through Maude Ann like a warm flood, and to her dismay, she felt her own body tighten. Even in the dim light, she could see that Matt was aware of her reaction.

Color flooded her face. She told herself to get up, but she seemed to have lost the power of movement. She could feel his heat all along her body, his breath feathering her face, warm and moist, that masculine hand kneading her buttocks ever so slightly.

Her own breathing was shallow and drew painfully through her constricted throat. With every labored breath her breasts swelled against the solid wall of his chest.

Had her life depended on it, Maude Ann could not have looked away from his hot stare. Just when she thought she would surely burst into flames, Matt broke eye contact. She experienced a momentary relief, but when his gaze slid downward over her face and zeroed in on her mouth, her heart took off at a gallop.

He stared at her lips for what seemed like forever. His eyes darkened. Maude Ann swallowed hard. Slowly, Matt tipped his head to one side and raised it closer to hers, and her heart began to boom.

Her eyes drifted shut. She felt his breath caressing her mouth and her entire body tingled with anticipation. Before contact could be made the sound of clattering feet and high-pitched chatter announced the arrival of the children in the kitchen.

Aghast, Maude Ann jerked back and tried to scramble off Matt, but at the first move he groaned. She froze.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Your wound! Did I hurt you?”

A grimace contorted his face. “I’m…okay,” he ground out through gritted teeth. “Just…take it…slow and easy.”

“Yes. Of course. I should have realized—”

“Ah, jeez! Watch that knee, will you?”

A fresh wave of color climbed Maude Ann’s face, but she bit her lower lip and eased up off him. She was acutely conscious of the open door and the children taking their places at the table in the next room, of Jane issuing orders. She prayed that no one looked this way, or if they did, that they couldn’t see anything in the fading light.

With excruciating slowness, she got to her knees beside him on the mattress, then backed off the bed and regained her feet. She smoothed her hair away from her face and brushed at her shorts, more out of nervousness than need.

Then she noticed that Matt still lay flat on his back with his eyes closed and his face contorted.

“Are you all right? Do you need help getting up?” She stepped closer and held out her hand, but he opened his eyes and gave her a baleful look.

“No, I don’t need your help,” he growled. “I’m not so pathetic that I can’t get up off the damned bed by myself.” He grabbed hold of the brass railing at the foot of the bed and tried to haul himself up, but his face clenched with pain and he couldn’t hold back a groan.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Her patience at an end, Maude Ann bent over and slipped her arms around his chest and tugged him upward. “You men and your stubborn pride! It doesn’t make you any less of a man to need a little help now and then, you know,” she admonished as she gently assisted him to his feet.

“I don’t like to be a burden,” he gasped when he could catch his breath.

“No one does, but sometimes it can’t be helped. Although, I must say, that was foolish of you to jerk me down like that. You could have reopened your wounds.”

His gaze met hers. “If those kids hadn’t arrived when they did, I probably would have.”

Maude Ann felt a blush heat her cheeks again. She hoped it wasn’t visible in the dimness, but even if it was, she wasn’t one to back away from a challenge. Tossing her head, she gave a throaty chuckle. “In your dreams, Detective. At this point you haven’t got the strength for an amorous encounter. But since you brought it up, let me make this much clear. You are welcome to stay here and recuperate for as long as it takes, but I am not part of your physical therapy. Now, if you don’t mind, dinner is ready, and Jane and the children are waiting.”

She turned to leave the room, but he grasped her forearm and stopped her. “Just a minute, Dr. Edwards. I woke up and found someone hovering over me. Grabbing you was a perfectly natural reflex reaction.” He paused a beat, then added, “Just as what happened after that was a natural reaction when a man finds a woman lying on top of him. I don’t apologize for that.”

Pursing her lips, Maude Ann considered that. After a moment she nodded. “All right. I can accept that.”

“Good. And just to set the record straight, I wasn’t the only one on that bed who was aroused.”

Never one to play games or prevaricate, Maude Ann gave him a rueful half smile and a nod. “Fair enough. So why don’t we just chalk up what happened as a freak occurrence? Propinquity, if you will. Despite your wounds, you’re still a red-blooded male, and there hasn’t been a man in my life since Tom died.”

A startled look flashed in his eyes, but she ignored it. “Add to that combination a dimly lit room, a bed and close contact, and naturally one thing leads to another. We know it didn’t mean anything, so let’s just forget it happened, shall we?”

Pulling her arm free of his grasp, she smiled cordially and tipped her head toward the kitchen. “Now we really had better get out there before Jane comes looking for us.”

Without waiting for a reply, Maude Ann turned and strolled out, aware of Matt’s gaze drilling into her back.

She had already taken her seat at the head of the table when Matt emerged from his room.

Instantly the childish chatter around the table ceased and a tense silence descended. Seven pairs of wary young eyes watched Matt’s slow progress as he leaned heavily on his cane and limped to the table.

When he was seated, Maude Ann, acting as though Matt’s presence was nothing out of the ordinary, smiled at her charges and said, “Children, this is Detective Matthew Dolan. He works for the Houston Police Department and he’s going to be staying with us while he recovers from an injury.”

“You mean he gots an ouchie like me?” the tiny blond girl asked. She raised her arm and proudly displayed a wide Band-Aid on her elbow.

“Yes, Debbie. Only Detective Dolan’s ouchies are really bad ones, so he’s going to be staying with us until they get all better.”

The child turned big, pansy-blue eyes on Matt. “You needs to put a Band-Aid on ’em. I can show you where they are. Miz Maudie has all kinds of pretty ones. Some even gots flowers and fairies on ’em.”

