A White Knight in ER

by Jessica Matthews

  ‘Trevor is, but Angie isn’t. Her room smells funny. Her words, not mine.’

  Once again, her shoulders seemed to slump. ‘I’d hoped the smoke and extinguisher fumes hadn’t drifted into the bedrooms.’

  ‘It did, but it’s not as bad. Did you call your insurance agent?’

  ‘He’ll stop by in the morning. He suggested a motel for the night.’

  ‘Good idea.’

  ‘The only problem is, with the car races this weekend and a special country and western concert, there aren’t any vacancies.’

  ‘Is there someone else you can stay with?’

  She shook her head and he remembered that her closest friend was out of town.

  ‘What about your parents?’

  ‘They have an apartment in an assisted living complex. It’s barely big enough for the two of them.’

  ‘What about your neighbors?’

  She gave him a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding look. ‘After meeting the group, what do you think?’

  ‘Sorry I asked.’

  She stared into the kitchen and her voice sound far-away. ‘What a mess.’

  ‘Yeah, but it could be worse.’

  ‘I know.’ She let out a long, heartfelt sigh. ‘I truly am grateful my house didn’t burn to the ground. I’m just having trouble coping with this on top of everything else.’

  Moisture glimmered in her eyes and she brushed at her cheeks, leaving tell-tale streaks. Her lack of control was probably as upsetting as the events themselves.

  ‘Most people would,’ he said. ‘Myself included.’

  ‘The sad thing is, I don’t know where to begin. It’s all so overwhelming.’

  Jonas didn’t hesitate. He flung one arm around her stiff shoulders. ‘Sure it is, but a week from now you’ll look back and laugh.’

  Her eyes shimmered as she looked at him and tried to smile. ‘Do you think so?’

  ‘Without a doubt.’ As he stared at her trembling lips and enjoyed the softness of her body in his embrace, only one thing popped into his head.

  Kiss her.

  Before he talked himself out of his impulse, he closed the distance between his mouth and hers.

  It occurred to him as he held her in his arms that none of his previous experiences had prepared him for this one with Megan. Time stood still as he carefully and thoroughly plundered her mouth. With one hand he molded her to him, noticing that she fit his frame like a glove.

  In spite of the residual smoke on their clothing, he could still detect traces of her fruity perfume and knew he would never be able to eat apples again without thinking of her.

  A sigh escaped her mouth and he quickly took advantage of her parted lips to insert his tongue and caress hers. He stroked her face and traced a path down to her heart. Although he wanted to explore further, a plaintive voice from across the room stopped him.

  ‘I can’t sleep,’ Angie whined as she tottered down the hall, carrying a teddy bear. ‘My nose keeps tickling.’

  Megan broke out of Jonas’s hold as if propelled by rocket fuel, and all he could think about was Angie’s bad timing and his own thwarted desire.

  She met Angie halfway. ‘I know it’s hard, honey, but you’ll just have to do your best. Would a fan help?’

  The high note in her voice suggested that she wasn’t as unaffected as she appeared, and it was a heady thought to realize that she’d felt the impact as much as he had.

  ‘Then I’ll be cold,’ she said.

  ‘Not if you snuggle under your covers,’ Megan answered.

  Becoming entangled in Megan’s small family had never been his intent, but he couldn’t possibly turn his back on them in their hour of need. ‘There is another option,’ he said slowly.

  Megan turned to face him. ‘Which is?’

  ‘Come home with me.’

  ‘With you? You’re kidding.’

  ‘I’m not.’ Now that he’d offered, he realized how much he liked the idea. To a man who thrived on new experiences, this was certain to become a memorable occasion. ‘I have a spare room and we can make a pallet for Trevor on the floor.’

  ‘Yes, but…’ She hesitated.

  ‘But what?’ he coaxed.

  She lowered her voice. ‘I can’t stay at your house.’

  ‘Why not?’

  ‘You kissed me.’

  ‘I’d do it again, if you’d let me, but kisses are a separate issue. I’m offering my house with no strings attached.’

  She nibbled on her lip. ‘Won’t we cramp your style?’

