It took a few moments for them to find and snag Shawna.
“Do you want to do this alone?” Leigh asked Adam in a low voice as he guided Shawna toward a quiet corner.
“No. I want you to enjoy her reaction, too.”
Shawna stopped beside an indoor palm. She was flushed and happy and excited, enjoying every minute of her party. Enthusiasm bubbled over as she asked, “You’re not leaving are you?”
“Soon. I wanted to give you your present first. I was afraid it would get lost if I put it on the table.”
“You didn’t have to bring a present. Just having you here was a gift.”
Leigh could see that Shawna’s words went a long way to making up for what her father hadn’t said to Adam.
“A sixteenth birthday deserves something memorable.” Adam took an envelope from his inside jacket pocket. “I thought you might enjoy these.”
As Shawna took the envelope from him, she looked puzzled. It was a legal-size white envelope giving no hint as to what it held. When she pulled out the four tickets inside and a square piece of paper, she looked up at them in astonishment. “The ’NSYNC concert! Oh, my gosh! They were sold out before I could get home from school and call. How did you get these?”
“I just happen to know their road manager. My partner invited him to one of his parties.”
“Oh, my gosh,” she said again. “And is this a backstage pass?”
“It sure is. You’ll have a chance to talk with them for a few minutes. Make sure you have your camera so a friend can snap a picture.”
“I can take three friends.” Suddenly she threw her arms around Adam’s neck and gave him a big hug. “This is so cool. Wait till I tell Mark.” After she released Adam, she stepped away. “Dad’s going to use the video phone and call Mark. Are you sticking around for that?”
“No. Leigh and I are going to leave now. You can tell Mark I’ll e-mail him later.”
“I’m glad Mom’s going to the hospital and staying with him tonight, then he won’t feel alone.” After she looked down at the tickets again, she glanced back at Adam. “How did it go with you and Lissa?”
“I like her. A lot. We’re going to get together after the transplant.”
A few minutes later, when Shawna decided she wanted to show her mom the tickets, Adam and Leigh went with her to say goodbye. They found Lissa, too, and Leigh could see that Adam and his twin were on their way to developing a lasting bond.
On the drive back to the ranch, Adam was quiet and Leigh left him to his thoughts. He had a lot on his mind—Mark’s bone marrow transplant, his own procedure, the new family he’d met.
When they reached Cedar Run, Adam pulled into the garage. After they went in the side door to the kitchen, they found all the lights still on and the TV playing. But when Leigh’s mother heard them, she switched it off.
“Mom. I’m surprised you’re still up.”
“It’s only eleven. I had a call earlier and I needed to discuss it with you.”
Shrugging out of his suit jacket, Adam said, “I’ll say good-night.”
But Claire stopped him. “No, Adam. Stay. This concerns you, too. The apartment manager called—the one who had that apartment we liked with one bedroom. If we don’t want it, she has someone who does. I like the section of town it was in, and it was so bright and cheerful. We’ll be cramped until you go to school but then you’ll be in Cleveland, and I’ll be alone. I’d like to take it. Adam will have his place back, and we can get settled in.”
Adam looked at Leigh. “Do you have a place in Cleveland yet?”
“Yes. I flew out over the President’s Holiday. I’ll be sharing an apartment with two other women. Their roommate is moving out at the end of May, and I’ll be taking her place.”
“I had another call, too,” Claire said. “We can get into our old apartment tomorrow and salvage what we can. If we take this apartment, we’ll have someplace to move in to.”
“It sounds as if your mind’s made up.” Leigh didn’t know how she felt about feeling like a guest at her mother’s. But that’s what she’d be.
“I guess my mind is made up. It will be hard for you now, not having a room of your own. But the one-bedroom is spacious, and we can probably fit your twin bed in with my double. That way you’ll have a place to sleep when you come home over holidays, too.”
