by Sarina Wilde
She wanted to laugh, to cry, to shout for joy at the freedom she felt. It was as if the weight she’d carried for the past five years had simply vanished.
“Okay, baby?” Liam rumbled.
“More than okay. Thank you.”
“Oh sweetheart,” Chas purred. “You’re so damn pretty. We just wanted to show you. We want to make sure you know. You do, don’t you?”
She looked at Chas and nodded. “I do now.”
Chas hated having to leave for the hospital the following morning, but thanks to that shift change it was now his weekend on call. He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could so he wouldn’t disturb Liam or Greer. What he hadn’t counted on was how light a sleeper Greer was. By the time he came out of the shower, she had thrown the too big T-shirt back on and was running her fingers through her spiky hair.
“Would you like some breakfast before you go?”
He stopped on his way to grab underwear and a fresh set of scrubs. “Coffee would be nice. Nothing heavy. Should be some yogurt and fruit…”
“How about a smoothie? You can take it with you.”
He stopped and pulled her into his arms for a quick hug. “You’re the best, Greer.”
He patted her ass as she slipped out the door.
By the time Chas traipsed downstairs, he had little time to stop and eat. Greer handed him two to-go mugs.
“Will you be back for dinner?”
He shook his head. “You won’t see me again until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Just depends on what’s going on. I’ll keep you posted.” Chas leaned in and touched her lips with the softest of kisses. “I’m glad you’re here, Greer,” he whispered against her mouth.
His reward was the smile lighting her face.
As soon as he reached St. Mark’s, Chas knew he was in for a hell of a weekend. No sooner had he gotten in the door than he was headed for surgery. Most of the time, the adrenaline rush of his job kept him focused, but this morning, his thoughts kept going back to Greer and Liam.
“Doctor? Are you ready?”
His surgical nurse gave him an odd look as he paused over the gunshot victim on the table in front of him. Yeah. Right. Not a good time to get distracted. Chas brought himself back to the here and now. He had patients depending on his ability, his training, and his concentration.
By late afternoon, Chas had come to the conclusion everyone in the metropolitan area had decided to shove their heads firmly up their asses. During the few breaks from operating on victims of brawls, drug deals and vehicle accidents, he’d had to call in another surgical team to help with the influx. He had handled everything from stitching a guy’s arm when he’d ended up on the wrong end of a knife fight, to performing an appendectomy on a ten-year-old, but that was what he’d trained to do when he decided to become a general surgeon specializing in critical care.
After stepping out of the operating room, Chas stripped off his gloves, gown and mask, disposing of them and changing shoes before moving into the hall. With his pager at his waist, he headed for his office where he’d left his cell phone.
“Dr. Lynch? Do you have a minute? I need to talk to you.”
Chas turned. It was a female resident who’d recently joined the staff. Although he wasn’t her mentor, she seemed to be going out of her way to ask him questions, and more and more he was spotting her on the same shifts as him.
“Yes, Sam?”
“Would it be possible to speak in your office?”
He stepped to the side and pointed to the open doorway. “Go on in.”
With an impersonal smile, he waved her in before him, making sure to leave the door open. He also didn’t miss the resident’s frown as she saw he had, and warning bells jangled in his head.
“What was it you needed to speak to me about?” he asked, keeping his tone casual and cool.
Sam dug her hands in the pockets of her white coat as though she were nervous about something. “As you know, I’m new to the area. My brother’s coming to visit, and I…well, he worries about me being here by myself, and I…uh…told him I was seeing someone.”
Chas leaned back against the wall next to the door. “I suppose that someone was me?”
She shifted, and he guessed she was a bit unnerved by his cool reception.
“I asked around. Everyone said you’re not dating and not married.”
“Doctor,” Chas interrupted, deciding to put things on a much more formal footing, “I don’t make a habit of blabbing the details of my personal life around the hospital.” He eased away from the wall, but kept his arms crossed over his chest. “Nor do I make it a habit of dating or even casually seeing anyone with whom I work…particularly residents.”
