Someone called her name. She glanced up.
Kevin stood in the middle of the Indian village nestled at the bottom of a mountain. He waved to her, a wide grin gracing his mouth. She started toward him, eager to share her news about the little girl brought in that morning who was finally responding to treatment.
Crack!
Kevin’s smile crumpled as he collapsed to the ground, a bright red spreading on his white shirt.
She froze, her eyes widening at the pool of blood around Kevin. Then her world completely shattered as a horde of rebels from a mountain stronghold descended on the village like a swarm of locusts.
Screams pierced the clear mountain air. The scent of gunfire accosted her and propelled her forward—toward Kevin. Ten feet away. Five.
The insistent ringing wormed its way into her nightmare, pushing Tess toward wakefulness. She blinked, trying to focus on the present.
The sound persisted, filling her mind with urgency. She rolled to her feet and fumbled for the switch on the lamp next to the couch. Brightness flooded the room, causing her to blink again.
Shaking the haze of sleep from her mind, she started for the door. When she peered out the peephole, she saw Mac standing on her front porch and immediately opened the door, forgetting to mask her dismay at seeing him.
“Are you ready—” His smile of greeting died when he looked into Tess’s pale features, her eyes lackluster and pain-filled.
“What’s wrong, Tess?”
She combed her fingers through her hair, staring at a place over his shoulder before swinging her gaze to his. “I left you a message. I can’t—” Her voice broke, and tears welled into her eyes.
Mac stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind him. He drew her into his arms and pressed her head to his shoulder. “I know. I ignored the message.” He’d had every intention of letting her believe he hadn’t received the message, but suddenly it was very important for him to tell the truth. “I could tell something was wrong. That’s when a person needs a friend the most.”
The way he said friend made the tears flow. She had been running for the past two years and had avoided getting close to anyone. Now suddenly this man wasn’t allowing her to remain aloof, and she was found she didn’t want to. She needed to know someone cared, if only for a short time.
She felt the dampness of his shirt against her cheek and the strong stroke of his hand down the length of her back. She smelled his scent, sandalwood and soap. She heard the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear and felt as though its soothing rhythm could erase the remembered sounds of gunfire that echoed through her mind. And for a while it did. It had only been one of her nightmares. This was reality. Denver. The children she helped. Peter MacPherson.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Tess shook her head, her throat still too tight to say anything, her fragile emotions raw and near the surface.
He continued holding her for a few minutes while she drew in calming breaths and tried to right the chaos she had felt deep inside since that day her life had changed. When she pulled back, still loosely fitted in his embrace, she peered at him through red-rimmed eyes.
“I must look a sight.” She swiped her hand across her cheeks to rub away any evidence of her losing control. This was the second time he had found her crying in their short acquaintance.
His mouth quirked in a smile. “Maybe a sight for sore eyes.” His arms fell to his sides.
Again she fingered her hair, trying to bring some order to its unruliness, and returned his smile. “If this is your way of cheering a gal up, it’s working.”
“Good, that’s what I came over here to do. Give me some coffee and I’ll regale you with stories of my family. That ought to make anyone thankful they don’t have to walk in my shoes.”
“I hear your teasing tone, and don’t forget I’ve met that family. They are dears.”
He tossed back his head and laughed. “Dears? My, I’ve never heard them referred to as dears.”
His infectious laughter spread through her, warming her inside. She imagined his younger brothers, all over six feet and broad-shouldered like him, and knew they wouldn’t want anyone to think of them as dears. “Well, at least your mother, daughter and sisters are.”
“Oh, but the trials and tribulations of being the head of a large family. Casey was over at the house first thing this morning wanting me to help her find the perfect job. I said something about working at the foundation for me, and she immediately said no. She wants a job, but she’s being awfully picky about it. Says she can’t work for me.”
“What does she like to do?”
“She likes working with people and she’s good with computers.”
“We have an opening on our floor for a unit secretary if she wants to apply at the hospital.”
“I’ll mention it to her. She loves children so she might go for it.”
“Come on into the kitchen. I’ll put some coffee on and even fix us something to eat.” She stopped after only taking a few steps and turned to him. “That is if you haven’t had anything for dinner yet.”
“Nope.” Mac followed her. “Do you have a roommate?”
“Yes, but Delise is gone for the weekend. She went to see her parents in Aspen. She wanted me to go but I—”
“—had a date.”
She paused at the counter and glanced over her shoulder at him. “Well, yes, that, too. But I promised Jan I would work for her tomorrow. She needed some time off while her son was home from college.”
“How long have you been a nurse?”
“Seven years.”
“Have you only been a pediatric nurse?”
“No.” Tess turned her attention to making the coffee, concentrating on keeping her hands from trembling.
“What else have you done?”
She hadn’t heard him approach, but he stood right behind her. She sucked in a deep breath and held it for a long moment. “A little bit of everything,” she finally answered, aware that her voice quavered.
He laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry. Have I hit a taboo subject?”
She swallowed hard. “My first job as a nurse was in the emergency room in a large city hospital. I saw more that year than a lot of people do in ten years. I moved around after that, but I’ve decided working with children is what I want to do from now on.”
He positioned himself next to her, lounging against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. “I see your fascination with clowns extends to your home.”
After putting the coffee on, Tess leaned next to him and looked about her. Her clown collection overflowed from the living room into the kitchen as well as her bedroom. “I started collecting them when I was a little girl. I can’t go by one in a store and not buy it.”
“I can tell. How many do you have?”
“I stopped counting after a hundred.”
“Well, I know what to get you for your birthday.”
“Yeah, I’m easy to buy for.” She tried to ignore the implication of his teasing statement, but she couldn’t. It suggested they would have a future. She saw how at home he appeared in her kitchen, and her wariness pushed to the foreground.
“Of course, a friend has to keep straight which clowns you have, and I’m sure there will come a time when you’ll have everything there is to have.”
She shoved away from the counter. “I always say if you’re going to do something you might as well do it right.”
“An all-or-nothing kind of person.”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so. I tend to jump in with both feet.”
“What happens when you discover there’s no water?”
Tess went to the refrigerator, some of life’s painful lessons washing over her. “It hurts when I land.”
One side of his mouth lifted in a self-mocking grin. He bent and rubbed the leg that had been in a cast the week before. “Boy, I can attest to that.”
She chuckled, glad he was p
utting the conversation on a light note. Searching her refrigerator, she came up with the makings for ham and cheese sandwiches.
“Can I help?”
“You can set the table while I make the sandwiches. The plates and glasses are over there, and the silverware is in that drawer.” Tess pointed with the tip of a butter knife.
While she prepared their light dinner, she listened to Mac move about her kitchen as though he had visited her often and knew where everything was. Again the impression he was comfortable, at home in her apartment besieged her. That thought brought a halt to her movements as she slid a glance at the man who dominated any room he entered. He filled the space with his muscled body, but mostly his presence radiated confidence and determination. He had a direction to his life that Tess envied. Once she’d had a path to follow, but she’d lost her way.
“The coffee’s done. Do you want any?”
His question broke into her thoughts. “Yes, please.” She hurried to finish the sandwiches, realizing she was thinking too much.
When she sat at the table, the scent of brewed coffee wafted to her. She inhaled the fragrance, much too aware of the man next to her. After adding sugar to the coffee in her mug, she lifted it to her lips and took a sip.
He picked up the salt and pepper shakers and examined them. “Clowns. My daughter would like these.”
“Most kids respond to clowns.”
“Is that why you started your clown therapy?”
“Yes. I wanted a way to take their minds off why they were in the hospital. Most of the time I succeed.” Tess began to eat her sandwich, enjoying the sharp taste of aged Cheddar cheese and the tang of the mustard.
“But not all the time?”
“Every once and a while I run across a tough cookie.”
“Like Johnny?”
“Yeah, he’s been a challenge.”
“He’s had a lot of hard knocks for a ten-year-old.” Mac popped a potato chip into his mouth, then took a bite of the ham and cheese.
“I just hope Mrs. Hocks finds a relative for him to live with.”
“Who’s Mrs. Hocks?” Mac washed his meal down with a swallow of coffee.
“His case manager.”
“What’s gonna happen to him in the meantime?”
“He’ll live with a foster family. He leaves the hospital on Monday afternoon.”
“What does Johnny think about that?”
“He tells me he would rather be on the street taking care of himself.”
“Do you believe him?”
Tess tilted her head to the side and thought about the last time she saw Johnny, his mouth set in a defiant frown. “Yes, I’m afraid he believes he’s better off by himself. He’s been shuffled between foster parents before.”
“Then, do you think he’ll run away?”
“He has a habit of doing that when faced with something he doesn’t like.”
Mac speared her with a sharp gaze. “Most people do.”
She was close to squirming under his unrelenting stare. She felt as if he had delved into her mind and glimpsed her innermost thoughts. She dropped her glance to her plate and fingered what was left of her sandwich. “Sometimes running away is the best thing for a person. The only thing.”
“Do you really believe that? Do you think that’s what’s best for Johnny?”
She lifted her gaze to his probing one. “No, it isn’t. He needs a home, someone to love him. But he doesn’t need to be shuffled between different foster parents just because he may be a little difficult.”
“I agree.” Picking up his half-eaten sandwich, Mac took another big bite and chewed slowly, the whole time his attention fixed on her face, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
She blushed, wishing she could read what was in his mind. Or maybe she didn’t want to. The flare of interest was more than she could handle. She wanted no complications in her life, and Peter MacPherson was definitely a complication. She looked away before he saw more than she wanted him to see.
Mac covered her hand next to her plate, forcing her attention to him. “I hope his case manager will find a relative to take him in.”