Besides all the good reasons she’d listed, Leigh knew her mother didn’t like imposing on Adam. She also knew her mom had a budget she had to adhere to. Yet Leigh felt misplaced, as if she wouldn’t really have a home until she got to Cleveland. Then she thought about everything else that would be happening this week—Mark’s chemo, Adam being admitted to the hospital…
Suddenly Adam made a suggestion that took Leigh by surprise. “If you’re going to be crowded, Leigh, you can stay here until you leave for Cleveland. I’ve got plenty of room.”
Stunned silence met his suggestion until Claire recovered. “That’s not a good idea,” she snapped.
But Leigh wasn’t as quick to dismiss it for a multitude of reasons. “Adam’s offer might solve all our problems, Mom. Mark’s transplant will most likely happen this coming week. I want to be here with Adam. He’ll need someone to drive him home after his bone marrow extraction. And someone should really be here with him at least for the day he’s released.”
“That’s a lot different from staying until June. What would people say?” Claire insisted, obviously concerned with more than propriety.
“What people, Mom? What I do is no one’s business but mine.”
At this point Adam intervened. “Leigh wouldn’t be living with me, per se, Ms. Peters. She’d be sharing my house. We probably won’t even see that much of each other with our work schedules. I didn’t bring it up to cause friction. I just thought if it was a solution, maybe we should consider it. As far as the bone marrow donation goes, Dylan can drive me home. I’m sure I’ll be fine. If you want to stay because it’s practical for you to do that, Leigh, the invitation is open. Don’t base your decision on what’s happening with me. Okay?”
Adam’s intent was clear. He was telling her he didn’t need her. He was just offering her an alternative to living in a one-bedroom apartment with her mother…an alternative she was seriously considering.
“I’m sure you want to discuss this between the two of you,” Adam added. “I’ll be in my office. I’m going to e-mail Mark and then work on a few scheduling details for next week.”
As Adam hooked his suit coat over his shoulder and strode through the living room to his den, he looked casual and relaxed as if Leigh’s decision didn’t matter to him at all. Did he care if she stayed with him or didn’t he?
Slipping off her jacket, she went to the foyer closet and hung it up.
When she returned to the living room, her mother was waiting expectantly. “You’re not seriously considering staying here with him, are you?”
If her mother was trying to make Adam faceless for her, she wouldn’t be able to do it. “As I said, he might need me.”
“You can’t expect me to believe that if you stay here, you’re simply going to be housemates.”
She honestly didn’t know what would happen between her and Adam. But she did know one thing. “I’m not going to give up my dreams simply because I decide to stay with him.”
“I’m glad to hear it. But the temptation’s going to be there, and you will get hurt.”
Was she ready to face the fact she might? She was.
Her expression must have told her mother what she was thinking. Shooting to her feet, Claire shook her head vigorously. “You can’t tell me you’re entertaining the idea of an affair. Leigh, didn’t I teach you better than that?”
“You can’t live my life for me, Mom. I know what you taught me. I know what I believe. But I also know my heart is telling me to stay here with Adam. Part of me has always wondered about him…wondered if he could open up…wondered if he could ever share what he was feeling.”
�
��What if he can do those things? What if you come under his spell again?”
A smile came to her lips. “Oh, Mom. Adam is no sorcerer. I control my own destiny. Can’t you see I need the chance to make my own decisions and make my own mistakes?”
“I don’t want you to have to make mistakes. I made one that cost me my future. Your future could be brilliant. Please don’t throw that away to live in the moment.”
“I’m not going to throw anything away. I’ll help you sort through your things and move into your new place. I’ll visit you often whenever you’d like. But I’m going to move in here until I leave, and I’m going to tell Adam right now.”
Her mother was used to getting the last word, but Leigh didn’t stay around to hear it this time. She didn’t stay around to be convinced that not seeing Adam anymore would be the better thing to do. Logic just didn’t fit into this equation anymore. She had to go with her instincts, and her instincts were telling her to stay.
