Timothy

by Katie Dowe

  “She came for a routine checkup and we talked.”

  “So I take it that she's really pregnant?”

  She looked at him in surprise. “I can't answer that.”

  “My brother told me and also told me that she was implying that she didn't want the child.” His mouth tightened at that. “I warned him about her.”

  “You still think she's after your money.”

  “She told you that?” His lips tilted into a sardonic smile. “I'm surprised she mentioned that.”

  “She seems to love her husband.”

  “I think she settled for the alternative to getting her hands on the money.”

  “You cannot still believe that after they've been married for so long.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about her or my brother.”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “You, us.” His smile came as he reached for her hand. “And what we will be doing in another few minutes.” His tone was very suggestive, leaving her little doubt as to what he was saying.

  “People are starting to talk.”

  “Let them, I don’t really care.”

  She eyed him for a moment and moved her hand from beneath his. “It’s happening too fast.”

  He wanted to tell her not fast enough but he managed not to do so. “Please don’t ask me to slow things down, it's too late for that.”

  “Timothy—” His sudden movement as he got up and came towards her interrupted her and she didn't say anything as he took the glass from her and spun the stool around, trapping her between his legs. He tilted her chin up and bent his head to hers. Her lips parted and the breath escaped her, the moan starting deep inside her throat as he took her lips, his tongue boldly entering her mouth, exploring her, tasting the wine she'd been drinking and the sweetness of her kiss as she clung to him. He lifted her up against him, allowing her to feel the rigid length of his body against her. The kiss deepened and the heat expanded between them until they were enveloped in its warmth, the heat sizzling and spiraling out of control. He finally lifted his head, his eyes dark with passion as he stared at her. “We can't go back!” he said thickly. “No matter what you try and tell yourself.” Without waiting for her response he strode with her into the bedroom where he spent a full hour thoroughly exploring her body and wringing frenzied cries from her as he drew out the throes of passion that exploded between them.

  ***

  “Uncle Tim! We haven't seen you in a long time!” Maddy screamed as she launched herself into his arms the minute he came into the playroom where the girls were seated around their desks doing homework. He'd decided to stop by on his way to see Robyn as he hadn't seen them since the fair more than two weeks earlier.

  “That’s the main reason why I came by.” He hunkered down and clasped them both in his arms, hugging them tight. “How have you been?”

  “Did you bring us presents?” Holly asked him, her face turned up to him, her green eyes curious.

  “Typical female,” he said wryly as he kissed the tip of her nose. “Not this time pumpkin, but next time, I promise.”

  They all looked up as there was a sound in the doorway to see Hillary standing there. “Are you staying for dinner?”

  “I have somewhere to be,” he told her coolly. “I just came by to see my nieces.” He looked down at the two girls. “How would you like to go to the park with Robyn and me on Saturday?”

  “Yay!” they both screamed and turned to look at their mother. “Can we Mommy?”

  “Of course,” she said with a tight smile. “Go and wash up girls, and then come and say goodbye to your uncle.”

  They both nodded and raced away, leaving the two adults inside the room. Timothy got to his feet slowly. If she hadn't told them that they should come back and say goodbye to them he would be heading out the door right now. He'd seen the haggard look on his brother’s face and had guessed that the pregnancy was still an issue between them. And it wasn't his place to say anything to her even though he was dying to.

  “Aren’t you going to say anything? I know Malik told you,” she said tautly.

  “It’s none of my concern.”

  “That never stopped you before,” she pointed out.

  “My nieces will soon be running back into this room and I would like to spare them the unpleasantness of what I think of you, so allow me that.”

  “Why do you still hate me, Timothy?” she asked. “There was a time when you found me attractive.’

  “That was a lapse in judgment on my part. You're married to my brother and are the mother of those two beautiful girls so I'm forced to tolerate you. You're causing my brother a great deal of unhappiness and I'm not too pleased about that, but that's between the two of you.”

  “He told you that he isn't talking to me—”She broke off as the girls came running into the room and without a word, Timothy took them by the hands and escorted them into the dining room. He even helped Holly to cut up her meat and fed Madison a forkful of vegetables before rumpling their heads he left, giving Hillary a curt nod.

  ***

  He was there later that evening when she got the call. He hadn't been in a good mood when he was driving towards her place but had shaken it off as soon as he got out of the car and went inside. His mood had lightened considerably as he came inside and saw that she had showered and changed into a thin summer-like dress with thin straps and had her hair loose around her face. He'd pulled her into his arms and held her to him before letting her go. She'd prepared something for them to eat and they'd just finished eating when the phone rang and she reached for it automatically.

  “If that’s one of your patients you're going to have to tell them they have lousy timing,” he teased, smiling as she laughed. He saw her expression change and watched as she turned away and walked out of the room and knew it was him. Timothy did something that he never expected to do and followed her into the living room where she was sitting on one of the single sofas, her hand gripping the phone as she listened. She looked up and saw him standing there. “I have to go,” she said as she hung up the phone.

