Читать книгу Daddy On Call - Judy Duarte - Страница 8

The next morning, when his shift ended, Luke stopped by the ICU again, and the fact that he did bothered him more than ever.

Why couldn’t he let Leilani go?

Damned if he knew. He might be a doctor, but he sure as hell didn’t know the first thing about curing a worn-out case of puppy love. Or whatever it was he still felt for his old lover.

Sympathy maybe?

A misplaced sense of loyalty?

After checking in on Carrie and hearing the latest, he went by the waiting room, only to see that Leilani wasn’t there. A sense of disappointment settled over him, which he found even more annoying.

He ought to be happy she was taking care of herself and getting some rest. That’s what he should be doing.

On the way out of the hospital, he walked through the lobby and kept his eyes peeled for Leilani on the outside chance she would be coming while he was going. And, much to his relief, he spotted her just outside the glass doors.

She wore a pale-yellow sweater and a pair of black jeans today. Her hair was loose and curled under at the shoulders. When she cast a friendly grin at the ladies dressed in matching pink smocks and seated at the information desk, greeting them warmly, he realized she was not only as lovely as ever, but she was just as kindhearted.

When her gaze landed on him, his pulse skipped a beat, then rumbled to life.

Strange how she could still have that effect on him.

As she drew nearer, he noted dark circles under her eyes.

“I was hoping you’d stayed home last night, but something tells me you didn’t get much rest.”

She shrugged a shoulder and offered him a shy hula-girl smile. “You’re right. I didn’t sleep well.”

He wasn’t sure where he wanted to go with that, since she was certainly able to determine her needs on her own. But neither could he completely ignore her statement. “Are you staying with your aunt?”

“Yes, we’ve been…” She cleared her throat. “I’ve been visiting her, and we’ve been catching up.”

“Does she still live at the Eberly Arms? From what I remember, it used to get pretty loud there.”

“It’s not so bad anymore, but last night Aunt Addie had a spell that worried me. So I woke up periodically to check on her.”

Unable to quell his curiosity—professional or otherwise—he asked, “What kind of spell?”

“She has diabetes and her blood sugar level dropped. It took me a while to figure out she needed a glass of orange juice.”

“Is she under regular medical care?”

Leilani nodded. “Yes, but since I arrived I’ve noticed that she gets a little…forgetful sometimes. I’m afraid she might not be checking her sugar level regularly or taking her insulin properly. So I have her doctor’s number and plan to give him a call once his office opens.”

They stood there awhile, sexual attraction—at least on his part—buzzing and sparking like a high voltage wire downed by a storm. Her scent, something floral and springtime fresh, mingling with buzzing pheromones, drew him to her. He tried his best to ignore it, but he wasn’t having any luck.

“Now I have another reason to stick around for a while,” she said, “so I called my office this afternoon and requested a leave of absence. I’m going to stay with Aunt Addie until I can be sure she’s following her doctor’s orders and until Carrie recovers.”

Luke didn’t mention that the jury was still out on Carrie’s full recovery. “By the way, I’m not sure if you’ve heard. Her boyfriend was arraigned and charged with attempted murder.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“There’s also been talk about taking the baby early,” Luke added, revealing what he’d learned earlier.

“Have they scheduled the birth?”

“No. They’re still waiting. At this point, each day the baby stays in the womb, the better chance he has.”

“I told you that Carrie asked me to look after him if something…happened to her.” Leilani tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a pearl earring much like June Cleaver would have worn.

“You’ll make a great mom,” he told her, meaning every word.

Her lips parted as though she meant to respond, then she clamped them shut.

“How about a cup of coffee?” he asked. “Maybe breakfast?”

“No thanks. I’d better pass. Besides, your fan club probably doesn’t need to see us together.”

He shifted his weight to one foot and crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”

Something that resembled humor glimmered in her eyes. “Several of the nurses think you’re pretty hot. And they’re eager to join the ranks of your notable conquests.”

He was aware of that, but for some reason it embarrassed him to have Leilani privy to idle chat, speculation and rumor. “I don’t make a habit of dating the women I work with.”

The humor disappeared from her gaze, and skepticism took its place. “Oh no?”

He doubted Bethany had been talking to anyone. The reason he’d dated her in the first place had to do with her ability to be discreet and the fact she didn’t seem to play the games some of the others did. “If there’s been talk, it’s not true.”

“Aw, come on, Luke.” She crossed her arms, facing off with him in a way that made her appear a lot taller than her five-foot-four stature. “I’m not buying that.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve kissed you before, Doctor. And I have every reason to believe your nickname wasn’t fabricated.”

Feeling both flattered and called on the carpet at the same time, he arched a brow. “My nickname?”

“Hot Lips.” Then she uncrossed her arms and swept through the lobby, leaving him to ponder the heated, breath-stealing kisses they used to share.

