“And miss all the fun?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him and saw six pairs of eyes glued to her. The children were framed in the doorway, intent on Tess and Mac’s conversation. She figured she had done enough entertaining today. “I’m sure there are some bedpans that need to be emptied.”
The sound of her shoes slapping against the floor echoed down the hallway as she made her escape, embarrassingly aware of the gazes trained on her. She was seriously thinking of deep-sixing her clown shoes for some sneakers—a fast pair that could take her away from a very dangerously appealing man.
By the time Tess’s shift was over, several hours later, she couldn’t wait to get away from the hospital. She felt the walls closing in on her. She wished for the thousandth time she didn’t throw herself so totally into whatever she was doing. It took a toll on her that once nearly did her in. She couldn’t let that happen again.
Inside her apartment, Tess stripped quickly out of her sky blue pants and multicolored shirt, as though shedding her uniform would help her cope with the emotional treadmill she had been running on. But she felt wound up. She filled the bathtub with water so hot she had to force herself inch by inch into it. She eased back against the cold marble and laid her head on a plastic cushion, staring at the white ceiling, the evening with Mac looming ahead of her.
She wished again she’d somehow managed to refuse her date with Peter MacPherson. She wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship. Once was enough for her. She’d left her broken heart in the Andes Mountains. Pain, buried and best forgotten, sliced into her, piercing her protective shell.
Determined to forget, she closed her eyes and blanked her mind. She concentrated on the heat seeping into her, stroking away her stress, the scent of lavender wafting to her, easing her tension. Slowly she drifted off….
She faced a line of eleven huge men, bent on taking the football away from her. She crouched down, staring at the opposition with the meanest look she could muster. The ball was snapped. With her hands about the oblong pigskin, she dropped back, looked for a receiver and froze.
Mac hurled himself toward her. She ran forward, desperately trying to avoid him. Through the sea of men she rushed toward the end zone. She heard Mac behind her. With a quick glance back, she nearly tripped. He was only a yard behind her and gaining on her. She pushed herself to go faster, to cross the line before he plowed into her. Ten more yards. Five. She dove for the end zone at the same time she felt Mac’s arms encase her. She fell forward, the air swooshing from her lungs as she hit the ground. Suddenly water was all around her, and she was gasping for breath.
Tess shot up in the tub, spurting, coughing. The man had entered her life, and she’d nearly drowned dreaming about him. She had to do something about this. She couldn’t allow herself to care about another man, not after Kevin. They would have been married by this time with possibly a child on the way. Now all she had were memories. Always the memories.
Running her hands up and down her arms, Tess pushed away the images that threatened to invade her mind. Never again would she love like that. She would never allow herself to become involved with someone who could touch her heart. She couldn’t live through the pain of losing again. It nearly killed her the first time. Being an all-or-nothing kind of gal was awfully hard on the emotions.
The water was chilly as she focused on the present. She shuddered from the cold, empty feeling that encased her like Mac’s imagined embrace in her dream. She stood and toweled dry. She rubbed hard, as though she could erase the last vestige of her old self.
She was determined to build a life here in Denver completely different from her old one in South America.
She quickly dressed for her date, hoping that her casual attire of black slacks and a simple peach knit top would send the man the right message. Nothing serious.
By the time he picked her up, she’d paced a path in her living room that left a trail in the carpet. His warm greeting did nothing to ease her tension. While leaving her apartment, she found herself responding to his smile with one of her own and instantly wishing she could find fault. But he was the perfect gentleman, down to opening the car door for her.
As he started the engine, he peered at her and said, “You look beautiful. Quite different from the last time I saw you.”
She remembered the incident in the playroom with the children and how he had maneuvered her into going out with him. She tried to muster some resentment toward the man but couldn’t, especially when he looked at her as though she were the only woman in the world.
“How’s Johnny doing?” Mac asked as he negotiated through traffic.
“Sulking most of the time. He has little to say when I visit him.”
“I know. I stopped by his room before visiting the other children. I think he spoke three words to me the whole time I was there. I felt like I was carrying on a conversation with myself.”
“Yeah, that’s the way he is with everyone. I wish I could reach him. But things haven’t been easy for him.”
“Well, I haven’t given up. I’ll make a point to stop by again. I’m a pretty determined guy when something is important to me.”
Tess could imagine his determination. He wouldn’t have become such a good football player without it. But she was a determined lady, and he wasn’t going to get her to do something she didn’t want to do again. Even as she thought that, there was a part of her that realized she’d wanted to go out with him or she wouldn’t have allowed the children to talk her into this date. That realization startled her.
When Mac pulled his car into the driveway of a house, Tess sent him a wary glance. “Do you want to show me your etchings?”
His laughter filled the small confines of the car, warming the already heated air. Tess was caught by his silver molten gaze and held in its spell. This is a mistake, she thought frantically. It’s way too dangerous for me to go out with him. He’s too overwhelming.
“What if I said yes?”
“Then I’m not moving from this car.” She felt herself being drawn into his web of male charm, held together by an incredible smile and the most beautiful eyes.
