“Hey there, little fella,” Michelle said, reaching down to pick him up.
She frowned as she held William. “Thad? I think he feels a little warm.”
Chapter Ten
“Thanks for meeting us at your office,” Thad told his colleague Sandra Carson forty-five minutes later.
“No problem.” Sandra switched on lights as she went. The forty-two-year-old pediatrician was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt bearing the name of her youngest daughter’s T-ball team. “The game was just over when you called and the kids were going out for pizza with their teammates. My husband will bring them home.” She winked. “As well as a little dinner for me.” Sandra paused to wash her hands at the sink, then looped her stethoscope around her neck. “So what’s going on?”
“William woke from his nap with an elevated temperature.” Thad laid William on the examining table. The baby began to cry. Beside him, Michelle looked about to tear up, too. Realizing for the first time what it was to be the parent of a kid in this situation, instead of the doc in charge, Thad swallowed around the unaccustomed lump of emotion in his throat. “I know what I think it is, obviously, but I wanted an expert opinion.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place.” Sandra unsnapped the knit sleeper. Her expression intent, she listened to William’s heart and lungs, then gently palpated his abdomen, checked him for any stiffness, looked into his throat, ears, nose. “There’s an enterovirus going around—usually lasts around three days—but I want to do a little blood work to confirm.”
Thad had expected as much. He began to relax. “We’ve been seeing it in the E.R., too.”
“It’s that time of year,” Sandra said sympathetically. “My kids had it week before last. They weren’t feeling very well, but they were happy to miss school.”
Michelle and Thad both chuckled.
“If you’ll hold him, I’ll do the prick,” Sandra said.
Michelle winced as William let out an enraged wail. Empathetic tears slid down her face.
“I’d like to get his temp again, too, when he calms down,” Sandra said before slipping out of the room.
Not sure who needed comforting more, Thad handed William to Michelle. The moment the little guy was wrapped in her arms, he stopped crying. “Guess he knows who his pals are,” Thad said.
He reached for the thermometer. While Michelle continued to hold William, Thad took his temp again, as unobtrusively as possible. By the time Sandra came back in, the thermometer had beeped. Thad read the results out loud. It was a degree and a half above normal.
Sandra made note of it on William’s chart. “Not too awfully high, but you’ll need to keep an eye on it.” She looked up. “The blood test showed it’s not bacterial. So the treatment, as you know, is going to be acetaminophen, fluids and a lot of TLC. He may get a little worse before he gets better. Most important thing is to keep him comfortable, well-hydrated and his temp down.” Finished, Sandra held out her hand to Michelle. “I’m sorry. We got down to business so fast, you and I haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Sandra Carson, William’s pediatrician. And you are…?”
“Michelle Anderson, Thad’s neighbor…”
“And William’s mom,” Thad finished.
* * *
THAD’S COLLEAGUE LOOKED like she could have been knocked over with a feather, Michelle thought.
“We’re both petitioning to adopt him,” she explained.
Sandra looked at Thad. “I didn’t even know you were involved with anyone.”
“He’s not. I mean, we’re not,” Michelle said, aware that even as she spoke the words felt untrue. Because they were involved, more so with every moment they spent together. Just not the way people expected.
“It’s complicated,” Thad said.
Michelle pretended an ease she didn’t feel. “A friends-becoming-family thing.”
“Michelle will be every bit as involved in William’s care as I will be,” Thad stated casually.
Sandra blinked. “That’s great. Congratulations. William is one very lucky boy.”
“You okay?” Thad asked, when they were back home and getting William out of the back of his SUV.
Michelle nodded, though in truth she still felt a little shaky. It was always upsetting when a little one was sick. And with William barely two weeks old… She swallowed. “I know it’s supposed to be my night to take care of him, but I’m thinking…under the circumstances…that we should do it together at my house.”
Noting William had drifted off to sleep again on the short drive home, Thad left the baby strapped in the car seat and lifted the infant carrier out of the base. “Agreed.”