And the fact she didn’t believe he’d lost his touch.

The next day Luke was off duty. After getting his minimum required sleep, he made a call to the hospital and managed to get Leilani’s cell number, which she’d left as a contact on Carrie’s chart.

He hoped to convince her to have dinner with him that evening. Nothing fancy. Maybe someplace by the ocean, where they could sit outside and watch the waves roll in. He did his best thinking outdoors, where walls didn’t close in on him.

A seaside café is also romantic, a small voice whispered.

Too damn bad, he answered. He wasn’t going to try and impress her with candles and wine. He just needed to talk to her—out in the open air. And far from a hospital setting.

If Kami crept into the conversation, so be it. It was time for her to hear Luke’s side of the story. To realize he hadn’t meant for any of it to happen.

But when he dialed her number, her voice mail answered on the first ring, which made him suspect she’d turned off her cell.

Odd.

He showered, shaved and threw on a pair of jeans and a light blue button-down shirt. All the while, he struggled with the idea of just showing up at her aunt’s place and talking to her in person.

An hour later, he gave up the fight and drove to Eberly Arms Apartments, where Leilani had said she was staying. Once he parked his black Expedition in the garage, he took the elevator up to the fourth floor. It might have been twelve years, but he still remembered exactly where her aunt lived.

Apartment 4-E.

The building hadn’t changed much, just grown faded and run-down. It was quiet though. No one loitering in the halls.

He pushed the bell, although he didn’t hear a buzz or a ring. So he followed it with a knock, then waited for someone to answer.

God, he hoped it was Leilani. Her aunt had never made any bones about her low opinion of him—even before Kami died—so he wasn’t looking forward to seeing her now.

The door opened, revealing a dark-haired boy who appeared to be about twelve.

Oops. Maybe the old memory wasn’t as good as he thought it was. He glanced at the number on the door. He could have sworn it was 4-E. Leilani had mentioned her aunt lived in the same place, but maybe she’d moved into another apartment in the complex.

“I’m looking for Leilani Stephens,” he told the boy. “Is she staying here?”

“Yeah.” The boy turned and yelled into the living room. “Mom, some guy wants to talk to you!”

Mom?

Although stunned, Luke couldn’t help scanning the kid from the top of his dark brown hair to the white socks on his feet.

Leilani hadn’t said squat about having a kid. And the fact that this one was about eleven or twelve set off all kinds of bells and whistles in Luke’s brain.

“Yes?” Leilani entered the room and approached the door. When their gazes met, recognition dawned and her face paled.

She was obviously surprised to see him, but something else in her expression suggested that his calculations weren’t far off the mark.

He again studied the boy, trying to look beyond the white T-shirt and blue board shorts to spot something familiar, something genetic Luke may have contributed.

His complexion, while more fair than Leilani’s, still bore evidence of her Hawaiian roots. His hair was brown and lighter than hers, but not by much.

Luke didn’t find anything revealing, other than a pair of green eyes—which were sizing up the adults who stood gawking at each other in the doorway.

“Your mom and I used to be friends a long time ago,” he explained to the boy—his son? “I’m Luke Wynter. What’s your name?”

“Danny.”

Luke nodded. “And let me guess. You’re probably about…eleven years old.”

“Yeah.”

“I must be psychic,” Luke said, “and I’m guessing that your birthday is in April.”

“Hey, you’re pretty good. It’s April tenth.”

Reality was closing in on him in a cold, hard rush. And he’d be damned if he knew what to do about it.

Leilani had some explaining to do.

“I came by to ask your mom if she’d like to go to dinner with me.” Luke’s gaze traveled from the boy to his mother. “But now that I’m here…I don’t think I’ll give you that much of an option, Leilani. We need to talk. At dinner or outside.”

She didn’t respond right away, but needless to say, she’d been blindsided to see him standing at the door. Just as blindsided as Luke had been when Danny answered his knock.

“Is your car parked in the garage?” she asked.

“Yes. Just outside the elevator.”

“Give me a few minutes. I’ll ask Aunt Addie to look after Danny, grab my purse and meet you down there.”

“All right.”

Then she slowly closed the door, leaving Luke to head for the garage.

The place where he used to wait for her when they were teenagers and her aunt hadn’t approved of him.

The soles of Luke’s loafers crunched on the oil-stained concrete floor as he paced the underground parking garage, where the dank odor of gasoline fumes and exhaust was an unwelcome reminder of days gone by.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long.

When Leilani exited the elevator and joined him in the garage, he opened the passenger door of his Ford Expedition and gestured for her to climb inside. Then he headed west, toward the ocean, where the air was fresh and clean.

Leilani, who’d not only grabbed her purse, but had changed her clothes and put on some lipstick, sat beside him as sober and quiet as a cloistered nun.

