Ana Leigh - Heart At Risk

“Kurt, I said you were free to leave. I struggled with telling you the truth from the time you showed up here. Now that I have, my conscience is clear and if you don’t choose to believe me, at least I did put it out on the table.”

“That must have been one hell of a struggle since it took you ten years to tell me.”

“And how would I have done so sooner, when I had no idea where to find you?”

“I don’t know why I’m even pursuing this argument. But for a starter, when I left town Joey knew I headed to Milwaukee to enlist in the navy.”

“By the time I realized I was pregnant, Joey had left here himself. I didn’t tell anyone the name of Scotty’s father.”

“You still could have tracked me down through the government. I wasn’t in hiding.”

Her eyes flashed angrily. “And if I had nothing better to do with my excessive wealth, I suppose I could have run a personal ad in every newspaper in the country, too—Kurt Bolen, all is forgiven. Come home and meet your son.”

“You’ve got a good sell there, lady, but I’m not buying.”

“Well, thank you again, for saving my son. I’m indebted to you for giving him to me ten years ago—and again today. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She started to pass him, but his hand on her arm prevented her.

“Oh, you’re good, baby. You’re good! If I didn’t know better, I’d start believing you myself. Why would you even try such a ridiculous scheme, when we both know nothing ever happened?”

“It happened,” she said, and brushed aside his hand and opened the screen door.

“Like when? The world’s already had one immaculate conception and I don’t frequent sperm banks.”

She turned her head, and her look was withering. “Try ten years ago, Kurt, on the night of our graduation.”

The screen door slammed behind her.

Kurt followed her into the house. “What about the night of graduation?”

Maddie cast a stricken look at Beth. “I’ve said all I prefer to on the subject.”

“Is that right? Well tough, lady. You don’t drop a bombshell like this and then walk away. I want answers.”

“It appears the two of you have an issue to resolve, so if you don’t mind finishing the dishes, Maddie, I’ll go to my room,” Beth said. “Thank you again, Kurt, for what you did this morning, and if I don’t see you again, good luck in the future.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

“You said you were leaving,” Maddie accused.

For a long moment their determined gazes clashed, then Kurt looked at Beth. “That is if you have no objection, Beth.”

“Of course not. I’ll break the good news to Scotty.” She hurried away.

“I knew it would be a mistake to tell you about Scotty,” Maddie said, and began to put away the dishes.

“What do you expect? You opened this can of worms. Why wouldn’t I want answers?”

“What difference does it make now? It happened ten years ago.”

“If I’m to believe you, the difference is upstairs in his bedroom.”

Frustrated, Maddie dropped a glass and it splintered. She bent down to pick up the pieces and in her haste she cut her finger. It began to bleed.

Kurt rushed over and turned on the faucet. “Get your finger under this cold water. Where’s the disinfectant?”

“In the cabinet in the powder room.”

“Keep your finger under that cold water until I get back.”

He returned shortly with the tin of bandages and a bottle of disinfectant. “Let me take a look.”

His hand was warm and incredibly gentle as he patted the finger dry with tissue and checked the cut. His nearness and the warmth of his touch gave an incredible sense of comfort—and an unexpected excitement.

It had been ten years since Maddie had been this aware of a man’s touch—especially a man she’d been physically attracted to. And Lord knows, Kurt Bolen was physically attractive. Now, more than ever. She could well imagine the trail of broken hearts that followed him.

Don’t even go there, Maddie.

She felt foolish as he sprayed on disinfectant. “I’m fine.”

“Just the same, let’s get a bandage on it to keep it clean.”

He has beautiful hands, she thought as he pressed the gauze strip around the cut. Gentle, yet firm and comforting. His fingers were long and tan, the nails clipped and clean.

And his nearness still generated the same excitement she’d always felt around him. So close she could feel the heat of his body—yet so out of reach as if miles separated them.

Lord, Maddie, the man is a threat to life as you know it, so get over schoolgirl romanticizing.

He moved instinctively to the closet and came back with a broom and dustpan in hand. Within minutes he’d disposed of the shattered glass.

At least the accident had dissolved her anger and appeared to have done the same to his.

“Do you suppose we can sit down and discuss this situation like two sensible adults, Maddie?”

She chuckled. “If we’d done that ten years ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. There’s still some coffee left, are you interested?”

Kurt shook his head. “I could use a beer.”

“Sorry, we don’t have any.”

He shoved back his chair and stood up. “Then how about a ride? I’m beginning to feel the walls closing in on me.”

There was no traffic on the road, and the soft hum of the car and occasional chatter of starlings were the only sounds that invaded the quiet summer night.

Her life had become ludicrous. Nothing was normal anymore. How could she be sitting beside Kurt Bolen in the intimacy of a car, driving down the same road as if there hadn’t been a lapse of ten years?

“How’s your leg feeling?” she finally asked, breaking the silence between them.

“Fine. The pills killed the pain.”

“Are you bothered often?”

“No. The leg rarely bothers me anymore.”

“I didn’t mean your leg. I meant your edginess, the feeling of being confined, the walls closing in on you that you spoke of earlier.”

“Is this your 101 Shrink class, Professor?”

“You’re right. It’s none of my business.”

He drew a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Truth is I wouldn’t last a week in a 9 to 5 office job if that’s what you mean.”

Whether by intention or not, they’d ended up at Poorman’s Peak. He parked and turned off the engine.

“Aunt Beth said you told her you work for the government. What bureau?” she asked.

“I’m not here to talk about myself, Maddie. I want to know why you accused me of fathering Scotty.”

“Kurt, let me make myself clear from the start. As far as Scotty goes, I’m not asking anything from you regarding responsibility or child support. I only told you what I did to clear my conscience.”

“Drop all the bull and tell me why you accuse me of being Scotty’s father when I never laid a hand on you.”

It was obvious he was fighting to quell his irritation, so she took a deep breath and for the second time in as many evenings, Maddie relived the events of that long ago evening, avoiding only the embarrassing confession of the secret feelings she’d had for him at the time.

As she spoke, Kurt watched the changing expressions on her face. She was either the world’s best actress or was telling him the truth—because he believed her. This was the nagging thing he hadn’t been able to remember about her earlier. Fleeting images began to flicker in and out of his mind.

“I remember waking up the next morning in front of my shanty. So you drove me home that night.”

“It was either that or leave you up here all night. You’d passed out and could have been charged with a DUI.”

“So here’s where Scotty was conceived.” He glanced below at Stoneville. “Thank God you got him out of there, Maddie.”