Название: Daddy By Accident
Автор: Paula Riggs Detmer
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
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“He hurt you?” His voice was too harsh, but there was nothing he could do about it, just as there was nothing he could do about the anger pouring through him at the thought of those huge wrestler’s hands bruising her smooth skin.
“Not at first. He was more like a lost child. But... later, after he’d recovered physically, he had episodes ”
She thought about the wild look of fear that had sometimes surfaced in his eyes when he’d thought he was being stalked by some nameless, faceless enemy. Some nights he’d sat up, waiting, his weapon cradled lovingly in his hands. Watching and waiting. She sighed, looked down at her hands.
“I had him committed twice. Once, after he stopped taking his medication and started drinking, and again, about six months later when he started showing up at the school where I was teaching.” She drew in a lungful of air and held it for a long moment before releasing it slowly. “Several times he even got violent when there were children present, waiting for their bus. When I threatened to call the police, he cried and promised to stop. He seemed like his own self for a while and I started to think he was recovering But when I found out I was pregnant, he got it into his head that the baby wasn’t his and—” She couldn’t go on. The memories were too vivid, too painful.
“I’m sorry, Stacy.”
“It wasn’t his fault. I know that.” She forced a smile. “Len always wanted a daughter.”
Boyd felt a hole open inside, a hole he’d thought he’d cemented tight. Suddenly the room seemed too small and the air too thin. Dumb move, coming back here, he thought, drawing in a long breath. “Guess I’ll leave you to your breakfast.,” he said in a decent enough tone.
“I thought you were my friend,” she muttered, glancing pointedly at her congealing breakfast.
He turned the idea of being her friend over in his mind and found he liked the idea more than he should. “Uh, I just came by to see how you’re doing. Both of you.”
“We’re both feeling much better this morning. Dr. Jarrod removed the monitor this morning, and Tory is back to her usual rowdy antics. I expect her to become a world-class gymnast someday.”
“Tory?”
“Mmm. Short for Victoria.”
One side of his mouth quirked. “Nice name. Classy.”
“You don’t think it’s a bit stuffy for this day and age?” She inhaled, then rushed on. “I mean, the books all stress how important a name can be in the development of a child’s personality.”
“No, it’s not stuffy at all.”
Stacy heard the sudden hoarseness in his voice, saw the shutters come crashing down in his eyes. As though he were retreating from the friendship she was offering—and her. So she found herself utterly dumbfounded when he suddenly reached out a hand to caress her bruised cheek. The gesture was so utterly tender, the moment so intensely intimate she forgot to breathe.
“I’m glad you’re okay.”
She swallowed the hard lump in her throat “Believe me. so am I.”
“If there’s anything I can do, anything you need—”
“No, but thank you,” she assured him.
“Take care of yourself and Victoria,” he said brusquely before turning away. Two steps later he stopped and stood motionless, staring at the stark white linoleum under his boots as though searching for an answer to some deeply disturbing question.
Stacy was about to ask him if she could help when he turned and retraced his steps. Leaning forward, he braced one hand flat on the mattress while the other gently cupped her shoulder.
“For luck,” he murmured before he brought his mouth to hers. Sweetly, with no demand, he kissed her, his lips soft and searching, his breath scented with strong coffee and toothpaste.
A heartbeat later, he was gone, swallowed by the cavernous hospital corridor, leaving her stunned and bemused. It was only when she felt the tears dripping onto her breast that she realized she was crying.
Three
Stacy was still groggy from an afternoon nap when a strangely familiar, copper-haired nurse stuck her head in the door. A small woman, in a fuchsia-and-pink smock over pink slacks and yellow canvas sneakers, she reminded Stacy of a bright winter sunset.
“Hi, I’m Prudy Randolph. We met in the ER yesterday,” she said when she saw that Stacy was awake.
“We did indeed,” Stacy replied, waving her in. “I was hoping to get a chance to thank you for all your help.”
Nurse Randolph shrugged off her thanks with an infectious grin that had Stacy’s spirits lifting. “How’re you feeling?”
“Antsy. I hate hospitals.”
“On days like this, so do L”
Stacy laughed and found it felt good. “Feel free to bide out here with me. I promise I won’t tattle.”
“Sounds like an offer I can’t refuse.” Looking very much like a mischievous six-year-old playing a prank on her teacher, the elfin nurse pulled up the only chair and sat, “Lord, I’m bushed,” she said, and let out with a heartfelt sigh. “And it’s not even a full moon.”
“Sounds like you’ve been inundated with accident victims.”
“You have no idea.” Prudy blew a lock of hair from her forehead before grimacing. “Everything from the usual fender-benders to a parrot attack.”
Stacy blinked. “Parrot attack?”
“Hmm. On the owner. A case of adolescent rebellion mixed with rampaging hormones.”
“The owner was a teenager?”
Prudy laughed. “No, the parrot A male, naturally, and not at all happy to be kept away from the newest addition to the family bird population, which just happened to be a very attractive—and willing—female.”
“Naturally.”
Prudy swiped a hand through her Orphan Annie curls. “Sorry to unload on you. Sometimes I wish I’d followed my mother’s advice and become a supermarket checker.”
“At least the hours are better.”
“Not to mention the pay.”
Stacy laughed, then moaned at the sudden explosion of glittery light behind her eyes. Nurse Randolph’s expression became solicitous. “Head still hurting?”
“Let’s just say I’ve got a long way to go before I’m up to the ‘feeling lousy’ stage.”
Chocolate brown eyes studied hers with professional expertise. “Any idea when Dr. Jarrod plans to release you?”
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