Читать книгу A Very Special Delivery - Myrna Mackenzie - Страница 8

When Mick Hannon strode back into the birthing room, all broad shoulders and determination, Laura’s tension level dropped several notches. His intense, blue-eyed gaze bypassed the doctor, the nurse and Megan, targeting Laura, where she now lay on the bed. She stared back as the man’s presence filled the room. He moved to her without asking anyone for permission or instruction, and the rest of the room fell away. The pain was no less. In fact, the great rolling waves biting into her were stronger than ever. Still, three seconds earlier she had doubted her ability to stay sane all the way to the end of the contraction. Now she knew that she would at least do that.

He held out his hands and she reached for the life-line. She stared into his eyes and concentrated on that deep blue flecked with silver. She breathed when he told her to breathe.

When her mind wavered and she thought she would go crazy with pain, she squeezed his hands harder and strove to blot out everything but the gravelly tones of his voice as he whispered encouragement.

“You’re amazing,” he told her, and that one statement distracted her. It was enough to keep her holding on for five seconds longer, even though she knew better than to believe the pretty lies that men offered.

Hours later, Laura took one last tired glance into Mick Hannon’s fierce blue eyes, gripped his fingers tightly, and with a cry of pain and exhaustion, pushed her child into the world and into Dr. Abby Maitland’s waiting hands.

For two seconds, there was total silence as the wonder of life renewing itself filled the room. Then a tiny, angry cry rang out.

“Thank heaven and Texas,” Mick said on a breath. He shook his head in amazement as Laura fell back against the bed and gazed tiredly up at him.

“You did it, lady,” he whispered, leaning over her, and he gently smoothed her damp hair back from her brow. “Congratulations. You brought your baby safely into the world.”

His words were so intimately low that for a moment Laura thought he was going to pull her close in a hug, or maybe he was even going to kiss her. The look in his eyes was that intense. But then the baby let out another cry and Mick took a deep, audible breath. He stopped his forward momentum and straightened to his full and considerable height.

“You’re okay, aren’t you?” he asked quietly.

She tried to nod her head.

“You’re tired,” Megan said sympathetically.

“I’m okay,” Laura managed to say. “My baby. Is my baby—”

“She’s perfect,” Megan said with a soft smile. “Your daughter is so perfect. So beautiful.” Her tone was awed and reverent, as if this experience was new for her all over again. Laura noted for the first time that the woman had shed the jacket to a suit that could only have been designed by Donna Karan. Her lovely hair had grown a bit mussed. Megan had jumped right in to help, as if she were a midwife, not a CEO. Now she looked tired but pleased. Laura understood why expectant mothers flocked to her clinic.

“Isn’t this just the most precious child you’ve ever seen, Mick?” Megan was saying, and Laura turned again to look at the man, the total stranger who had helped Megan coach her through the most painful, rewarding hours of her life. For the first time she saw him clearly, not through a haze of pain. His black hair was rumpled where he’d brushed long, lean fingers through it countless times. The blue chambray of his shirt clung to his broad shoulders damply in spite of the air-conditioned room. His mouth looked incredibly soft, even as his lips parted slightly in bewildered amazement.

Laura gazed at him, waiting for his answer.

For the first time he looked…awkward. “She’s a feisty little thing,” he finally said. “And she’s definitely got all her fingers and toes. Cute little fingers and toes, too. Even some hair on her head.”

Laura wished she had the energy to laugh. She knew just how red and wrinkled and, well, not particularly beautiful most babies would seem to the average male. While she waited for the doctor and nurse to finish with her baby, she smiled her gratitude at Mick. He was trying so hard to think of something positive to say.

But then he looked at the baby again and his eyes darkened with concern. “Is she really supposed to be that tiny?” he asked Dr. Abby. “Surely not. She’s not much bigger than my cupped hands. How could anything that small cause so much trouble?”

Megan chuckled. “I’m sure she’ll cause her mother a great deal more trouble before she’s grown up. It’s one of the wonderful things children do, you know.” Laura had the feeling she meant every word.

