I must be crazy, he thought. This was torture and he was begging to prolong it!
Destiny gazed into his eyes, a delightfully wicked grin on her face. Holding back took every ounce of willpower he possessed. When he claimed her mouth, the world spun into an undescribable bliss where time and space had no meaning.
*****
Destiny lay snuggled against Cole's shoulder, listening to the steady beat of his heart, loving the feel of his arm draped across her. She watched in silent reverence as the morning sun crept slowly through the sheer window coverings. When it kissed his face, she studied his rugged handsomeness, softened in the early light.
Such a face. Good, kind, strong. She saw an lovable little boy quality there, too, and remembered how it sparked to life when he laughed, eyes crinkling with delight. Now it whispered to her as he slept, calling to the little girl inside of her. She sighed, replete.
His eyes fluttered open, his dark lashes tipped in gold by the morning light. The boy vanished back into the man, taking her little girl with him.
His chest rose and fell more quickly as he fixed his smiling gaze on her. "What are you doing awake so early?" he asked, his voice a sleepy rumble.
"Guess I don't need any more sleep." She ran her hand over his chest. This busy, wonderful man obviously worked out – he'd scooped her into his arms as thought she were light as a feather.
He caught her wrist and brought it to his lips. "Mmmm. You taste so good."
His lips nibbled against her pulse. Did he feel it race?
“Your smashed toes okay this morning?” she inquired.
He looked at his bare feet. "Hey, toes, the lady asked you a question."
Toes wiggled in response.
She laughed. "Is that a yes?"
"Yep." He planted a kiss on the tip of her nose. "Do you realize we have the entire day to ourselves?"
She ran a light finger across his lips. "Let's not waste a moment of it." He was the rock, she the stream. He was the match, she the candle, forever burning with his touch.
*****
Later, outside on the deck, Destiny dipped one foot into the bubbling hot tub, delighted with the bubbles, the scent of sun-ripened berries, and all the careful thought Cole had obviously given to this weekend. The warm water felt heavenly in the cool morning air. "Smells great," she murmured.
"So do you." He lifted himself from the water, stretching upward to nuzzle her neck.
She laughed, exhilarated, excited by his teasing kiss.
"You intoxicate me, Destiny." Cole pulled her down into the steamy froth, her back against his chest, his warm lips trailing kisses from one shoulder to the other.
"Wipe that smug expression off your face, Dr. Jackson." she teased, turning to face him. His eyes twinkled with pleasure. Unable to resist, she kissed him.
"Destiny..."
She kissed him again, putting all her heart into it.
"This hot tub's too darn hot," he rasped, surging up out of the water, pulling her to her feet and into his arms.
They didn't make it to the lake until after lunch. And then only because Cole swore the icy water would cool them both down enough to enjoy an early dinner before returning to Carson.
"Do you realize we've only known each other a few weeks?" she asked as they strolled along the small strip of beach hand in hand.
"Mmmm." A distracted response, his gaze far out on the water.
She squeezed his hand to get his attention. "You catching up on your sleep now?"
He looked at her, his blue eyes serious. "I was just thinking about how I feel about you."
"Oh?"
"I'm head over heels. And I wish we had another week... No, make that two, just us."
She reached up and brushed his cheek with her fingers. "So do I." With her schedule she'd be lucky to get another weekend off next month. Still, maybe a time out was needed, forcing them to slow down when, after the last twenty-four hours, she wanted to stay in his arms forever.
A small sigh escaped his lips as he checked his watch. "Time to go back. The lasagna's probably heated through by now."
"So that's what you were slipping into the oven." She smiled at him. "I hope you know I can't cook worth a darn."
His arm circled her waist. "I'd say you sizzle in all the right places."
"Mmmm.”
Her purr of satisfaction made him grin.
She slid her arms around his neck. “I love being a doctor. Or maybe I should say, I love doctors. Especially one who cooks."
He means a lot to you. Her brother's words came back to her, an immeasurable understatement.
