Читать книгу The Baby Dilemma - Rebecca Winters - Страница 10

KELLIE walked Raoul and Lee to the back door of the chalet to see them off.

“I’ll be praying for you,” Lee whispered, giving Kellie a hug.

“Thank you. I’m going to need it.”

Raoul placed his hands on her shoulders. “You have my cell phone number. Call us at anytime.”

She nodded.

His eyes looked a darker blue beneath the overcast sky. “Do your magic as only you know how to do.”

Kellie let out a half sob. “I’m afraid I’ve destroyed that for him. But if loving him desperately counts for anything—”

“It counts.” He kissed her forehead before throwing an arm around his wife’s waist to walk her to the car. It was one of those little electric ones, the only kind allowed to get around Zermatt.

She watched until their car disappeared down the slope. Then she ran through the hallway to the front of the rustic chalet where the picture window gave out on the Swiss resort town famous for its skiing and mountaineering.

Raoul had told her that in good weather she’d be able to view the Matterhorn. Kellie had never been to Zermatt, and had always wanted to see the mountain. But this morning it was shrouded in gray mist.

Another reason why she wouldn’t allow Philippe to attempt a climb, she’d do anything to prevent him from leaving.

She propped herself on the couch near the window trying to imagine what she’d say to him when he arrived. When an hour had passed and there was no sign of the car yet, she began to worry that bad weather might have prevented the helicopter from landing.

However if that were true, Raoul would have phoned to let her know there’d been a delay.

Her gaze wandered to the end of the room where a circular staircase wound its way to the loft. Philippe had spent many nights up there before a climb, or a day of skiing.

She’d been put in the guest bedroom on the main floor. Though she knew it was impossible, there was still this tiny part of her that fantasized about a reconciliation. After a month’s deprivation, she was dying with love for him. Whenever she thought about them sleeping together, she could hardly breathe.

Too nervous to sit still, she walked to the bathroom down the hall and ran the brush through her hair one more time. She’d put on tan wool pants and a cream-colored cable-knit sweater he hadn’t seen her in before. They were colors he particularly liked on her.

But as she looked at herself in the mirror, she remembered what Lee had said.

Philippe has changed. He wants the divorce now.

A sharp pain pierced her heart to realize he wouldn’t care what she was wearing because he wasn’t going to look at her the same way again.

Almost immobilized by the fears plaguing her, she hurried from the bathroom to the kitchen at the rear of the chalet. From the window over the sink she’d be able to see Philippe arrive.

Earlier she’d prepared fruit and ham and cheese croissants for him. The coffee was hot. She knew he’d lost weight during the last month, but was determined to get him to eat.

She wanted to do everything for him.

She wanted to be all things to him.

She wanted to be his wife again.

It had been so long…

Just when she decided something had gone wrong and Philippe wouldn’t be coming, she heard the sound of a car.

With her heart pounding out of control, she moved to the side of the sink where she could still see out the window without being observed in return.

Pretty soon she saw it pull around the slope and stop about thirty feet from the back door. The plan was for Raoul to let Philippe out and tell him to go inside the unlocked door while Raoul did a quick errand he’d remembered at the last minute.

So far it seemed to be working. Raoul kept the car running, but by this time her eyes were riveted on the man climbing out of the passenger seat.

If she hadn’t known it was Philippe, she wouldn’t have recognized him. His black hair was overly long. In the last month he’d grown a moustache and beard.

He’d always been heartbreakingly handsome to her. He still was, but in an entirely different way. The change in him fascinated and terrified her all at the same time. She felt distanced from him by his outward appearance; it was symbolic of the trauma he’d experienced in the last month.

Six feet two inches of powerful muscle beneath his climbing clothes, the noticeable weight loss gave him a lean, hungry look. Kellie was so mesmerized by the transformation, she hardly noticed the cane he used to help keep the weight off his left leg.

His limp appeared almost nonexistent. Once again she found herself thanking providence that he hadn’t sustained worse injuries in the accident.

Raoul waved to him, then took off. Philippe gave a slight nod before walking the rest of the way to the chalet.

As she heard the back door open and close, perspiration broke out on her brow. Her body went hot, then cold.

