The little nudge named Evelyn Bowen was on her way.
CHAPTER FIVE
WITH CHASE MYSTERIOUSLY gone somewhere, Dani sat in the empty clinic room and tried to focus on the sketchy and incomplete care and immunization records. She was working to get them organized and into the laptop computer she’d brought from the States—fairly unsuccessfully, since she kept wondering where Chase had gone. Kept thinking about the charm he’d been intent on oozing nonstop since yesterday when they’d told Drew that Chase was his daddy.
Kept reliving the feel of his stolen kisses against her cheek or the side of her neck whenever they were together, his fingertips sliding across the skin of her arms. How had she not known her arms were an erogenous zone?
They probably weren’t, unless it was Chase touching her. She couldn’t help but respond to his teasing caress, the curve of his lips, the sensual promise in the chocolaty depths of his eyes.
She huffed out a frustrated breath. Why, oh, why did she have such a hard time steeling herself against the man’s sexual energy and tempting persuasion?
She’d been relieved at how easily Drew had accepted that Chase was his daddy. But, of course, she’d known he was so young he wouldn’t have many questions about it. She’d hoped they could tell Drew then ease into a new relationship as two parents living separate lives, with the best interests of their child the only personal connection between them.
But what happened instead? She’d fallen into his embrace, into his kiss, with barely one second of resistance. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Especially because his kiss certainly hadn’t been full of tenderness. It had been full of anger and possessiveness, no doubt because Drew had mentioned Matt and a competitive man like Chase wouldn’t just shrug at something like that.
No, she had a feeling that had just added more fuel to the hot fire already burning within Chase about the two of them getting married.
Matt was the first man she’d dated since Chase, since leaving Honduras to go back to the States to work and start a new life there with Drew. Having a man in her life hadn’t been on her to-do list. But Matt had seemed so easygoing, so harmless, really, that she’d finally given in to going out with him a few times the month before she’d left for Benin. He’d been happy to include Drew in several excursions and had been pleasant to spend time with.
Kissing him had been pleasant, too. Pleasant, but not knee-weakening. Not breathtaking. Not so mesmerizing that she’d forget everything except how his mouth tasted and her heart pounded and how much she wanted to get naked and intimate the way she had when Chase had kissed her. So all-consuming that she’d lost all thought about anything but the way he’d made her feel.
And that was bad. In so many ways. More than bad that she hadn’t spared one thought about Drew seeing them devouring one another and rubbing their bodies together. Her face burned all over again at the thought, even though Drew was too young to think much of it, even if he’d noticed.
It was bad because she had to keep her focus. She had to resist the intense, overpowering attraction she’d felt for Chase since practically the first moment she’d met him and which clearly hadn’t gone away with time and distance.
As she’d told him before, great sex wasn’t a reason to get married. Neither was a feeling of obligation on Chase’s part. Or a need to control their lives. If she ever did marry, she wanted it to be because her husband loved her more than anything. Wanted to be with her more than anything. Believed she was every bit as important to him as his work.
And that obviously just wasn’t true with Chase.
Love had nothing to do with him wanting marriage, and she shoved away the deep stab of pain that knowledge caused. His reasoning that she and Drew should stay in the States while he lived his life the way he always had, or close to it, just wasn’t enough. Not for her and not for Drew.
Working with underprivileged people around the world was important to her, especially after she’d seen all the need in Honduras. She had her career plan all worked out, where she’d be employed in the U.S. for two years, spend nine months abroad, then head back to the States for two more years. And giving Drew exposure to other cultures couldn’t be anything but good for him.
Not to mention that, if Chase was still going to live all over the world, it made no sense to get married and pretend they were a family the years they lived in the U.S. Didn’t he see that Drew would always know he wasn’t as important to his dad as his job? But if they weren’t married, Drew would accept that his parents were no longer together, and would understand why his dad lived somewhere else.
She believed Chase when he said he wanted to be part of Drew’s life. It would probably work out okay if he saw Drew several times a year for a few weeks each time. After all, they lived in a global world now. With phone calls and video chats online, being close to one another shouldn’t be too hard.
What a tangled mess. But she was here to do a job, not think endlessly about the problems. She stared at the scribbled index cards, and wondered why some of the previous doctors and nurses had even bothered to record the unreadable notes.
“Dani, are you in here?”
“Yes.” She absolutely wouldn’t ask Chase where he’d gone. For all she knew, he’d been seeing a woman. And it was none of her business.
Chase strode into the room, looking so good in jeans and a pale yellow polo shirt that showed off his tanned skin and dark hair and eyes that she caught herself staring. She pulled her gaze back to the cards, typing what she could into the computer.
“Making progress?” he asked, leaning over her to look at her work, resting his palm between her shoulder blades.
“Not much. I can’t even read most of them. We’re just going to have to start with new records of children as we see them.” She stared fixedly at her work. “I’d like to talk with you about ways we can get parents to bring their kids in for checks.”
“It’s not easy. A lot of folks don’t have transportation, so they only come when there’s a serious problem. Some believe Vodun will keep their children from getting sick.”