Sometime during the last few hours they'd found time to talk – truly talk about the things that were important to each of them. There was more to this man than very talented hands. He was real. Their ideals dovetailed. He loved the land as much as she did. He believed in living in harmony with all of nature, wanted the same things for Kayla as she wanted for her own future family. He had depth and honor.
The growing awareness that she loved this man held her in awe. Still, she felt a bit of trepidation. When she’d broached the subject of his first wife, he’d withdrawn, become quiet, and changed the subject. She wondered about his reticence. Next time they were together, she’d ask, but not now, when their time together was drawing to a close.
She melted against him, and he brushed her lips with his, sending a crashing tide of sensation down to her toes and back up again. An instant later, he broke away. "Whew! You are lethal to my health, woman."
"Cole." His name felt so delicious on her tongue she wanted to shout it to the blue sky, hear it echo through the treetops.
She did, and it did, and they laughed at the startled expression of a surprised fisherman.
*****
The end of a perfect weekend. Watching Destiny settle astride her motorcycle, Cole longed for their time together to start over.
She waved, black leather jacket and helmet on. Back to Carson, back to the hospital, back to their everyday lives. But his would never be the same without her with him. As they'd strolled along the lake, he'd almost asked her to marry him. Something had stopped him. Her curiosity about Lanni?
She’d posed a hesitant question, asking what Lanni was like. It had taken him off guard and he hadn’t known what to say. He’d felt a twinge of guilt when he realized he hadn’t thought of Lanni all weekend, until then. Had Destiny sensed his remorse, mistaken its meaning?
Destiny. He wished he had asked her to marry him, wished he had her answer, because watching her disappear beyond the rise in the road was shredding his heart.
She loved him, of that he felt confident.
Web, old buddy, eat your heart out, because this woman is mine.
Chapter Eight
Within three days, an early snow at higher elevations caught motorists unprepared, causing several serious pile-ups and an increased workload for Cole. He only had time to miss Destiny in his dreams.
Kayla whined because of his long hours, and he thought he'd go nuts between his work, his own wanting, and the inescapable demands of a one-parent household. Maybe he should get a housekeeper. His mother and father weren't getting any younger And one of these days, when Sylvia found someone she wanted to settle down with, she'd no longer be available to watch when those inevitable emergencies hit the hospital. He needed another back-up.
Destiny, his mind whispered as he crawled into bed at the end of the exhausting week. His hungry hormones agreed.
No, he argued back. Lanni, yes, she had enjoyed being a stay-at-home wife and mother.
But Destiny? No. She'd be bored to tears.
Ouch! Danged if he wasn't doing it again – picturing Destiny as his wife. Maybe she wasn't even interested in marriage. They hadn't discussed that. During their last phone conversation he'd finally told her Lanni died of cancer. Then they’d talked of other things. Talking about the dead wasn't something one did her Native American culture, and he respected that.
The pho
ne rang as he was drifting off to sleep. “Let it be Destiny,” he mumbled, wanting the sound of her voice.
It was the hospital. A crane accident at a construction site in nearby Dayton, a tiny town with a long history but no hospital. He groaned a protest, said he'd be there stat and went to rouse Kayla.
Darn! Maybe he should just move into that blasted third floor when it was finished. He'd have to remember to tell Web to add an apartment near the OR. These back and forth jaunts to the hospital at all hours were making him old before his time.
His mother's words came back to him. Get a housekeeper.
Was that the answer? Kayla needed attention from an alert, caring individual, not an overworked, sleep-deprived dad. There was plenty of room on his five acres to build a small cottage without it intruding on his privacy, a separate place for a housekeeper to live, have her own space, yet be available when he needed someone to watch Kayla--his mother's exact words yesterday on the phone, the second time that month she'd mentioned it. "Your dad and I can't keep up with this kind of schedule, Cole."
Maybe she was right. Maybe he needed to let things move on. Kayla's needs were changing, and would continue to do so. And his own needs were sure a hell making themselves known.