She stood, flicking her hair back over her shoulders, her hands now visibly fisted inside her coat pockets. “I knew it was a long shot. In fact, several nurses told me I wouldn’t get anywhere because you are seeing someone…just not someone female.”
Chas’ eyes narrowed. “That is absolutely none of your business, Doctor. Before your brother gets to town, I suggest you disabuse him of the idea you and I even know each other’s first names, let alone that we’re seeing each other. I also suggest you remember where you fit in the hierarchy around here.”
“Are you threatening my position?” There was a calculating gleam in her eyes that put his back up.
“I’m suggesting you take a good, hard look at what it means to be a professional. This hospital has always maintained the highest standards among its staff. You should take a good look at yours and decide whether they’re really a match.”
“Prick,” she snapped and stormed out the door.
“Thank God for that,” Chas muttered.
If that was going to be any indicator of where the weekend was headed, he was more than ready for it to be over with. The way things were already shaping up, Chas knew there’d be very little sleep with it. Twenty-four hours before he would be home with Liam and Greer. Going over to the fridge he kept behind his desk, he extracted a bottle of water and some yogurt. Chances were good he’d be back in the ER or surgery soon, so he had to take advantage of what break he had.
Chas shut his office door. After the little scene with the blond resident, he wouldn’t take a chance on going to the call room. If he got any sleep, it was going to be here, and he’d just let them know he was crashed in his office.
The encounter left him feeling like he needed a shower. Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed the house. Liam answered.
“What’s up, Chas?”
He relayed the bizarre encounter with the resident.
“Be careful,” Liam warned in a low voice.
“I’m sure she won’t cause any trouble…”
“Chas,” Liam interrupted. “You just have no idea, man, and I don’t mean that in any way trying to slam you. But you always look for the good in people, and sometimes, well…it’s just not there. Don’t take any chances.”
Chas blew out a breath and ran his free hand over his disheveled hair. “You worried she might out us?”
“Fuck no. That’s the least of my worries. While we haven’t exactly been holding hands and kissing in public, I think our relationship’s far from secret. No, I’m worried she’ll fuck up your career.”
Chas thought back to the conversation with Sam. Liam might be overstating things, but caution would be a good thing. Chas checked schedules to see if the chief of surgery was going to be in over the weekend. Once he determined that was a no, Chas picked up the phone and called him. Michael Brandt was headed to the country club.
“Put everything you can remember about the incident in a confidential memo to me, Chas. We’ll keep it on file just in case. I don’t want to ruin a career at this point, but I will have her mentor keep a closer eye on her. In the meantime, check schedules and make sure she’s moved off any shifts overlapping yours.”
“Thanks, Mike.”
After Liam had ended his call with Chas, he’d turned to find Greer w
atching him as she set a snack in front of Wyatt.
“Everything okay?” she asked quietly.
Liam glanced at Wyatt. “We can talk about it a little later. Hey, Wyatt…”
“What, Daddy?”
“Once you finish that snack, you want to go to the barn and see the horses?”
Wyatt grinned. “Can we ride ‘em?”
“If you want.” He glanced at Greer. “You want to ride?”
“It’s been a while.”
Liam chuckled. “We won’t be doing anything more than a walk with Wyatt along. Put on some jeans. I’ll keep an eye on Wyatt for a few minutes.”
She nodded and turned for her room, shutting the door behind her. Liam stared after her. She’d been shy around him most of the day. He wondered if it was because she regretted the night before or because it was something so entirely new. Just thinking back to the way she’d felt wrapped around him, the way Chas had joined them, made Liam want to repeat it. Tonight, though, he wanted the opportunity for a little one-on-one, needed the reassurance she wasn’t afraid of him but was just as drawn to him as he was to her.