Trying not to think how nice it would feel to be with Thad all the time, Michelle walked slowly toward his front door. “One of us will have to sleep on the sofa bed.”
A warm spring breeze drifted over them. “No problem,” Thad said.
She studied the gentle, respectful light his eyes. He had such an easygoing attitude. “You sure?”
Thad nodded. “With him sick, I wouldn’t be comfortable away from him. And as William readily demonstrated in Sandra’s office, he needs you, too. So what do you say we gather up everything we need and then head across the street?”
Relieved they were on the same page, Michelle said, “Sounds great.”
They walked into the house. Michelle noted that the red light on Thad’s phone in the foyer was blinking. “Looks like you’ve got a message.”
Thad set the baby carrier down on the living-room floor, well out of any draft and away from any noise. He came back and punched the play button. A female voice floated out from the machine. “Hey, Thad, it’s Violet. How come you haven’t called me back? I thought you really needed my help ASAP but—”
Thad punched the end button. “I’ll listen to the rest of that later.” Guilt flashed across his handsome face as he studied her stricken look. “I know what you’re thinking. It’s not what it sounds.”
That was good, Michelle thought grimly, because it sounded like he was two-timing her—or would have been, had they been dating. Which, Michelle reminded herself firmly, they were most definitely not.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said.
“It does.” Thad caught her by the shoulders and turned her to face him.
Michelle held on to her dignity by a thread. Aware she’d already inadvertently revealed far too much of her feelings, she said as nonchalantly as possible, “Look, you’re free to date whoever you please, whenever you please. I am, too.”
He let her go. Stepped back. Studied her face, his own expression impassive. “That’s really the way you want it?” he asked. She noticed that his voice was a bit hoarse.
She avoided his gaze. “We’re both adults, with needs and…and desires. Simply put, this is the only way this arrangement of ours is going to work.”
* * *
MICHELLE’S VIEW ON how their parental partnership should be conducted did not change Thad’s mind about where he wanted their relationship to go. But figuring his agenda could wait until after William was well, Thad did not pursue the issue. Rather, he said simply, “No matter what, Michelle, I want us to be friends.”
“I do, too.”
“Good. So, on to getting what we need for the evening ahead…”
While William continued to sleep in the baby carrier, Michelle collected clothing, blankets and diapers. Thad got the bottles, formula, baby first-aid kit containing acetaminophen and his medical bag. They heaped everything into an oversize laundry basket and took William across the street to her house.
Since the things they had purchased would not be delivered until later in the week, Thad returned for the portable crib and Moses basket. Realizing belatedly they probably needed the baby bathtub and assorted baby lotions, cleansers and wipes, he returned to get those, too.
When he came in, Michelle was in the kitchen, a fussing William in her arms. A half-made bottle of formula sat on the counter. “Need a hand?” Thad asked.<
br />
She nodded, her relief palpable. “I don’t know how single parents do it.”
Neither did Thad. He needed Michelle tonight, as much as William did.
Quickly he finished preparing the bottle and handed it to her. Michelle leaned against the counter and gave William the bottle. He drank a small amount, then started to drift off to sleep.
Michelle looked at Thad, a question in her eyes.
“We have to get more fluids than that into him,” Thad said.
Michelle shifted William to her shoulder, jostling him enough to wake him. She patted him on his back. He looked around, seeming listless and out of sorts. “I feel so bad for him,” she murmured.
“He’ll get through it,” Thad promised.
When William burped, Michelle tried again.
William sucked on the bottle without much interest. It took quadruple the amount of normal coaxing to get two ounces into him. Finally he pushed the nipple out of his mouth.
Thad touched the back of his hand to the little guy’s cheek. It was cool. The acetaminophen they had given William in Sandra’s office was doing its job. “Maybe we should put him down for a while and try again in two hours, instead of the usual four,” Thad suggested, knowing they were likely to have a long night ahead.
* * *
“SURE YOU HAVE everything?” Michelle asked Thad some five hours later. Thad looked at the sofa bed she’d made up for him in the living room. It was outfitted with cream-colored sheets, the same hue as the sofa, and a matching quilt. The pillows looked luxurious.