Her knock on Adam’s door was decisive. She heard him call, “Come in.” Opening it, she saw him sitting at the computer, his e-mail program on the screen. “Did you hear from Mark?”
“Sure did. And he said his dad’s video-phone worked. Shawna showed him her tickets and he’s jealous, but she’s going to take pictures and maybe get an autograph for him with her backstage pass.”
Adam motioned to the end of the letter. “Danielle just got there, and they’re getting ready to turn in. I’m glad she’s going to be there tonight. It’ll do them both a lot of good.”
Swiveling away from the computer then, Adam faced her. “I didn’t hear any yelling and screaming coming from the living room. Are you and your mom okay? Maybe I should have waited and asked you privately, but I wanted to be straightforward about the offer.”
There was no point going into how her mother felt. “I accept your invitation to stay, Adam.”
Rising to his feet, he approached her. “I meant what I said about being housemates, not living together. There are no strings attached to this, Leigh.”
He was close and he was sexy and she could so vividly remember dancing with him.
“And if you’re here after I donate bone marrow, I don’t need a nursemaid.”
Adam had always had a tremendous amount of pride and she respected that. “But you won’t mind if I make supper, will you? Just as a thank-you for letting me stay. I am going to pay you rent.”
“No, you’re not.”
This time her pride was at stake. “There’s no discussion on this, Adam.”
“Sure there is. I don’t want your money. Throw it into a savings account for things you’ll need. Or help your mom buy new furniture.”
“I can’t stay here for free.”
“Why not?”
His eyes were filled with humor and something more serious. His tie was undone, hanging around his shirt collar. He’d rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. He was so unbearably male.
“Because…” She forgot what she was going to say when Adam came even closer…when he bent his head and kissed her. It was a fleeting kiss as their kisses went, yet it was thoroughly arousing nevertheless. When he backed away, she knew he knew it.
Finding her voice, she managed, “I have to feel I’m contributing. What if I make sure there’s always something edible in the refrigerator, whether it’s from the deli or something I cook?”
After considering her suggestion, he smiled, “That would be a change. I’m a connoisseur of peanut butter and stale crackers.”
“Good. That takes care of that.” She glanced at the file folder open on his desk. “Will you be up for a while?”
“I have e-mail to take care of.”
“Then I’ll see you in the morning.”
“In the morning,” Adam agreed.
When Leigh left his office, she thought about being in the house with him alone. What if her mother hadn’t been here tonight? Would he still have ended the kiss?
After tomorrow she’d know.
On Friday morning Leigh took her break early to check on Adam. He’d gotten a call on Wednesday that his harvesting and Mark’s transplant were set for today. They had driven in early this morning from the ranch so Adam could register around seven-thirty. Her shift started at eight. After they’d separated in the lobby and she’d wished him good luck, he’d given her a thumbs-up sign.
When she’d accepted his invitation to stay at his house, she thought they might talk more and become closer. But since Saturday night, Adam had been keeping his distance. With his pickup truck, he’d helped her and her mother move everything salvageable into her mom’s new apartment on Sunday. Yet after Sunday, they’d pretty much gone their separate ways. Adam had worked late every night, and she wondered if he was doing it to distract himself from Mark and the transplant or to stay away from her.
Before Leigh had taken a break, she’d called Patient Registration for the number of Adam’s private room. Hurrying down the hall, she found the number, then hesitated an instant outside the door. Finally she knocked before pushing it open. She’d expected to see him dressed in a hospital gown and lying on the bed. Instead, he was still wearing a polo shirt and jeans and pacing the room.
“Adam. I thought they’d be prepping you.”
“I thought so, too,” he muttered with a dark expression. “But there’s been a delay. Did you see Mark this morning?”
“I can’t go in to see him, but I checked on his condition.”
“And?” Adam’s eyes said he wanted her to tell the truth.
