Feeling the Heat

by Brenda Jackson

  They would see each other in the mornings, and then usually, during the day, they went their separate ways. It wasn’t uncommon for one of his female cousins or cousins-in-laws to come pick her up. On those days, he wouldn’t see her till much later. So much for them spending time together.

  “Good morning, Micah.”

  He put down his cup and pushed the newspaper aside. “Good morning, Kalina. Did you enjoy going shopping yesterday?”

  She sat down at the table across from him and smiled. “I didn’t go shopping yesterday. We did that two days ago. Yesterday, we went into town and watched a movie. One of those chick flicks.”

  He nodded. She could have asked him, and he would have taken her to the movies, chick flick or not. He got up to pour himself another cup of coffee, trying not to notice what she was wearing. Most days she would be wearing jeans and a top. Today she had put on a simple dress. Seeing her in it reminded him once again of what a nice pair of legs she owned.

  “Are you and the ladies going someplace again today?” he decided to ask her.

  She shook her head. “No. I plan to hang around here today. But I promise not to get in your way.”

  “You won’t get in my way.” He came back to the table and sat down. “Other than that day we went riding, I haven’t shown you the rest of my property.”

  She lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “You mean there’s more?”

  He chuckled. “Yes, there’s a part that I lease out to Ramsey for his sheep, and then another part I lease out to my brother Jason and my cousins Zane and Derringer for their horse-breeding business.”

  He took a sip of his coffee. “So how about us spending the day together?”

  She smiled brightly. “I’d love to.”

  * * *

  Hours later when Micah and Kalina returned to Micah’s Manor, she dropped down in the first chair she came to, which was a leather recliner in the living room. When Micah had suggested they spend time together, she hadn’t expected that they would be gone for most of the day.

  First, after she had changed clothes, they had gone riding and he’d shown her the rest of his property. Then he had come back so they could change clothes, and they had taken the truck into town. He had driven to the nursing home to visit a man by the name of Henry Ryan. Henry, Micah had explained, had been the town’s doctor for years and had delivered every Westmoreland born in Denver, including his parents. The old man, who was in his late nineties, was suffering from a severe case of Alzheimer’s.

  It had been obvious to Kalina from the first that the old man had been glad to see Micah and vice versa. Today, Henry’s mind appeared sharp, and he had shared a lot with her, including some stories from Micah’s childhood years. On the drive home, Micah had explained that things weren’t always that way. There would be days when he visited Henry and the old man hadn’t known who he was. Micah had credited Henry with being the one to influence him to go into the medical field.

  Today, Kalina had seen another side of Micah. She’d known he was a dedicated doctor, but she’d seen him interact with people on a personal level. Not only had he visited with Henry, but he had dropped by the rooms of others at the nursing home that he’d gotten to know over the years. He remembered them, and they remembered him. Before arriving at the home, he had stopped by a market and purchased fresh fruit for everyone, which they all seemed to enjoy.

  Seeing them, especially the older men, made her realize that her father would one day get old and she would be his caretaker. He was in the best of health now, but he wasn’t getting any younger. It also made her realize, more so than ever, just what a caring person Micah was.

  She turned to Micah, who’d come to sit on the sofa across from her. “I’ll prepare dinner tonight.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You can cook?”

  Kalina laughed. “Yes. I lived on my grandparents’ farm in Alabama for a while, remember. They were big cooks and taught me my way around any kitchen. I just don’t usually have a lot of time to do it when I’m working.”

  She glanced at her watch. “I think I’ll cook a pot of spaghetti with a salad. Mind if I borrow the truck and go to that Walmart we passed on the way back to get some fresh ingredients?”

  “No, I don’t mind,” he said, standing and pulling the truck keys from his pocket. His cousins had stocked his kitchen, but only with non-perishables. “Although you might want to check with Chloe or Pam. They probably have what you’ll need since they like to cook.”

  “I’m sure they do, but I need to get a prescription filled anyway. I didn’t think about it earlier while we were out.”

  “No problem. Do you want me to drive you?”

  “No, I’ll be fine.” She stood. “And I won’t be gone long.”

  * * *

  “Glad to see that you’re out of your foul mood, Micah,” Derringer Westmoreland said with a grin as he fed one of the horses he kept in Micah’s barn.

  Micah shot him a dirty look, which any other man would have known meant he should zip it, but Derringer wasn’t worried. He knew his cousin was not the hostile type. “I don’t know what brought it on, but you need to chill. Save your frown for those contagious diseases.”

  Micah folded his arms across his chest. “And when did you become an expert on domestic matters, Derringer?”

  Derringer chuckled. “On the day I married Lucia. I tell you, my life hasn’t been the same since. Being married is good. You ought to try it.”

  Micah dropped his hands to his sides and shrugged. “I plan on it. I just have to get Kalina to trust me. She’s got to get to know me better.”

  Derringer frowned, which didn’t surprise Micah. Whereas Zane hadn’t seen anything strange by that comment, Derringer would. “Doesn’t she know you already?”

  “Not the way I want her to. She thinks I betrayed her a couple of years ago, and I believe that once she gets to know me she’ll see I’m not capable of doing anything like that.”