William was already settled in the mesh-sided portable crib upstairs next to her bed. Pushing aside the yearning to take her in his arms and give her a proper kiss good-night, Thad said gruffly, “I’ll be fine. Let me know if you need me.”
“I will.” Looking for a moment as if she wished he would kiss her, she gave him one last, grateful glance. “And thanks for staying over.”
“Nowhere I’d rather be,” Thad said.
Michelle smiled and slipped upstairs. Thad heard her moving around on the second floor as he went into the guest bath to change into a clean T-shirt and jersey sleep pants. By the time he’d climbed beneath the sheets, all was quiet again. He turned off the light and lay there, thinking about the day they’d had and the many more ahead of them. The next thing he knew Michelle was standing next to the sofa bed.
“There’s something wrong with William, Thad!” She shook him roughly. “Come quick!”
He leaped from the sofa bed and raced up the stairs after her.
William was still in the portable crib. He was lying on his back, trembling and uttering a weak, distressed cry. Thad didn’t even have to touch him to know he was burning up. Calmly he lifted William and carried him over to the rumpled covers of Michelle’s bed. Although his adrenaline was pumping, his actions were measured as he coated the rectal thermometer with petroleum jelly. “Fill the baby bath with lukewarm water. Get a towel ready, and a clean diaper and change of clothes. I’ll be right in.”
By the time he entered the bathroom with a naked, still-whimpering William, Michelle was ready for him.
Thad eased the baby into the tub, holding his tiny body in the palms of his hands. Being careful to keep the little guy’s face and neck above water, Thad said, “We need to lower his temperature as quickly as possible.”
Michelle edged in, her expression one of maternal distress. “How can I help?”
“Sponge him down with that washcloth.”
Michelle gently did as directed. “How high is his temp?”
Thad noted she was shivering, too. Probably from anxiety, since the interior of the house was warm and draft free. “One hundred three point eight—almost three degrees above normal.”
“When do we worry?”
“If it goes any higher, but it won’t. I just gave him another dose of acetaminophen. That, plus the bath will help.”
William’s wailing approached a normal pitch.
Over and over, Michelle gently sponged him down. “He really doesn’t like this,” she murmured to Thad.
“I know,” Thad said, cradling the infant in his hands. “But he’ll feel better soon, I promise.”
Together they worked on cooling William’s fevered skin, both of them reassuring him with touch and soft words. William continued to cry. Finally Michelle began to sing. She had a lovely voice, clear and lilting. As the sweet sound filled the bath, William’s cries lessened, then eventually stopped. As his body temperature fell to normal, he looked up at Michelle, with a mixture of wonder and what Thad could only describe as love. And the most incredible thing of all was that Thad felt it, too.
* * *
IT WAS ONLY LATER, after they’d diapered, dressed and fed William half a bottle of formula once again, that Michelle realized the front of her satin nightshirt was all wet. For modesty’s sake, she’d left her bra on. It wasn’t doing much to hide the shape of her breasts.
Blushing, she turned away as Thad settled William in his crib once again.
William’s eyes blinked sleepily, then finally closed.
Thad stayed there, hand spread lightly across William’s chest, waiting until their baby’s breath was deep and even.
Slowly he straightened.
He and Michelle looked at each other, as wide-awake and filled with adrenaline as if they’d just started a 10K race.
When she went into the bathroom to clean up, she shivered. By the time she’d dumped the contents of the baby bathtub and set it in the shower to drain, Thad was behind her.
“Sorry if I kind of ordered you around,” he said after a moment.
That wasn’t why she was upset. “Are you kidding?” Aware she was trembling all over, she released a nervous breath. “I would have been beside myself had you not been here.” She paused, dropped her gaze, nibbling anxiously on her lower lip.
Then, on impulse, she looked up into his eyes and confessed. “Oh, who am I kidding? I panicked, Thad. I saw William like that and I knew he was sick and…all I could think was I had to get you as soon as possible.”