“And he needs your bone marrow desperately. His abnormal cells have been destroyed, but normal cells have been destroyed, too. Have you heard from Danielle or Shawna?”
“Danielle e-mailed me last night. She’s not saying it, but she’s scared to death this won’t help, that the transplant won’t take. She’s afraid he might get an infection even with all the precautions. And damn it, Leigh, I can’t tell her not to worry because I’m worried, too.”
She could see he was, but she suspected there was more to it than that. Visiting Mark had been one thing, getting through today with the doctors poking, prodding and handling him was another.
Eyeing the hospital gown on the corner of the bed, she gently chided, “You should get changed. They’ll want to set up your IV soon—”
“I’m not getting into that damned hospital gown until it’s necessary.”
Keeping her voice calm, she asked, “Have you spoken with the anesthesiologist yet?”
“Yes, he was here about five minutes ago.” With a disgusted look, Adam eyed the hospital gown again, then blew out a breath. “All right. I’ll get ready. But I’m not getting into bed until they want to knock me out.”
“I can try to find somebody to cover for me if you want me to stay.”
“No!” was his immediate reply. “I don’t need you here, Leigh. I don’t need someone to hold my hand. I just want to get all of it over with.”
If he didn’t need her here, he didn’t need her in his life. Was he just being kind by asking her to stay at the ranch with him? Maybe he was just trying to mend fences that had been too broken to repair. That had been his message this week. If she were smart, she’d listen to it.
But she cared too much about him to act indifferent. “I’ll stop in before I leave tonight to see how the procedure went. You should be awake by then.”
“You don’t have to stop in. I’ll call you in the morning and tell you what time I’m being discharged. Are you sure you don’t mind driving in for me tomorrow? Dylan could take me home.”
“I’m off for the weekend, and I really have nothing to do. Mom’s apartment is pretty much together now so I’ll be around all day if you need me.”
Before he could say again that he didn’t, in spite of his gruff attitude, she took a step toward him, stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. “That’s for good luck. I’m sure everything will go smoothly. Just remember I’ll be thinking about you as
well as Mark, and I’m sure the Cambry family will be, too.”
Looking down at her, he suddenly enfolded her into his arms and brought her close for a moment. As he held her, she could feel the beat of his heart.
Abruptly he released her and stepped away. When she gazed into his eyes, she saw the turmoil there and knew he was remembering another day and another time, Delia, and everything that had happened with the medical personnel.
“Good people work here, Adam. Trust them.”
Then she left his room…because tears were too close to the surface, because she cared too much, because she was falling in love with Adam Bartlett all over again.
Chapter Eleven
When Leigh arrived at the hospital Saturday morning to pick up Adam, he looked ready to erupt.
“They’re telling me the nurse has to wheel me down in the wheelchair like some invalid! Can you believe it?”
In spite of herself, Leigh felt a smile trying to burst from inside her. Adam’s procedure had been textbook perfect. Marrow had been extracted from the back of his hip bones. It had taken the doctor an hour and a half to harvest as much as he needed.
She’d called the head nurse on duty last night and found out that Adam had grumbled and barked when the nurse had to remove his bandage and check the area. The doctor’s orders stated he should stay in bed last night, and he’d agreed with the nurses about that. Still, the head nurse had checked on him often to make sure he was listening. They’d supplied him with ice packs every hour, and Leigh knew he was supposed to use them for forty-eight hours, then heat if he still had pain and swelling. Antibiotics and pain medication had been ordered along with a sleeping pill. Thank goodness Adam had taken the antibiotic, although he’d refused the rest. Another of Leigh’s friends on his floor had reported that he was listening to orders to drink a lot of liquids, so Leigh had stopped at the grocery store, buying three different kinds of juices as well as wholesome food. As with any procedure, infection could set in and she intended to watch him carefully for a fever, swelling or any trouble breathing.
Take A Chance On Me (Logan's Legacy) Page 14