Chapter Nine

Less than an hour later, Kristen arrived on the fourth floor of the hospital. She waited impatiently at the nurse’s desk until one of the double doors from intensive care sighed open, and Sharon stepped out with several crumpled tissues in her hand.

Kristen rushed forward and enfolded her mother’s trembling body in her arms. “How is he?” Kristen asked, fighting the constriction in her throat.

“He’s stabilized.”

Drawing away but still retaining one of her mother’s hands in a tight fisted grip, she searched Sharon’s face. “And?”

Her mother nodded and gave her a shaky smile. “He’s going to make it.”

Relief ripped the tension from Kristen’s muscles and left her standing on unstable legs. Letting go of her mother, she slapped a palm against the wall to keep from sinking to the floor, then leaned back against the wall.

“I-I—” Kristen couldn’t find the words to convey her relief. “He’s going to make it,” she finally said. Taking several deep, calming breaths, she glanced over at Sharon. “Have you talked to the doctors?”

“Yes. They need to do some tests. George might have to go back in for surgery, but it’s too soon to tell.” Sharon closed her eyes.

Her mother looked exhausted and…devastated. Knowing how much her parents meant to each other after thirty years of marriage, Kristen’s concern mounted. She placed a comforting arm around her mother’s shoulders as the nurse at the desk told them Kristen could go in to see her father for ten minutes.

Her mother must have sensed her indecision, for she urged, “Go on. I’ll be fine. I need to sit down and regroup anyway, before I see George again.”

Kristen walked into her father’s room and saw his thin, fragile form asleep on the bed. Overcome at the sunken hollows beneath his eyes and cheekbones and the grayish cast to his skin, she blinked back tears. It looked as if someone had leeched the color and life from his face.

She gripped the cold, metal rail along the bed and watched him draw air from the oxygen mask. It was a shock to see him so frail; she’d always considered him such a stable, strong man. He’d always been there for her, never once condemning her for the mistakes she’d made in her life. How she loved his gentle influence. A tear seeped past her lashes and trailed hotly down her cheek to drop on the white bed sheet.

She wasn’t ready to lose him. They still had too many things to do together. He had yet to be a grandfather, to hold her daughter or son in his arms, to retire and see some of the world that he had so wanted to do. At a loss, she stood by his bed, taking hold of his fragile, veined hand until the nurse asked her to leave.

Over the rest of the weekend, her father was considered in serious but stable condition. When she returned on Monday, after having left a message with Faith at work about her father, she walked into his room and shut the door from the chatter of the nurses beyond. The closed drapes pulled the room into shadow and seemed to exaggerate her mother’s already exhausted features as she sat in a plastic chair near the head of his bed.

Mindful of his sleeping from, Kristen whispered, “Has he gotten better?”

Sharon’s head bobbed. “Yes. They say sleep’s the best thing for him right now.”

“Why don’t you take a break? I’ll sit with him for awhile.”

After her mother left, she pulled the curtain wider and edged closer to her father’s bed. Some color had returned to his complexion. Thank goodness he no longer appeared so deathly ill. But she hated the IV, the machines, all the tubes.

He opened his eyes and turned his head against the pillow to look at her.

“Hi, Dad.” She managed a wobbly smile as she took his hand in her own and squeezed gently. “You gave us quite a scare. We love you so much.”

“I still have a couple more years in me yet,” he replied in a raspy voice while he held her hand in a surprisingly strong grip.

“Mom said you had the attack at the office?”

“Afraid so. I think I gave everyone at work something to talk about. Probably more than they bargained for. My old ticker can’t take excitement like it used to.” A pained expression creased his wan features. “I mean that—”

“Excitement?” She saw his dear face through a sudden mist of tears as she caressed his cheek with a loving hand. “Why? Did something happen right before you had the attack?”

The question hung in the air so long that Kristen wondered whether or not he intended to answer. George licked his lips and shifted against the sheets. “I was just talking to Jeff.”