“Vodun?”
“Voodoo. The word translates as ‘spirit.’” His hand slid up her back to cup the back of her neck, his breath whispering across her cheek. “We’ll talk about all that when we go into the field soon to do immunizations in various villages.”
His mouth dropped to caress the skin beneath her earlobe, which sent a delicious shiver across her throat until she jerked her head away.
“You know, back home that would be considered sexual harassment. Don’t make me contact the GPC to lodge a complaint.”
“You think a tiny kiss is sexual harassment?” His low laugh vibrated against her skin. “I can think of lots more ways to harass you sexually. If you ask nicely.”
“You’re ridiculous.” She shook her head, feeling slightly dizzy. She should be annoyed, but instead had to desperately will herself to be tough and strong against the seductive temptation of his lips. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to work here. Leave me alone. Seriously.”
To her surprise and relief, he straightened and his warm hand left her nape. “Take a break from that for a minute. Ruth and Drew need you to come outside.”
“Why?” She swiveled to look at him. He had an odd expression on his face, slightly amused and clearly anticipatory. Obviously nothing was wrong and her curiosity was piqued, in spite of herself.
“You’ll see. Come on.”
He grasped her hand and she rose from the chair, tugging her hand from his as she followed him out the clinic doors.
As they approached the small enclosure that served as a playground for patients’ children and siblings, she could see Drew scooting around on a plastic ride-on toy train that hadn’t been there earlier, a wide grin on his face. And two people standing next to him with equally ecstatic expression
s.
Who...?
“Toot-toot! Toot-toot!” Drew exclaimed, scuffing his shoes in the dirt as he rode.
Chase put his arm across Dani’s shoulders before they stepped inside the gate of the wooden fence. “Mom and Dad, I’d like you to meet Dr. Danielle Sheridan. Dani, my parents, Drs. Philip and Evelyn Bowen.”
His parents. Drew’s grandparents. Stunned, Dani smiled and reached to shake Chase’s father’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you.” Nice and shocking. They just popped in for a quick trip to Benin to meet Drew?
About to shake Evelyn’s hand, the woman gave her a warm embrace instead. “It’s so delightful to meet you, dear. And our Andrew is so adorable. Precious! I can’t believe how he looks just like Chase did at that age. You have no idea how happy you’ve made us.”
Our Andrew. The words put a funny little flutter of joy in Dani’s chest. She had to smile at the lovely woman’s greeting and obvious sincerity. How wonderful that Andrew had grandparents who would clearly want to be a part of his life. Her own mother lived pretty far from where Dani had gotten a job and, as a nurse, worked a lot of hours. Not the kind of grandmother who would be baking cookies and babysitting.
Then again, neither were the Drs. Bowen, working in mission hospitals around the world. Nonetheless, it was nice.
“I’m...surprised you’re here,” Dani said, giving Chase a look he couldn’t misinterpret. He responded with a grin that showed no guilty feelings at all about his subterfuge. “Where do you live?”
“We’re working in Senegal right now. Benin’s a pretty quick airplane ride from there, really.” The woman clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling. “When Chase told us about Drew and you, we were over the moon. We brought the little train and a few other gifts. I hope that’s okay?”
“Of course.” Dani smiled. “But I can’t tell if he likes it or not, can you?”
They all chuckled, as it was more than obvious he loved it. Scooting around, toot-tooting endlessly and grinning.
“They’d barely taken it from the box before he jumped on it,” Chase said as he watched Drew, his gaze soft with a hint of pride. “He’s going to be riding a bike in no time.”
“We’re happy he likes it,” Phil said. “I’m especially pleased because if he didn’t, I have a feeling Evelyn and I would be heading straight to another store to look for something else, even if we had to fly to Cotonou. I kept having to remind her we were bringing everything on a plane, she had so much stuff.”
“It’s a grandparents’ prerogative to buy their grandchildren presents,” Evelyn said, an indulgent smile on her face as she watched Drew. “Especially the very first one.”
First one? She couldn’t know Chase’s attitude about having children if she thought there would ever be more.
That thought led Dani in a nasty and very uncomfortable direction it hadn’t gone before, making her stiffen. What if Chase did marry someday? What kind of woman would be stepmother to Drew? Just thinking about it made her stomach twist. She reminded herself he’d be working in remote places around the world, so Drew wouldn’t be around a stepmother much anyway, but didn’t succeed in ridding herself of a slightly sick feeling in her gut.
Evelyn turned her attention to Dani. “I hear there’s to be a wedding soon. Have you decided on a date?”
What? One look at Chase proved he really had told his parents they were getting married. How arrogant could the man be? He had an infuriatingly smug smile on his face, and an expression that said he couldn’t wait to see how she’d react to his mother’s question.
“A wedding? I hadn’t heard about one. Is it someone I know?” She kept her voice light, her expression bland, but knew Chase could see the challenge in her gaze. So he thought this was one big chess game? He’d forgotten she’d learned to play from him.
