Divided Dreams

by Walters, Janet Lane;

Grace nearly spilled her coffee. “And loaded with calories. How did you handle her?”

  “I explained how his diet was regulated and gave her horror stories of what could happen. She promised no more treats.”

  Josh looked up. “One problem solved.” He sipped from his cup. “Has Grantlan scheduled an appointment for his niece? It’s one thing to select us but not following through is wrong.”

  Why didn’t he use Rob’s first name? Seemed to Andi her partner was out of line. “I’ll remind him to call when I see him tonight.”

  “Tonight? Why?” Josh’s glare reminded her of slashing razor blades.

  Andi’s hands clenched. “Tammy is my niece. Rob has a project in the works so I agreed to watch her this weekend.” She looked from one partner to the other. Grace stared at Josh with a sad expression.

  “Will you be taking her to your apartment?” Josh asked. “I’ll bring you dinner.”

  The sharp tone of his voice rubbed Andi’s nerves like the squeal of rubbing brakes. She’d thought he understood all they could be was friends. She had denied romantic feelings for him a dozen or more times. Grace’s sadness had taken a bitter tinge. Why didn’t Josh see how their partner felt about him?

  “I’m going to the cabin,” she finally said.

  “Will he be there?”

  “He will but I won’t see until sometime on Sunday.” Inwardly she groaned. Why was she explaining?

  Josh laughed. “He plans to lure you into his bed. You can’t allow that to happen.”

  Andi pressed her hands against the table. She couldn’t tell them the real reason for her visit. “That was uncalled for. All I can say is, he’ll be working on his computer.” She strode to the door.

  “Hope he’s looking for a new position.” Josh followed her into the hall. “I’ll pick you up Saturday evening. We’ll go to dinner and dancing. I can make you forget him.”

  Andi whirled. “Don’t say another word. I’m not available Saturday, or any other day.” She stormed away. Why wouldn’t Josh believe he stood no chance with her?

  * * *

  At quarter after six Andi parked her car outside the cabin that was more like a mini-mansion than a rustic retreat. The logs of the main part of the structure were weathered and appeared rustic. She saw the gray stones containing the addition. Her gaze followed a path down the hill to an oblong swimming pool and a large pool house. She shook her head. Only a Grantlan would consider this a cabin.

  The weekly meeting with her partners had lasted longer than she’d hoped. There’d been little discussion about patients before Josh had turned the talk personal. He’d made her angry, and Grace sad.

  She grabbed her overnight bag from the trunk and gasped. Stepping from the air conditioned car into the humid heat still lingering brought beads of sweat to her forehead. How did people survive in the days before cooling systems had been the rule? Her thoughts drifted to her childhood bedroom and the whirling fan blowing a stream of air across her body.

  Andi strode to the house and knocked. A drop of sweat rolled down her nose. The door opened. A welcome blast of cool air washed over her. She nearly pushed Rob aside to enter.

  “It’s beastly out there,” she said.

  Rob nodded. “I nearly collapsed when I took a run yesterday after Janine and I finished the interview.”

  “What did you do with Tammy?”

  “She was in the stroller.”

  His smile sent flashes of heat sizzling to her toes. Get a grip! She was here to care for their niece not to accept the offer she saw in his eyes.

  “I was worried you wouldn’t show,” he said.

  “I promised.” She set her case on the floor. “The weekly meeting lasted longer than I expected.” She didn’t mention the time she’d sat in the car in the office parking lot to quiet her anger over Josh’s tactics.

  Rob grinned. “Someone give you a hard time about coming here?”

  “He has no reason to question my decisions.”

  “You’re absolutely right.”

  The difference between the two men who wanted to be in her life struck her. Josh would always believe he knew what she wanted. Rob would allow the decision to be hers.

  Rob reached for the case. “I’ll show you your room. It’s next to the nursery with a bathroom between. I put the monitor in there. After you’re settled we’ll have dinner and I’ll vanish into my cave.”

  “You really planning to hibernate?”

