Читать книгу Bluegrass Baby - Judy Duarte, Judy Duarte - Страница 12

Kyle wasn’t sure what had gone wrong between him and Milla, but he sure as hell didn’t need to chase after her. Not when he wasn’t after any kind of commitment from her. Or from anyone, for that matter. He enjoyed being free to come and go as he pleased, to date whomever he wanted.

But Milla had left his bed without saying goodbye, without asking for anything—whether he was willing to give it or not.

And that bothered him more than he cared to admit.

He’d called her at the clinic the next morning, while she’d been with a patient, but she hadn’t returned his call. He supposed there was always the possibility that Crystal, the nurse who’d taken the message, had neglected to tell Milla.

The idea that his one-time lover might be avoiding him left him a bit bewildered, if truth be told. Women had a tendency to cling to Kyle, to make him set boundaries in a relationship.

They didn’t ignore his calls.

As he stepped outside the hospital for some much-needed fresh air, he spotted Milla outside the Foster Clinic, sitting under a tree and eating a sack lunch. She hadn’t seen him yet. And she seemed lost in her own thoughts. Maybe now was a good time to talk to her.

He cut across the lawn, felt the sunlight on his face, caught the sound of a lark in one of the trees overhead. As he approached, she glanced up.

Had her eyes widened in surprise?

“Hey,” he said by way of greeting. “You look comfortable.”

She didn’t, though. She looked more like a skittish fawn caught in the meadow alone. She offered him a shy smile that looked forced. Brittle. “Hi.”

Okay, so his instincts had been right. She’d been avoiding him. For some reason, that didn’t sit well.

“Let’s talk about the other night.” The words flowed from Kyle’s mouth without any effort on his part, surprising him. He usually wasn’t one to bring up intimate subjects.

But he didn’t like the idea of Milla going her own separate way without talking to him. He didn’t like it at all. Even in his love-’em-and-leave-’em days he had shown more courtesy than that.

She set her sandwich on the napkin covering her lap. “You’re right. We should talk about it.”

“Are you having regrets?” He wasn’t sure why he asked, since regret was written all over her pretty face.

“We shouldn’t have become involved like that, under the circumstances.” She bit her bottom lip, then looked at him as though he should know exactly what was on her mind.

“What circumstances are those?”

She paused for a while, trying hard to be tactful, or so it seemed. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to date, since we work together.”

She was implying professional ethics played a part in her rejection, but he figured there was more to it than that. She’d known the circumstances before this…this affair or whatever it was. She’d known it when they’d had dinner, while they’d made out like teenagers in the parking lot. And she’d known it after following him home.

If it hadn’t bothered her then, why now?

Because of your father, you idiot.

Where had that archaic insecurity come from? Kyle had put that bastard stigma out of his mind years ago, ever since going off to college.

But he’d moved back to Merlyn County. And for some damn reason, the memory of the scorn he’d grown up with rushed to the forefront of his mind today, reminding him of who he was and where he’d come from.

His mom had been ostracized from her community, a small town outside of Binghamton, after falling for Billy Bingham’s charms and bearing his firstborn son without the benefit of marriage.

As a kid, Kyle had felt as if no one truly accepted him, including his father and the entire legitimate branch of the Bingham family. It had seemed as if they were all waiting for him to screw up.

He’d since come to grips with his illegitimacy, but Milla’s comment ruffled the shame he’d tried hard to bury. “Does this have anything to do with my father?”

“No,” she told him, yet she worried her lip, suggesting she might be lying or holding something back. Suggesting that her predawn disappearance did have something to do with his paternity.

“But?” he prodded her to continue, to admit what was really bothering her. And he almost hated himself for doing it.

What did he care? Milla Johnson wasn’t the only pretty young woman in Merlyn County.

Yet, right now, she was the only one who interested him.

She blew out a sigh. “I’m not sure whether you know this or not, and it certainly doesn’t make a difference to me, but my aunt Connie died giving birth to one of your father’s kids.”

Kyle’s footloose daddy had sure gotten around. A carefree bachelor who spent money like water and captured the heart of almost every girl in the county, the late Billy Bingham had fathered a passel of kids, all of whom he’d taken care of. Three carried the Bingham family name, while several others preferred not to be acknowledged.

Growing up as one of Billy’s brats, Kyle could certainly understand why. In fact, he’d often thought his own life would have been a hell of a lot more tolerable had his mother chosen not to give Kyle his father’s name.

Milla’s cousin was one of the siblings Kyle hadn’t known about.

“So, sleeping with your cousin’s half brother makes you uneasy. Or is it more than that?”

“No, I’m okay with it.” Milla wrapped the remains of her sandwich in the napkin and dropped it into the paper bag resting on the lawn beside her. She stood and met his gaze. “My mom still harbors a lot of resentment toward your father. But I don’t. The reason we shouldn’t see each other is because we work together. A relationship would make things…sticky.”

He supposed she had a point, but regret clogged his throat.

That was weird. He’d never had a woman turn him down before. And not for a reason like Milla had given him. Hell, they could remain discreet at work.

