Thane frowned as he joined the men in front of the television. The Autumn he knew would have been mad about her brother’s sexist comment, even if it had been told jokingly. Why was she amused instead?
The answer soon became obvious to Thane. The men in the family weren’t spoiled; they did their full share in helping out. While the women finished the preparations for the meal, the men took care of the children. The only complaint he heard came from Colin, who wasn’t very happy that his infant son needed a diaper change during a touchdown.
When everyone finally sat down at the table, Thane was slightly overwhelmed by the size of the gathering. Autumn hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d warned him about her family. Several conversations went on at the same time, and food seemed to be passed back and forth nonstop. Love for one another was evident in everything they did.
Thane grinned at the little girl in pigtails sitting across from him. She was eating a mashed-potatoes-and-jelly sandwich. Feeling Autumn’s mother’s eyes on his, he turned to her. “The meal is excellent, Mrs. O’Neil.”
“Call me Caitlin.” She glanced down the long table at her unusually quiet daughter. “Autumn’s the one who did most of the work.”
Thane looked at Autumn. Maybe he should have waltzed into the house, pulled Autumn into his arms, and kissed her senseless. At least her family would know how he felt and, sensing their internal goodness, would have allowed him to sit by her. As it was, she was three places away from him. He raised his voice to be heard over the din. “My compliments to the chef.”
Autumn’s blush earned a few speculative glances from her sisters-in-law. “Thank you.” She pushed her string beans into her mashed potatoes and moved the stuffing into the empty spot on her plate.
Thane went back to eating. He was overjoyed to see that his presence had an impact on her. He hadn’t known what to expect when he’d walked into the house with Paddy. He was trying to build a relationship by the seat of his pants. The thought of losing Autumn was unbearable. What he needed was a few quiet moments with her. If only she would explain what she had meant by all the comments about respect and responsibilities.
“Hey, Doc, ever deliver a baby?”
“Afraid not, Donald. My specialty is at the other end of the life cycle, geriatrics.”
He watched as the children finished their meals and headed outside, leaving the two chairs between him and Autumn empty. “So, Colleen, when did you say you were due?”
Twenty minutes later he could have delivered a baby blindfolded. He heard tales of contractions, umbilical cords, and postnatal depression. What the O’Neil wives didn’t know about conceiving, carrying, and delivering a baby hadn’t been written. He listened patiently, although what he really wanted to do was help Autumn clear the table and talk to her.
“Come on, Thane, the big game is starting,” Donald shouted from the living room.
He glanced at Autumn’s back as she dried plate after plate. Now was his chance to be alone with her. He stood up. “If you ladies will excuse me, I believe Autumn could use some help.”
He was within touching distance of her when Sharon plopped a baby in his arms. “You get on out of here. Guests don’t do dishes. Go take Patrick to his father, and we’ll help with the dishes.”
Thane saw Autumn smile at his uneasiness with the child, and frowned. So pediatrics wasn’t his field either. He carried the gurgling baby into the living room and wondered which one of Autumn’s brothers was the father.
“Are you ready to leave?” Paddy questioned.
Thane passed the baby to the first pair of empty male hands. “Now?” He didn’t want to leave; he hadn’t talked to Autumn yet.
“I want to get back in time for dessert. Hear they’re having pumpkin pie.”
Autumn had heard her grandfather and hurried from the kitchen, her hands nervously squeezing the dish towel. “We’re having pumpkin pie too.” Thane couldn’t leave. She hadn’t had time to talk to him yet. “I’ll go get you a piece.”
“No.” Paddy glanced from Thane to his granddaughter. “I want to go now.”
Thane looked at the television. “Look, Paddy, they just kicked off. How about we stay and watch the first quarter?”
“No.”
Autumn’s father looked at his father. “What’s the matter, Dad, don’t you want to spend time with your family?”
“Of course I do, son.” He grinned at his grandsons. “But I have a hot date tonight.” Autumn’s brothers burst out laughing. “Lillian is saving me a seat for dessert.”
Thane looked longingly at Autumn. Paddy’s timing was terrible. With a shrug he helped Paddy put on his coat and walked with him to the front door. Farewells, good-byes, and kisses were shared.
“You stop back in, Doc,” Bain said, Donald echoed the offer.
Thane smiled directly at Autumn. “I’m sure you all will be seeing me before you head back to New York.” He could have told them he’d be back within the hour, just as soon as he settled Paddy in the home.
Autumn’s father helped with getting Paddy situated in Thane’s car. After telling his father that they would all stop in at Maple Leaf tomorrow, he shut the car door and faced Thane. “I want to thank you again for bringing Paddy.”
Thane grasped his outstretched hand. “It was my pleasure, sir. I’ll be back later. You and I have something very important to discuss.”
Rory O’Neil shot a worried look at his father.
Thane chuckled. “The wrong O’Neil, sir.” He was still laughing as he pulled out of the driveway and headed for the home.
Autumn stood on the porch tapping her foot, irritated with Paddy. Thane, the man she loved, was driving away. She glanced up at her father as he joined her. “He’s despicable.”