When Dr. Maitland gave Laura her baby to cuddle close to her, Laura captured one tiny flailing hand and kissed the softness of her child’s skin. A sudden sense of wonder, of having been involved in a small miracle, of having been given a gift too overwhelmingly generous for anyone to ever deserve, filled her. Unbelievable as it seemed, this baby had come from her, from inside her own body. This vulnerable, amazing child was hers to keep and care for and love. From a relationship that had ended ugly, from an experience that had threatened to overpower her, had come this amazing, sweet little being. Gratitude filled her soul.

She looked up into Mick’s dark blue eyes. He was gazing at her and her daughter intensely, with a sense of awe and disbelief that rivaled her own, and with an unmistakable air of…reservation. As if he wanted to move closer and edge away at the same time.

Laura smiled at him. She held out her free hand. “Thank you for helping me,” she said weakly. “I was pretty scared there for a while, I think.”

He shook his head. “You were pretty brave, I think, and no thanks are needed. You were the one who did all the work.”

He took a deep breath and now she was absolutely sure that he wanted to step away, that now that the crisis had passed he wanted to get out of here fast. Well, he’d definitely earned his freedom. He probably had plenty of important tasks waiting for him, maybe even a woman wondering where he was. Of course he would have a woman, and of course there was no reason for him to have to stay any longer, but she couldn’t let him go without letting him know just how important his presence had been.

She reached out and took one of his big callused hands, turning it over. In spite of her exhaustion or maybe because of it, a frisson of sensation spiraled down her arm and headed straight through her body when her skin met his. Strange that she should react to the man now when she’d been gripping these same hands for hours, thinking only that they represented safety and strength. Small red indentations marred his palms.

“You let me dig my fingernails into you, and you didn’t complain,” she said softly. “The guys on the crew are sure going to wonder what you’ve been doing.” Exhausted as she was, she wanted to do this right. She knew that once he walked out that door, his part in her life would be past. But it had been such an important part. She wanted him to leave feeling good about this experience, not uncomfortable. He’d teased her earlier when she’d been embarrassed. How could she do any less?

“No problem. I’ll just tell them I’ve been wrestling with a tigress,” he promised. “A courageous, determined, green-eyed tigress. That’ll make them wonder. In fact, I should be grateful to you, Ms. Maitland. You’ve probably made my reputation. I disappear for hours and come back scratched and barely able to think straight.”

She couldn’t help smiling. “Ah, we’ve done a good day’s work then, love,” she told her baby, kissing the top of her head.

“You have,” Megan agreed, and Laura turned her attention to the beaming eyes of the woman still standing beside her.

Tears came to Laura’s eyes. “Thank you for helping me,” she said softly. “I see now why your clinic has such a good reputation, even among the rich and famous. Do you always give such personal service?”

Abby Maitland chuckled.

For the first time Megan Maitland looked mildly flustered. “Any woman would have done the same. And you are family. Now, you rest. I’ll see you around, my dear,” she said, tucking her hair back into place and smoothing her jacket as she repaired whatever damage had been done. “Come on, Abby,” she told her daughter. “Let’s let Laura have some time to get acquainted with her baby.”

Mick started to move away, too, as the women filed out the door, but Laura reached out and touched his arm.

He stopped.

She realized that they were totally alone for the first time since this ordeal had begun. She realized what an incredibly, stunningly handsome man he was. The kind of man who undoubtedly had women hitting on him every day and not because they needed a labor coach, either.

“I know I’ll see Megan again, but I doubt we’ll meet again, Mr. Hannon. I’d like to repay you in some way. And please don’t say it’s not necessary,” she said as he opened his mouth. “As nice as you’ve been, I know this couldn’t have been on your list of things to do on a busy workday.”

He gave her that “are you crazy?” look that some men are so very good at. “Top of the list,” he insisted. “Holding a beautiful woman’s hand is always a pleasure.”

She smiled. “You’re quite a charmer, Mr. Hannon, but seriously, let me do something for you. At least give me your address so I can send you an appropriate thank-you gift.”

His lips thinned into a stubborn line. “I don’t live in Austin. I’m just in town for the duration of the job.”

“And there’s nothing I can do for you?”