Or was it something else? Something she hadn’t admitted?

Could their lovemaking have disappointed her?

Kyle had never had to worry about whether things had been good for the lady in his bed. And he doubted that was the case now. But maybe things hadn’t been as great as he’d thought they were.

He could ask her, he supposed. But she didn’t seem to want to talk about it anymore. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to, either.

Kyle Bingham didn’t chase after a woman. Never had; never would.

It wasn’t his style.

As Milla watched Kyle go, his white coat flapping in the summer breeze, tears welled in her eyes and the bitter taste of regret lingered in her mouth. She felt as though she’d thrown away the winning ticket to the lottery.

But a woman couldn’t lose what she’d never really had.

Milla certainly didn’t love Kyle Bingham, but he was the kind of man she could easily fall for, a man who had the power to hurt her. Deeply.

It was better this way.

Really.

But there had been an undeniable attraction between the two of them. Okay, there still was, on her part. And what was worse, the sex had been great. So great that it would probably haunt any relationship she might have in the future, since she doubted another man could measure up.

Still, there was more to a relationship than hot sex. At least, that was the rose-colored dream she clung to.

Milla wanted a man she could trust to love her, to make a lifetime commitment, to stick around long enough to have children and watch them grow up—unlike her own dad, who hadn’t called or dropped her a line since the day he’d driven away.

Besides, she and Kyle did work together, at least until he finished his residency. And that only made things awkward. Unnecessarily complicated.

And as if that weren’t enough, she still had that damned lawsuit hanging over her head, stealing her peace of mind.

No, letting Kyle go was the right thing to do.

But try as she might, she couldn’t fight her grief as she watched his departure.

“You sure are pensive for such a sunny day.”

Milla looked up to see Dr. Mari Bingham, director of the midwifery school and clinic. The attractive but unadorned physician seemed more serious and more thoughtful than usual.

Mari was not only the doctor who ran the clinic and women’s health center, she was also a talented medical professional who’d taken an interest in Milla, mentoring her while in school. They’d developed a closeness during those years, a bond the doctor didn’t seem to have with the other midwives. It wasn’t as though the two women were friends, but they had an understanding, a professional respect for each other.

Milla managed a smile, in spite of her own heavy heart. “It is a pretty day, isn’t it?”

Mari nodded. “How are things going?”

Milla figured Mari wanted to know how she was doing with the lawsuit. Again, she was reminded of the problems the charge of malpractice had brought upon the clinic, even if she hadn’t been at fault. “I’m doing all right.”

“I’d like you to talk to Lillith—Lily—Cunningham, who’s handling PR for the clinic. She’ll play a role in trial preparations, as well as controlling press coverage.”

The trial.

Press coverage.

The unfairness of the lawsuit slapped Milla again. Why did this have to happen? What had she done to deserve the unfounded accusations?

“I’ll work with the PR director,” Milla said. “And, by the way, Kyle has agreed to testify on my behalf. He was the resident on call the night the Canfields brought the baby in.”

Mari nodded. “I’m aware of that.”

Kyle was also Mari’s cousin, although they never socialized, as far as Milla knew. Maybe because of Kyle’s illegitimacy. Still, she thought it was kind of…sad. Kyle having cousins, a family and all, and not being close.

Milla tried to keep her thoughts on the trial. “Kyle said the Canfields had bandaged the umbilicus.”

“I’m aware of that, too.” Mari appeared preoccupied, stressed.

As much as Milla admired the OB/GYN, she didn’t ask what was weighing on the director’s mind. She figured Mari would mention it, if she wanted Milla to know.

“By the way, I’m going to be interviewing the staff tomorrow,” Mari said.

“Why?” Milla couldn’t mask the fear in her voice and hoped her mentor hadn’t noticed.

Mari offered a tired smile. “Nothing about the lawsuit. I just have a few questions I’d like to have answered.”

Milla nodded, hoping she would say more. She didn’t.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Mari said, “I have a meeting in ten minutes with Lily. I’ll tell her you’ll be speaking to her soon.”

“All right.” Milla gathered the remnants of her lunch and stood, watching as the doctor she’d grown to admire strode away.

Mari would be interviewing the staff? Why?

She’d said it didn’t have anything to do with the malpractice suit. Thank goodness. But what questions did Mari have?

Were the interviews a routine procedure? Or was something other than the malpractice suit creating a problem for the clinic?

There were rumors circulating, although there might not be much truth in any of them. There’d been a noticeable rise in the number of drug-addicted mothers and babies in recent months. Illegal use of prescription drugs, apparently, was on the rise in the community. And from what Milla had heard, the sheriff’s department was investigating a black market drug ring, which might or might not be connected to the Foster Clinic.

The drug in question was Orcadol, an effective and highly addictive medication used for relief of chronic pain or pain after surgery. Orcadol had become the latest rage on the streets of Merlyn County. Abusers referred to it as Orchid and often tried to get around the timed-release formula in the pill by crushing them, chewing, snorting or injecting it. In fact, Orcadol had become so popular that addicts and dealers had been known to attack pharmacies in neighboring communities with guns to obtain the drug.