“Who, Thane?”
“No, Paddy.” She glared at the departing car.
Her father stared at the car and then looked back at Autumn. His laugh vibrated in the air. “You’re in love with him.”
#
Autumn scowled at her father’s grin.
“Well, why are you staring at me?” He held his hands up in mock surrender. “I didn’t send him away.”
“You think I did?”
“I didn’t see you asking him to stay. For that matter, young lady, I didn’t see you doing anything.” He looked at the closed house door. “Didn’t your mother teach you anything?”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Go after him!” His voice resounded with authority. “You’re an O’Neil. An O’Neil always gets his man.”
Autumn continued to glare at her father. The man was uncouth. Didn’t he know that women weren’t supposed to go chasing after men? Then a smile curved her lips. Since when did she follow the norm? She was, after all, an O’Neil. “You’re right, Dad.” She opened the door to the house. “But I’m going to do it my way.”
Ten minutes later she stepped off the porch to the cheers and laughter of her entire family. Being dressed up as a turkey wasn’t as easy as she’d thought it would be. Huge orange plastic feet flapped with her every step, and goosebumps covered her legs clad only in orange tights. Feathers scattered in her wake as she strutted to the truck and opened the door. She realized she wouldn’t fit behind the wheel.
“Want me to drive?” Bain asked.
“Would you?” She threw him the keys. It took two of her brothers to lift her up into the cab of the pickup. “Thanks.” She placed the basket filled with the wooden eggs she and Thane had painted on the seat beside her.
She cheerfully waved good-bye to the crowd as Bain backed the truck out of the driveway.
#
Autumn placed the plastic beak over her nose and mouth and glanced down at her costume once more. It was show time. Nurse Harris had told her that Thane was in the dining hall with the residents. She looked at the double doors, tried to take a deep breath, and pushed open the doors. “Gobble, gobble, gobble.”
Squeals of laughter and delight filled the room.
Thane choked on a piece of pie when Autumn had made her entrance. He knew she had planned on handing out the eggs that night, but the costume had come as a shock. He laughed with the residents as she squeezed between tables and wheelchairs trying to avoid hands reaching out to pluck her bald. Feathers seem to be the coveted item of the hour.
“I’ve got a yellow one!”
“Mine’s pink.”
“Knock it off, you guys, and take your eggs,” Autumn pleaded. The way it was going, she would be the sickest-looking turkey in Virginia by the time she reached Thane’s table.
Thane calmly finished his pie, thinking Paddy had been right when he’d said Autumn would come. She was here, and she wasn’t leaving until he had had his say.
Autumn cast a quick glance at Thane as she strutted up to the last table-- his. She handed Beatrice and Harold their eggs, flapped her wings, and bowed as she presented Lillian with a charming pink egg. Autumn glared at Paddy as she reached into her basket for any old egg and thrust it into his hand.
Finally, with great care, she brought out a cloth-covered egg and slowly unwrapped it. Her fingers slightly trembled as she handed it to Thane.
Thane tenderly cradled the egg in his palm. Every eye in the room was on him as he silently read the fine inscription on the golden egg: “What can I say? I’m a turkey. Forgive me. Love, A.” He looked up into the love-filled eyes gazing back at him. Slowly he stood up and placed the egg in his pants pocket. He took the basket from Autumn’s fingers and handed it to Paddy with a wink. A wicked grin flashed across his face as he smoothly swept the turkey into his arms.
Cheers and laughter filled the hall as he carried his prize catch out of the dining hall.
Autumn clutched Thane’s neck and tried to keep her huge feet from hitting the walls as he carried her down the hall and into his office. She raised an eyebrow as he kicked the door shut and locked it.
He lowered his bundle and removed her beak. “Talk.”
Autumn nervously shifted her weight and studied the man who seemed more intent on removing her costume than listening to what she had to say. In a rush she said, “I’m not police material.”
#
Thane looked up from the knot on her costume he was trying to undo. “Explain.”
“I’m an O’Neil. All O’Neils are in law enforcement. I was the first to break tradition and resign.”
He removed the hood of her outfit and ran his fingers through her hair. “I love the feel of your hair.”
Autumn swallowed. “I’m a coward.”
Thane chuckled at the absurdity of her statement. He bent over her plastic feet. He refused to ask a woman dressed like Thanksgiving dinner to marry him.
She clutched at his shoulder for balance. The man wasn’t listening to her. “Really, Thane.”
He slipped the feet off and turned her around, looking for the zipper. “Tell me why you think you’re a coward.”
He lowered the zipper and helped her out of the outfit as she told the story of what had happened that star-studded night in a filthy New York alley. His hands trembled as he hauled her into his arms. She could have been killed. He might never have known her love. “Ah, baby, I’m sorry.”
She raised her mouth for his kiss. “You don’t think I am a coward?”
He brushed her lips with his thumb. “No, I think you were a very brave young woman who had happened to step into the wrong career.”
“But you’re a hero.”
The final piece of the puzzle fell into place. “No, love. I’m just a man who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.” He glanced at the faded scars on his hand. If it hadn’t been for the accident, he would never have met her. “Or was it the right place at the right time?”
