“Uh, any progress with that girl you ran into?”
I glance down the hallway and see Darla and Shelby waiting for the elevator. “A little. At least she’s not afraid of me anymore.”
“That’s good,” she says. “Anything I need to know about?”
I roll my eyes. “No, Nosy Nelly. Jeez, you can be so—”
“Never mind. We’ll talk about it later.”
I close my eyes. When she goes all mother hen on me, it’s hard to get her to stop. “Why don’t you go get naked in a hot tub? Get to working on that baby-making.”
She giggles. “You are awful.”
She tells Matt what I said, and his voice is loud and clear in the background. “Yeah! That’s what I’m talkin’ about.”
The phone call ends. My family is so strange. Before I put my phone in my pocket, I send a quick text to Darla.
“Hey, Doc,” Monica says from the emergency room triage station.
I nod at her as I finish my text.
Take it easy the next few days.
No Tylenol while on the meds I prescribed.
Be safe and later gator.
P.S. I don’t mind house calls :)
“You two make a cute couple,” Monica says. “I can tell she likes you.”
My grin overtakes my face. “Well, can you blame her?”
Monica rolls her eyes. “Seriously, why do I even bother?”
“Because if it weren’t for me, you’d be working with Dr. Fredrickson and his chronic halitosis.” I shiver.
“Good point.”
Right before I slide my phone into my pocket, it buzzes to notify me of an incoming text… from Darla.
I nevr gt 2 tale u.
Darla Battle on pain meds—adorable.
Chapter Nineteen
Darla
I stare at the ceiling, trying to catch my breath. This week alone, I’ve had that dream three times. I can still smell the smoke. The screams rattle through my ears. And Theo’s last kiss before pushing me out of the house still lingers on my lips. He wasn’t going to leave until he made sure everyone was out of the house. If he hadn’t been so selfless, we would have escaped together, and everything might have worked out fine. It makes me play the “what if” game over and over in my mind. If there hadn’t been a fire, if I had given him my real name, things might have been different.
I untangle myself from the sheet and head to the bathroom. Splashing cold water on my face with my uninjured hand jolts me back to reality. Yeti spins in circles at my feet.
“All right, all right, I see you. Let’s go outside.”
When I open the door to let him out so he can take care of business, he slides right between two human legs. Yeti unceremoniously hikes a leg and pisses all over Theo’s foot and leg.
“Shit, what are you doing here?” I ask him.
He stands there, peering down at the wet spot on the frayed hem of his jeans. Then he looks back up at me and holds out a bouquet of flowers.
“Uh, Yeti, stop it.”
“Your dog’s name is Yeti? Like Bigfoot?”
I motion for him to come inside. He follows me in and stares at me. Crap. I forgot I had on a short nightgown and no robe. I instinctively cross my arms. His eyebrow shoots up into his hairline. Not so fast, buster.
“Yeah. Isaac named him.”
“Shocker.”
“Have a seat,” I say, keeping an eye out for Yeti. “I’m so sorry about your jeans. I can wash them if you want.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. Besides, what would I wear while they were in the washer?”
“Uh, I didn’t think that far ahead. I wouldn’t want you to be standing around in your panties.” I would bet he looks every bit as yummy as he used to… or even better.
“I don’t wear panties. I wear… uh, well… you know what I wear.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” He sure knows how to make me squirm. Finally, Yeti prisses back into the house.
“Yeti, this is Theo. He is not your personal fire hydrant. Be nice.”
Yeti growls and heads for the bedroom.
“Stay put while I go get dressed.”
“I could help.”
“Would you stop it?” I scamper down the hallway, and when I get to my bedroom, I peer over my shoulder. He is standing at Stella’s bedroom door.
“What are you doing?”
He shrugs. “Killing time.”
Losing my nerve to let him know about her, I push him away from her room, and pain slices through my hurt hand.
“Darla, I know you have a baby. It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not all right. Don’t nose around in my personal life.”
He backs up against the wall, slack-jawed. Flower petals fall to the floor. “Whoa. Not my intention at all.”
He chews on the inside of his jaw, and I can only imagine that Mallory has treated him like this a time or two. If I want him to want us, I’m sucking at it.
“Sorry. It’s uh… very messy.” Gah. Tell him.
He holds out the flowers to me again.
Now I feel like a big jerk for overreacting. “These are so pretty. What’s the occasion?”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah,” I say before it hits me. It’s my birthday. Jeez, I totally forgot. “Theo, how did you know?”
“I have my ways. You don’t celebrate your birthday?”
I shrug. It’s another day on the calendar. My life started the day Stella was born, so that’s more worthy of celebrating.
“Do you want to do something this year? It’ll be fun.”
“What are we going to do?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I bite my lip. “I don’t like surprises.”
He nudges me toward my bedroom. “Go get dressed. You might want to wear those sexy yoga pants.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
I move to leave. “Let me take a shower.”
He grabs my arm. “No time. You don’t smell too bad.” He sniffs my armpit. I cannot believe he did that, and I can’t believe I let him. Something is seriously wrong with me.
