Nightwatch

by Jo Leigh

  “Well, at least you’re honest.”

  “For once, I’m trying to be. Honest with you and myself. I’m not anything like the man I want to be, and I have a chance to do something about it. The hospital has agreed that I’ll be a paid consultant, and eventually, when Heath is old enough, I’m thinking of starting a private practice. But my priority is the boy. His health. His education. His happiness.”

  “And what do you think my priority is?”

  “I think it’s exactly the same as mine. Heath’s well-being.”

  She stared at him, then her gaze moved to the window. He noticed she had a car key in her hand, and she worried it, just as she had toyed with the tissue when she’d first come to see him. But he wouldn’t rush her. It was a lot to take in. A lot to accept.

  “How do I know,” she said finally, “that in a week, you won’t get bored.”

  “You don’t. All I can do is tell you I’ve never wanted anything more than this. Anything.”

  “More than your boat?”

  He nodded. “More than my life.”

  She turned to him again and for the first time, he really saw her age. She was so masterful with makeup that she always looked beautiful, but now he saw she wasn’t the girl he’d married. Life had changed her, too. “What about me?”

  “You’re his family. You’ll always be his family.”

  “I don’t have the money to fly back and forth.”

  “I do. I’ll bring him to France as soon as he’s old enough, and if you want to see him before then, you can count on me to take care of that. You and your husband.”

  She shook her head, and his heart lurched. “I don’t know, Guy. I’ve just gotten used to the idea of taking him home.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you with this, Tammy. Believe that.”

  “I do. But I have to think about it.”

  “I understand.”

  She stood, lifting her purse from the chair as he walked around his desk. He drew her into his arms, wanting this to be the beginning and not an ending. He’d had enough of endings. But he couldn’t think about Rachel now. Not yet.

  “I’ll talk to you later,” she said, pulling free.

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. It’s not a done deal.”

  “I know.”

  She walked to the door, looked back at him once, then she was gone.

  Guy sat back down at his desk, glad she’d closed the door behind her. The enormity of what he’d done had hit him hard ever since he’d woken this morning. Rachel had been snuggled up against him, warm and so beautiful in sleep it nearly killed him. He’d gotten up as quietly as possible and slipped out of her bedroom to dress. She didn’t come out by the time he was finished, and he left without bothering her. He hadn’t seen her today, although he knew she was here.

  His disappointment at her decision was still as sharp as the moment she’d spoken the words. Now he was sorry he’d said he wouldn’t press, because all he wanted to do was convince her to give them a chance. He could see so clearly how good they could be together. But that wasn’t the point. She had to see it. What troubled him was that in a month, he wouldn’t be around. She’d have plenty of time to forget him. To pretend that what they’d discovered together wasn’t real.

  There wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, though. Not today. Maybe he’d see a way tomorrow. All he could do was trust that in the end, the right thing would happen.

  He’d told her last night that he was in love with her, and it was the truth. He was. And he wanted to spend the rest of his life discovering every nuance of who she was. What he knew for sure was that he wouldn’t give up.

  “IT’S ME.”

  “I was hoping you’d call. It’s been two weeks.”

  “I know. I’ve wanted to, but I’ve been…busy.”

  “Busy.”

  “And crazy.”

  “Oh.”

  Rachel sat back on her bed and adjusted her covers. It was just past nine-thirty, and though she’d tried to sleep after a hellish day in the E.R., her thoughts had kept her tossing and turning, just like last night and the night before.

  She heard Allie sigh on the other end of the line. “So what’s up? Is this about him?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, are you going to make me guess?”

  “He quit.”

  “Oh?”

  “The E.R. He quit and he’s leaving in two weeks. He’s keeping the baby. Heath. You know, Heather’s son. His ex-wife didn’t take him back to France, and Guy is going to adopt him. He’s staying home to raise him.”

  “Wow.”

  “No kidding. I still hardly believe it myself. He’s such a good doctor.”

  “Raising a child won’t take away his skills.”

  “I know.”

  “And for him, maybe taking Heath is more important.”

  “I know that’s true. I think he’s made the right choice. For himself. It’s just…”

  “What?”

  “It’s huge.”

  “Oh, yeah. But doesn’t it clear up one problem?”

  “You mean that he’s not my boss anymore?”

  “Yep.”

  “It should have.” Rachel got her cup of tea from the bedside table. It was hot and she blew on it before she took a sip. “It should have,” she repeated, “but it didn’t. After he told me, I kind of freaked. It was the whole relationship thing that scared me. Especially now that he’s a single father. I mean, to take on him and his son?”

  “Yeah, I can see where that would be scary.”

  “That’s what I’m saying.”

  “But, Rachel?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s pretty obvious you aren’t indifferent to the man. I can hear it in your voice. You sound horrible.”

  “I am.”

  “So what do you want?”

  “To go back to the way it was.”

  “Too bad. So what else do you want?”

  Rachel sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “I do. You want this man. You want him in your life.”

  “But—”

  “But nothing. It’s gonna be a challenge, but so what? All relationships are a challenge. What does he want?”

  “He says he loves me.”

  “Oh.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Do you love him back?”

  She closed her eyes. This was the one question she wasn’t willing to look at. But she supposed there was no choice. “I’m not sure.”