She detected the slight tap of his cane as he walked down the hall past the kitchen. Then suddenly, everything went quiet.

He’d seen her.

On unsteady legs, Kellie crossed the distance to the doorway, coming face to face with a man who bore a superficial resemblance to the husband she adored. But this close to him, those dark slits glittering with accusation couldn’t be his eyes.

Beneath his facial hair, the features she loved so well looked chiseled in stone. Combined with his forbidding stance, she sought the doorjamb for support.

“You should have come to the apartment instead of using Raoul to get to me,” he said in a wintry voice she didn’t recognize. “I would have signed those divorce papers before showing you the door.”

Dear God.

“As it is, you’ll have to go back where you came from and wait five more days for your long-sought freedom.”

“Philippe—”

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you would stoop so low as to presume on my relationship with the prince in order to achieve your own ends. To think there was a time when I thought I knew you…”

His hostility went beyond anything she could have imagined. How in heaven would she be able to break through the formidable barrier he’d erected against her?

“Please, sweetheart—we have to talk.”

“Don’t.” His quiet rage was more terrifying than if he’d shoved her body against the wall. “I’ll give you ten minutes to leave the chalet. That’s nine minutes and thirty seconds more than you gave me in the E.R.”

Every word cut her like a knife before he jerked away from her. What happened next was like something out of a ghastly nightmare.

Tossing his cane aside, he started up the back staircase two steps at a time, the way he would have done before the accident.

“No!” she screamed, chasing after him, but he was too fast for her. As he reached the top, she saw him trip. He fell against the floor groaning in agony.

“Darling!” She flew the rest of the distance and knelt at his side where he was half-sitting half-lying there holding his bad leg. As much as she wanted to touch him, comfort him, she didn’t dare. “Don’t move. I’ll call for help.”

Already she could see perspiration beading his hair-line. Pain had drawn the color from his complexion.

He flashed her a withering glance. “I told you to get out!”

No way.

“This isn’t your house, Philippe. I have as much right to be here as you do. Right now you need medical help.”

Without waiting to take anymore of his cruel rejection, she hurried back down the stairs to her room. Raoul had left his cell phone number on the end table next to the guest phone.

She grabbed the receiver and punched the digits. To her relief he responded on the second ring.

“Raoul— I’m so glad you answered!”

“Kellie? I haven’t even reached Roger’s yet. What’s wrong? You sound out of breath.” There was alarm in his voice.

“Philippe has hurt his leg.” In the next few seconds she related what had happened.

“Your magic worked even faster than I thought it would. There’ll be no climbing for him in the foreseeable future, thank God. I’ll bring the doctor.”

“All right. Please hurry. He’s in pain.”

“That’s good. It means he’s feeling again,” Raoul murmured before clicking off.

Pondering that comment, Kellie hurried into the kitchen to fashion a makeshift ice bag.

As she rummaged around in the drawers for some plastic bags, it dawned on her once again how fortunate they were to be Raoul’s guests. In fact she agreed with their host that this latest accident was a blessing in disguise.

But when a stream of bitter French invective penetrated to the hall, it didn’t prevent her from shivering all the way to the loft to rejoin her husband.

By the time she reached him, he’d dragged himself to the nearest bed and had collapsed on top of it. If she hadn’t had the advantage for the moment, his withering regard would have paralyzed her.

She walked past him to pull a pillow from each of the other three beds. “Here. Let’s get these under your knee.”

The fact that he let her arrange the pillows to elevate his trousered leg indicated his degree of agony. She followed that action with the ice bag which she placed over his knee.

Without asking his permission, she unlaced his boot and carefully pulled it off. She repeated the process with his other boot. To be able to take care of him again in any capacity filled her with inexpressible joy.

It was an automatic gesture to put the back of her hand to his forehead. “You’re hot, darling. Let me help you off with this sweater.”

Because he hadn’t tried to interfere with her ministrations, she didn’t think he would fight her for taking this liberty, too.

That’s where she was wrong.

As she started to ease it from his hips, his right hand seized her wrist in a viselike grip, hurting her. She’d forgotten he had muscles of whipcord strength.