  ‘I’ll have to cancel the orgy I had planned but, hey, what the heck. It’s all in a good cause.’

  Megan blushed. ‘Really, Jonas…’

  ‘I wouldn’t have offered if your presence would pose a problem,’ he said quietly. It would, but the problem was with him, not her. He probably wouldn’t close his eyes all night because of Megan lying in the other room in the spare double bed.

  ‘Please, Mommy?’ Angie begged. ‘Teddy and I would sleep really good.’

  Sensing Megan would refuse, he said idly, ‘Tell me, something. Do you have trouble accepting help from everyone, or is it just me?’

  Her smile was weak. ‘Both. We truly won’t be in your way?’

  ‘Not at all. Tomorrow is Saturday, so you’ll have all day to deal with insurance agents, cleaning services and appliance stores.’

  She slapped the heel of her palm to her forehead. ‘I forgot. I’m supposed to work tomorrow. It’s my weekend.’

  ‘Under the circumstances, I don’t think anyone would fault you for taking a personal day. Why don’t I call right now and explain? That will give your supervisor the rest of the evening to find a replacement.’

  He expected an argument but luckily none came. ‘OK,’ she said. ‘Let me pack a few things first.’

  Thirty minutes later, her mini-van—he chuckled inwardly at the irony when he saw it—was loaded with changes of clothes for all three, Trevor’s diaper bag filled with his necessities and another bag with his cereal, juice and milk, since Jonas admitted that he didn’t have any of the latter.

  Megan followed Jonas in her vehicle and once Angie caught sight of the dog standing guard at the foot of his porch steps, she could hardly wait for Jonas to open her door. ‘What’s his name?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t know. She’s a stray,’ Jonas answered as he loaded himself down with Megan’s belongings while she carried a still-sleeping Trevor.

  She skipped alongside him. ‘Can I play with her?’

  ‘Tomorrow,’ Megan said firmly. ‘Right now, it’s bedtime for little girls and dogs.’

  ‘OK. Goodnight, doggie.’ Angie walked into Jonas’s house. ‘Where’s our room?’

  ‘Right here.’ Jonas led the way to the second door on the left and dumped their cargo on the bed. ‘The bathroom we just passed is yours. Help yourself to the towels, soap and shampoo.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  He found an extra bedspread in the hall closet and folded it into a makeshift mattress. Megan laid Trevor on it and covered him with his own blanket while Angie insisted on goodnight kisses from both adults before she crawled into the bed.

  ‘This is much better,’ she whispered. ‘Teddy and I can sleep now.’

  ‘Sweet dreams,’ Jonas said as he watched Angie burrow under the comforter. Trevor snuffled in his sleep, and Jonas knew that if he lived to be a hundred, he’d never forget the picture of innocence sheltered within this room.

  ‘Goodnight, Jonas,’ Megan said softly, breaking his concentration.

  ‘Yeah. See you in the morning.’ He backed out and closed the door, awed by this new experience. For a man who worked hard at his job and played equally hard at whatever endeavor captured his current fancy, having three guests, two of them under the age of five, made him feel as if he’d started playing a new game but without the rule book.

  It’s only for one night, he told himself as he trod softly into the living room and turned the television volume to a barely audible l
evel. He tried to forget that he’d offered a roof and a bed to three people who needed one, but the feel of Angie’s arms around his neck and her soft kiss on his cheek was indelibly marked in his mind. If that weren’t enough, the water running in the shower made forgetting their presence an impossibility.

  How he would like to join Megan for a few hours.

  Wishing was one thing, reality another. Even if she was willing and the opportunity presented itself, nothing could happen. ‘No sex’ was part of his prescription and that was that.

  But all this, including his memory of their kiss, didn’t stop his imagination from running amok.

  Not eager for a frigidly cold shower, he refocused on Trevor and Angie and smiled as he remembered how easily they’d declared him trustworthy by their simple actions.

  Parenthood was an adventure, if the stories his friends had related were any indication. Angie would break hearts and Trevor would attract girls with his big brown eyes and special smile. Yes, it would be interesting to see these two in about fifteen years.