She raised his hand and pressed her lips to the faint marks. “I love you, Doctor Clayborne.”
He tenderly brushed her hair away from her cheek. She looked so desirable in the brown-and-orange leotard she had on under the costume. “I’m very glad you couldn’t pull the trigger.” The mere thought of her being in that alley was going to give him nightmares for a long time.
“Why?”
He kissed her enticingly moist lips. “How would it look for a doctor’s wife to go around shooting people?”
“Wife?”
Thane chuckled. “I’ve seen your brothers.” He kissed the surprised look from her mouth. “Besides, Paddy has threatened me with a rubber hose if I don’t make an honest woman out of you.”
She snuggled closer. “Don’t let my family intimidate you.”
He gently cupped her chin and gazed into her eyes. “Will you, Autumn O’Neil, do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“We will probably disagree a lot.”
“Undoubtedly.” He teased her lips with a sweet kiss.
“I would like to attend some art classes.”
He caught her lower lip between his teeth, then released it. “I’d pose nude for you anytime.”
“O’Neils tend to have large families.”
“I’ve noticed.” He bathed her dewy lip with his tongue.
“What about . . .”
He crushed her mouth with a heated kiss, then pulled away when his control started to slip. Three days without Autumn had been pure hell. “Dammit, Autumn, answer the question.”
Her sweet whisper moved across his lips. “Yes.” Imitating his loving attention, she captured his lower lip between her teeth, then slowly released it. “Yes.” Her tongue skillfully bathed his lower lip. “Yes.”
Thane’s control snapped as heat built to a feverish pitch. “We can’t go back to your place.” He pressed her hips against his straining arousal.
She rotated her hips and pulled his mouth back down toward hers. “There’s always your place.”
He cupped her bottom and groaned. “My parents are there.”
She ran her tongue around his ear. “Why?”
“They wanted to meet you.” His hands slipped up to her waist and cupped the gentle swelling of her breasts. Hard nipples strained against his palms. She wasn’t wearing a bra. “Autumn, you have to help me here.” He kissed her throat. “We can’t make love in my office.”
She pulled him deeper into the cradle of her thighs. Three nights without him was a powerful aphrodisiac. “Why not?”
“Unprofessional,” he muttered against her neck.
She chuckled and glanced around the room. “I’m not your patient.” Her fingers trembled with desire as she reached for the buckle on his pants. “Tell me, Doctor Clayborne, have you ever made love on an examination table?”
Epilogue
Night had gently fallen. Moonlight was bathing Maple Leaf and the brightly decorated eggs placed lovingly on nightstands and bureaus. The residents were all tucked in their beds for their well-deserved rest, and many of them dreamed of past loves, weddings, and happily-ever-afters. Earlier the dining hall had buzzed with their cheers and knowing smiles. They had all felt they had played a small part in the doctor and Autumn’s happiness. After all, if it wasn’t for them, the young couple would never have met.
The halls were dimly lit, and nurses were trying to keep awake through another night shift. Nurse Nagel left her chair to tack a notice on the announcement board. A smile softened her stern features. The Virginia Coalition of Retired Persons had listed Maple Leaf as the number-one facility for the elderly in the state.
A dark figure melted into the shadows and slowly made its way through the home. He bypassed three open doors before silently slipping into one.
He reached out a gentle hand into the darkness and tenderly brushed a wisp of white hair off Millicent’s pale cheek. Then he grazed her cheek with a soft kiss.
A smile curved th
e sleeping woman’s mouth while the mysterious intruder carefully placed a long-stemmed red rose on the edge of her pillow.
The dark figure backed away from the bed. A pale shaft of moonlight played across his face as he rounded the bed and silently headed back to the door. Cautiously Reko peered down the deserted hall before slipping out into its darkness.
The Kissing Bandit had struck again, bringing more than just a kiss and a rose. He left behind hope for another tomorrow.
The End
. . .
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. . .
Another hot story from Marcia Evanick ...
An excerpt from
Perfect Morning
#
Chickens! There must have been ten chickens and two geese running around in circles, squawking and clucking. More than the birds, though, the kids held Jason Nesbit’s attention. Seven of them were trying to catch the chickens; each was slipping and sliding and covered from head to toe in mud. It was a total free-for-all. Laughter and screams filled the air.
Every time the kids made a circle around the chickens, the chickens charged and the kids ended up in the mud as they tried to grab them. No one seemed to mind the mud. Everyone was having a ball. Jason couldn’t tell which were boys and which were girls, except the oldest.
Even with all that mud, he couldn’t mistake the generous fullness of her breasts or the enticing curve of her hips. He grinned as she landed on her well-shaped fanny once again. One of the little ones toddled over and calmly scooped up a handful of mud and dropped it down her back. He could hear the shrieks from where he stood, then he heard her laughter. The happy sound seemed to cascade over him, and he couldn’t tear his gaze from her. Then he pulled himself up short. He wasn’t there to ogle a young woman whom he presumed was Mrs. McCormick’s babysitter. He was there to find his daughter.
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