by Judi Nolan
"Thank you." Kate subsided. As much as she wished to know, she knew better than to push the issue.
Mavis plucked at the bedcovers. "My grand-daughter, Susan, phoned me this morning. To see how I am."
Kate gasped. "I thought you had no family?"
The older woman shrugged. "So did I. Susan's mother and I, we never really got on. But now Susan's coming to see me. She wants me to go and live with her. Make up for the past."
"Perhaps it's for the best." Kate chewed her lip. "You will need someone to look after you."
She could see her patient was getting tired, her thin fingers continued to pluck fretfully at the sheet. "Well, if it's what you want to do, I hope it all works out for you. I'll come and see you again," she promised, as she stood up. "Then you can tell me all about Susan and what you've decided to do. I'm sure everything will be all right."
"I will. Now, don't forget my cigarettes next time," Mavis whispered with a slow wink.
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait until you're discharged." Kate squeezed her thin hand in sympathy.
"Not much chance of that soon, either." The old lady shook her head. "Never get too old, dear, young people who should know better, start ignoring you. Treat you like a child. Remember that."
"I'll remember." Leaving the hospital room after saying goodbye, she began tossing mentally through the limited contents of her refrigerator. In her current state of emotional distraction cooking for one was fast becoming more of a chore than a pleasure. Maybe she should just order some Chinese from the local takeaway and settle down in front of the television.
Walking along the corridor towards the exit, her concentration turned inwards, Kate gasped when she collided with someone warm and solid as she turned the corner. Firm hands fastened on her upper arms to steady her as she jumped back in dismay.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you." Kate found herself looking up into the storm tossed darkness of Spencer's frowning eyes.
In dark trousers and a black cotton shirt he looked devastatingly handsome; far too disturbing for her tired brain to assimilate. He was the last person she expected to see tonight.
"Kate?" he questioned bleakly as she stared at him wordlessly. "I didn't realize you were on call tonight."
She pulled her scattered wits together, removing her arm from his slackened grasp. "I'm not, I was visiting some patients." Her breathing shortened beneath the frowning look in his eyes, closely dissecting her face with slow deliberation, as if searching for the answer to a question he hadn't yet asked. Perhaps wanting to gain some sense of her present mood. "I…what are you doing here?"
He inhaled a long slow breath, expelling it in a rush. "Admitting a patient with suspected appendicitis. Once he's settled, then I was thinking about heading for home. Need a lift?"
"No, thanks, I have my car." Kate moved sideways around him. "It's getting late. I was just thinking about ordering something to eat, so I'll leave you to get on with it then. See you at work tomorrow."
"Wait, Kate, please. I really need to talk to you. Something that can't wait." Spencer reached a hand to prevent her harried escape from his looming closeness. "I guess, tonight is as good a time as any to get it said."
Her heart dipped. "What do you want to talk about?"
He scanned a frown at their surroundings. "We can't talk here. Jamie's staying at the Henry house; I have to pick him up in a couple of hours. If you're hungry, we could get something together."
His face was set and very serious. Kate snagged her lower lip with her teeth. What had she done wrong now? She pulled a long breath into her lungs. She didn't need an audience if she was going to be reprimanded about the Marsh case or some other new problem.
"How about my place?" she offered tightly. "I can make us both a cup of coffee. Fix us something to eat." Her churning stomach was now rejecting the idea of food.
"Sounds great." Spencer stepped back. "I'll follow you in my truck."
Once she was seated in her car, Kate gripped the steering wheel and tried to slow the pace of her breathing. What could Spencer want to talk to her about? She guessed she had no choice but to listen this time.
He joined her at the cottage all too soon, she thought as she watched him cross the front porch into the house. Instantly he seemed to fill the small room, taking all the air from her lungs. Kate drew a long breath, trying to still her jumping nerves. Was he really intending to fire her for something she'd done?
His expression shuttered, he sat down at the small table across from her, reaching to take the mug of coffee she pushed towards him with a nod of thanks. Kate served him quickly with a green salad and slices of ham, handing the plate across to him before giving herself a small portion that she began to push slowly around her plate. She waited for him to speak with her breathing jammed in her throat.
"You look scared. It's only a meal." He ate a mouthful. "Which tastes great, by the way."
"Scared?" Kate struggled to make sense of his comment.
If he was firing her, would he be so prosaic as to talk about her culinary skills? She thanked him with a swift nod, staring down at her own plate, sure she couldn't swallow anything. She returned her worried gaze to her watchful table companion.
Spencer frowned, studying the slow passage of the food around her plate. "How's your hand coming along? Any stiffness or infection?"
"There were no complications." Kate glanced down at the neat white dressing nestled in the palm of her left hand. "It's healing nicely. I can't complain. You did excellent stitch work."
His brief smile was crooked. "All part of the service."
"Thank you." Kate clenched her hand over the bandage. She felt sick. What exactly did he want with her?
"I guess you're wondering what I want to talk to you about," he answered her silent query. "What I've been trying to ask you for days now. But it's never been the right time."
"It is a fair question," Kate stated flatly. "I do need to know why you think you should fire me. What have I done that's so bad?"