Not fooled by the casual tone of her father’s voice, she tensed. “The two of you weren’t arguing, were you?”

He didn’t meet her gaze. “We had words. Nothing really important. And it was partially my fault.”

“Your fault?” The way he kept avoiding her eyes made her suspect he was lying. “I find that hard to believe. Jeff needs to treat his people with more consideration. Working fifty—sixty hours a week is bound to affect anyone’s health.”

“Oh Kristen, let’s not jump the gun here. Jeff and I’ve come to an agreement—so to speak.”

She clamped down on her jaw to halt the retort on her tongue. The last thing her father needed right now was an emotional outburst from her.

“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll be out of here in no time.” He squeezed her left hand again, then stilled. A frown knotted his brow as he gazed at their linked fingers. “Still no ring yet? I though t I’d be hearing an announcement any day now.”

“I—” She swallowed. “We decided getting married right now wasn’t such a good idea. I don’t think either one of us is ready for it.” She couldn’t tell him that Jeff was a liar and a two timings wine, not in her father’s weakened state at any rate.

“I’m glad.”

She stared back in shock at his obvious relief. “What? I don’t understand. Why—”

“It’s a long story.” He shifted against the mattress, frustration hardening his face. “This darn bed!” He pushed himself up higher and when she attempted to help, he motioned her back. “I’m okay now. Go ahead and sit. What I’ve got to say might take a while.”

Frowning, she pulled forward a blue plastic chair and sat down.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you this for a while now. Coward that I am, I’ve been finding all sorts of excuses not to. Having my heart fail like this…well, it’s forced me to realize I can’t hold off any longer.”

At the seriousness in her father’s voice and face, dread inched up her spine. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Yes. Yes, I’m afraid it can.” He closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if in pain, then fumbled for her hand. She slipped it quickly beneath his trembling grasp. “I did things for Jeff…things that I’m deeply ashamed of.”

“What are you talking about?”

Deep lines saddled the corners of his mouth. “Jeff’s been playing with the numbers at work. He was using a couple of bogus accounts to inflate our receivables. I knew he was hoping for a bank loan, but I never thought he’d take it that far.”

Shock rippled through her body as she inched forward and opened her mouth to say something.

He shook his head. “No. Let me explain.” He stared at the ceiling for a long moment, then said, “I look back now and want to kick myself. When I confronted him with what I knew, he laughed in my face. Said I was turning paranoid.” He took a steadying breath. “I didn’t have proof. For a time I thought if I’d ignore it, the problem would go away. It didn’t.”

She stared at her father in disbelief. Laughter from the nurse’s station echoed into the room and chafed Kristen’s sensitized nerves. Someone else’s happiness seemed so wrong when a dark shadow hung over the room. “I don’t understand why you didn’t warn me.”

He met her gaze, then quickly looked back at some point beyond her shoulder. “That was my second mistake. When the two of you started dating, I didn’t think it would turn serious. It came as a complete shock when you started talking about marriage. I panicked. Warned Jeff if he didn’t keep away from you, I’d go to the authorities. That’s when he told me he’d forged my name on a couple of documents. That way, if I opened my mouth, I was going down with him.”

“So you went along with Jeff?”

He nodded, swallowing audibly. “I also hated the idea of disillusioning you. You loved the man. I didn’t want to be the one to destroy your happiness.”

“I think we both know that was your excuse to keep me in the dark,” she whispered, unable to mask the reproach in her voice.

A self-recriminating expression washed across his features and drained what little color he had in his face. “You’re right.”

His grasp on her hand tightened, and she forced herself not to pull away from it or his pleading expression. All these years she’d looked up to her father and thought of him as the one person she could count on to be honest and above reproach, but in truth, he’d lied and cheated, crushing her trust and the last of the innocence she’d retained from childhood. How could she believe in right and wrong, when her own father couldn’t separate the two?