Greer returned to the kitchen in under five minutes, a pair of worn jeans snugging her hips and thighs in all the right places. He really needed her to let him sculpt her. Somehow, Liam had a feeling that would be a lot more difficult than getting her to agree to make love with him again.
Wyatt held her hand, tugging her toward the barn while Liam hung back watching them. He still found it hard to believe just how comfortable Wyatt was with her. He’d always seemed a bit shy of strangers, although he’d taken to Chas right away as well. Liam smirked. Maybe they needed to use his son as a character barometer. Anyone meeting with Wyatt’s approval, must be okay.
They’d reached the fence. Greer scooped Wyatt up and lifted him so he could climb the brown boards. As he straddled the top one, she held his little bottom in place. Liam wondered if she realized what a natural she was at mothering. An image of her swollen with their child superimposed itself on the scene in front of him. His child or Chas’, it really didn’t matter.
Lord, he’d never say anything to her about what he was thinking for fear he’d frighten her off. Was he already so vested in Greer, he was thinking babies? And what about Chas? They’d never really talked about it much. Now that seemed selfish on his part. He had a child, but what about Chas? What did he want? What did Greer want?
He pushed the thoughts away as he drew close and gave her and Wyatt a big grin. “If you guys will find the brushes, I’ll catch the horses and bring them in so we can groom them. Oh and look to see if there’s some fly spray in the tack room. The bugs will be worse now it’s evening.”
Greer bit her lower lip. “We are taking it easy, right?”
He cupped her cheek for a minute as he started past with halters and leads. “Just at a walk, and I’ll take Wyatt with me.”
Her look of relief made him chuckle. Unable to prevent himself, and forgetting for a moment about Wyatt, Liam dipped his head and gave her a kiss. When her lips parted in surprise, he stepped closer and slipped his tongue along her teeth. Mm. She was sweet…
“Daddy! Why you kissin’ Greer?”
He eased back, watching her blush. And that did make him laugh. “I’m kissing her ‘cause she’s pretty. Don’t you think so?”
Wyatt nodded and held out a brush. “I gots brushes.”
“That’s great, Wyatt,” Greer said bending to him. As she continued to talk to him, Liam rounded the barn and headed to the pasture, whistling for the two geldings. Like the gentlemen they were, the two horses trotted obediently to him, standing still as he haltered them and attached leads.
He sucked in a deep breath, feeling a contentment he’d missed. Chas had helped. Being with him, absorbing some of his upbeat outlook, had eased much of the bitterness and tension he’d been under since his divorce, but he realized Greer’s addition to the equation was simple—it completed them. She smiled at him as he rounded the barn corner, coming over to take one of the leads from him.
In no time at all, it seemed he was double-checking the girth and giving her a leg up onto the big Quarter Horse’s broad back. He’d originally bought this gelding for Julie, but she would have nothing to do with the horses, dismissing them as too filthy to bother with. After sitting Wyatt on the front of the other saddle, Liam vaulted behind him, his hands on the reins bracketing Wyatt safely aboard.
“Ready?”
Greer’s smile was just a bit nervous, but he admired her gumption. “You lead.”
He tilted his head. “How about we go side by side?”
He took her along the edge of the pasture and into the woods. Trails that had been there for years curled through the tangle of trees. They circulated through several neighboring farms. There’d always been an unwritten agreement that allowed crossing boundaries so long as any gate opened, was also closed after going through. It was simple common courtesy, but it had gotten them through plenty of years without incident.
“You know, I used to play in these woods when I was a kid.”
He caught Greer gazing off at the creek, a nostalgic look on her face.
“I wish I’d known,” he murmured. “I might have joined you. Now I wonder what the girl Greer looked like.”
She laughed, her gray eyes twinkling. “I had braids usually still damp from swimming—my first love—and I was even known to take a dip in the creek a few times.”
“So did you use the swimming hole where our property joins the Huntingtons’?”