His parents looked at one another then at Chase, obviously confused. “Chase said—”
“I said we were getting married. I didn’t say Dani had agreed yet,” Chase said smoothly, with a look that said, Answer that. “But wouldn’t it be great to make it happen some time when you could be here to share it with us? Please help me convince her how nice it would be to celebrate our marriage as a family.”
Damn the man. He’d certainly played his turn well, with both his parents staring at her with bemused expressions.
“Chase and I just recently met up again,” she said, trying to figure out exactly what to say. It was a battle to keep from narrowing her eyes and scowling at Chase for putting her in such an awkward position. Though she was pretty sure that, even if they didn’t know the details of her relationship with Chase, his parents knew how babies were made. “I don’t feel we know each other well enough again to consider something as important as marriage.”
Both his parents looked back at Chase, and Dani felt a slightly hysterical desire to laugh, thinking they looked like they were watching a tennis match.
“All I want is for the three of us to be a family, and I’m sure you’d agree that’s the best thing for Drew. But Dani’s being difficult.” Chase rocked back on his heels, his hands in his jeans pockets. “It’s hard to believe, because any woman would be lucky to put my ring on her finger, right, Mom?”
That smile continued to play about his lips. He’d always been good at that delicate combination of joking humor while making a very serious point.
Dani looked at Evelyn, figuring that, as his mother, she doubtless agreed he was an awesome catch for any woman.
“Dr. Bowen, I...” Dani began, not even sure what she was going to say.
“Please, call me Evelyn.” She reached to squeeze Dani’s arm. “Pay no attention to Chase’s heavy-handed attempts at manipulation. I’m surprised, really, at his clumsiness. From the time he was little, he could get whatever he wanted without anyone even knowing he was leading them there.”
Astonished at his mother’s words, Dani was also more than amused at the surprised and outraged expression on Chase’s face.
“What the hell?” He folded his arms across his chest. “You don’t think Dani should marry me? What about Drew? What about us being a family?”
“Don’t drag your father and me into this.” His mother held up her hand. “Obviously, there’s some reason you didn’t even know about Drew until now. While we’d love to welcome Dani as our daughter-in-law, you two will have to figure all this out on your own. As long as I get to play doting grandmother to our darling baby, I’m happy.”
Phil chuckled. “And I have a feeling that ‘doting’ will be an understatement.”
Evelyn grasped Phil’s hand and they walked over to stand on either side of Drew, forming a bridge with their arms. “Drive through the tunnel, engineer Andrew. But watch out, there might be a landslide and it could collapse on you,” Phil said.
Drew shrieked in delight as he drove around their legs and through the “tunnel,” ending up trapped as their arms surrounded him.
As she watched them, Dani’s heart filled with how lovely Chase’s parents were and how lucky Drew was that they wanted to be a part of his life, even though their time together would doubtless be infrequent.
“I can’t believe this,” Chase said.
She looked at his disgusted scowl and knew he wasn’t talking about his parents’ game with Drew. “Is this finally the proof you need that you should get over the unpleasant controlling streak you have? Even your mother thinks so.”
“She didn’t say I’m controlling. And I’m not.”
He stepped close and she was glad his parents were here. Surely Chase wouldn’t touch her and kiss her and make her feel all weak and out of control while they were around.
“But convincing?” His mouth came close to her ear, and he smelled so good, like fresh soap and aftershave and him, that it was all she could do not to turn her head for a kiss anyway. “Convincing
you will be a pleasure.”
He backed off a few inches, and the promise in his dark eyes told her resistance would be tough going. But she could do it. She would do it. To protect Drew and to protect her own heart.
“Lunch, everybody!” Spud bellowed from the door.
Drew jumped off the plastic train, knocking it over onto its side, and ran to Dani. He flung one arm around Dani’s leg and wrapped the other around Chase’s. “I hungry! Daddy, will you feed me more bugs?”
“You bet. I’ve got some big, fat ones picked out just for you.” Chase lifted his gaze to Dani. His eyes turned from soft and smiling to hard and cool in an instant. “Drew, at least, knows we’re already connected, no matter what you want to believe.” He reached down to lift Drew into his arms, kissing his round cheek before settling the child against his shoulder like he’d been doing it fo rever.
The image of father and son, of their brown eyes and thick dark hair so like the other, along with the tender expressions on his parents’ faces, gave Dani another pang of guilt. But she reminded herself she hadn’t really robbed all of them of two and a half years of togetherness. Chase and his parents would have been living who knew where in the world without her and Drew anyway.
“Whatever Spud made, it’ll be good,” Chase said, his head tipped against Drew’s for a moment before he looked at his parents. “Then we’ll make a plan for the rest of your visit with your grandson.”
CHAPTER SIX
“TO THINK YOU’VE always hassled me about my smooth moves when you’re the true master,” Trent said as he and Chase pulled off their gloves and gowns after surgery and headed toward the hospital corridor.
“What smooth moves?”
“Getting your parents to come and gush over Drew and put the pressure on Dani. Brilliant.” Trent grinned. “Except, of course, that my moves work and yours are a pathetic failure.”
Changed by His Son's Smile Page 6