"Fire you?" Spencer's empty fork clattered to his plate. He looked completely startled. "I haven't come here to fire you. Where did you get that crazy idea from? Your work is exemplary. I couldn't ask for a better doctor."
"I thought that after the whole Mrs. Marsh fiasco." Kate shrugged painfully. "That you didn't still believe me."
"I told you not to worry about that damn woman." Spencer sat forward, pushing his hand across the table towards her closed fist. She withdrew her hand slightly, trying to maintain a measure of distance. "That was an unfortunate incident that you were not responsible for. I've already dealt with it, end of story. You have nothing to worry about."
"Then why are you here?"
Spencer grimaced. "First you have to promise not to walk out on me." His eyes gleamed with bleak humor. "You have a habit of doing that whenever I try to talk to you."
Kate compressed her lips at the accusation. Some of those times he'd done the walking out. "And why would I want to walk out on you? Besides, I'd have to throw you out. I live here, remember?"
"Yes, I know." Spencer looked around at the few tasteful additions she'd made to his property; touches uniquely Kate. He liked what he saw, especially when he glanced back at her. Her soft, warm beauty curled through his senses, quickening his heart rate and his breathing.
Don't even go there.
He retrieved his fork, concentrating on his food. It gave him something mundane to do while he tried to reassemble his arguments.
This really could work, if she would only listen to him with an open mind. He looked up. "Tell me, if it came to a custody battle, how do you think a female judge would rule? For the father or the mother?"
"Custody battle?" Kate frowned. "Are you talking about Jamie?"
Smart woman. Spencer compressed his mouth on a rough sigh. "It seems Katerina has decided to contest our agreement. She says she wasn't given enough time to work out her issues. That she's a fit mother and I was too hard on her, too quick to judg
e her intentions for her only child. She had issues." His grim set mouth turned down at the corners.
"I'm sorry." Kate had no idea what he expected her to say. She gave up her sorry pretence at eating with a confused grimace. "I really can't see why you're asking me, Spencer. This is between you and your ex-wife. No one else should be involved. But it does sound deeply unfair to revisit it now."
"She's already involved others." Spencer ground out, thrusting one hand around the back of his neck. "It seems she's found herself some mega rich fiancé, a Greek property billionaire who can't have kids of his own and he wants a male heir to inherit his fortune. But he wants a child with the right Greek heritage and it seems Katerina's promised him her son in return for a wedding ring. My child."
Kate gasped. "How could she? That's so cruel. What about Jamie?"
"Now you understand. She wants him for the benefits he brings to her, not Jamie himself. He would soon become surplus in her new life, be passed on to some nanny or the housekeeper. A boarding school in Greece has been mentioned. Of course, she'll deny that."
"Oh, no." Kate's heart contracted at the thought of Jamie suffering such a loveless fate. She knew what it was to be moved along like an unwanted parcel without hope of rescue. "But what can you do?"
"Fight it all the way." Spencer's tone showed Kate he would do anything for the sake of his son's future. At least Jamie had someone who loved him. "But that's not the issue at present. Jamie hasn't seen his mother for over three years. She's nothing more than a stranger to him. So I had an investigator look into Katerina's affairs. He turned up those facts and some other very interesting information."
He was careful to omit he'd paid to have Kate investigated as well. He had no choice, too much depended on what possibly turned up. It was a relief to discover she had been telling the truth all along. He wondered how he could ever have thought the two women could be the same.
"An investigator? You had someone following her?" A chill sense of dismay feathered its way up and down Kate's spine. Eric's callous use of an investigator to spy on her after she threw him out still made her feel exposed and vulnerable.
Spencer frowned at her horrified tone. "What else could I do? Jamie deserves everything I can do for him. I make no excuses for my methods."
At least he hadn't been investigating her. Kate pushed down her rising feeling of panic. "I understand that. But again, I must ask, why are you telling me all this? I can't see how I can help you."
Spencer reached across the table and took her hand before she could pull back. "Because I have something I need to ask you, Kate."
"What is it?" Her voice sounded strained to her ears.
Spencer was tracing a disturbing path up and down each of her fingers in turn with his thumb-pad, sending shockwaves up her arm to shorten her breathing. "I don't want Katerina anywhere near my son or her rich new man friend. She was completely missing in action as a mother, right from the start. Nothing gives me confidence that she's changed."
He compressed his lips. "Ask yourself this, Kate, if she was such a great mother, as she now claims, they why hasn't she even visited him since our divorce? Why does my son not even know his mother's face when he looks at it?"
That last terse question Kate failed to understand. Her skin quivered beneath the sensual path of his touch. "You do have a point, but what can you do? Apart from go to court and fighting the order. Do you need me to be a character witness for you? I would be happy to."
"Thanks, but I'm going to keep custody of my son and for that I have a solution. For this idea to work I'm going to need your help. Your complete agreement to my proposal. It's the only way, given time is against me."
Is he asking me about some kind of new business arrangement? "I'm afraid you've lost me again," Kate whispered over the sudden acceleration of her heartbeat. "What kind of proposal?"