The following Monday, after preparing dinner with Kayla, he helped her with her addition and spelling words. Good Lord, when had they started giving first graders so much homework?
Afterwards, she sat on his lap, swinging her legs, as he read aloud the ad he'd placed in the newspaper. “Housekeeper wanted...”
He'd called an architect, asked about plans for a small cottage, two bedrooms, kitchen, living room-dining room combination, lots of light. The man said he'd have the plans ready in a few days.
Now, staring at the advertisement, Cole began to have doubts. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. But the four-year-old Kayla who'd clung to him after her mother's death was now going on seven and growing more independent every day.
As if to demonstrate that fact, Kayla slid from his lap, and climbed on a stool. "Can I call Destiny?" she asked, picking up the phone without waiting for his reply.
"She may still be sleeping or, more likely, getting ready for work. Can you keep it short?" An image of Destiny slipping from bed nude to answer the phone, pulling on her clothes as she talked, set his heart speeding. He wanted it to be his bed, tonight and every night.
Vaguely, he wondered what his daughter was all fired up to talk to the bewitching Destiny about.
With her eyes shining like bright shiny buttons, Kayla dialed, her foot tapping the stool. She looked both expectant and anxious. "Destiny?" She paused then her precious face brightened. "No, I'm at home with Daddy." She paused again. "No, I wanted to talk to you."
"Me, too!" Cole protested, pitching his voice loud enough for Destiny to hear.
Kayla gave him a much put-upon look. "Shhh," she hissed, fingers to her lips as she turned her attention back to the call. "Would you take me to the mother-daughter dinner Friday night, Destiny?"
He jumped out of his chair. "Wait a minute. That's not something you ask without discussing it with me first, young lady."
Her face scrunched up with concentration as she continued her conversation with Destiny. "I went with Cindy and her mom last year. But this year I'd rather have you take me. It starts at six and ends at nine."
Despite his displeasure, Cole felt a smile stretch his lips. So grown up. When she hit her teens he was going to be in real trouble. Faking a frown, arms crossed, he waited. His daughter said a quick "'Bye" and held out the phone. "Destiny wants to talk to you."
He eased Kayla down from the stool before taking the receiver. "Destiny. I'm a bit embarrassed."
She laughed, that wondrous dusky bell laugh. "Don't be. I'd love to take her. If it's all right with you, that is?"
"Well, yes," he stammered, surprised. Most women weren't into other people's children, and certainly not into playing mommy to them.
"I could ride my bike over, drive your car to the dinner." She paused, then added a hesitant, "Maybe stay awhile after Kayla's in bed?"
Thoughts of how they might spend their time set off familiar fireworks. "You have that night off?"
"Half-shift. I don't have to be at work until three the next morning."
Excitement ripped through him. He gave her directions to his house, then winked at Kayla. She gave a victorious whoop.
"I can't wait." He wanted to say more, but caught himself, all too conscious of the ecstatic six-year-old at his side.
"I'll look forward to it." Destiny's soft, seductive tone had the same effect as throwing gasoline on a flame. He hung up, reluctantly, in need of a cold shower.
Kayla threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Daddy!"
"Next time, ask me first," he growled in weak protest, wrestling his thoughts away from Destiny. Shifting gears from would-be lover to his role of daddy required effort. It took a minute, but he managed.
He tickled Kayla, hauling her up to her room over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She wiggled into Bugs Bunny PJs and then brushed her teeth. Afterwards, he read to her, her favorite story of the week, "The Snow Child," and tucked her into bed. Three kisses and a hug later, he turned out her light. "Goodnight, Pumpkin."
"'Night, Daddy. I love you."
His heart constricted. "I love you too, Sweet Stuff." He felt lucky. Very lucky. With a daughter like Kayla who loved him unequivocally, and Destiny to inspire his passion, he felt like King of the Universe.
*****
Throughout her work week, Destiny found herself cataloguing all that she loved about Cole. His smile, his deep laugh, his gentle hands... The list was endless. And now she was taking his daughter to a mother-daughter dinner. But a part of her wondered if she should have accepted.