He grinned, his arm sliding along the back of the seat. “That’ll be all right by me.”
The air became unbearably hot. Tess felt prickles of heat slip down the length of her. She stared at that incredible smile of his that no human being had a right to and wanted to melt. She didn’t know if she would be able to move from the car if her life depended on it.
Even though his arm didn’t touch her, she was acutely conscious of it only inches from her. Her skin tingled as though electrical currents flowed between them. She found herself leaning closer to his arm along the back of the seat as if she needed to establish tactile contact with him. Oh, my, what’s happening to me?
Suddenly she bolted upright, staring straight ahead, determined not to look at him. “I think you’d better take me home.”
His laugh was low and full of warmth. “I never figured you for a gal who went back on a promise.”
She threw him a surprised look. “I’m not. I went out with you. It was just an incredibly short date.”
His chuckle danced along her nerve endings. “I suppose technically you’ve fulfilled your obligation to the children, but you’re missing the intent of the date.”
She quirked a brow. “Oh, and what is that?” she asked, confused by the way his laughter seeped into her bruised heart and demanded she forget everything but him.
His hand touched her shoulder, urging her back against the seat. “Stay and relax. All I want is for us to get to know each other.”
The way he said “for us” made her breath catch and belied the meaning of his words. She wasn’t good at this dating stuff, having done little of it in her life. She should never have let the kids at the hospital bully her into going out with Mac, even if there was a small part of her that had wanted to go.
“Friendship is about all I can handle in my life,” he murmured,
his voice low and throaty.
“Now I’m really comforted.” Vividly aware of his hand near her shoulder, Tess sat stiffly against the seat cushion. Her senses registered everything about him, his clean male scent, the silver gleam in his eyes, the dimples at the sides of his mouth when he smiled.
“If it would make you feel any better—” Mac stopped talking as a car pulled up behind them in the driveway and a man, woman and child got out of it.
The man approached Mac’s car and bent down at the open window on the driver’s side. “This has got to be a first. I don’t believe it, Mac. You’ve never been early for anything. Turning over a new leaf?”
“Funny.”
“Are you coming in or do you plan on celebrating out in the car?” The man’s gaze slid to Tess then back to Mac. “I’ll admit I wouldn’t blame you.”
“Tess, this obnoxious guy is my brother Justin. His wife, Mary, and their son, Justin Junior, are standing behind him.”
“Brother?” Tess’s voice was full of puzzlement. Her cheeks still flamed from Justin’s comment.
“Yeah, I was about to tell you that this is my mother’s house. We’re celebrating my brother’s birthday tonight, and the crowd I told you about at the hospital is my huge family.”
“See you inside, brother dear. Don’t take too long. Mom probably has her binoculars trained on you as we speak,” Justin said.
Tess watched the couple and their son walk to the front door and go inside. She should be angry at the way Mac had deliberately misled her, but she couldn’t muster the feeling. Relief washed over her. She knew in the brief ride to his mother’s that she couldn’t handle being alone with Peter MacPherson. She would have to remember that, and avoid the situation at all costs, she told herself as she clutched the door handle, needing to escape. She realized she didn’t trust herself around Mac.
“Why the rush, Tess? The rest of the family isn’t even here yet. Let’s talk. Get to know each other. Believe me, once we hit that door, we’ll get very little time to talk alone together.”
“I know all I need to know.” Is that my voice that sounds panic-filled? Tess, take deep breaths and calm down. So he makes your heart beat a bit faster and all your senses vibrate with awareness. It will pass, she assured herself, thinking back to the handful of guys she’d dated in her life and realizing she was definitely out of her league.
“There you go again, judging me before you even know me.”
She angled to face him in the small car. “I’m not judging you.”
“Aren’t you?”
“I’m just not interested in any kind of relationship.”
“Even friendship?”
“Is that what this is all about?” Strangely, that was what frightened her. His offer of friendship was the most appealing aspect about him, she was discovering as she spent time with him.
“Yes and no. I’m not going to deny you interest me.” His hand settled on her shoulder, kneading the taut muscles. “There’s something between us even you can’t deny. But, Tess, what I really want is to get to know you as a friend. No one can have too many friends.”
Her eyes closed for a brief moment as she relished the feel of his hand on her, massaging the tension away, creating delicious sensations in her that went down to the tips of her toes. My gosh, she thought. He’s good. Too good!
“I don’t think casual is in your vocabulary.” She pulled away, plastering her back against the car door, grasping anything—however fragile—to break the hold this man was weaving over her. “You say you want to be my friend, but something else is going on. Like you, friendship is all I can handle in my life right now.”
“What happened, Tess? What are you running away from?”
Chapter Three
“I could ask you the same questions,” Tess said, wanting to avoid the direction the conversation was headed in.
Sighing heavily, Mac opened the car door. “I think it’s time we go in. Justin’s probably right about my mother and the binoculars. I think I see sunlight glinting off glass from the living room window.”
For some reason Tess couldn’t let the question drop. “Are you avoiding my question? Why won’t you answer it?” she asked as she faced him over the top of his car.