“Manners.” Jeez, it’s like I’m talking to Stella.
“Go. We’re burning daylight.”
“All right, all right, Mr. Bossy. Stay put. I’m a little slow getting dressed with my gimpy hand, so be patient.”
“I promise to only snoop through your purse.” He winks at me, and I might need help moving down the hallway.
I rush back into my bedroom and try to think of something to wear. It’s not a date. It’s not a date. It’s a friendly day with a gorgeous guy, who happens to be Stella’s father. That’s all. Yoga pants implies something casual, thank goodness. I toss on a T-shirt that has “Do you want to talk to the doctor in charge or the nurse who knows what’s going on?” printed on the front.
I hop on one leg down the hallway back to the living room and slide the other shoe on my foot. Theo stares at my chest. I snap my fingers, and his gaze takes its time getting back to my face.
“Your shirt… not funny.”
I grin. “But it’s true.”
He rolls his eyes and takes me by the hand to escort me out of the house and toward his car.
“Not on call today?” I ask.
“Nope. Shocker. I’m totally free. I threatened the call center that they dare not ring me unless it’s a five-car pileup.”
He leads me to his car, which is nothing like I expected. It’s an old Subaru Outback with a dent in the fender and some rust around the edge of the hood. A plethora of bumper stickers covers his back window—everything from “Shit Happens” to a 26.2 sticker.
He opens the passenger door. Everything imaginable falls out onto my drivew
ay and litters the seat and floorboard. “Oh, let me move some things. I’m not used to anyone sitting there.”
I pick up an empty water bottle about to roll under his car. “This could take some time. Perhaps I could go take a shower while you tidy up.”
“I got it.” He tosses used paper coffee cups, journal articles, an open bag of peppermints, and an old, worn Bible into the back. He wipes crumbs off the seat and scratches his head. “And you were afraid your house was messy. As you can tell, I practically live in my car.”
He motions for me to get in. I sit and take in all the stuff he threw in the backseat as he slides into the driver’s seat and buckles in.
“You have journal articles and a Bible in your car. Quite a range of genres you got going there.” I might need that Bible to help me confess my sins.
He laughs. “No romance novels or nudie magazines, I promise. You ready?”
I put my hand on his. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I don’t let many people into my life.” I lean over and kiss him on the cheek.
A cute shade of pink creeps up his neck to his right ear.
“I am sorry.”
That mischievous grin that I love so much takes over his face. “I think one more kiss would help me forgive you.”
I lean over the gearshift, but my hurt hand slips and jams into the emergency break. I suck in a breath through my teeth. He takes my hand and peppers it with kisses. “To be continued.”
Absolutely. “Where are we going?”
“A place you probably haven’t been to in a long time.”
“By the looks of my chariot, I’m hoping it’s a car wash.”
“Ha. No. I’ll give you a hint. It has something to do with what you said when you were on pain meds.”
Shit. No telling what all I blabbered on about. It could be anything. If I messed this up for Stella, I’ll never forgive myself.
Chapter Twenty
Darla
When we drive up to the ice-skating rink, I almost bounce out of my seat. “I love ice-skating.”
Before he can answer, I’m out of the car and doing a jig on the pavement. If I wasn’t afraid of reinjuring my hand, I would do a cartwheel.
Theo’s body quakes with laughter. “I guess this means you approve? I didn’t think about your hand. Will you be all right to do this?”
I jump into his arms. “Yes. I haven’t skated in years. Did I ever tell you I used to take lessons?”
“Really?”
I nod. “Uh-huh. I took lessons for five years.”
He pouts like a kid that got his football taken away from him.
“What’s wrong?”
“I was hoping you’d have to hold on to me to keep from falling.”
“Poor baby.” I pat his cheeks. “I’ll let you catch me when I attempt a double.”
His jaw drops. “You’re that good?”
“Was that good. It’s been a long time. Come on.” I drag him into the rink.
After he tightens my laces, he wobbles to the rink.
I point to his blades. “You know, those are hockey skates.”
“I know.”
He gets on the ice, while I stand at the doorway watching. In a flash, he races around the rink. When he gets back to where I’m standing, he ices me with a hockey stop. I put my hands on my hips.
He has a twinkle in his eyes. “Did I mention that I used to play hockey?”
“I think you skipped that part.”
He grabs my good hand, and we go buzzing around the rink. He’s too fast for me, so I decide to cut through the middle to catch up.
“Cheater,” he yells, switching directions. I try to keep up, but his longer legs have much more speed than mine do. I stand in the middle of the rink, watching him buzz by.
It’s been a while since I’ve been on skates, and I wonder what I can still do. First, I try back crossovers. Not bad. Next, I try a spiral and a shoot-the-duck. I slide to the ice on that one, as usual. It was always hard for me to balance on one bent leg with the other straight out in front of me.
Theo skates up to me and helps me stand. “Let’s see what you got.”
