Сандра Браун - Adam's Fall

"We should go to the hospital and have a baby," she told him, laughing. "Lilah, Mrs Alder is with Megan and Matt. Please call and ask if she would mind spending the night."

"Sure, sure. Anything else?"

"Yes, pry Thad's hands off my shoulders. He's cutting off my circulation."

With her typical aplomb Elizabeth gave birth to a baby girl shortly before dawn the following morning.

"You're so tiny," Lilah whispered with hushed reverence. "So soft." She rubbed her cheek against her niece's fuzzy head. Holding the baby in the crook of her arm, Lilah marveled over the miracle of such a small life. "Don't worry. When your mother starts dressing you in pinafores with bears and ducks and stuff appliquéd on them, Aunt Lilah will come to the rescue. I'll buy you something really funky to wear."

The baby's bud of a mouth blew a bubble. Lilah took that as approval of her idea. She was laughing when the hospital room door swished open. Her smile instantly vanished when she saw him. He was supporting himself on a crutch with one hand and holding a bouquet of fresh flowers in the other.

Adam's face registered the same degree of astonishment when he saw Lilah, sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, holding the infant against her breasts. But only momentarily. Then his features turned stony and hostile. "I was expecting Elizabeth."

"Well aren't you lucky? You got me instead."

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"I asked first."

She surrendered with a shrug that said the standoff wasn't worth the bother. She hoped he didn't notice her shortness of breath. "I'm here because of one of those hospital snafus that invariably happens at checkout time. The baby had already been delivered to the proud parents when the bookkeeping glitch was discovered. So Lizzie and Thad went to get it straightened out and asked me to stay with the baby."

"They must not love her very much."

"What a wretched thing to say!"

He didn't apologize. Instead he hobbled farther into the room and laid the bouquet on the bedside table. "What's her name?"

"Milly."

"Milly, huh? Cute. How much did she weigh?"

"Eight pounds five ounces. Where's your wheelchair?"

"Over eight pounds? Wow. I don't need that damn chair anymore."

"What are you doing on a crutch?"

"I'm walking now."

"On one crutch? Without braces? Has that therapist of yours got grits for brains?"

"He seemed to think I was ready."

"Well, I don't."

"But you aren't my therapist any longer, are you?" His voice was silky, but his eyes were razor-sharp. "How'd they decide on Milly?"

"Huh? Oh, they let Matt name her."

"Matt?"

"He was upset because she wasn't a he. He would have preferred a brother. To pacify him they let him name her. He came up with Milly because it went so well with Matt and Megan. All M's, you see. It's a little too cute to suit my taste, but then they're not… Look, I might not be your therapist any longer, but I know good medical advice from bad, and I don't think you're ready for crutches, much less one crutch."

"How would you know what I'm ready for? You haven't even seen me in two weeks and three days."

Seven hours and fifty-two minutes, Lilah could have added, but didn't. Instead she said, "You haven't had time to strengthen those muscles enough to support you."

"I've been working night and day."

"Another mistake on the part of the therapist. I knew Bo Arno was a quack," she fumed. "If you rush those muscles you could get a sprain or tear them completely. You shouldn't force them to do what they're not ready for."

"You seemed to know instinctively what I was ready for." His dark eyes penetrated hers. "Didn't you?"

Milly flailed her arms, socking her aunt on the chin. Lilah mentally thanked her. She was grateful for the diversion, a reason to look away. While she was at it, she seized the opportunity to change the subject too.

"How did you do on the long flight?"

"I made it okay," he said. "The flight crew took good care of me."

Her head came around with a jerk. His cocky smile made her want to grind her teeth. "I'll bet."

"Great bunch of ladies. They were very good about helping me in and out of my seat. Working cramps out of my legs. Stimulating my blood flow."

"How nice," she said tightly.

"Yes, it was."

"You could have waited, you know. Elizabeth and Thad would have understood. You didn't have to rush across the ocean just to see Milly."

"I'm her godfather. I couldn't wait to see her."

"Even if it causes a relapse and puts you back in a wheelchair?"

"I'll never go back into a wheelchair. That leaves you at the mercy of some very unscrupulous, untrustworthy people."

"Meaning me, I suppose?"

"If the shoe fits."

"Go to hell."

Milly protested the shouting match by setting up a wail. Lilah began to rock her in the cradle of her arms. The baby continued to cry. She glared up at Adam. "Now look what you've done."

He moved to the edge of the bed and eased down, propping his crutch against the mattress. "Don't you have any maternal instincts?"

"Yes, of course I do. Every woman does."

"Then make her stop crying."

"What do you suggest?"

"Maybe she's wet."

"Thad already took the diapers to the car."

"Maybe she's hungry."

"She's out of luck there too. I'm not properly equipped."

"You're equipped."

Their eyes met. For a moment a soft, melting look replaced the antagonistic ones they'd been exchanging. They recalled the times when his mouth had tugged fervently at her breasts.

Lilah forced herself to look away, fearing that if she didn't, she would collapse against him and beg him to hold her and never let go.

"She's quieting down," she needlessly observed.

"Yeah."

When Milly's fussing subsided, Lilah studied his face closely. "You look tired."

"I've seen you look better too."

"Thanks." She smiled crookedly. "I can't even take umbrage because I know you're right. The last few days have been hectic. I've been running errands for Lizzie and trying to keep Thad anchored to earth and relieving Mrs Alder, their sitter. Megan and Matt have been as wild as Indians, feeling threatened by the new baby, I'm sure. They're making certain they retain everybody's attention by behaving like hellions."

"You're into all that psychology, aren't you?"

Something in the way he asked it immediately set her teeth on edge. "Sometimes," she answered evenly.

"But especially with your patients. You figure out what they need and you give it to them, whether it be humor or scolding or … anything."

"If you have something on your mind, Cavanaugh, why don't you just come right out and say it?"

"All right. Why did you run out on me?"

"I had accomplished what I set out to."

"Seduce me?"

Her eyes got stormy. "Get you to walk."

"I wasn't walking yet."

"But you were close. The morning I left you said yourself that you could do anything. You didn't need me anymore."

"Wasn't that for the doctors to decide? Or me? Or are you just naturally smarter than everybody else?"

"I wasn't going to stick around just to get canned."

"At a thousand bucks a day!?" he cried incredulously. "You must have had a good reason to give that up."

"I was tired of so much bloody good weather."

"Why did you go to bed with me, Lilah?" he asked abruptly. "Going-away present? Were you a merit badge I earned? Or was I one you had earned?"

She reacted as though he'd slapped her. "How dare you say something like that."

"Then why? Tell me."

"I knew you needed proof that you were a whole man."

He laughed, but it was a humorless noise. "Isn't that going above and beyond the call? All young male patients are worried about that. And we both know you haven't provided them with proof. What made me different? Why did you sleep with me?"