  “It was a patient—”

  “What did they want?” He was trying his best not to react to her lie but he was having a difficult time of it.

  “Just a consult.” She got to her feet. “Do you want some wine?”

  “No, I want you to respect me enough not to lie to me,” he told her coldly, his spirit plummeting. He'd given her the chance to tell him the truth and she'd lied again.

  “Pardon me?”

  He smiled grimly at her prim tone. “I take it that the patient’s name is Sean Nicholson?’

  “I'm sorry.”

  “For what? For actually lying to me or for something else? Are you still in love with him, Robyn?”

  “He just wanted to talk,” she said defensively.

  “About what?” He snapped. “How he broke you in two and betrayed you with your best friend? What could he possibly have to say to you and how can you listen to him?”

  “I'm a polite person, Timothy!” She blazed at him. “And yes, he is a jerk, but I'm still going to have a conversation with him.”

  “Why did you lie to me?’

  “Because—” She spread her hands. “I know how you feel about him and didn't want to spoil the mood.”

  “It’s too late for that,” he told her grimly as he turned to walk out of the room. Robyn caught up with him just as he reached the door and grabbed his arm.

  “Please don’t leave,” she begged, her dark brown eyes meeting his.

  “And why shouldn’t I?” His tone was implacable and his body rigid.

  “Because I'm sorry about the way I handled things back there and I want you here.”

  “Do you want to go back to him, Robyn?” he asked her coldly, his heart hammering inside his chest as he waited for her to respond.

  “No!” She looked at him with a horrified expression on her beautiful face that had relief surging through
his body. “How could you think that?”

  “Because I'm crazy enough to be jealous of that son-of-a-bitch and angry enough not to want him calling you,” he admitted. He sighed as he turned to face her. “I get that you have the whole bedside manner that being a doctor requires Robyn, but I wish that it didn't extend to him. I want to crack open his skull and slam my fist into his face and the idea of you taking his calls doesn't sit well with me.”

  She moved into his arms and he wrapped them around her, pulling her closer to him.

  “And I love that your first instinct is to want to protect me,” she whispered as she snuggled closer to him.

  “It will always be.”

  ***

  The park was crowded with parents and children that Saturday afternoon, the sounds of laughter and conversation filling the air along with the smell of hot dogs and flowers blooming. Madison and Holly—looking adorable in matching pink overalls and pink and white inside blouses, their hair caught up in ponytails—were walking between the two adults, running off every few seconds to pick flowers or chase butterflies. Timothy took Robyn’s hand in his as they raced off to get on the slide with some other children. People waved to them as they stood there watching the children and no longer thought it a source of interest that they'd become a couple. Timothy pulled her closer to him and she wrapped her hand around his slim waist. She was wearing faded jeans and a sleeveless black and white cotton blouse, her hair in a ponytail and looked very much like one of the kids. After that time three nights ago when he'd almost walked out on her in his anger and she'd begged him to stay, he'd found that there was a change in her. She touched him without being asked to do so and whenever he came to her she would reach for him immediately. He'd taken her to his apartment several times and she'd rhapsodized about the view from his balcony and his eclectic art collection.

  She angled her head up to look at him and he caught her eyes. “You're quiet. What are you thinking?”

  “That it would be nice to take our own kids to the park.” His tone was teasing but his expression was far from it.

  “Timothy—”

  “Yeah I know, too soon,” he said wryly as he dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I keep hoping—”

  “You never said anything to me about that.”

  “What should I say, darling? That I want to marry you and would like you to bear my children?”

  “Do you?”

  “Do I what?” he asked her teasingly.

  “Timothy!”

  He laughed at the reprimanding tone. “I want all those things, but I'm waiting until you're ready. Are you?”

  She turned in his arms. “Are you proposing to me?” she asked him dazedly.

  “That would require me to go down on one knee and actually have the ring in my hand. Should I be proposing, Robyn?” His eyes burned with intensity as he stared at her.

  ***

  “Why don’t you go ahead and let me hear what you have to say?” She suggested, her body trembling. She still didn't know what she felt about him but she knew that she didn't want him out of her life.

  “Robyn Faulkner, the most adorable, beautiful, sexy and fascinating woman I have ever met, will you consider accepting a proposal of marriage from me?”

  “That’s not a proper proposal Mr. McLaughlin,” she told him sternly.

  “No?” He grinned at her as he tilted her chin up. “How about this? I want to spend the rest of my life being your anchor, being the man in your life, being your lover and the one who sleeps with his arms around your body. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you like I have never loved anyone before and I want you to bear my children when the time comes. How is that?”

  “Much better,” she whispered shakily.

  “What do you say?”

  “Yes.”