She grappled for control. Her father lay before her, frail and helpless, needing her approval. “I don’t know what to say…” Forcing a smile of reassurance, she gently squeezed his hand. Appearing calm right now was one of the hardest things she’d ever attempted in her life. “We’ll talk later. This is far too upsetting for you. You need rest. Just remember, I love you.”

He seemed to relax at her words. He loosened his hold on her hand, nodded and closed his eyes. Only when she heard his soft rhythmic sigh signaling sleep, did she slip from the room.

After she left the hospital, she dropped her father’s car back at his house and had the repair shop pick her up. She drove home in her Focus after a paying a hefty bill.

Once inside her apartment, she wandered through her empty rooms. The furniture that had seen better days, the cross-stitched throw pillows, the lace curtains, the handmade doilies her grandmother had crocheted and the oil painting of the Superstition Mountains her father had labored over. At a complete loss, she stared at the painting.

She couldn’t get out of her mind how her father had lied and cheated. Granted it had been all for love, but in the end what he had done was wrong.

The doorbell rang, surprising her. When she opened it, she found Morgan standing on the porch holding a bouquet of flowers.

Stepping inside and closing the door against the afternoon heat, he cleared his throat. “I wanted to see how you were making out with your dad. I was out most of the day at several sites and didn’t get into the office until late. Otherwise I would have tried to get a hold of you sooner. I called the hospital and heard he was in stable condition.”

Sympathy glowed from his golden gaze, touching her heart with their warmth as he offered her the flowers. Sudden tears burned the back of her eyes, and she buried her head in their fragrance until her vision cleared.

“Thank you,” she said, pleased at the steadiness of her voice. She shouldn’t be letting a pair of big, golden-brown eyes affect her so strongly. “He’s much better today.”

Sudden memories of the other night curled around her. She remembered the feel of his platinum hair between her fingers, the heat of his tanned flesh against her hand, but most importantly she recalled the look of passion that had flamed his eyes. Their lovemaking, strange as it seemed, heightened her awareness of him as a man even more than before. Hating where her thoughts were leading, she pivoted and hurried into the kitchen.

“I better get these flowers in water before they wilt,” she called over her shoulder.

Morgan followed and rested a hip against the counter beside her as she arranged the blossoms in a vase. Reaching over, he caressed the lilac petal of an iris, a faint smile curving his lips. “So soft and subtle.” His voice, rich and smooth rained over her. “It reminds me of your skin.”

Kristen’s chest tightened. She dropped her hands to the counter to disguise their trembling as tension swept through her limbs. She’d wanted to avoid this subject, not ready yet to delve into her feelings or how she’d let sex sway her better judgment.

Prepared to see sexual hunger in the look he gave her, she glanced up only to have her composure snap at the unexpected tenderness in his eyes. He closed the distance and took her into his arms, cradling her against him with gentle hands. She welcomed his embrace. His closeness both soothed and stirred her. She couldn’t remember a time when Jeff had held her like this, silently offering his strength and support. Probably, because Jeff had never really cared, Kristen thought with some bitterness.

“You look like you’re holding up pretty well under the circumstances,” Morgan murmured against her brow, running his fingers through her hair with feather-like strokes.

She snuggled deeper in his arms and rested a cheek against his shoulder. “I never saw it coming. I know he’s in his early sixties, but I always thought of him as invincible.”

“You know, I think the last place you ought to be is here by yourself.” Drawing away, Morgan cupped her shoulder and caressed the hollow below the slope of her neck with his thumb. “You need to come over to my place. I’ll fix dinner, and the two of us can play cards with Katie.”

The apartment and its silence were suffocating. “I’d like that. I’ll follow you there with my car.”

He looked like he was about to argue, but the determination in her face must have changed his mind. “If that’s what you want.” He broke into a grin. “Just a word of warning. Katie plays a mean game of Old Maid.”

She smiled. “I’ll consider myself forewarned.”

“Good.”

