Diana Palmer - Coltrain's Proposal

He reached down and caught her wrist very gently, watching her face distort and feeling the instinctive, helpless jerk of her hand.

He let go at once. “Tell me about it, Lou.”

With a wan smile, she rubbed her wrist. “No. It’s history.”

“It isn’t, you know. Not if it makes you shaky to have people touch you…”

“Not everyone, just him,” she muttered absently.

His eyebrows lifted, but she didn’t seem to be aware of what she’d just confessed.

She sighed heavily. “I’m so tired,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I don’t usually get so tired from even the longest days.”

He touched her forehead professionally and frowned. “You’re a bit warm. How do you feel?”

“Achy. Listless.” She grimaced. “It’s probably that virus that’s going around. I usually get at least one every winter.”

“Go to bed and if you aren’t better tomorrow, don’t go in,” he advised. “Want me to prescribe something?”

She shook her head. “I’ll be okay. Nothing does any good for a virus, you know that.”

He chuckled. “Not even a sugarcoated pill?”

“I can do without a placebo. I’ll get some rest. Thanks for tonight. I enjoyed it.”

“So did I. I haven’t done much socializing since Eve died. It’s been five long years and I still miss her. I don’t think I’ll ever get over her enough to start a new relationship with anyone. I only wish we’d had a child. It might have made it easier.”

She was studying him, puzzled. “It’s said that many people marry within months of losing a mate,” she began.

“I don’t fit that pattern,” he said quietly. “I only loved once. I’d rather have my memories of those twelve years with Eve than a hundred years with someone else. I suppose that sounds old-fashioned.”

She shook her head. “It sounds beautiful,” she said softly. “Lucky Eve, to have been loved so much.”

He actually flushed. “It was mutual.”

“I’m sure it was, Drew. I’m glad to have a friend like you.”

“That works both ways.” He smiled ruefully. “I’d like to take you out occasionally, so that people will stop thinking of me as a mental case. The gossip is beginning to get bad.”

“I’d love to go out with you,” she replied. She smiled. “I’m not very worldly, you know. It was books and exams and medicine for eight long years, and then internship. I was an honor student. I never had much time for men.” Her eyes darkened. “I never wanted to have much time for them. My parents’ marriage soured me. I never knew it could be happy or that people could love each other enough to be faithful—” She stopped, embarrassed.

“I knew about your father,” he said. “Most of the hospital staff did. He liked young girls.”

“Dr. Coltrain told me,” she said miserably.

“He what?”

She drew in a long breath. “I overheard what he said to you on the telephone the other day. I’m leaving. My year is up after New Year’s, anyway,” she reminded him. “He told me what my father had done. No wonder he didn’t want me here. You shouldn’t have done it, Drew. You shouldn’t have forced him to take me on.”

“I know. But it’s too late, isn’t it? I thought I was helping, if that’s any excuse.” He searched her face. “Maybe I hoped it would help Copper, too. He was infatuated with Jane Parker. She’s a lovely, sweet woman, and she has a temper, but she was never a match for Copper. He’s the sort who’d cow a woman who couldn’t stand up to him.”

“Just like my father,” she said shortly.

“I’ve never mentioned it, but one of your wrists looks as if it’s suffered a break.”

She flushed scarlet and drew back. “I have to go in now. Thanks again, Drew.”

“If you can’t talk to me, you need to talk to someone,” he said. “Did you really think you could go through life without having the past affect the future?”

She smiled sweetly. “Drive carefully going home.”

He shrugged. “Okay. I’ll drop it.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

She watched him drive away, absently rubbing the wrist he’d mentioned. She wouldn’t think about it, she told herself. She’d go to bed and put it out of her mind.

Only it didn’t work that way. She woke up in the middle of the night in tears, frightened until she remembered where she was. She was safe. It was over. But she felt sick and her throat was dry. She got up and found a pitcher, filling it with ice and water. She took a glass along with her and went back to bed. Except for frequent trips to the bathroom, she finally slept soundly.

There was a loud, furious knock at the front door. It kept on and on, followed by an equally loud voice. What a blessing that she didn’t have close neighbors, she thought drowsily, or the police would be screaming up the driveway.

She tried to get up, but surprisingly, her feet wouldn’t support her. She was dizzy and weak and sick at her stomach. Her head throbbed. She lay back down with a soft groan.

A minute later, the front door opened and a furious redheaded man in a lab coat came in the bedroom door.

“So this is where you are,” he muttered, taking in her condition with a glance. “You couldn’t have called?”

She barely focused on him. “I was up most of the night…”

“With Drew?”

She couldn’t even manage a glare. “Being sick,” she corrected. “Have you got anything on you to calm my stomach? I can’t keep down anything to stop the nausea.”

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.