Spencer went completely still, his long, hard fingers still entangled with hers. "You could consent to marry me and we would take care of Jamie together as a family. I need a wife, Kate. Fast."
He would have found the completely stunned expression on her face almost amusing if he didn't need this so strongly. So much for sweeping the woman off her feet with his charm and appeal.
"Have you gone completely crazy?" she finally managed, after her mouth opened and shut several times, but nothing came out. "I couldn't marry you. I've already told you, I don't intend to marry anyone. Not now, not ever. It's already caused me too much pain."
Spencer moved his shoulders. "I know you did. I haven't figured out all the details yet, but the plan would work. I know it's asking a lot, but it's just for a few years, until Jamie is old enough to decide for himself. Then we can separate and go our own way if that's what you wanted."
Kate clutched for some sense of reality. "He's only five, a few years is a whole lifetime of commitment. It's impossible." It was only then that she noticed the band of paler skin above the knuckle of his ring finger. He was no longer wearing his wedding ring.
Confusion and a strange kind of hope began to surge through her. When had he decided to take it off? And why hadn't she noticed before tonight? It suddenly mattered so much to know the whole truth, but she couldn't ask. She wasn't feeling brave enough.
Spencer assented with a sharp nod. "I understand all that. Believe me, I've given this a great deal of thought. There's no other way and no one else I could ask. This must happen for Jamie's sake."
"Heavens, you're really serious, aren't you? This isn't some kind of sick joke?"
She tried to pull her hand from his, but his grip tightened. "I've never been more serious. At least think about it. You're making a life here, you have new friends, people you enjoy spending time with and who care about you. Why not decide to stay and make a go of it. Of us."
Kate fought back harder. "You accused me of being a confirmed city girl. Itchy feet central, remember? How do you know I won't get restless and walk out one day and never come back?"
Spencer frowned. "Because I've come to know you. That was before I got to understand what makes you tick." He paused, inhaling a deep breath, then continued quickly, "Before I had you—"
"Before you kissed me and came up with this whole crazy plan." Kate plunged in heedlessly, ignoring whatever he was about to say. "It was only a kiss," she managed the lie without a qualm. "A sudden attack of overactive hormones is never a sound basis for a marriage."
"That's not fair and you know it." Spencer ground out. "That kiss we shared was something else, even if you you're not prepared to admit it or talk about it. We'll sort that out later. Set some ground rules."
"Rules?" Heat flooded into Kate's cheeks. "You think some rules will make a fake marriage work between us? You can't just make this up as you go along. What would you expect me to do if one day you decided you want to be married to someone else?"
His thumb-pad brushed across her resisting palm. "Why would I want to do that?"
Kate shuddered at the erotic contact. "Because you're a man. They do the leaving."
"God, Kate. Eric Waters really did a number on you, didn't he?" Spencer felt that same stir of mingled frustration and desire.
Their conversation was deadly serious, but he could read every thought in her mind by the haunted expression in her eyes and the fear in her voice. That comment had caught her short, mussed with her drive to deny him what he most wanted and needed. She wanted to run away and he couldn't allow her to escape.
"You would be in complete control, Kate. Whatever you want."
"What kind of marriage are you talking about?" she asked warily.
Is she at least starting to consider it?
He pressed his small advantage. "We would be living together. This must be a union no one can challenge. Especially in a court of law. You would move in with me and Jamie. Everything else would stay the same as it is now."
"Just like that, all neat and tidy. Won't it seem odd that suddenly we're engaged to be married?" She finally managed to extricate her ha
nd from his slackened grip. "We hardly know each other."
"Not if we play the game right. I've spent some time in Chicago. It was a few years ago, but we could have met before. When I first saw you, for a moment I even thought I knew you. Just think about it, okay?"
He wasn't used to begging for what he needed. "Please."
Over the last few years he'd built his medical reputation with hard work and discipline. She must to agree to his plans; it was the only way to save Jamie's whole future from disaster. His son would not be made to suffer for his parents' mistakes. There was simply no time to find someone else, another woman willing to help him.
Kate was the ideal choice in many ways, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself. She'd said enough to make him think she wanted the same things as him. A marriage without strings or emotional involvement. He searched for the right words to convince her, make her see his point of view.
He spread his hands, palms uppermost on the table. "If you decide one day you want different terms or something else, then we can negotiate. Make this work for us both. I'm open to suggestions."
Kate shook her head. "This whole idea is crazy. I can't marry you. I hardly know you."
"You know enough." He studied her, seeking a clue to her thoughts. Her eyes still looked haunted, but her cheeks were warm with color.
The sudden tightening of his gut was not due to her outright refusal—he could work on changing her mind—but something else far more insidious and undeniable.
He discovered he wanted her in his life; it was as plain and simple as that. But given her recent history, he had to take things easily and slowly. In time they could really make this marriage work. If only she would open up and tell him everything she was feeling.
He got to his feet, walking around the table to sink to one knee beside her chair. "Maybe you're worried about how we handle it between us," he said. "I can understand that. Not every man is like that scum Eric Waters. I could never hurt you. I will respect your need for some time and distance."