  “It’s a possibility?”

  “It’s too soon for me to just say I love him. But I’m so miserable without him. I mean, if we hadn’t…If I didn’t…”

  “But you did, and now—”

  “Now I miss it…him.”

  “You know what’s next, right?”

  “I’m scared.”

  “I know.”

  Rachel blew out a big breath of air. “Okay. I’ll seriously think about it.”

  “Think about it, my butt. Do something, Rachel. This is your chance, girl. Don’t let it pass you by or you’ll regret it the rest of your life.”

  “I just want to feel calm again.”

  “You will, as long as you walk through it. If you don’t, the only thing you’ll feel is dead inside.”

  Rachel sipped her tea again, blinking back her too familiar tears. “Okay. I’ll let you know what happens.”

  “You’d better. I love you, you know.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “See? You’re already a whiz at this love stuff. Now just spread it around.”

  “Good night, Allie.”

  “’Night.”

  RACHEL RANG THE BELL, then looked at the bottle in her hand. It wasn’t wine this time, but champagne. The good stuff—Dom Pérignon. There was a lot to celebrate tonight, and she wanted everything to be just right. Of course he wasn’t expecting her, and that could end up badly, but with what she had to tell him, the odds were in her f
avor.

  The door opened with a rush, and the surprise on Guy’s face was only surpassed by his incredible smile. “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself.”

  “What? Why?”

  “If you let me in, I’ll tell you.”

  “Oh, sure…sure. Come in. You’ll have to excuse the mess. They still haven’t finished the wall in Heath’s room, and there’s dust everywhere.”

  She walked past him into the hallway, liking the hint of sawdust in the air.

  “What’s that?”

  She held up the bottle, complete with red bow. “I come bearing gifts. And news.”

  “Oh?”

  “But first, let me tell you again how incredibly happy I am for you. About Heath.”

  He walked her into the living room, his hand on the small of her back. The light touch made her quiver, and she remembered, as she had every day and night for two weeks, how he could turn her to mush. “Tammy’s been great about it. I think she’s satisfied that this isn’t a whim. That Heath and I are together for the long haul.”

  “He’s looking wonderful.”

  “I know. He’ll be here next week, which is just amazing. When did you see him?”

  Rachel sat on the end of the couch, and Guy sat next to her, close enough that their knees brushed. “This afternoon. He’s really grown. And he’s so beautiful. Just like his mother.”

  Guy smiled with pride. “I’ve started the adoption procedures.”

  She grinned. “Talk about your perfect segues.”

  “And that means…?”

  “I got a phone call about an hour ago. From a friend of yours.”

  “Oh?”

  “Richie Montgomery.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  He scooted closer. “Come on, don’t kill me here.”

  “Okay, okay. They found him.”

  “Oh, God.”

  She gripped his hand. “He’s in jail, Guy. DiGrasso was caught selling drugs in Van Nuys. A lot of them. It’s going to be decades before he’s on the street again. But that’s not all.”

  “I don’t know if I can take more.”

  “Oh,” she said, sitting back. “Okay.”

  “Damn it, woman, speak!”

  She laughed. “Stan told them everything about the adoption agency people. What they did, how they ran the operation, and the best part is, he told the police where to find them. They might be in custody even now.”

  Guy stood up and pulled her into his arms. He hugged her until it hurt, but she didn’t care. This was the best news in the world, and she was incredibly grateful that Richie had called her first.

  She sniffed, her tears wetting Guy’s T-shirt, but she didn’t care. What had started with such tragedy was ending with something she couldn’t have imagined. Hope. Stan was off the street, those agency bastards would never destroy another life, and Heath had the best father in the world.

  “Oh, baby, I can’t believe this. Thank you, thank you.”

  “I didn’t do a thing,” Rachel protested.

  He pulled back so he could look at her. “Are you kidding?”

  “I didn’t,” she said. She could feel her heart speed up, and she had to swallow before she could go on. “But I want to.”

  Guy’s thick eyebrows nearly met as he frowned in confusion. “What?”

  “Callie Baker offered me the job.”

  Rachel could see he was struggling to be happy for her. To celebrate. But he couldn’t quite do it, and she didn’t want to make him suffer.

  “I turned it down,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to spend more hours at the hospital.”

  He stepped back a little, but his hands were still on her arms. “No?”

  She shook her head. “I want time to spend with you.”

  He swallowed, his Adam’s apple rising and falling, but he didn’t say a word. She didn’t think he could.

  “I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I can’t make any promises, but I miss you. A whole lot more than I thought I would.”

  “I know just how that feels.”

  “It’s awful. I can’t tell you that it’s going to be all hearts and flowers, but I’d like to give it a shot.”

  “Even with Heath?”

  “Oh, yeah.”

  Guy took in a huge breath of air and let it out really slowly. Then his grip on her arms tightened and he pulled her close. Close enough to kiss.

  Rachel melted into his arms, so incredibly glad to be back there. She parted her lips, and he slipped inside, and it was the most wonderful moment…The start of a whole new life. A whole new way of seeing the world.

  And the best part was, they were going to do it together.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-3491-2

  NIGHTWATCH

  Copyright © 2004 by Harlequin Books S.A.

  Jo Leigh is acknowledged as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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