She raised her brows as though surprised he knew of it, making him chuckle. “And here I always imagined I was the first ever in the history of mankind to find that particular swimming hole.” She eyed him up and down. “Why would you bother? You had your own pool.”
“Precisely why. Down here there were no parental eyes watching. My high school buddies and I spent a lot of misguided evenings here.”
Greer cleared her throat and glanced pointedly at Wyatt who was watching the two of them with lively, interested eyes. Liam glanced at his son and smiled indulgently. “So what do you think, Wyatt? You about ready for your own pony?”
His eyes rounded. “A pony? Tomorrow?”
“Well maybe not that quickly, sport. We’ll have to find the perfect one, and sometimes that takes time.” His gaze settled on Greer’s profile.
They let the horses drink at the edge of the pool, but when Greer’s gelding started to paw the water, Liam cautioned, “Give him a kick and take him on across. He likes to lie in water if you give him half a chance. Managed to soak Chas but good the first time he rode.”
Greer booted the horse and clucked, sending the gelding on his way. “Thanks for the warning. I think I’m past the point where I really want a dunk.”
“There’s always the pool when we get back.”
Her shoulders stiffened. She started to say something, but Wyatt piped up before she could speak. “I wanna swim. Can we? I packed swimmies.”
Liam saw the trepidation on Greer’s face. “We’ll see, buddy.”
She was still reluctant for anyone to see her scars. Liam sighed. In truth, they weren’t nearly as bad as she probably thought them. He remembered a kid he’d gone to school with who’d been burned as a child when he turned a pot of boiling water over on himself. The scarring had covered almost one entire side of his body and part of his face, but no one had ever really seemed to notice. George possessed such an engaging personality, he’d been everyone’s friend, so the burns had been a small and unimportant afterthought.
He hoped Greer would reach the point where she could see herself that way, but he’d seen last night, at the Captain’s Quarters, just how thoroughly she’d cut herself off from her previous life. Maybe it was time to force some of her past out into the open.
“You mentioned liking to swim,” he began. “Did you do it competitively?”
She nodded as she negotiated a bank and a turn in the trail. “Yes. I swam on a club tea
m and also for my high school.”
“Did you ski too?”
“Yes, I even had a scholarship offer to do it at Missouri State.”
“But you chose to stay here.”
“I’d never been away from my family, or Markus.”
Liam fell silent. He’d packed his bags and gone to Yale, had toyed with the idea of not ever coming home again. But his parents’ deaths had changed his outlook, and he’d realized he was more tied to the area than he’d thought. He’d brought an already growing reputation as an up and comer in sculpture with him. Combined with his family and social connections in the area, his success had been all but assured.
“I still want you to work with me in my studio.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Bring Wyatt. He likes to play with clay, and I can give you some pointers. We should head back.”
“Swimming, Daddy,” Wyatt reminded him. “Everyone.”
Chapter Eight
Greer’s nerves began to jump as they returned to the barn and untacked the horses. Wyatt had done nothing other than remind them again and again he wanted to swim. As he did once more, Liam met and held her gaze.
“Join us, Greer.” His tone was firm.
Her stomach turned over. “I…I don’t know if I can.”
He leveled a look on her, making it clear he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “I’ll take Wyatt upstairs with me to change while you get into your suit.”
God. Did she even still have a suit? As it turned out she did. Thank God, it was a one-piece at least. The conservative training suit covered more than she might have suspected because of its high neckline front and back.
When Greer had finally screwed up enough courage to emerge from her rooms, she looked out the kitchen window and saw Liam and Wyatt already alongside the pool. Liam was carefully sweeping it while Wyatt trailed behind him. She should get out there to help instead of standing here with her feet glued to the floor. She really should. Except her hands gripped the counter as though the earth were quaking, and how stupid was that? Her breath hitched while her heart pounded. Oh no. Not this time. She couldn’t give in to a panic attack, especially right in front of Wyatt.