Thad leaned on the edge of her bathroom sink. “That makes sense. I’m a doctor.”
She threw up her hands in frustration. Helpless tears stung her eyes. “But if I’m going to be his mother, I should know what to do!”
“And next time,” Thad countered implacably, “you will.”
Michelle was not so certain. She shut her eyes. Another shiver went through her. The next thing she knew Thad’s arms were around her waist. He stood and pulled her into the strong, reassuring cradle of his arms. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his breath warm and tender against her ear. “I was scared, too.”
Michelle sniffed. “You couldn’t have been.”
“Oh, yes, I could’ve.” He tucked a hand beneath her chin, lifted her face to his. “I see much worse in the E.R.—but none of those patients are my own kid. I have to tell you, what happened just now, the way I felt…the way we both reacted, gives me new insight into the way parents of patients behave. It is scary when your kid is sick. I don’t care what kind of medical expertise you have. The feeling of helplessness—our inability to keep this from happening—is overwhelming.”
Thad’s confession prompted an admission from her. “I love him, Thad,” she whispered, her voice thick with tears. “I know we haven’t had him all that long, but I love him so much.”
“I love him, too,” Thad said.
“If anything were to happen to him…” Her voice broke. She began to cry in earnest.
“I know,” Thad said in a low, choked voice. He stroked her hair. “I know.”
Michelle tilted her face up to his, needing the reassurance of his gaze as much as she needed his warm, strong arms around her. Thad stared into her eyes and tilted his head. The next thing she knew his lips were connecting with hers, his kiss brimming with all the compassion, comfort and security she needed.
Michelle hadn’t expected to make love with Thad again. She’d told her
self she wouldn’t fall victim to such impossible yearning again. But suddenly she needed to draw on his strength. She knew they weren’t in love, but when she was with him like this, she felt loved. She felt secure in this moment, in her life, in a way she never had before.
Thad let her be who she was, gave her the space she needed, and his acceptance made the years of crushing expectations and narrow parameters of behavior fall away. When she was with him, she was free to go after what she wanted, free to express herself in any way she pleased. And what she wanted tonight, she thought, as his hands found her breasts and their kiss deepened, was Thad.
Thad knew Michelle was overwrought. He was, too. It was hard as hell seeing their son sick. The doctor in him knew William was going to be okay in another day. That didn’t make it any easier to see their baby boy run a fever so high he trembled, was robbed of his appetite. It broke Thad’s heart seeing William so miserable. And it was just as hard seeing Michelle upset, knowing that despite the temporary reprieve that had William fever-free and blissfully asleep, they had another twenty-four hours to go.
Instinct had him seeking comfort in her arms, the same way she was seeking comfort in his. The need to make her his had him unbuttoning her nightshirt, slipping his palms inside.
And once he felt her surrender, felt her body molding to his, there was no stopping with just one kiss. Her nipples budded against his palms. Her silky flesh warmed. He stroked, he kneaded, he caressed, until she surged against him, threading her hands through his hair, kissing him back eagerly, tongues melding in pleasure. Needing more of her, he slipped his hand beneath the hem of her nightshirt, smoothing his palm across her thighs.
She moaned at the new, deeper intimacy and shifted her hips, moving back slightly, giving him access. Throbbing with the need to possess her, he eased a hand beneath the elastic of her panties and found her to be just as soft and womanly as he recalled.
“Don’t stop,” she murmured, arching against his touch.
Thad groaned as she found him with her hands, too. “I don’t intend to.” He stepped free of his sleep pants at the same time she kicked off her panties. Moments later, he lifted her up onto the bathroom counter. Need pouring through him, he stepped between her spread thighs. Still kissing him ardently, she hooked her legs around his waist. The intoxication accelerated. And then there was only the touch and taste and smell of each other, the feel of their hands stroking as they gave and received, over and over. She was coming apart in his hands. With a soft moan of wonder, she whispered his name, then, “Now.”
The Texas Rancher's Vow: The Texas Rancher's VowFound: One Baby Page 31