Despite his foul mood, a smile tugged at Matt’s mouth. He resented being stuck here. He especially resented being here with a shrink and a pack of kids. However, he would have had to have a heart of iron to resist those innocent blue eyes and that face like an angel.

“Dumb girl,” Tyrone muttered. “He ain’t got that kinda ouchie. He’s prob’ly been shot.”

Gasps and frightened exclamations erupted around the table.

“That’s quite enough, Tyrone. You’re scaring the other children.”

“Yes’um, Miz Maudie,” he replied in a meek voice, ducking his head. Under his breath he added just loud enough for Matt to hear, “Fool shoulda got his head blown clean off, messing with them guys. I sure wouldn’t’a cried none if he had. Be one less pig on the streets.”

The boy cut his gaze toward Matt and stuck out his chin. Matt met the boy’s surly gaze steadily.

“What was that, Tyrone?”

He turned his head and looked at Maude Ann with an expression of wide-eyed innocence. “Nothin’, Ms. Edwards. I was just sayin’ how lucky he was.”

“Hmm.” The glint in Maude Ann’s eyes said that she did not believe him, but she let the matter slide.

“My mommy got shot,” the girl of about six or seven sitting next to Maude Ann said quietly. She sat staring at her clasped hands resting against the edge of the table. Then she turned her solemn gaze on Matt. “My daddy did it. I saw him. My mommy died.”

Matt didn’t know what to say. The blank expression in the child’s eyes was chilling. Dammit, it wasn’t right that a kid should witness such grotesque violence. “I’m…sorry.”

Maude Ann reached over and laid her hand over the child’s smaller one. “It was a horrible thing, but Jennifer is going to be okay, aren’t you, sweetheart?”

The blank look left the little girl’s eyes, replaced by trust and abject adoration as she met Maude Ann’s reassuring smile. She nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

She wasn’t a pretty child. Not like the little blond cherub, Debbie, Matt thought, but she appeared so fragile and vulnerable just looking at her made your heart contract.

Deftly, Maude Ann diverted everyone’s attention by making introductions, starting with Jane Beasley, the chunky, middle-aged woman who was her assistant, and working her way around the table.

In addition to Tyrone, Debbie and Jennifer, there was ten-year-old Marshall, his eight-year-old brother, Dennis, an eleven-year-old Mexican girl named Yolanda and five-year-old Timothy.

Matt sat through the introductions in tight-lipped silence, acknowledging the children and Jane Beasley with no more than a curt nod. He had no desire to know any of them. He may be stuck there, but he intended to keep his distance.

When dinner was over, the children cleared the table, then Maude Ann sent them off to brush their teeth, though not without protests.

“Ah, do I gotta, Miz Maudie?” Tyrone groaned.

“Yes. Now shoo. All of you. And don’t think you can pull a fast one on me, either, because I’m going to inspect those teeth when you’re done.”

Muttering under his breath, Tyrone shuffled out, deliberately dragging his feet on the brick kitchen floor and trailing the other children.

Matt sipped his coffee and watched them go. When their footsteps faded away, he switched his gaze to Maude Ann. “If you’re hoping to reform that kid, you’re wasting your time. Take it from me—he’s bad news.”

“Nonsense.” Dismissing his comment, Maude Ann left the table and joined Jane at the sink, where she picked up a towel and began drying dishes.

“Do you know anything about his background?” Matt probed.

“If you mean do I know that his mother is a drug addict who never took care of him, yes.”

“Do you also know that at seven he’s already got a rap sheet? The kid’s been picked up for everything from shoplifting to acting as a lookout for a couple of thugs who robbed a liquor store. Being a minor, there’s nothing we can do to him, and he and his friends know it. Judges won’t even send him to Juvie at his tender age. That’s why the older guys like to use him.”

“So? All that proves is he’s a little boy who’s had a horrible life so far.”

“Lady, Tyrone Washington is a juvenile delinquent in the making. Six months ago I caught him acting as a numbers runner for a gang running a bookmaking operation. I grabbed the kid by the scruff of the neck and hauled him down to the station house myself.”

Maude Ann stopped drying a plate and shot him an accusing glare. “You arrested a seven-year-old boy?”

“I didn’t cuff him and throw him in a cell, if that’s what you mean. I just to tried to scare the kid. Anyway, it didn’t work. A few days later he was running errands for the same gang.”

“All the more reason for removing him from that environment. Tyrone needs love and guidance and structure in his life. He needs to be shown that someone cares and will be there for him, that life doesn’t have to be the squalid existence he’s known.”

Matt shot her a sardonic look. “Watch those rose-colored glasses, Dr. Edwards. They distort your vision.”

“Sounds pretty cynical to me,” Jane said, speaking up for the first time. “What’s the matter, Mr. Dolan—don’t you like kids?”

Matt shrugged. “I like them okay. Actually I haven’t been around children a lot, so I haven’t thought much about it one way or another.”

“Ah, I see,” Jane said as though that explained everything, and turned back to the sinkful of dishes.

“Look, this has nothing to do with me. Those kids are your problem, not mine. I just thought you ought to know Tyrone’s background.”

“Thank you, Detective. However, I assure you, I am apprised of every child’s case history before he or she ever comes here.”

“Fine. Suit yourself. It makes no difference to me.” Matt downed the last of his coffee and struggled to his feet. “It appears I’m stuck here whether I like it or not. You’re probably not any more thrilled than I am, so I just want you to know that, other than mealtimes, I’ll stay out of your way. I’d appreciate the same courtesy in return.”

Gritting his teeth against the vicious stabs of pain, he limped to the doorway that connected his room to the kitchen. There he paused and turned back to look at Maude Ann.

“As for the kid, just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”