  “In a way.” He opened the door and allowed her to enter first. Sunlight shining through the windows and the skylight brightened the room. Andi took her case from him and put it on the queen-sized bed. The yellow spread and curtains on the wide window added to the cheerful welcome.

  Andi turned to find Rob staring at her like she was a promised dessert. Wrong. But she couldn’t deny the web of desire spinning around her.

  “Tammy’s asleep.” Rob said. “She’s due a bottle at nine, but she may want one earlier.” He held up a hand. “I’m trying to keep her on a schedule, but sometimes I give in.”

  Andi followed him into the main room. As she passed the gleaming cherry cradle she gazed at her niece. The baby had one hand pressed against her cheek. Dark hair formed a cap on her head.

  Rob tapped Andi’s arm. “Dinner.”

  How could a single word sound like an invitation to an orgy? She swallowed and followed him to the table set for two in an intimate conformation. He pulled out a chair for her and stepped into the kitchen. He carried two plates with sizzling steaks and baked potatoes. Salad waited to be served.

  “Smells delicious,” she said.

  “Would you like beer, wine, soda, coffee or iced tea?”

  “The tea.” She cut a piece of steak and tasted. “Delicious.”

  “It’s the beer marinade.”

  “You must like cooking.”

  He laughed. “I like eating. Living alone can mean eating out too often. I learned simple dishes and graduated into experimenting with food. And you?”

  She swallowed a bite of potato. “I’ve mastered breakfast by opening cereal boxes.”

  “I could give you some easy recipes.”

  “I might try them.” She speared a cherry tomato from the salad. She felt comfortable with him but she always had. The handle of the fork bit into her hand. Falling into old patterns of interaction belonged to a fool, and she wasn’t one. She bent her head and concentrated on the food.

  Just as they finished Tammy fussed. Andi lifted the little girl and carried her to the nursery to change the wet diaper. The cries stopped. When she returned to the main room the table had been cleared.

  Rob stood at the granite counter where a huge coffee maker sat. He filled the largest thermos she’d ever seen. Even the cup on top would hold a huge serving.

  He turned. “I’m off to work. If you want a snack there’s ice cream from a new shop in town where they make their own. Chocolate with swirls of marshmallow and raspberry. There’s raspberry sauce in the fridge.” He strode from the room.

  Andi carried Tammy to the kitchen. She opened the huge pantry closet. Was there cereal for her breakfast? What she discovered made her laugh until she had to sit down. Jars of baby food from every company and every flavor imaginable stood in rows. Cereals, cookies, juices and other foods stood there. She used a paper towel to wipe her eyes.

  “He’s certainly prepared for the day when you start food.” She carried her niece to the bedroom, gathered the bathing equipment and bathed her. With the infant in a light sleeper she heated a bottle and sat in the rocking chair in Tammy’s room to feed her. Moonlight shone through the skylight.

  Once Tammy slept Andi turned on the monitor. She paused outside the room Rob had said was his study. She heard a few muttered swear words. With a sigh she returned to the main room, scooped a bowl of ice cream and sat on the recliner.

  The chair smelled like Rob. She thought about moving but reveled in the feelings the scent of leather and him brought. After watching several re-r
uns she checked Tammy and went to bed.

  * * *

  At six AM Saturday morning Tammy’s cries woke Andi. After a bath, clean clothes, and a bottle, the baby appeared content. Andi scurried to her room, tore off her sleep shirt and panties. She returned to the bathroom and stepped into the shower. She yelped when she was hit with jets from various levels. A bit of experimenting with the knobs and she had an ordinary shower. After dressing in shorts and a sleeveless top she lifted Tammy from her crib.

  She thought about taking a walk but after opening the door to a blast of hot humid air she changed her mind.

  A solitary breakfast, play time with Tammy and a quiet lunch made the day speed. She found the baby’s health record from a city doctor and smiled. Now they had a baseline.

