Plain Jane and Doctor Dad. Kate Little

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ in his eye, the sheer kindness and consideration, was her undoing. She had been on an emotional roller coaster the past twenty-four hours, and having Doug, of all people, look at her that way made her feel as if she was about to burst into tears again.

      She felt the moisture well up in her eyes and dropped her face into her hands. Then she felt Doug’s strong arm circle her shoulders as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Doug pulled her closer, his grip strong and warm around her, his chest firm under her cheek. She was crying hard, sobbing uncontrollably, unable to stop herself.

      “It’s okay,” she heard him murmur against her hair.

      She tried to speak and felt a giant lump in her throat again. No, it’s not okay, she wanted to say. It’s anything but.

      “Just cry if you need to,” Doug whispered.

      “Oh, Doug…I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do….”

      Her voice trailed off in another wave of tears and she pressed her face against his hard chest.

      She felt Doug’s strong hand stroking her hair. She felt the warmth of his body and breathed in the scent of his skin. With her eyes closed and her cheek nestled in the crook of his shoulder, she felt safe and protected. For the briefest moment, Maura allowed herself the lovely fantasy that she could stay this way forever. How much easier everything would be.

      But that was impossible. She had to pull herself together. There was no one to help her out of this mess. Doug might offer his strong shoulder to cry on, but he didn’t have a white charger standing by for a quick getaway. He was only trying to be a good friend.

      She took a deep breath and forced herself to move away from his embrace.

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you by talking about Scott,” Doug apologized.

      “It wasn’t that.” She wiped her eyes and took a shaky breath. She felt him watching her, waiting for her to speak.

      Finally, she said, “It’s just that I have this problem….” She paused again and staring straight ahead, she admitted, “I’m pregnant.”

      She wasn’t sure why she’d told him. The words spoken aloud sounded so final. So overwhelming. Doug looked shocked for an instant. Then he quickly hid his reaction, she noticed. He was silent for a long moment, and she watched as his pensive expression grew harsher. Angrier.

      “With Scott’s child,” he said.

      Though it wasn’t a question, she nodded and looked away again.

      He leaned forward and pushed his hand through his thick hair. “Does he know?”

      “I told him a few minutes ago. In his office. That’s why I looked upset in the hall,” she admitted.

      “He didn’t take the news very well, I guess,” Doug replied sternly.

      “No. He didn’t.”

      The ugly scene replayed in her mind, and suddenly she couldn’t bear talking about it anymore.

      “Listen, thanks for talking to me,” she said as she stood to go. “But I’d better get back to work. I’ve already been gone way too long.”

      “I understand.” He nodded and came to his feet. “Maybe I’ll see you later, when I do rounds.”

      “Sure. And I’m sorry for crying all over you.” He must see her as some kind of flailing, helpless female, she thought, when in fact, she was just the opposite.

      “Don’t even think about it, Maura.” His tone was soft and sincere. Maura met his gaze briefly, then turned on her way.

      She hurried across the courtyard, then entered the hospital. To avoid the long wait for the elevator, she walked up three flights to the pediatrics department. Her supervisor, Gloria Jones, greeted her with a questioning look but didn’t ask why she was so late returning from her break. There was plenty of work waiting, and Maura dug in, eager to focus on her patients instead of her problems.

      As the afternoon passed, her thoughts returned to her disturbing confrontation with Scott—and her conversation with Dr. Connelly. She’d never had such a personal conversation with Doug before. But now she was thankful that, purely by chance, he’d been there for her at such an awful moment. Crying on his shoulder hadn’t solved anything, but it had made her feel worlds better, lending her the boost she needed to carry on.

      Some of the staff disliked the handsome pediatrician. They found him aloof and distant. But Maura had never felt that way. He was sometimes distracted by his work, and even brooding. But a more dedicated doctor would be hard to find.

      She had never imagined he would also be such a dedicated friend, the kind you could really count on when things went haywire. But whether you liked Doug Connelly or not, he was clearly a man of strong character, and Maura knew without question that her secret was safe.

      Her workday wore on, thankfully free of pressing emergencies, as she had a pounding headache that wasn’t assuaged by the pills she’d taken earlier. Luckily, a night-shift nurse came in early, allowing Maura to go home.

      She lived in a comfortable family neighborhood a short distance from the hospital. She’d been lucky to find a reasonably priced two-bedroom apartment in a renovated brownstone. Her living room even had a working fireplace, which she really appreciated during the long Chicago winters.

      The apartment was the first she’d lived in without a roommate, and Maura had loved decorating it to her own taste. She liked antiques, but since she could only afford a few small pieces, she used her knack for finding interesting items that weren’t genuine antiques but still quaint and unique. The honey-tone wood floors were covered by area rugs, and the walls were warm shades of apricot and creamy white. Her home was her haven, her retreat from her hectic, demanding job. It was a private place where she could rest and recharge. Where she could hide away and sort out her thoughts when life tossed her some seemingly impossible crisis. Which was just the way she felt tonight as she slipped her key into the front door and went inside.

      She dropped her mail on a table in the foyer without even glancing at it, then went straight to the bedroom and took a long, hot shower. Even though it was still early, she put on her nightgown and robe, then lay down on her bed, hoping to sleep. But worries immediately crowded her mind.

      For some reason, instead of thinking about Scott, she thought about Doug, recalling the first time they’d met, months ago. She had recently started at the hospital and had been working the night shift. She was assigned to one of his patients, a four-year-old girl brought in with advanced pneumonia and serious heart complications. Purely by chance in the small hours of the night she’d discovered that the child was in serious trouble, in danger of heart failure.

      When Doug found her with the patient minutes later, she was giving CPR as she waited for the crash cart and respiratory equipment to be hooked up. As Doug took charge, he barely said a personal word to her, but the respectful, grateful look in his eyes said it all.

      That night she’d hardly been aware of his compelling good looks, or the smothering shyness that typically fell over her. Working through the crisis with him, she felt totally in synch, and the event somehow forged a mysterious but deep bond between them. She had never felt quite that way about anyone—not a coworker or even a romantic partner. But she had felt it that night with Doug, and forever СКАЧАТЬ