I skate around him and set up for a toe loop. It’s only a single, but I land it. I’ll blame the wobbly landing on the rental skates.
He claps and skates toward me. “Nice job, Tara Lipinski.”
I bow. He holds my hand, and we skate together. After a few laps, I skate in front of him and switch to skating in reverse so we are facing each other. It’s as though we are dancing on ice. We skate in sync until a group of kids invade the ice and mess up our rhythm.
“Why didn’t my mom insist on me skating like this?” he asks. “Way more fun than playing hockey.”
“And we don’t smell as bad.”
He grins. “Well, the figure skaters that actually decide to take showers, that is.”
I shove him, and he almost falls. I pivot and grab him by the arm before he splats on the ice, which causes him to slam up against me. I like the way he feels up against me. He nudges my chin up with his nose and kisses my cheek.
“Ewwww, PDA,” a kid says as he skates past us, making me giggle. Theo seems completely unfazed.
“You’re really good,” I tell him.
“Thanks, but my ankles are killing me.”
“I’m so glad you said that. Mine are too.” We slide toward the edge of the rink, when I skid to a halt. “Let’s take a selfie.” I take out my phone, and we head to the middle of the rink. Theo pulls me down onto the ice. We scrunch close, and he wraps his arms around me so my head isn’t directly on the cold surface.
“Say ‘Ice Ice Baby,’” he says.
I gasp. “That’s what I said when I was on pain meds, wasn’t it?” The next time I see Isaac, I’m going to force him to listen to some Adele so I can get a new earworm.
“Yep. Smile.”
We examine the photo, neither one of us in any hurry to get off the cold rink. Breaking the trance we’re in, Theo hobbles to his feet and helps me up.
I look at him as we head off the rink. “This was awesome. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” He winks at me, and that cute dimple pops out. He unlaces my skates and gives both of my feet a nice massage before heading to the skate rental counter to retrieve our shoes. I’m left watching his tight ass stride away from me.
He totally rocks surgical scrubs. He can definitely fill out dress slacks like no other. His butt looks mighty fine in a pair of jeans. And I don’t need to get started on how nice the scenery is without jeans, because it’s a sight to behold. I’m glad he has to stand in line at the skate return, because it gives me time to wipe the drool from my face and cool the hot flash rising up my neck. I love re-falling in love with this man.
Afterward, he says he needs to make a quick stop, then we can get ice cream if I want. Heck yeah.
“You’ll have to give me plenty of advance notice when your birthday rolls around.”
He doesn’t say anything. He keeps his eyes straight ahead, both hands on the wheel.
“Don’t tell me you recently had your birthday.”
He cringes.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
He shrugs. “No big deal.” He takes a gulp of his iced tea. “Besides, where I’m going is my birthday tradition.”
“Oh. What is it?”
“Not telling.”
“Skydiving?” I ask.
Please say anything but skydiving. I would even be okay with seeing whatever action-packed, bloody, senseless, and violent movie happens to be in the theatres. Theo is so unpredictable; it’s probably something like scrapbooking.
“Nope.”
“Stealing diamonds?”
He
laughs. “Good one, but no. You’ll see.”
We drive downtown into a run-down neighborhood. The tiny shotgun houses have shingles missing from the roofs, and the wood siding doesn’t look as though it has been painted in decades. He drives up to a faded-green house with a rickety fence around the yard. The car in the driveway is on concrete blocks.
Theo and I get out of the car, and he pops the trunk. He hands me a bag containing canned goods, a loaf of bread, and a bag of cookies that don’t look store-bought. I stand there eyeing the cookies, while he retrieves a large cooler, leaving a small bag behind. We ramble up what used to be a sidewalk. If he’s bringing me home to meet his parents, the least he could have done was let me brush my hair first.
An elderly Hispanic woman waddles out onto the front porch and clutches her chest. “Chico. Mi Chico.”
“Buenos dias, Señora.”
“Your mom said you were home.” She grabs Theo into a big hug and kisses him on the cheek.
He motions for me to stand nearer to them. “Mrs. Lopez, I’d like you to meet Darla.” His eyes twinkle. “Darla, this is Mrs. Lopez, an old family friend.”
She swats at his arms. “Chico, I’m old, but not that old.” The corners of her eyes crinkle up with her big grin.
Theo takes the bag from me and places it next to her.
Tears stream down her face. “Miss Stella and The Reverend raised some good children.”
He hands her an envelope, and she sobs into her hands. “It’s not much, but maybe it will help until Mr. Lopez is out of the hospital.”
She falls into him and weeps. “Te amo. Te amo.”
Theo’s eyes brim with tears. So do mine. He kisses her cheek. “We have to go, but I’ll be back tomorrow to give you a checkup and bring your medicines. Okay?”
She nods and covers his face with kisses. She embraces me, even though I haven’t done anything to deserve it. My heart grows bigger for this man that is the father of my child.
It’s settled. As soon as Stella comes home, she’s going to meet her daddy.
Left Hanging Page 14