Four-Karat Fiancee
Page 14
“Oh, my God.” Amanda quickly set Betsy down and knelt beside Louise. “What happened?”
“I…I believe I slipped on something,” was the older woman’s breathless reply. “My foot seemed to go right out from under me.”
“And I think I see why,” Dev said in a sober tone.
Amanda looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
He dipped his head toward an object resting on the floor inches away. It was a little ranch wagon, with a brown plastic body and shiny black wheels. “Seems to me I’ve seen that toy before.”
“Mmm-hmm,” Amanda murmured.
With that, four heads—Amanda’s, Dev’s, Liza’s and Caleb’s—turned in unison to gaze at Patrick. The four-year-old shuffled his feet, swallowed hard and finally managed to get out one short and very quiet statement.
“Uh-oh.”
UH-OH. Yeah, that about summed it up, Dev thought as Amanda shooed the kids upstairs and footsteps faded away. Invite someone to stay for dinner, someone who had the power to file a report that could grab you by the short hairs, and then send her sprawling right after dessert.
“Can you wiggle your fingers and toes?” he asked Louise. She was still stretched out on the floor, where he’d firmly suggested she remain until they had a better handle on any possible injuries.
“Yes,” she replied after a second.
“Any pain anywhere?”
“Not at the moment.”
Dev mulled the matter over for a minute. “Okay, maybe you should try sitting up.” When she agreed, he slid an arm under her shoulders. As he slowly raised her upper body, he didn’t miss the brief wince that crossed her face. She was hurt. Maybe not badly, but enough to have him frowning in a flash.
Amanda hurried back into the room, her expression solemn. “I’m so sorry, Louise.”
Their visitor drew in what sounded like a steadying breath. “Unfortunately these things happen.”
“It shouldn’t have happened here,” Dev muttered.
“You’re right,” Amanda wasted no time in agreeing. “Believe me, I intend to have another talk with Patrick about putting his things away. He doesn’t know how seriously someone could be injured through carelessness.”
Dev’s frown deepened. “Maybe he’d understand better if he wasn’t allowed to play with that particular toy for a day or two.”
“Actually, that’s an excellent idea,” Louise told him, sitting straighter. “I wouldn’t have thought it of a man who lived a bachelor’s life for quite a while, but you seem to have a grasp on parenting. Then again, I’ve found that sometimes the last person one would expect to take on the role of family authority figure is a natural.”
A natural? Him? Dev figured Louise’s fall must have rattled her brain right along with the rest of her. If he had a talent for anything, it was running a saloon, not parenthood. “Want to try standing?” he asked, dropping the subject.
At her nod, he helped her up, but it took only a few steps to demonstrate that the social worker was hardly in top-notch condition. “Perhaps I’d better sit for a bit,” she said, limping over to the sofa and carefully lowering herself down on a plump cushion. “I may have thrown my back out.”
Amanda fluffed up a floral-print pillow and placed it behind Louise. “I think we should get a doctor to look at you.”
Louise shook her head. “I don’t believe that’s necessary. For all that I’m an advocate of good posture and have practiced it for years, I’ve had this type of problem before. The best remedy seems to be rest. With the help of my heating pad, I should be fine by tomorrow.”
Amanda didn’t look convinced. “Even if that’s the case, you probably shouldn’t be trying to drive anywhere tonight.”
Louise hesitated. “You may have a point there,” she reluctantly acknowledged.
“Well,” Dev said after a second’s consideration, “if Mabel will come over and watch the kids, Amanda and I can take you back to Pine Run. She can drive your car, and I’ll follow in my Jeep so we’ll have transportation back to Jester.”
Louise reclined against the pillow with another wince. “Or, rather than putting you to all that trouble, perhaps I could just spend the night here.”
Spend the night here? Dev slid a sidelong look at Amanda and found her eyes waiting to lock with his. It took less than a second for him tear his gaze away and say, “It’d be no trouble.”
“Certainly not,” Amanda added.
But now Louise was the one who looked less than convinced by those hasty assurances. “A forty-mile drive round trip would hardly be convenient.”
He lifted one shoulder in an offhand shrug, deciding to take a more laid-back approach. The last thing he wanted to do was arouse any suspicion about the fact that having overnight company—especially company in the form of the person who still had that blasted report to file—could be a lot more than inconvenient. It could be downright risky.
“Nevertheless,” Louise continued, looking straight at him, “I wouldn’t have suggested an alternative solution if I hadn’t recalled your mentioning a guest room.”
Had he? Cripes, he had, Dev had to admit. During the meeting with Family Services right after the wedding, he’d actually boasted about the new Devlin house having six bedrooms—including an extra one. At the time, he’d been set on making an impression. Now the bald truth that the room in question was actually the one he’d been sleeping in, and without so much as a cat for a bed companion lately, had come back to bite him.
Amanda cleared her throat. “Yes, the guest room.” It was plain that she’d remembered the same conversation he had. Squaring her shoulders, she turned his way. “I suppose it wouldn’t take long to get it ready for Louise.”
He resisted the urge to blow out a gusty breath. “I guess not,” he said in an even tone.