  Now it was Derringer who crossed his arms over his chest. “Wouldn’t it be easier just to tell her that you didn’t do it?”

  “I tried that. It’s her father’s word against mine, and she chose to believe her father.”

  Derringer rubbed his chin in a thoughtful way. “You can always confront her old man and beat the truth out of him.” He then glanced around. “And speaking of Kalina, where is she? I know the ladies decided not to do anything today since both Lucia and Chloe had to take the babies in for their regular pediatric visits.”

  “She’s preparing dinner and needed to pick up a few items from the store.” Micah checked his watch. “She’s been gone longer than I figured she would be.”

  Concern touched Derringer’s features. “You think she’s gotten lost?”

  “She shouldn’t be lost since she was only going to that Walmart a few miles away. If she’s not back in a few more minutes, I’ll call her on her cell phone to make sure she’s okay.”

  The two men had walked out of the barn when Micah’s phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number. “Yes?”

  “Mr. Westmoreland, this is Nurse Nelson at Denver Memorial. There was a car accident involving Kalina Daniels, and she was brought into the emergency room. Your number was listed in her phone directory as one of those to call in case of an emergency. Since you’re local we thought we would call you first.”

  Micah’s heart stopped beating. “She was in an accident?”

  “Yes.”

  “How is she?” he asked in a frantic tone.

  “Not sure. The doctor is checking her out now.”

  Absently, Micah ended the call and looked at Derringer. “Kalina was in an accident, and she’s been taken to Denver Memorial.”

  Derringer quickly tied the horse to the nearest post. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  * * *

  “Do you know an E.R. doctor’s biggest nightmare?”

  Kalina glanced over at the doctor who was checking out the bruise on her arm. “What?”

  “Having
to treat another doctor.”

  Kalina laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t that bad, Dr. Parker.”

  “No.” The older doctor nodded while grinning. “I understand you were worse. According to the paramedics, you wouldn’t let them work on you until they’d checked out the person who was driving the other car. The one who ran the red light and caused the accident.”

  “Only because I knew I was fine. She’s the one whose air bag deployed,” Kalina said.

  “Yes, but still, you deserved to be checked out as much as she did.”

  Kalina didn’t say anything as she remembered the accident. She hadn’t seen it coming. She had picked up all the things she needed from the store and was on her way back to Micah’s Manor when out of nowhere, a car plowed into her from the side. She could only be thankful that she’d been driving Micah’s heavy-duty truck and not a small car. Otherwise, her injuries would have been more severe.

  “I don’t like the look of this knot on your head. I should keep you overnight for observation.”

  Kalina shook her head. “Don’t waste a bed. I’ll be fine.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t have to tell you about head injuries, do I, Dr. Daniels?”

  She rolled her eyes. “No, sir, you don’t.”

  “Are you living alone?”

  “No, I’m visiting someone in this area. I think your nurse has already called Micah.”

  The doctor looked at her. “Micah? Micah Westmoreland?”

  Kalina smiled. “Yes. You know him?”

  The doctor nodded. “Yes, I went to high school with his father. I know those Westmorelands well. It was tragic how they lost their parents, aunt and uncle in that plane crash.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “The folks around here can’t help admiring how they all stuck together in light of that devastation, and now all of them have made something of themselves, even Bane. God knows we’d almost given up on him, but now I understand that he’s—”

  Suddenly the privacy curtain was snatched aside, and Micah stood there with a terrified look on his face. “Kalina!”

  And before she could draw her next breath, he had crossed the floor and pulled her into his arms.

  Ten

  Back at Micah’s Manor, Kalina, who was sitting comfortably on the sofa, rolled her eyes. “If you ask me one more time if I’m okay, I’m going to scream. Read my lips, Micah. I’m fine.”

  Micah drew in a deep breath. He knew he was being anal, but he couldn’t help it. When he’d received a call from that nurse about Kalina’s accident, he’d lost it. It was a good thing Derringer had been there. There was probably no way he could have driven to the hospital without causing his own accident. He’d been that much of a basket case.

  “Don’t fall asleep, Kalina. If you do, I’m only going to wake you up,” he warned.

  She shook her head. “Micah, have you forgotten I’m a doctor, as well. I’m familiar with the dos and don’ts following a head injury. But, like I told Dr. Parker at the hospital, I’m fine.”

  “And I intend to make sure you stay that way.” Micah crossed the room to her, leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips.

  He straightened and glanced down at her. “I don’t think you know how I felt when I received that call, Kal. It reminded me so much of the call I got that day from Dillon, telling me about Mom, Dad, Uncle Thomas and Aunt Susan. I was at the university, in between classes, and it seemed that everything went black.”

  She nodded slowly, hearing the pain in his voice. “I can imagine.”

  He shook his head. “No, honestly, you can’t.” He sat down beside her. “It was the kind of emotional pain and fear I’d hoped never to experience again. But I did today, when I got that call about you.”

  She stared at him for a few moments and then reached over and took his hand in hers. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that to you.”

  He sighed deeply. “It wasn’t your fault. Accidents happen. But if I didn’t know before, I know now.”

  She lifted a brow. “You know what?”

