Читать книгу Assignment: Baby - Lynne Marshall - Страница 9

CHAPTER THREE

HUNTER dug into his pocket with a damp palm for the house keys Mandy had given him. How would it feel to invade her privacy after being away all these years?

The door opened to a bright living room, much as he’d expected, and a house that smelled of flowers and grilled vegetables. Mandy had always been a healthy eater.

One long lime-green divan covered with flashy throw pillows and two loudly patterned chairs were an obvious change in her style. Candles were everywhere, almost like a shrine, and it made him worry she spent too much time alone…in the dark. Dried flower arrangements and picture frames were perched on bookcases and tables. Not one photograph was from their time together. Strangely, it made him feel forgotten.

He recognized an oil painting she’d bought when they were married, one they’d chosen together, and remembered how much he’d liked the abstract style after she’d convinced him to open up his artistic tastes.

A family shot taken of Mandy and her parents stood out. Her dutiful daughter role. To the common eye no one would notice her smile was ever so slightly strained. But he knew better. They’d never had any faith in Mandy, and it used to cut to her core. He, on the other hand, had encouraged her to go after her dreams…until she’d admitted to him everything she desired from life and their marriage. But that story had ended, and maybe it was best not to open the book again.

Hunter had resisted the breakup, preferring things to go on as they always had, but Mandy had dug in her heels and insisted on a divorce due to irreconcilable differences. He still scratched his head at her change of heart about having a baby. After their problem had been naturally resolved when she’d got her period, he’d expected her to join him with a Whew, that was a close call attitude and drop it. But she’d changed. Her career and marriage had no longer been enough. She’d given him no choice.

Hunter glanced at Sophie, asleep in her portable car seat. Though caring for her was only temporary, he feared the baby was already being neglected because of his job. He’d had to tote her everywhere, to depend on the kindness of others to see to her while he worked, then pack her up and confine her in the car for more travel. Which she hated. How could a child grow and be healthy under such circumstances? And what more proof did he need about mixing families with demanding careers? He and Jade had paid a big price for their parents’ successes, and he was damned if he’d make his children suffer, too. Nope. No babies for him.

A sturdy oak dining table sat before an entire wall of sliding glass doors that overlooked a covered patio. Pushing aside a stack of papers, he put the car seat in the middle of the table. Why, he wondered, did she have such a large table for one person? He didn’t need to think for long. Being an only child had always been lonely for Mandy. Even now she obviously still dreamed of filling her table and home with a family. A big family.

He glanced outside and spotted healthy potted plants. Were they real? He shook his head remorsefully at the lack of faith he’d shown in Mandy years before. Just like her parents.

Hunter set up the portable baby bed in a snug corner, and gingerly lifted Sophie from her car seat—hoping with all his might he wouldn’t wake her up. She fussed the slightest bit. Please, no. He worried she’d start crying again, but she didn’t. Instead she snuggled down into her soft blanket and fell deeper into her dreams.

He heaved a sigh of relief.

At the beginning of a long hall, he found a bedroom on the right, abutting the living room. It was Mandy’s. He inhaled her unmistakable scent. Was it rosemary she’d once said had been added to lavender? A sudden heady feeling followed a memory of having watched her apply lotion to her legs with long strokes after a shower.

Even if this was the only bed in the house, no way could he lie on it. He’d use the sofa. Why torture himself with memories of stretching side by side, flesh to flesh with his wife? He made a proprietorial survey for any telltale signs of another man. Negative.

A sly smile extended across his lips.

Closing the door, he walked farther down the hall toward the bathroom at the end. What the hell was that smell? It was pungent and foul, as if her plumbing might be backed up. No wonder she had potpourri all over the place. He closed the guest bathroom and the laundry room doors, then headed for the one remaining bedroom on the other side of the hall.

After a quick look around, he took off his jacket and flopped onto the mattress covered with a flowery spread. He didn’t give a damn that it was another girly room as long as he could get some sleep.

Just as he was about to doze off, a soft thud next to his head made his lids fly open. He stared into a pair of devious amber- colored eyes. He’d been stalked, and now he knew what that damn smell was.

Cat box.

By three o’clock there was still no sign of Hunter. Amanda didn’t have the heart to call home and wake him up. It was obvious Hunter and Sophie both needed their rest.

All she’d been doing was removing halter monitors and collecting food journals with each patient’s appointment. She could take the remaining EKGs and diet journals home to analyze if she didn’t finish them all here. Then she’d enter the data into her home computer after her shift in the Urgent Care clinic that night.

At a quarter to five, just as she was packing up, Hunter appeared in the office, looking rested but disheveled. “Mandy, I’m so sorry. If Sophie hadn’t soaked her diaper we’d still be asleep.”

“I was beginning to wonder…” A slight smile twitched at the edges of her mouth. He looked so…slept-in.

“How can I make it up to you? Do you want me to stay late?”

How like him to show up ready to work rather than call and see if he could get out of coming back, she thought briefly. “No. Go home, get a good night’s rest, and show up on time tomorrow. We’ll be running the stress tests and dividing everyone into exercise groups.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” He tossed her the keys.

She nodded, already preoccupied with the last EKG, pretending to be distracted. “See ya.”

He turned to leave. “Nice condo, by the way.”

For some silly reason, the compliment made her happy. “Thanks.”

“Should have told me about the cat, though.”

She fought back that tickly smile again, eventually giving in and grinning at the desk.

That evening, Amanda hadn’t been home more than fifteen minutes when someone knocked on her door. There stood Hunter, carrying Sophie in her car seat. The baby happily gnawed away at her teething ring, but made a quick kick and squeal when she noticed Amanda.

“What are you doing here?”

“Two diesel trucks jackknifed on the freeway and caught on fire. All lanes are shut down until further notice, and the detour will take a good two hours.”

“Then you’ll just have to stay here.” What in the world had she just said?

“You wouldn’t mind?”

Of course she would! “Not at all. You’ve already found the guest room. You and Sophie can set up in there.”

“What about all those ground rules you laid down?”

She sighed with indecision. Ah, hell. “They don’t apply in an emergency.”

He carried all the baby items he could hold through the door. “I owe you. I couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in traffic another minute.”

Hunter’ s eyes came to rest on her legs. She’d just gotten ready to take a quick run before her shift, and had on nothing more than flimsy jogging shorts and a midriff-length T-shirt. Her cheeks burned with heat by the time Hunter glanced back up into her eyes.

“Am I interrupting something?” he said. “Besides your entire life, I mean?”

He pointedly tried not to check her legs out again, but her cheeks flamed hotter. She palmed her face with a cool hand, then pretended to find her carotid artery and time her pulse.

“Going for a run. Make yourself at home,” she said over her shoulder, and she bolted out the door.

Hunter stood and stared until she was halfway down the block. She was a natural runner, her arms relaxed at her sides, shoulders straight. He smiled at her long, smooth strides. The rump shot was fantastic, too.

The short-furred gray tabby came down the hall to take a peek. He didn’t know if the cat was allowed outside or not, so he held him back with his foot and regretfully closed the door.

Sophie fussed, as if to say, Well? Are we staying or not?

Great. Now he was interpreting baby thoughts. Well, that was better than the wicked ones running around his mind right then.

He cleared his throat. “Okay. Okay. Give me a second, will you, Sophie?”

The baby gave him a juicy raspberry.

“Back at ya, kid.”

He had to be nuts to have accepted Mandy’s invitation. It meant spending the evening in each other’s company, and that would be easy on neither of them. Being around her would dredge up old feelings, and, frankly, he’d already used most of his sentimental reserves caring for Sophie.