  The phone in the hip pocked to her shorts vibrated. She looked at the number and clenched her teeth. Was Josh calling about one of their patients or for some other reason? She tapped to answer. “Do you have a problem?”

  “I needed to check on you,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “You know my reason.”

  Andi muffled a scream. “I’m fine. Tammy’s fine.”

  “Guess that means Grantlan has left.”

  “Excuse me. I told you he would be working on his computer. He’s doing something that’s important to him. He entered his study last night. I haven’t seen or heard him since then.”

  “Are you sure he’s alone?”

  “Why would that matter?” She gripped the phone. “Will you stop this nonsense? Two years ago I told you friends was all we could be. Nothing has changed.”

  “I keep hoping.”

  “Don’t. If you continue harassing me, I’ll leave the practice, and even Fern Lake.”

  “You can’t do that. I hate to see you becoming infatuated with Grantlan again. He dates and discards women weekly.”

  Andi swallowed what she had been about to say. Though she seldom had time to date she rarely went out with any man more than twice.

  The dial tone sounded. Had Josh finally listened?

  * * *

  Rob made the final correction and finished the last of the coffee from the second filling of the gallon container. He glanced at the digital clock. Three thirty AM. Sunday. With a groan he forced himself to his feet and stretched. Though he wanted to shout for joy, he decided he didn’t want to wake Andi or Tammy. His joints cracked and his fingers felt like ten thumbs.

  He shambled around the room. With each step a kink eased and weariness rose. Time to sleep. He opened the door to his bedroom. After kicking off his shoes he sprawled on the king-sized bed.

  Done and sent. Sleep hit like a blow from a sledgehammer.

  * * *

  Rob’s growling stomach woke him. He rolled over and focused on the clock. Twelve thirty. Lunch was in order, but he had to shower before he found food. As he stripped, he remembered the hours of work cleaning the manuscript. Too many commas, commas needed but left out, all the missing question marks, words that were words, but not the right ones. Then there were the clarifications and the scene expansions.

  The urge to return to the study blossomed as the shower jets hit. He wanted to infuse his new knowledge into the second book. He turned off the water and started across the bathroom to the study door. He groaned. That wasn’t a bright idea. He had responsibilities, an infant niece and a woman he wanted to show how much he loved waited for him.

  He gathered clothes, dressed and walked to the main room. “Hi,” he called.

  Andi rose from the leather couch. “All done?”

  On an impulse he lifted her and spun around. “Done. I even sent it off.’

  As he lowered her he brushed her mouth with his. She stepped away. The brief moment wasn’t enough. He tugged on her hands and pulled her against his chest. His tongue traced her lips. Would she open for him? Her rigid spine brought an answer he didn’t want. Back and forth he teased her mouth. As he slid his hands lower he felt her moment of surrender.

  “Rob.”

  He slid his tongue into her mouth. He tasted coffee and chocolate. He clasped her rear and pulled her against his erection. He throbbed. He ached, He wanted to drag her to the couch and possess her. He’d never felt this alive or this needy. Only the evenings in the past by the lake had brought this raging emotion. He’d missed the closeness they’d shared and prayed those times would come again.

  Her tongue stroked his. Her body moved against his in a sensuous dance.

  Rob edged her toward the couch. Need nearly caused him to push her to the floor. Showing her how they fit and belonged together because his only goal.

  She pushed on his shoulders and pulled her mouth free. “My phone.” She grasped for breath and pulled the cell from her pocket. “The hospital. I’m on call. I have to leave.”

  Though releasing her seemed impossible he opened his arms. “Will you return for dinner?”

  “That wouldn’t be a good idea.” She ran from the main room leaving him to stare after her. When she returned she wore navy slacks and a prim white blouse. She carried an overnight bag. Rob felt a rush of regret. Was this how she’d felt years ago on the evening he’d walked away?

  Andi leaned over the cradle. “See you soon, little one.”

  Rob walked behind her to the door. “Thanks for your help. We really must talk about the past. I haven’t moved on. Have you?”