At Morgan’s house, Katie greeted her with a wave, a cheeky grin and an even bolder question, “Are you two…you know—” She waved her arm around. “Dating like?”

She caught Morgan’s wink and flushed.

“Mind your own business, Squirt,” Morgan retorted, deftly avoiding his daughter’s question. He hefted her up in his arms and grunted loudly. “What’s the baby-sitter been feeding you, rocks?”He wheeled her around.

Blonde hair flying, Katie squealed in delight and hugged Morgan’s head until it looked like she was about to suffocate him. He popped his head out from under her grasp and gasped for breath, a comical look on his face.

Kristen broke out laughing, but her amusement quickly faded as envy welled up inside her. Her throat constricted. She’d hoped to have something like that—a warm, loving husband and…child. But now… It would take her awhile to trust again.

After they ate dinner, Morgan pulled out the cards, and the three of them plopped down on the carpeted floor in the middle of the living room.

After several minutes of playing, Katie waved the cards under her father’s nose. “I won! Hah, Dad! What do you think of that?”

“You were probably cheating,” he insisted archly as a superior look crossed his features.

“I was not!” Katie retorted.

“Yes, you were.”

“No, I wasn’t!” A frustrated look crossed Katie’s face until she must have realized what Kristen had guessed all along. Her father was teasing.

Groaning, Katie hurled the cards in his face, and laughed when one caught in his hair.

Kristen suppressed a giggle. “I think your father’s trying to cover up his own cheating.”

“You think so?” Katie sent her a conspiratorial smile.

“Oh, most definitely.” Nodding, Kristen attempted a grave expression.

“Then he gets a tickle torture!” Katie launched herself at Morgan. She showed no mercy, relentlessly wiggling her fingers into his ribs.

After some struggle, he managed to hold his daughter at arm’s length and get out, “I swear I didn’t cheat. It was Kristen all along.”

Kristen burst out laughing. “Not on your life! I don’t cheat.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right. Kristen wouldn’t think to lower herself to such behavior.”

Kristen saw the evil intent in his eyes and protested, “Oh, no you don’t.”

Pausing with her attack, Katie looked up and the same impish expression formed in her eyes. Just then, Kristen realized fondly, although they might not be related by blood, the two of them were a matched pair all the same.

“I think you should get her, Dad. She’s too big for me.”

Kristen’s eyes widened. “You wouldn’t dare—”

“I think Kristen just dared me. What do you think?” he consulted Katie.

His daughter nodded vehemently. “That was a dare.”

Before she knew it, Kristen was on her back with Morgan straddling her waist and tickling the breath from her lungs.

“Stop! Stop!” Kristen cried between peals of laughter and gasps for air.

“Then you cheated, right?” Morgan demanded, his face inches from her own. The twinkle in his eyes ruined his serious expression.

“Yes! Yes!” she cried. “Anything!”

Her last word echoed through the room. Morgan stopped the torture to her ribs and slid his hands to her waist.

“Did you say ‘anything’?”

This time, she knew the seriousness in Morgan’s expression wasn’t an act. Something far more dangerous than humor smoldered in his eyes. Desire. It darkened his eyes to deep, steamy cocoa, and did crazy things to her heart rate and breathing. And that sensuous half-smile of his did even worse things to her mind.

Kristen couldn’t stop staring even if she wanted to. She drank in the strong column of his throat, the dark slash of brows, the square jaw and platinum hair, then finally she found herself drowning beneath his gaze.

A movement in the corner of her vision reminded her of Katie, and her wayward mind came to a jarring halt.

“You better let me up,” Kristen said in a voice huskier than she liked. “Katie…”

Flushing, he rose to his feet and held out his hand. She took it, and deliberately ignored the electrical current of awareness that rushed through her. She was burning up already. And he hadn’t even done a blasted thing to her yet! She needed to get a hold of herself. My goodness. By the time he got around to kissing her, she’d be already dead from spontaneous combustion.

“I think it’s time for bed, Katie,” Morgan said unexpectedly.