“How about if I make you a cup of tea?” she asked their visitor. “You can put your feet up and relax while we get things organized.”
“That’s very gracious of you,” Louise said. “I appreciate your hospitality.”
“No,” Amanda replied with firm directness, “we’re the ones who appreciate how good you’re taking this. Hopefully by tomorrow you really will be fine.”
With that, Amanda whipped around and headed for the kitchen at a fast clip. Dev wasted no time in following her out the door. She put a kettle on to boil before turning to face him as he stood with one hip propped against a counter. “Don’t say I shouldn’t have offered.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I won’t. I figured our backs were against the wall.”
“How long do you think it will take to move your things?” she asked with an unreadable expression.
She wasn’t questioning where they’d be moved to, he noticed. She obviously knew as well as he did that there was only one spot available, and that was the master bedroom.
The bedroom they’d be sharing tonight.
“I can throw the stuff in the bathroom and dresser into a couple of suitcases,” he told her. “I’ll leave what’s in the closet.”
She nodded. “I doubt Louise will go in there.”
He blew out the gust of air he’d held back earlier. “If she does, we can just say that you have so many clothes, I had to keep mine down the hall.”
Amanda’s mouth took a wry slant. “Spoken like a true male, but I suppose it’s as good an explanation as any.” She paused. “You wouldn’t happen to have a heating pad among your meager belongings, would you?”
“Nope. But I can make a quick run to Cozy’s Drug Store. Doing whatever it takes to get our guest on her way in the morning works for me.”
“Heaven knows, it works for me, too,” she said as the kettle whistled. She quickly fixed the tea. “I’ll meet you upstairs in a minute. I can put clean linens on the bed while you pack up.”
“Sounds like a plan, but we’re going to have to do this whole thing on the sly, you know. It wouldn’t exactly be helpful if one of the kids mentioned over the breakfast table tha
t they saw me hauling my suitcases around.”
She blinked. “Good Lord, I never thought of that.”
One corner of his mouth quirked up. “You obviously haven’t had a lot of practice at being sneaky.”
“No, I guess not,” she allowed. “I suppose you’ll have to show me how it’s done.”
“Be glad to.”
He watched her head back to the family room, teacup in hand, thinking of some other things he could probably show her. Things that had nothing to do with being sneaky.
Things that he’d damn well better stop thinking about right now.
IN THE WHIRLWIND of activity that followed, Dev started packing as Amanda tidied the “guest” room, doing her best to make it look as unlived in as possible. It turned out to be a far easier task than she knew it would have been had their situations been reversed and she was the one moving her belongings. Besides his clothing and bathroom essentials, there was little of a personal nature to deal with. She couldn’t help noting the lack of so much as one family photograph, where several of her and her mother dating back to happier days for both of them were scattered around her room. In all the time she and Dev Devlin had spent together since their marriage, he’d never mentioned his relatives, either, not after the brief conversation they’d had over dinner before the children arrived, during which he’d made it fairly plain that he had no desire to discuss his family.
Then again, she reminded herself, except for answering the children’s understandable questions about the father they shared, she had little wish to discuss Sherman Bradley. Some things were better left alone. That was her feeling, and apparently her husband felt the same way.
“I think that will do it,” Amanda said, leaning over to spread a white terry cloth robe across the navy comforter. Fortunately, she thought, the man of the house had been able to come up with a robe that looked as though it had seldom been used. The sturdily-built Louise, who’d never fit into anything the woman of the house could lend, would at least have something to wear for the night.
“Looks fine to me,” Dev agreed with a brief glance around. “Why don’t you take the kids downstairs to say good-night to our guest? I’ll move my suitcases when the coast is clear.”
She couldn’t fault his strategy. “You’re good at this sneaky stuff.”
“I do my best,” he told her dryly.
“Hmm. Well, I have to admit you can be handy to have around on occasion.”
“Uh-huh.” He met her gaze. “And by the way, I don’t snore, either.”
Just like that, what neither of them had acknowledged in so many words, was out.
They would be spending the night together.
Their choices, Amanda had already concluded, were few to none in that respect, not unless they wanted to chance putting one of the downstairs sofas to use as a makeshift bed. However slim the possibility, the fact remained that Louise wasn’t so badly injured that she couldn’t leave her room. There was always the chance that she might stumble on her host or hostess sleeping at a good distance from each other, and any illusion of a happy couple would go up in smoke.
“I’m relieved to hear you say so,” she told him in a deliberately calm voice.
“Funny, you don’t look all that relieved,” he countered, his tone still as dry as dust. “In fact, you look like you could use a stiff drink.”
She probably could, Amanda conceded, although she and her pride had no intention of admitting any such thing. “I think I can survive without one.”
“Uh-huh.”
Deciding to quit while she was ahead, Amanda dropped the subject. Hopefully, when morning eventually rolled around everything would soon get back to normal. All she had to do was get through the night.
Not that she was thinking too much about the night to come. Not yet. One thing at a time, she told herself.
Amanda headed for the doorway to the hall. “Give me five minutes to get the children downstairs.”