  Fifteen years. He never thought ahead that far—it was against his rule. Somehow, though, Megan had totally turned his life upside down and made him forget the very precepts that governed his life.

  That wasn’t the only rule he’d broken either. He’d always avoided his current flame’s family members without exception. Sunday dinners, holiday gatherings, weddings—whatever the occasion, he refused to join in. He knew what would happen if he ever met parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, but he’d never lumped children in that category.

  He had a feeling that he would pay dearly for his mistake.

  ‘My gosh, Megan,’ Serena McAllister said as soon as Megan had finished her recitation of the week’s events over the phone on Saturday. ‘I leave town and all these interesting things happen to you.’

  ‘Some of them I could definitely live without,’ Megan replied wryly. ‘Like my needlestick injury.’

  ‘I know you’re worried about it, but you’re doing everything possible to protect yourself. Hang onto that thought.’

  ‘I’m trying.’

  ‘As for Dwight, I say good riddance.’

  Megan twisted the telephone cord. ‘I thought you were happy for me when he proposed!’

  ‘I was, because he was what you wanted, although I never understood what you saw in him.’

  ‘I wish you’d mentioned something sooner.’

  ‘Are you kidding? Who was I to question if you two could have made a marriage work?’

  ‘You’re my friend,’ Megan reminded her. ‘You’re supposed to be my voice of sanity.’

  ‘OK. I solemnly promise that the next time you hook up with a self-centered snob, I’ll bluntly tell you. Satisfied?’

  Megan smiled. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘So tell me about this new doctor. The one who invited you to stay at his house last night.’

  ‘There’s nothing to tell.’

  ‘Puh-leeze.’

  ‘I hardly know him,’ Megan protested mildly. ‘Other than he’s in his mid-thirties and has lived and worked all over the country.’

  ‘Does he have a significant other? Scratch that. If he did, he wouldn’t have invited you to spend the night.’

  ‘Jonas is the type of guy who doesn’t have any trouble finding female companionship,’ Megan answered. ‘He should have been in the navy, because I’m sure he has at least one girlfriend in every port.’

  ‘Is he good-looking?’

  ‘There isn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t love to be seen with him,’ she said wryly.

  ‘That good, huh?’

  ‘Definitely. Before you get any ideas, you should know that he’s totally scared of commitment.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘He doesn’t stay anywhere long enough to grow roots.’

  ‘Maybe he’s just not found the right place to call home.’

  ‘Only because he’s not looking. To be honest, I don’t understand why he’s bothering with me and my problems, unless he’s doing it out of guilt.’

  ‘He did you a favor when he gave Dwight that advice,’ Serena said firmly. ‘Otherwise you two would be forever hanging in limbo.’

  ‘I know. The fact remains, I’m not Jonas’s usual good-time girl, so why he keeps coming around is a mystery.’

  Then again, if Jonas had noticed how the stars had fallen and the earth had stood still during their kiss, perhaps his constant presence in her life wasn’t so mysterious after all. She’d been so bowled over by the current flowing between them that her knees had wobbled and her toes had tingled. If he hadn’t pressed her against him, she wouldn’t have been able to stand.

  He’d literally taken her breath away and if not for Angie’s interruption, it was hard to tell what would have happened next.

  Whatever it was, it would have been so, so sweet.

  ‘You’ll be surprised how many men will come around now that dorky Dwight is out of the picture,’ Serena commented.

  The mention of Dwight’s name brought Megan out of her dreamy state. Had the smoke totally fogged her brain? Sure, it was nice, better than nice, to lean on Jonas. He made her feel as if she wasn’t standing alone against the world. Yet she had absolutely no business getting dewy-eyed over him.

  First of all, she wasn’t ready to start another relationship so soon after her fiasco with Dwight, much less have one with a man who would be here today and gone tomorrow. Secondly, she had children to think of, children who needed adults they could count on for the long haul. Jonas didn’t fit that most important requirement but, oh, how she wished that he did!