  Chapter 10

  “I have something to tell you,” she told him quietly. They'd dropped the children off at home and were now at his apartment in his living room. She'd accepted his proposal but immediately after she'd felt crippling uncertainties assailing her. She'd told him that she wasn't hungry when he'd suggested that they order something for dinner but he'd insisted on opening a bottle of wine to celebrate. “Champagne is more like it, darling,” he'd told her with a grin.

  Now, sitting on one of the butter soft sofas in his sumptuous living room with her feet curled beneath her and the glass of bubbly in her hand, she knew she had to come clean. Timothy took a straight back chair and pulled it in front of her. “What is it?’

  Robyn stared down into the clear liquid for a moment before taking a sip of it to bolster her courage before putting the almost full glass on the table next to her. “I love being a doctor, love the idea of being there for someone when they're in pain or hopeless and knowing that I could actually do something about it. I also loved the feeling of going into the OR and doing a surgery and knowing that the surgery was a success. I love the fact that I could walk into the waiting room and say to their loved ones that there's hope. I know that most doctors have a god complex but I was always careful to realize that I didn't do what I did on my own strength, that I don't know everything and can never know everything no matter how much I study. And I'm always studying, always keeping abreast of what is new and what will work.” She reached for the drink again and took another sip, a longer one this time. “I'm never careless—I know that I hold people’s lives in my hands and was always cognizant of that, so I was always careful. But several things happened. I lost my first patient, a fifteen-year-old girl right on the table during the operation. I was told that these things happen and I shouldn't blame myself but I did and it ate me up inside. I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat and I started to lose focus. It happened again and I was devastated. I'd made a mistake, cut too deep into a joint because I wasn't focused and I lost yet another patient. It destroyed me and the only light I could see, could hold onto, was the reassurances of Sean, the man who was supposed to be there for me, as well as my best friend. I told myself that I would get stronger and would do something about what I was going through. I was required to see someone to work through my grief and put me back on track.” She stared down into the glass for a moment and Timothy didn't say anything. “I came close to losing my license, putting the hospital at great risk in the process and also wondering at my capabilities as a doctor. I thought I was starting to feel better when—” She gulped the rest of the wine and finished it.

  ***

  She didn't continue for a moment and Timothy got to his feet and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window to look out at the panoramic view from his apartment.

  He'd bought the entire derelict building when he'd seen the view it had afforded. Rolling hills, poplar trees waving their branches in the wind, a winding slope that led to a wooded area that he was determined to keep that way. He'd also selected the occupants of the apartments below him: working executives who worked out of town and who came back home for weekends. Fallen Oaks was an idyllic place to live and raise children and he wanted his children to grow up here.

  He'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't realized that she had come up behind him until he saw her reflection in the glass. “Go on,” he said tonelessly.

  “I found them in one of the on-call rooms, completely naked and in the throes of passion. I stood there and it took them several minutes to realize that I was there and after they'd gotten dressed they told me how sorry they were and that they'd been intimate for several months—since the trouble had started with me. I hadn't been ‘there’ so they'd bonded. They used my problems to form a bond and to me that was the worst thing they could have ever done. It was the same room—”

  He didn't fill in the gap because he knew what she'd been about to say and he didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear how she and that bastard had made love in that hospital room probably in between surgeries. She'd had a life before him and so had he, but none of them had been significant for him. For him it had been just sex, but she'd had only one re
lationship, and that had been a very significant one. He'd been her first lover and first fiancée and Timothy was second in everything: her second lover and fiancée and the feeling had bile rising in his throat. He tossed down the champagne and realized that he needed something a lot stronger.

  “Timothy?’

  He finally turned, his dark blue eyes raking her tense face, and he wished he could pull her into his arms and bury his mouth on hers but he needed space. “I'll take you home.”

  “What?”

  He marched over to the liquor cabinet and poured almost a full glass of bourbon before drinking half the glass. He turned to face her. “In a nutshell you were screwed up by those deaths, and your ‘faithful’ fiancée and best friend screwed you over by screwing each other in the very room where you and that asshole made out countless times. And after all that you still managed to have conversations with that said asshole. He's a ghost standing in the same rooms we're in, Robyn! He's in my apartment right now because you still have feelings for him. This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life, of our lives, and that bastard is standing right in this room, crowing with delight.”

  ***

  “That’s not fair!” Robyn was determined not to cry, she was determined not to throw herself into his arms and beg him to understand what she was going through. She'd accepted his proposal and had basically told him that she was willing to take the step with him! A step she'd thought about taking with Sean and it had blown up in her face, but she was willing to take it with him. Scared out of her mind but willing because—because she was scared of losing him if she didn't. She stepped back at the thought. She wasn't willing to take it because she was in love with him—because her heart was too guarded. He'd told her that he loved her and wanted to be with her but she hadn't told him back because she didn't know!

  ***

  He watched the play of emotions on her beautiful face and felt the wrenching pain of defeat. She didn't love him. She was probably still in love with her ex and he couldn't bear that thought. He finished the drink and strode past her. “I'll take you home.”