He looked down at where her baby was sleeping on her stomach.

“If she were a boy, I’d gladly name her Mick,” she said gently.

He shook his head. “Thank you, but you wouldn’t want to do that. Just…be careful. Don’t marry the first man who comes along just to give her a father. The results can sometimes be disastrous.”

She widened her eyes. “I suppose you don’t have to worry, then. I don’t intend to marry at all.”

His eyes seemed to turn fiercer than before, but he only gave her a quick nod. “Then that won’t be a problem, will it?”

He gently touched just the tip of his finger to her baby’s cheek, then he took her hand in his and studied it, as if remembering the hours they’d spent with their fingers linked.

Carefully he curled her fingers closed. He lay her hand back on her child. “Sleep,” he whispered. “Rest. Have a good life, Ms. Maitland.”

And quietly he turned to leave her. She watched his broad back disappear.

He wasn’t the first man she’d watched walk out of her life. Her father had walked away many times. Her baby’s father had been offended that she would even ask for him to consider taking home the daughter of a Vegas showgirl to meet his family.

So it shouldn’t have made her feel a bit sad to see Mick Hannon leaving. Heavens, she didn’t even know him. She certainly didn’t want him to stay. She didn’t want any man in her life anymore, especially one as wickedly handsome and tempting as Mick Hannon.

Even so, he wasn’t a man she would turn around and forget by morning. Lifting her hand, palm up, she examined the skin that looked no different than it had this morning. But something had changed. The sensation of Mick Hannon’s strong fingers tangled with hers lingered.

“I hope there’s nothing to this imprinting thing, sweetie,” Laura crooned to her child. “Remember, you’re not a baby duck, angel. The first man you see isn’t going to be your father. So don’t go getting attached to Mr. Hannon. Just don’t.”

Laura woke to the sound of frantic whispers outside her room. She immediately looked toward the small bassinet beside her bed. Her baby had awakened several times during the night, but now she was sleeping quietly. Whatever was going on, it didn’t have anything to do with her child.

The whispers rose a pitch, and she looked expectantly toward the door.

“You can’t go in there, Mr. Maitland. Visiting hours won’t be for several more hours.”

But the door swung back, anyway, and a tall, dark-haired, green-eyed man moved in.

Laura blinked several times, then a smile lifted her lips. “Rafe? It can’t really be my baby brother, can it? You’re here?” She sat up in a rush before remembering what a battering her body had taken yesterday.

A tiny gasp escaped her, and Rafe rolled his eyes and strode to her bedside, catching her up in a gentle hug. “You get out of that bed and I’ll show you that I’m still bigger than you even if you’re two years older. And you bet I’m here. A hundred rattlesnakes couldn’t keep me away once I heard the rumors about what had been going on here yesterday. I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks. Ever since I got that first invitation from Megan to come here for the family reunion.”

“Mine had to be forwarded several times,” she admitted. After Greg, her fiancé, had made it clear he wasn’t going to be a husband or father, she’d left California, needing a fresh start and a place to heal in private.

Rafe’s eyes turned fierce. “You could have told me,” he said, his voice breaking slightly as he looked toward the baby. “Hon, why didn’t you tell me? We talked on the phone often enough up until you moved and we lost touch a few months ago.”

Laura felt the threat of tears as she tried to find some answer that would make sense. She shook her head.

“Maybe because even though I hated Greg for a while after he left me, I didn’t want him dead. And don’t tell me that you wouldn’t have wanted to exact a little retribution.”

Rafe opened his mouth, then closed it, his eyes angry. He couldn’t tell her that he wouldn’t have tried to protect her.

Which led her to the deeper reason she hadn’t turned to her brothers for help. After her shipwrecked romance, she’d really needed to prove that she could survive alone. She just couldn’t be like her mother, leaning on the nearest man in order to stand up. And both her brothers were men made for leaning on.

“I would have told you soon,” she said. “Just as soon as I got settled. I’m here, aren’t I?” she asked, trying to smile.

He took her hand, studying it as if he didn’t believe she was real. It had been weeks since they’d talked on the phone, months since they’d seen each other.