“Probably for the same reason you won’t answer mine. It’s not easy for the two of us to share our pain, is it?”
She blinked, nonplussed by the way he could hone in on what she was all about—and in such an incredibly short time. “I think you’re right. We’d better go inside.” She headed for the house.
A petite woman with gray hair opened the door before Mac could reach around Tess and put his hand on the knob. “I was beginning to think I’d have to send Steve out to get you.”
“Mom, not everyone is here yet.”
“But still, I wanted some time to get to know your friend before the rest of the horde descend.”
With that declaration Tess found herself being studied by Mac’s mother’s sharp gaze, much like her son’s.
“As you’ve probably surmised, this woman is my mother, Alice MacPherson. Mom, this is Tess Morgan.”
Tess shook Alice’s hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine. When Peter called to tell me he was bringing a date, I was frankly very interested. Ever since Sheila—”
“Mom, where’s Amy? I want Tess to meet my daughter.”
“She’s in the den with her cousins.”
“I’ll be back in a sec. I can trust you, Mom, not to say anything too outrageous while I’m gone.”
“Why, son, never.” Alice signaled for Tess to precede her into the living room. “I’ll just get acquainted with your lady friend while you’re gone. Take all the time in the world getting Amy. We’ll be just fine, Peter,” Alice called as she winked at Tess. “I wager he’ll be gone no more than a minute, if that long.” Alice gestured toward the couch. “Are you from Denver?”
“No, I grew up in Maine but after my parents died, I decided on a change of scenery.” Tess sat on the couch across from Mac’s mother, feeling as though she were being interviewed by a pro and determined not to mention the year she’d spent in the Peace Corps in South America. That might lead to questions she didn’t want to answer.
“I must warn you, in a moment this place will be chaotic. Do you have any brothers and sisters?”
Tess’s chest felt tight. She drew in a fortifying breath and answered, “No.” She had always wanted a lot of brothers and sisters. She was completely alone in the world. There had been a time when she had wanted a large family with Kevin. Now that wasn’t possible, but the empty ache still hurt.
“Well, Tess, I’m not sure you missed out on anything,” Mac said as he joined them in the living room, carrying an adorable-looking little girl in his arms. She had huge brown eyes and dark hair. “As the big brother, I have to put up with a lot of nonsense.”
“Oh, sure, you think you’re the only one who has suffered.” Justin entered the room with another young man. “Steve, you tell our big brother how we have to constantly live up to his legend. It’s very hard to at times.”
“Justin, be kind to your older brother,” Alice said with a laugh.
“Yeah, bro.” Mac put Amy down and watched as his little girl walked to Tess.
Amy cocked her head, her brow knitted, and asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m Tess Morgan, a friend of your father’s.” The second she said the word friend she felt Mac’s smug glance touch her face and wished she could stop her cheeks from flaming scarlet just with the thought of the man looking at her. She must learn to control her reaction to him.
“Daddy has a lot of friends,” Amy announced, then wandered to her grandmother and sat next to her.
Tess was trying to decide what the little girl meant by friends when another man came into the room, quickly followed by a young woman. Suddenly the room was filled with people of various ages, from a baby to Mac’s mother. Tess felt inundated. The people were
all interested in her, kidding each other and enjoying the moment. By the time everyone had introduced themselves, Tess counted fifteen people. She was never good at names, so she found herself reviewing their names as she listened to the conversation flowing around her.
Mac walked behind the couch and leaned over. “I have something I’d like to show you before dinner.”
She smiled. “Those etchings finally?”
His chuckle was low, meant only for her. “Not here. Never any privacy. It’s something outside. You just have to put your trust in me and come with me to find out.”
The thought of putting her trust in Mac’s hands didn’t alarm her nearly as much as she thought it should. That knowledge sent a bolt of pure panic through her. Since South America she’d lost her ability to trust.
“Coming?” Mac asked, his hand extended toward her.
Fitting her hand within his grasp, Tess followed him from the living room, aware of a lull in the conversation. She suspected his family had stopped talking to watch them leave. Another blush tinted her cheeks as she realized they would be the topic of conversation after they left.
Mac confirmed her suspicion when he whispered into her ear, “I thought I would spice up their dull lives and let them talk about us for a while.”
“Are you always so accommodating to your family?”
“Alas, you’ve found me out. I’m a doormat when it comes to them.” He opened the back door and motioned for her to go first. “My daughter has already figured out how to wrap me around her little finger.”
On the patio, the warm spring air felt good. Tess took a moment to relish the clean fresh air laced with the hint of honeysuckle. “What did you want me to see?” she asked when Mac came up behind her and stood close.
“This.” He spread his arm wide to indicate the beautiful sky at dusk.
Mauves mingled with pinks and reds to feather outward to all reaches of the heavens. The light, cool breeze, carrying the scent of pine, ruffled the strands of her hair. The quiet just before night descended filled Tess with a momentary sense of tranquillity she wished she could bottle.
Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero Page 3