“What? Do I have to?” Katie groused. Then she squinted suspiciously at the two of them. “I get it now. You’re gonna kiss after I go to bed, aren’t you?”

Morgan looked heavenward. “You’ll have to excuse my daughter.”

Katie shrugged. “Dad, that’s okay, you know. I don’t care if you kiss her. I like Kristen.”

“And I like you.” Kristen couldn’t help but smile at the way Morgan’s complexion turned an interesting shade of red.

Katie nodded as he gripped her shoulders and nudged her toward the door. “Now say goodnight, Katie,” he urged.

“Goodnight, Katie.” She smirked at her father, then rolled her eyes at Kristen. “Goodnight, Kristen.”

“Have a good night’s sleep,” Kristen softly called.

“She will,” Morgan answered for her. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

The look Morgan sent her before he disappeared down the hall nearly curled her toes. No doubt about it. He planned to take up where they’d left off—on her back.

Suddenly nervous, Kristen wandered the living room. The plush carpet in a rich shade of maroon cushioned her bare feet. While playing cards, she’d kicked off her sandals and left them on the floor by the couch. Something she would never have done at Jeff’s house.

She absently ran a finger along the back of the teal and maroon couch. Here, she felt she could relax and not worry about where she put her shoes or drink. Morgan’s place was so unlike Jeff’s house, where she’d been afraid to dirty the carpet with her shoes or sit against one of the throw pillows on the couch for fear of creasing the fabric. She could honestly call this place a home. It showed by the little signs—magazines stacked in a wicker basket by one chair, a schoolbook on top of an end table.

“Do you want a drink?”

She turned to see Morgan in the doorway, leaning a hand against the jamb. He’d pulled his beige short-sleeved shirt from his shorts and, like Kristen, he had lost his shoes during the evening. Right now, he seemed very much like his place. Relaxed and approachable and…very appealing.

She realized he was giving her a questioning look. “A drink sounds fine.” She followed him into the kitchen. “I think I’ll call the hospital and see how my Dad’s doing.”

“Phone’s on the counter by the frig. While you’re doing that, I’ll fix those drinks.”

After talking to her mother, Kristen replaced the receiver and turned to Morgan. He handed her one of two chilled glasses of wine and stared down at her with questioning eyes.

“He’s doing much better,” she said. “He’s still sleeping a lot, but that’s good.”

“Glad to hear it. The two of you sound very close.” His smile eased his sober features. “Daddy’s little girl?”

She grinned sheepishly. “I’m afraid so. And you should talk. It looks like Katie’s got you by the finger.”

“But that’s what Daddy’s are for. I’ll always be there for her.”

Kristen felt her heart catch. That look in his eyes. Such love. Such fierceness. If only one day he thought of her with such emotion. Her grip tightened on her glass. She’d just traveled into dangerous territory. Before another wayward thought formed, she turned and left the kitchen.

She was about to sit in the chair by the sofa, but Morgan quickly protested. “Oh, no you don’t.”He cupped her elbow with his free and steered her toward the sofa. “I don’t want you sitting where you’re inaccessible.”

“But my drink,” Kristen half-heartedly protested. The sudden huskiness of his voice was sending delicious shivers up and down her spine.

“That’s easily remedied.” With a devilish smile curving his full, sensual lips, Morgan plucked it from her hand and set it down with his wine.

She sat down and Morgan followed far too closely, draping an arm along the top of the sofa. Kristen realized all too soon she couldn’t ignore his very male and very attractive body inches from her own or how his hand was caressing the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck.

She breathed in his male scent, a hint of soap and cologne, and restrained from the urge to tug at her collar. The temperature in the room had climbed several degrees. Or maybe it was her body that had grown uncomfortably warm.

Why in the world had she allowed him to coax her onto this very seat? But she already knew the answer. She wanted his kisses and his touch. And after making love with him the other night, she’d craved them more than ever before.