“You didn’t have to go through childbirth alone.”

“I didn’t.” She’d had Mick. She’d leaned on him. The truth was uncomfortable.

“I heard.” There was hurt in his voice.

“I’m sorry, Rafe,” she said, meaning every word. “It’s just that you and Luke and I have been on our own for a long time. Sometimes we just need to go underground.” Like wounded animals who protected themselves by hiding, even from those they loved.

“Yes, we do tend to do that, but two of us weren’t pregnant,” Rafe pointed out. “At least I’m not. Who knows about Luke? Nobody’s heard from him lately.”

In spite of Rafe’s attempt at a joke, a sad, awkward silence followed. Concern for Luke hung in the air.

“Oh, Rafe, I’ve missed you,” Laura said with a small, sobbing croak.

And he caught her close and kissed her hair. “I’ve missed you, too, hon,” he said, his voice thick. “Tons. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I want you to meet my wife, Greer. She’s Megan’s assistant. That’s how I heard you were here.”

Laura pulled back, her eyes opening wide. “You’re married? You? That’s…that’s wonderful. I can’t wait to meet the woman who finally tamed you. I guess you know I have someone for you to meet, too.” She picked up her baby, who was beginning to stir. “Meet your uncle Rafe, Meggie. He’s a big guy, but he’s pretty sweet most of the time.”

Rafe grinned. “Don’t tell anyone she said that part about being sweet, little one,” he told his niece, hesitantly touching just the baby’s blanket. “My friends might not understand. She’s so tiny,” he said with awe, and Laura couldn’t forget a black-haired man with fierce blue eyes saying just the same thing. She hurriedly pushed the thought away.

“She’ll grow, I think,” Laura promised.

“Meggie?” he asked.

Laura smiled then and shrugged. “Megan Maitland didn’t have to let me stay here, but she did. What’s more, a nurse told me that the reason Megan is so sympathetic to single mothers is because her first baby’s father deserted her. Just like me. She made her way alone just as I want to.”

“She’s a good woman.”

“I know. Janelle shouldn’t have tried to hurt her.”

Rafe’s eyes darkened. “Our sister did lots of damage. You need to know that. Things have been happening at the clinic. Sabotaged water pipes. A small fire. Janelle’s on the loose, and suddenly both her sister and brother show up in Austin.”

Laura sucked in a deep breath. “Do you think that Janelle is behind all these attempts to sabotage the clinic?”

He shrugged. “Janelle’s capable of some pretty sleazy stuff. She convinced Megan that the baby she’d thought had died at birth was Janelle’s husband, when Janelle knew all along that Clarise O’Hara and her husband had illegally adopted Connor right after he was born. She knew exactly where the real Connor was and didn’t tell Megan. What’s worse, Janelle kidnapped Megan’s baby grandson. I think she’d do almost anything for money or revenge.”

“And you and I could be suspects if we left, couldn’t we?” she asked. “It would look like we just came here at Janelle’s behest to cause more trouble for the Maitlands.”

“Does that mean you’re staying?”

“I can’t leave without trying to repay Megan, anyway.”

Rafe opened his mouth.

Laura shook her head. “On my own, Rafe, but thank you for almost offering. I have to do this on my own. No help.”

He frowned at her. “If you’d let me help yesterday, you wouldn’t have needed a rogue construction worker helping you. He didn’t see you naked, did he, hon?”

Laura put on her best indignant older-sister look, even though she felt a blush creeping up. “It wasn’t like that, Rafe. Believe me, the man wasn’t thinking about anything improper at the time.”

At that, he looked like he was going to argue. She shook her head and smiled, trying to distract him by making plans to meet his wife and maybe their half siblings, R.J. and Anna, her father’s other family that she hadn’t even known of until now.

After Rafe had gone, Laura cuddled Meggie close. “Just you and me, sweetie,” she crooned.

And the scent of her baby made her recall a man with fierce, lake-blue eyes. A man who had, as Rafe implied, seen parts of her body and her soul that no one usually ever saw.

For half a second she allowed herself to wonder what Mick Hannon was doing right now.