“They’ve been looking for over a year, since he became a ward of the state. There may not be anyone. Johnny doesn’t say much about his family. He won’t talk about his mother, who died last year, and I don’t think his father was ever around much. From what Mrs. Hocks has said, he abandoned them long ago.” She slipped her hand from Mac’s grasp, feeling the imprint of his fingers as though it was a brand.
“No one should have children unless they are willing to take care of them. They’re too precious to ever take lightly.”
She didn’t want to get into the subject of having children. That possibility had vanished for her when Kevin had been taken from her. Their dream of a large family was just that, a dream. Twisting her napkin in her lap, she searched for a topic of conversation that wasn’t so painful. “Tell me about your work at the halfway house. You said you were fixing the roof and fell off the ladder when you broke your leg. Do you work there often?”
“I don’t usually do those kinds of things at the halfway house, and after that accident, I’ll make sure I hire someone to do it from now on. Being a handyman isn’t my area of expertise.”
“What is?”
“I usually hold counseling sessions several times a week. I spend most Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons there.”
“Counseling? You’re a counselor?”
“I majored in psychology in college, and after I quit football, I went back for my masters.”
“I thought you were a businessman.”
“That, too. I have investments and the foundation to look after. But my love is counseling. I wish I could do more, but I do have those other obligations that are important to me, too.”
“Why the halfway house?”
“I’ve seen what drugs can do to people.”
“So have I. Some of those emergencies I told you about my first year were drug related. Not a pretty sight.”
“Then you understand why I have to do something. I had a friend in college who got involved with drugs. I couldn’t help him. He died of an overdose. I promised myself then I would make a difference.”
“I think that’s why I became a nurse. Like Casey, I like people and found I wanted to help.” Tess relaxed in her chair and sipped her coffee. She liked Mac a lot. He cared about others and wasn’t afraid to show it. “In school I was good at science and for a while thought about being a chemist. Then I decided in college that I didn’t want to be stuck in a lab, working with test tubes all day. I wanted to work with people, particularly children.”
“I think my most rewarding work is with the youth group at church. Some of the most confusing, trying times for children are when they are in middle school. I find myself looking forward to teaching them each week about the power of the Lord’s love. It has sustained me through a lot of rough times.”
The devotion and intensity emanating from Mac reminded Tess of Kevin. She frowned and looked away, not wanting to remember anymore that evening. “I’m glad God is a comfort to you.” She finished the potato chips on her plate as though it was important that she eat everyone of them.
“What happened, Tess?”
“Let’s just say I was abandoned in my time of need and leave it at that.” She stared at her empty plate.
“If you want to talk, I’m a good listener.”
“The counselor in you?”
“The friend in me.”
“There’s nothing to say. I would rather leave my past in the past.”
“Well, did I ever tell you about the time the kids in the youth group had me skateboarding in the parking lot?”
She shook her head.
“I crashed and burned several times. I’m surprised I didn’t break my leg that day. I will say those kids make me feel young.”
Tess laughed. “You are young.”
“Sometimes when my body protests and
creaks, I don’t feel young.”
“How old are you? Thirty-two? Thirty-three?”
“Thirty-four.”
“Oh, what an old man you are,” she teased, enjoying the heightened color that crept into his cheeks.
“Okay. Turnabout is fair play. How old are you?”
“Didn’t your mother tell you never to ask a lady her age?”
“Yes. How old are you, Tess?”
The mischievous gleam in his eyes made her heart beat faster. “Twenty-eight. Much younger than you.”
“I’m robbing the cradle.”
She tensed, realizing how easy it would be to fall in love with Mac. She wouldn’t do that to herself again. “But we aren’t dating.”
“This was supposed to be a date. Remember?”
“Yes, but I canceled.”
“I’m here. I didn’t let you cancel.”
“Well—” She couldn’t think of anything to say to that declaration. She snapped her mouth closed and stared at him.
“But you’re right—this really isn’t a proper date. So you owe me one. Let’s say next Saturday night, and don’t leave any messages on my answering machine begging off.”
Tess rose, busying herself by taking her plate and cup to the sink. “I’m sorry. I am busy next Saturday night.”
“Washing your hair?”
“No.”
“Cleaning your bathroom?”
“No, I’m working. I’m pulling double shifts for the next few weeks. We’re shorthanded at the hospital.”
She listened to the scrape of his chair across the linoleum, then his footsteps covering the distance between them. He placed his dishes in the sink next to hers, his arm brushing against hers. Tension whipped down her body as she turned on the water, her hands trembling.
“Thanks for the sandwich. I’d better go. I’ll be seeing you.”
Surprised—and somewhat disappointed—that he gave up so fast, Tess dried her hands and followed him from the kitchen. “I appreciate your understanding about this evening.” She opened the front door and leaned on it while he stepped over the threshold.
Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero Page 5