His low voice dogged her footsteps. “Whatever you say…sweetheart.”
She resisted the urge to grind her teeth. “Thank you…dear,” she said far too sweetly, leaving that statement to hang in the air as she walked out.
Chin lifted at a firm tilt, she went to round up her sisters and brothers, who she’d left gathered in Liza’s room. Only Betsy greeted her with a familiar sunny expression. The rest, sitting in a row on a pale blue bedspread bordered with silver lace, wore faces pinched by worry.
“Is everything okay?” Liza asked.
“Yes,” Amanda told her. “Louise is going to spend the night here because her back is a little sore, but she should be better by tomorrow.” She could only hope that turned out to be the case. “I think it would be nice if we all went down and said good-night to her.”
Liza helped Betsy off the bed and held her hand as they made their way to the stairs. Only Patrick hung back, dragging his feet. Amanda turned and caught his eye, which was enough to have him picking up his pace.
They found Louise still seated on the sofa with her empty cup resting on a nearby table. “The tea was just what I needed,” she told Amanda. “I’m feeling a bit more like my old self.”
Her hostess wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. On one hand, she wanted nothing more than Louise’s swift return to excellent health. On the other, she would just as soon not be on the end of any more of the probing looks the social worker was so skilled at.
Not tonight, please.
“The children wanted to wish you a good night’s rest. And,” Amanda added, “I think Patrick has something special to say.”
Smart boy that her brother was, he took the hint. “I’m, uh, really, really sorry.”
“Then I accept your apology,” Louise said in the softer tone she used wherever she spoke to the children.
“Everything’s all set in the guest room,” Dev informed them as he walked in. He extended a hand to Louise. “Let me help you up. We’ll take it slow.”
But as slow as they took it, Louise winced anyway. “Perhaps I just need to get moving again.”
Dev shook his head. “Not up a flight of stairs, you don’t.” And with those words he carefully swung Louise into his arms in one smooth motion.
Her mouth opened, closed and opened again. “Oh, my.”
His lips twitched. “Just hang on,” he told the middle-aged woman who seemed stunned by the position in which she found herself. “We’ll get you put to bed in no time.”
With a secure grip on his burden, he started for the hall with long, masterful strides. Louise aimed a wide-eyed look over his shoulder as they left the room.
“Oh, my,” she said one more time.
IT WAS AFTER MIDNIGHT when Dev entered the house for the final time that night. Earlier, he’d made a quick trip to the drugstore for a heating pad and then had headed back to the Heartbreaker, where he’d stayed until twelve o’clock had rolled around. For once, he’d been in no hurry to come home, not when he’d more than suspected that the later he returned, the better it’d suit Amanda. It would mean they had that much less of the night to spend together.
Dev climbed the stairs to the second floor with only a small wall fixture near the top landing to light his path, feeling his frustration rise with each step. He’d been so determined to keep his mind on anything and everything but his own private needs, and in recent days he’d mostly been successful. Too bad that had come to a crashing halt this evening.
No sex. That was the deal he and Amanda had struck when he’d first proposed, and as long as she still favored that approach, he had to stick to his bargain. Trouble was, he’d never counted on being obliged to sleep—and only sleep—in the same room with her. Who the hell could have predicted that?
Well, regardless, you’ll just have to cope, Devlin.
“Yeah, right. Cope,” he muttered to himself as he reached the head of the stairs. He aimed a look down the hall at the newly dubbed “guest room.” The door was closed and all seemed quiet in that quarter.
He hoped she was asleep. He hoped she was dead to the world. Ignoring the more needy parts of him was bound to be easier if she was drifting on a cloud in dreamland, he thought, quietly opening the door.
And then he saw her.
She was asleep, all right, but not where he’d expected her to be, which was stretched out on the large pine bed big enough for a petite woman to get lost in. Instead, she was curled up in an overstuffed chair across the room, with a fluffy white blanket pulled up to her chin and her light brown hair tumbling down over her shoulders. With his gaze still locked on that sight, he shut the door behind him with a soft snap, realizing he’d never seen her hair loose before. It had always been held back by a fancy clip at the nape of her neck. All at once his fingers itched to run themselves through those long, shiny strands. In response, he fisted his hands at his sides and told himself to forget that idea—fast.
But he didn’t look away.
As if she’d felt the impact of his steady stare, Amanda’s eyes slowly drifted open. He could tell the second she became aware that she was no longer alone by the way her breath caught briefly before she spoke. “Did you just get home?”
“Uh-huh. Go to bed. I’ll take the chair.” Even those clipped words were enough to reveal a sudden huskiness he couldn’t hide. Dammit.
“I’m fine here,” she told him after a beat. “You’re too big to sleep in the chair.”
He already knew he wasn’t getting a lick of sleep tonight. Every muscle in his body had gone tight. “I’m in no mood for an argument, so just take the bed, okay?”
Even as he watched, her chin went up. “Look, I don’t like this situation any more than you do, but I’m trying to make the best of it. And if anyone’s in the mood to argue about anything, judging by your tone, it’s you.”