  ‘It wouldn’t matter, because I’m not interested,’ Megan said flatly. ‘And if I was, how many do you think will come around if my HIV test is positive?’

  ‘Now, don’t go borrowing trouble.’

  ‘I’m being realistic,’ Megan said flatly. ‘I need to focus my energies on making a plan for the kids.’

  Dead silence. ‘You’re really spooked by your needle-stick, aren’t you?’

  ‘Wouldn’t you be?’

  She heard Serena’s sigh. ‘I guess, but you can’t think like that. It’s self-defeating.’

  ‘I’m only trying to be prepared.’

  ‘But the result could be negative and if it isn’t, it could be years before you develop any symptoms. By then—’

  ‘Trevor and Megan will be teenagers. Who knows what shape my father will be in?’

  ‘And we could get hit by a car tomorrow,’ Serena declared. ‘I, for one, am not going to dwell on the worst-case scenario. The best way for you to do that, too, is to relax and concentrate on the here and now for the next few weeks. The future will take care of itself. As for your love life, who knows? You could discover that your Jonas is a “keeper”.’

  He might be, Megan admitted to herself, except that he didn’t want to be ‘kept’. He wasn’t even willing to own a dog, for heaven’s sake. Falling for another man who thought commitment and family responsibilities were horrible fates would rank as one of the most foolish things she could ever do.

  And yet…she’d seen the longing on his face before he’d left the bedroom, the soft expression as he’d gazed upon Trevor sleeping on the pallet he’d made and his surprised but pleased expression when Angie had insisted on giving him a goodnight kiss.

  Perhaps there was hope for him.

  ‘Speaking of your munchkins, how are they?’

  Megan grinned, remembering how she’d woken this morning to the sound of Trevor talking to himself as he’d played with his toes. ‘They’re great. It was quite an adventure for them to stay at Jonas’s house. I was pleased they were on their best behavior at breakfast.’

  ‘How you intend to get any work done today with them underfoot escapes me,’ Serena said in a manner that suggested she was shaking her head.

  ‘Fortunately, they’re not here. I took them over to my mom and dad’s. I’ll pick them up around dinnertime.’ She hoped she’d finish earlier.
With her father as unsteady as he was, she hated to burden her mother with two energetic children for hours on end. It was one thing to be there with them, taking care of their needs so that her parents could shower them with attention, but it was quite another to dump more responsibility on her mom.

  ‘How’s your dad?’

  ‘Some days better than others.’

  ‘Did you tell them about what’s been going on?’

  ‘Everything except my accident at work.’ The news of the kitchen fiasco had bothered them more than hearing about her broken engagement.

  ‘I know you’re devastated.’ Her mother had said, patting her hand. ‘But things will get better. Dwight simply wasn’t the man for you. I’m rather relieved that you two realized it before you went through a marriage ceremony.’

  Megan had been glad they’d taken the situation in their stride, but it bothered her that they had seen a flaw in his character that she had not.

  ‘Oh, gosh, look at the time. I hate to run,’ Serena said, ‘and I’m sorry to hear about your house. If I didn’t have a roommate, I’d give you the key to my place in a heartbeat.’

  ‘I know. We’ll be fine. Thanks anyway.’

  Realizing how fast the morning was disappearing, Megan began airing out the house as she went through her mental checklist of people she’d contacted.

  The insurance agent had been helpful and instructed her to save all her receipts for repairs. The cleaning service was more than happy to take on the job of restoring her kitchen and home after the offending stove had been removed. Unfortunately, they weren’t available until Wednesday.

  Although Jonas had insisted they could stay with him until then, she couldn’t justify doing so.

  ‘At least stay one more night,’ he’d told her. ‘Why stress the kids’ lungs when you don’t need to?’

  With that final argument, she’d reluctantly agreed.

  And so, after a quick breakfast of toast and cereal at his house, Jonas went by the rental shop and met them at her address with his blue convertible loaded with fans of every size and shape imaginable. He’d stayed long enough to set them up in each room before going on his golf date. A date that Megan wanted to ask about, but didn’t. Sharing a kiss didn’t give her the right to ask questions about who shared his spare time.