The seconds stretched between them like a rubber band that had seen better days, and he waited for the snap. The sting. But apparently they were both hesitant to broach the subject they needed to discuss, the questions he wanted answered.

Did you bear my child?

Why didn’t you tell me?

Where do we go from here?

He wanted to press her, yet needed time to assimilate the possibility, the ramifications, the future.

But it was the past that came to mind, the memory of the first and only time they’d made love. The night they’d conceived a child.

It had happened at the beach one moonlit evening in July, when their kisses had gotten too hot to ignore, their passion too strong to deny. She’d wanted it nearly as badly as he did, and he’d been nervous and afraid. He’d feared that he would hurt her somehow and worried that she’d regret it afterward.

Leilani had been a virgin, and although Luke had already slept with several girls, he’d come to realize there was a big difference between sex and making love.

He’d never experienced anything as sweet as running his hands along her body and claiming her as his own. He’d taken his time and tried to make it special for her. Special for both of them, he realized, because he hadn’t been blessed with anything as innocent or as emotionally moving since and doubted he ever would.

She’d cried afterward, which had torn him apart, but she’d sworn everything was okay, that she was just overwhelmed by it all. While removing the condom, he suspected it might have sprung a slight leak, but hadn’t wanted to frighten her or cause her any more tears. So he’d kept his mouth shut.

More than ever, he’d been filled with the need to protect her forever. But forever hadn’t been in their cards. And days later, when her brother died, he’d realized how lousy he was at looking after anyone other than himself.

After pulling into a parking space at the side of the restaurant and shutting off the ignition, he couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Is Danny my son?”

She glanced down in her lap and fiddled with the garnet ring, then caught his gaze. “Yes.”

The simple answer bombarded him with shock, hurt and anger, but he fought the urge to respond. He was afraid of what he might say or offer.

Leilani had enough to hold against him. A misguided comment now might open a Pandora’s box of emotion, so he merely nodded, then climbed from the vehicle, realizing his life was becoming complicated in ways he couldn’t quite grasp.

Before he could open the door for her, she exited and headed for the entrance of the small restaurant that had become a favorite of locals.

Once inside, he asked to be seated on the patio and away from the other diners. The hostess obliged, escorting them to an outdoor table, where he caught the heady scent of a sea breeze and could see and hear the waves crash upon the shore. It was cool tonight, but portable heaters stood ready to keep them comfortable.

He was neither hot nor cold, yet his nerves were raw and he was as skittish as a stray cat in a rock-filled gunnysack being hurled off the dock.

Since Leilani wasn’t quick to offer any explanations or a confession, he brought up the subject himself. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She didn’t respond right away, nor did she need to.

The whole Kami thing elbowed into the forefront, settled over them and provided the answers to all his questions.

She’d been too angry with him at first, too devastated by her loss. But he also suspected it had something to do with the grandparents who’d raised her, a conservative minister and his wife who lived on a small Hawaiian island.

“I know we didn’t part on good terms,” he said, “but that’s not the point. You shouldn’t have had to go through a pregnancy alone.”

“I didn’t. My grandmother was with me. And she was very supportive.”

“That’s not the same.” Luke had a ton of experience in obstetrics now. Back then he would have been scared spitless, but he would have done right by her. “You should have called me.”

“It crossed my mind,” she admitted. “But I decided it would be easier not to.”

“Easier for who?”

“Me. My family.” The wind whipped a strand of hair across her face, and she tucked it behind her ear. “And for Danny.”

“Why?”

“You were prone to trouble back then. And you gave me no reason to believe you would be responsible or that you would be good daddy material.”

She had a point. And he wasn’t sure that he was daddy material now. But that didn’t mean he wanted to leave a kid of his to fend for himself, without any paternal influence or guidance. And like it or not, he had fathered a child. A son who’d spent the first eleven years of his life with a single mother.

“Besides,” she added, “you didn’t want to be a father.”

He didn’t. But hell, that was before knowing he actually had a son.

What kind of loser did she think he was? One who was every bit as irresponsible as his own old man?

A myriad of emotions buzzed around in his head—surprise and anger, to name a couple.

“All right, I’ll admit this is a bit mind-boggling. And I’m going to need some time to think about the logistics of it all.” He’d have to make some adjustments in his life if Danny was going to become a part of it. And whether Leilani—or her aunt—liked it or not, he was going to be a father to the boy.

At least as much as he was able.

“I could use some time to get used to all of this, too,” she said. “And to figure out what I’m going to tell Danny.”

“What’s so hard about telling him he has a father who is willing to support him and be there for him?”

She bit her lip and glanced down at the table, finding her hand and fingering the heirloom ring. Then she glanced up, her expression solemn.

“Because Danny thinks you’re dead.”