Cole had implied "commitment" in his words and actions. So had she. But neither of them had actually spoken about what lay beyond the next date. What if their relationship fizzled?
Not that it showed signs of that happening, she thought, blushing at the sudden images which swept through her mind. She pushed them away, thinking about his beautiful daughter. The child was a wonder. Destiny marveled that the little girl seemed to have put her mother’s death behind her completely, never speaking of her except once to say she was in heaven. Kayla had moved forward, eager to embrace tomorrow. Destiny approved, but had to ask herself, would accepting this invitation to her mother-daughter dinner send the wrong signals to Kayla? Would the child then feel betrayed, if Destiny's relationship with Cole turned sour?
I'm being a pessimist, she told herself. Then, confidence reasserting itself, she hurried through her day.
Time hurtled by and suddenly she was astride her Yamaha, racing out the highway to Deer Run Road. Turning right, she followed the two lane across the Carson River. A short distance more and the road turned rough, the area rural, but with countless houses scattered along the ridges above the valley.
As she swept around the next turn, a sprawling two-story drew her admiring gaze. The number matched Cole's address, the fenced front yard covering at least an acre. River rock and salt grass followed a perimeter of cottonwoods, their leaves changing in the crisp fall air, the swaying grass like a rippling stream beneath their golden canopies. A lovely, high desert image.
She drove slowly up the long asphalt drive and stopped her bike before a brick walkway, took off her helmet, and studied the house. It was beautiful, all wood and rock, with a dark tiled roof. Big, but with graceful lines that suited the terrain perfectly.
Leaving her helmet and jacket with the Yamaha, she grabbed the duffle bag containing her change of clothes. The walkway skirted a half-moon landscape arrangement of cactus and roses, and led up two steps to an elegantly carved double door. Her boots were silent on the cement.
Cole's house. She liked what she saw.
About to knock, she smiled when she heard Kayla yell, "She's here!"
The door flew open to Kayla's unbridled exuberance, her flowe
red leggings and matching top bright enough to glow in the dark.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs to her right, drawing Destiny's attention. Cole crossed toward her, his rumpled shirt and tie proclaiming he'd not been home long. He grinned as he reached for her. "Welcome to my wickiup."
She returned his tantalizingly swift kiss, then pressed her nose into his neck. "Mmm, you smell so-o-o-o good!"
When Kayla giggled, Destiny stepped back. "Where should I change?" she asked, holding up her bag.
Cole adopted a silly grin. "You mean you're not going to the dinner as a Motorcycle Mama?"
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Oh, Daddy.” She bounded past them. "Back here, Destiny!"
Destiny felt Cole's gaze follow her as she trailed Kayla past the staircase, down the hall to a bedroom doorway. She glanced back, caught a flicker of hunger in his gaze and smiled, when she turned back Kayla was bouncing on the double bed. The little girl's smile had a way of roping her heart, tugging when she least expected it.
Grandma and Grandpa sleep here sometimes when Daddy's away," Kayla said, as though explaining the room's importance. Or was she serving notice it had already been claimed by two very important people in her life, not available to Destiny on a permanent basis? So many questions. Trying to figure out how kids' minds worked was a full time job. The more experience she gained in Family Practice, the better she'd be with her own children – when that day came.
"It's a beautiful room." She winked at the little girl as she unzipped her bag and shook out her cotton gauze dress. Bright yellow. She and Kayla together ought to give the downtown casinos neon competition. Good. She wanted everyone to see that Kayla belonged with her tonight. "Thanks for asking me to take you. It'll be a real treat."
Kayla slid from the bed. Destiny saw the hug coming and crouched down to receive it. It nearly bowled her over. Arms tight around Destiny's neck, Kayla gushed, "I love you."
The little girl's words honored her. With a lump in her throat, Destiny fell back across the bed, pretending to be knocked flat, taking Kayla with her. She hugged the child, so filled with emotion she could barely speak. "Thank you, Kayla. I think you're pretty special, too."
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