She gave up all thought when he cupped and tilted her head for his kiss, his fingers a gentle caress against her skin. His lips were warm and tender and tasted of wine as he caressed her parted mouth. She pressed forward, wanting more than the teasing pressure of his lips.

Each kiss was more thorough and more passionate than the last until Kristen sank down into the cushions and pulled Morgan along with her. A deep and delicious sensation rolled through her limbs to pool deep in her belly.

He dragged his mouth from hers. “This is not the best place or time for making love,” he groaned against her throat, his breath ruffling the downy hair beyond her ear. “Katie’s in the other room.”

She inhaled sharply, struggling for sanity. She’d completely lost her head. What in the world had she been thinking—other than the obvious? Ignoring his offered hand, she pulled herself to a sitting position. She tried to put some order to her hair. It was hopeless. Her body parts weren’t behaving. Her hands were far too unsteady and her limbs were a mass of dissatisfied nerve endings.

Glancing over at Morgan ruined what little poise she’d garnered. He looked far too appealing. His tussled hair, dusky flush to his cheeks, and desire lingering in his eyes did extraordinary things to her pulse.

“I should have known things would get out of hand.” Morgan stood and tucked the tail of his shirt into his shorts.

“What do you mean by that? I hope you’re not blaming me—”

He groaned laughingly. “Hell, no. When I’m near you I lose all sense of control. Makes me feel like a damn pup.”

She relaxed. But only for a moment. After all, she’d been willing to let this man make love with her—again. This time she had no excuse. This time she wasn’t trying to get back at Jeff. And most importantly, this time she had no one to blame but herself.

“I’d better go.” She looked everywhere but at Morgan.

“Friday, I’ll get a baby-sitter or see if Katie’ll spend a night at a friends.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she retorted through stiff lips.

“Why? Are you having second thoughts?”

“I don’t know.” Then she shook her head. “I need some breathing space. I haven’t even talked to Jeff yet.”

His face tightened. “What does he have to do with us?”

“A lot. I haven’t gotten the chance to explain things. He thinks we’re still together.”

“I can understand that, but where do we go from here?”

They stared at each other, Kristen too afraid to make the first move, and she suspected Morgan was equally hesitant.

“I guess we can take one day at a time,” she said into the lengthening silence.

“I guess we’ll have to. It’s probably the sanest idea.” He hooked a thumb into his belt loop. “How about I walk you to your car? Get some rest. No doubt you need it after the last couple of days you’ve had. Let me now how your father’s doing, and don’t worry about work tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Morgan paused at the front door. “Oh, before you go. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any idea why Jeff’s so interested in Katie?”

She stiffened, suspicion slithering into her mind. Please, no. He couldn’t have been using her all this time—

“Don’t even think it,” Morgan quickly said, reading her mind as he clasped both her hands in his. “That didn’t come across well. What’s happening between us has nothing to do with your past relationship with Jeff. Things are complicated enough.”

Seeing the sincerity in his face, she forced herself to relax. She couldn’t start distrusting very man just because of Jeff. Then she searched back for anything of significance, and finally shook her head. “I haven’t a clue.” She laughed bitterly. “But then, I’ve found out Jeff never did tell me anything. Especially when it came to the truth.”

“I was hoping you weren’t going to say that.”

She wanted to wipe away the worried frown from his brow. Instead, she reached up and pressed her lips against his in a kiss meant to comfort.

When she stepped back, he flashed a grin. “Thanks, I needed that.”

Still smiling, he squeezed her hands gently, then led the way to her Focus. He kissed her one last time before she slipped into her car. She backed out and turned down the street toward her home. Streetlights flashed through the interior intermediately. The rhythmic pattern, along with the quiet hum of the car couldn’t quiet the questions tumbling in her mind. She had a lot to think over. She was falling for Morgan, but was she willing to hurtle into another relationship so soon after Jeff? With Jeff, her pride had been damaged, but with Morgan, she knew a lot more was at stake. She was risking her heart.