  She halted. “We can talk, but nothing has changed. I need to settle into my new life. Once I’m comfortable we can end the past.”

  “And have a future?” That was his immediate desire. What could be more important than discovering what cords still bound them? “I’ll call you soon.”

  She turned. “I’ll consider joint guardianship. Just give me time. Don’t call. When I’m ready, I will.”

  He couldn’t argue, couldn’t detain her. She was on call. He remembered the days when a call about a patient had interrupted his day.

  When the door closed behind her his shoulders slumped. Another lost chance. He strode to the kitchen and made a fried egg and ham sandwich on a toasted roll. He just finished when Tammy cried. He picked her up and carried her to the changing table.

  What now? He walked to the room Andi had used and stripped the bed. As he pulled the sheets off a flash of red caught his eye. He lifted a red bikini panty. She had forgotten something.

  “Hey, kid.” He grinned at his niece. “I think she wants to return. Isn’t that what they say when someone leaves something behind?” For a moment he thought about calling her. Instead he carried the underwear to his bedroom. He laughed. “If your aunt wants to claim them she’ll have to come in here.”

  He carried Tammy to the main room and sat on the recliner with her propped on his chest. He needed to make a plan. Tammy gurgled and reached for his hair. Until she fussed again to amuse her he dangled a bell on a rope he’d found beside the chair.

  A short time later she sucked on her fist. He warmed a bottle and sat in the recliner to feed her. After Tammy downed half a bottle he lifted her to his shoulder and patted her back. She burped and spit formula on his shirt. He groaned. He needed to change but not yet. He settled her in his arms until she finished most of the eight ounces. He carried her to his bedroom and put her in the middle of his king-size bed while he changed his shirt. His phone vibrated.

  “Hi.” The voice belonged to his editor.

  “Aren’t you off today.” He had hoped to spend the evening with Andi now making more changes.

  “I am. When I checked my email I saw you’d completed the changes and couldn’t resist. They were excellent, especially with the romantic elements. Better than my suggestions.”

  “Thanks. I had an infusion of inspiration.” Unknowingly, Andi had influenced the changes.

  “Whatever, I’m pleased. I’ll do another read through and let you know if there are any problems. I doubt there will be. Then the book will be ready for galleys.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be looking at book two to get rid of be
ginner mistakes and see what I need to expand.”

  “I figured you were a quick study. There’s a rumor about your book. I’ll let you know if it’s more than a whisper.”

  “What?”

  “Someone heard about your book and called your agent for a copy. She sent the original version. The talk is about a movie deal.”

  “No way.” Tammy grabbed his hair. “Ouch.”

  “What happened?”

  “The baby pulled my hair.” He heard a gasp.

  “Baby? Aren’t you a bachelor?”

  Rob laughed. “I am. Recently my sister died and I became guardian to her soon to be three-month-old daughter.”

  “Good luck. Hope she doesn’t cut down on your writing time.”

  “I’ve hired a nanny.”

  “That’s good. If there’s a movie deal the pub date could be changed.”

  Rob had no idea why they would do that. He should call his agent, but that could wait. She would tell him nothing until there was a done deal. Though he had another reason to call Andi he shoved the phone in his pocket and carried Tammy to the cradle.

  * * *

  On Monday Tammy woke at six, but she had slept through the night. So had he. When Janine arrived at nine his niece was dressed and ready for the day. Rob retreated to his study.

  His cell vibrated. He answered and heard Simon’s voice.

  “Do you have news about Sherman?” Rob asked.

  “Some. Checked out his background and activity and learned he’s worse that I thought. Have you considered installing a security system at the cabin?”

  Rob frowned. Wasn’t Fern Lake safe these days? “Are you sure I need one?”

  “Who knows what Sherman might decide to do? Tammy is his daughter. He could claim her and the money in that account.”

  Rob hadn’t considered the money. “Give me a plan and an estimate.” He slumped in the chair. His life had flipped over. Tammy, and his sister’s death. Andi’s return to town. Freedom seemed light miles away.