  “How much I care for you.” He gently pulled her onto his lap. “I know you’ve been thinking that I’ve been acting moody and out of sorts for the past couple of days, but I wanted so much for you to believe I’m not the person you think I am.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, as well. “I know. And I also know that’s why you didn’t want to make love to me.”

  She twisted around in his arms to face him. “You were wasting both our time by doing that, you know. I realized even before leaving India that you hadn’t lied to me about our affair in Sydney.”

  He pulled back, surprised. “You had?”

  “Yes. I had accepted what you said as the truth before I agreed to come here to Denver with you.”

  She smiled. “I figured that you had to be telling the truth, otherwise, you were taking a big risk in bringing me here to meet your family. But then I knew for a fact that you had been telling the truth once you got me here and wanted to put a hold on our lovemaking. You were willing to do without something I knew you really wanted just to prove yourself to me. You really didn’t have to.”

  He covered her hand with his. “I felt that I did have to do it. Someone once told me that sacrifices today will result in dividends tomorrow, and I wanted you for my dividend. I love you, Kalina.”

  “And I love you, too. I realized that before coming here, as well. That night you took me dancing and I felt something in the way you held me, in the way you were talking to me. That night, I knew the truth in what you had been trying to tell me. And I knew the truth about what my feelings were for you.”

  She quieted for a moment and then said, “Although there’s not an excuse for my father’s actions, I believe I know why he did what he did. He’s always been controlling, but I never thought he would go that far. I was wrong. And I was wrong for not believing you in the first place.”

  He shook his head. “No, like I said, you didn’t know me. We had an affair that was purely sexual. The only commitment we’d made was to share a bed. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I wanted more from you. That night you ended things was the night I had planned on telling you how I felt. Afterward, I was angry that you didn’t believe in me, that you actually thought I didn’t care, that I would go along with your father about something like that.”

  He paused. “When I came home, I told Dillon everything and he suggested that I straighten things out. But my pride wouldn’t let me. I wasted two years being angry, but the night I saw you again I knew that no matter what, I would make you mine.”

  “No worries then,” Kalina said, reaching up and cupping his chin. “I am yours.”

  He inhaled sharply when her fingers slid beneath his T-shirt to touch his naked skin over his heart. It seemed the moment she touched him that heat consumed him and spread to every part of his body. Although he tried playing it down, his desire for her was magnified to a level he hadn’t thought possible.

  All he could think about was that he’d almost lost her and the fear that had lodged in his throat had made it difficult to breathe. And now she was here, back at his manor, where she belonged. He knew then that he would always protect her. Not control her like her old man tended to do, but to protect her.

  “Make love to me, Micah.”

  Her whispered request swept across his lips. “I need you inside me.”

  Micah studied her thoughtfully. He saw the heat in her eyes and felt the feverishness of her skin. Other than that one time on the sofa, he hadn’t touched her since coming to Denver, wanting her to get to know the real him. Well, at that moment, the real him wanted her with a passion that he felt even in the tips of his fingers. She knew him, and she loved him, just as he loved her.

  “What about your head?” he whispered, standing, sweeping her into his arms and moving toward the stairs.

  She wrapped her arms around him and chuckled against his neck. “My head is fine, but there is another ache that’s bothering me. To
be quite honest with you, it was bothering me a long time before the accident. It’s the way my body is aching to be touched by you. Loved by you. Needed by you.”

  Just how he made it up the stairs to his bedroom, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he had placed her in the middle of his bed, stripped off her clothes and taken off his own clothes in no time at all. He stood at the foot of the bed, gazing at her. He let his eyes roam all over her and knew there was nothing subtle about how he was doing it.

  This was the first time she had been in his bed, but he had fantasized about her being here plenty of times. Even during the last five days, when he’d known she was sleeping in the bedroom above his, he had wanted her here, with him. More than once, he had been tempted to get up during the night and go to her, to forget about the promise of not touching her until she had gotten to know him. It had been hard wanting her and vowing not to touch her.

  And she hadn’t made it easy. At times she had deliberately tried tempting him again. She would go shopping with his cousins and then parade around in some of the sexiest outfits a store could sell. But he had resisted temptation.

  But not now. He didn’t plan on resisting anything, especially not the naked woman stretched out in the middle of his huge bed looking as if she belonged there. He intended to keep her there.

  “I love you,” he said in a low, gravelly voice filled with so much emotion he had to fight from getting choked. “I knew I did, but I didn’t know just how much until I got that phone call, Kalina. You are my heart. My soul. My very reason for existing.”

  He slowly moved toward the bed. “I never knew how much I cherished this part of our relationship until it was gone. I can’t go back and see it as ‘just sex’ anymore. Not when I can distinctively hear, in the back of my mind, all your moans of pleasure, the way you groan to let me know how much you want me. Not when I remember that little smile that lets me know just how much you are satisfied. No, we never had sex. We’ve always made love.”

  Kalina breathed in Micah’s scent as he moved closer to her. Not wanting to wait any longer, she rose up in the bed and met him. When he placed his knee on the bed, they tumbled back into the bedcovers together. At that moment, everything ceased to exist except them.