Her Hired Husband. Renee Roszel

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ heartbeat, her pinched expression making it clear she didn’t buy his “I feel for you” remark. Maybe she was more correct in her assessment than he cared to admit. Single motherhood was a tough row to hoe. To choose it voluntarily was highly unorthodox and questionable. If Miss Johnson was like too many of his single-parent patients, she hadn’t given adequate thought to what she was getting herself—and an innocent child—into.

      “Right.” Heaving an exhale, she threw up her hands in defeat. “It’s not your problem and you’ve got a plane to catch.” She indicated her grandparents’ bags. “But could you—er—take those up, first? There’s no way my grandmother could do it—or even consider it—and I don’t think I could get that trunk upstairs without going into premature labor.”

      He shot the pile of luggage an unfriendly glare, but hesitated for only a second. Somehow he knew arguing with this little dynamo would merely waste time. “Okay. All right,” He headed for the suitcases. “Then I’m gone.”

      The phone rang, but Noah paid little heed. His focus was on the eight matching leather suitcases and one steamer trunk the size of a compact car. Exactly how long had the Vanderkellens planned to be away on their cruise. Four years?

      “It’s for you,” Sally held out the receiver. “Somebody named Jane. Says it’s important.”

      He stopped in the middle of hefting the trunk. “Jane?” His girlfriend was at the airport with Sam and his fiancée, Dorothy. Maybe their flight had been delayed. For once that would be good news.

      He lowered the trunk to the foyer tiles and took the device from Sally’s outstretched hand.

      “I’ll get your fifty,” Sally whispered.

      He shook his head, covering the mouthpiece. “It won’t do you any good. I won’t take it.” Noah made a point of turning away to indicate the subject was closed. “Hi, honey. What’s up?”

      “Sugar!” came a familiar, breathy voice. “We’re waiting. What’s keeping you?”

      “I’m just—”

      “Noah, you have to get here. I’ve got a wonderful surprise for you!”

      He didn’t doubt that, and grinned. When he started to reassure her, she rushed on. “Oh, I can’t stand it. I have to tell!”

      His grin faded. This was wasting time, but he knew better than to try to stop Jane in the middle of a gush.

      “Lovey,” she said, sounding coy. “I’ve made a slight change in the itinerary.” Her pause was just drawn-out enough for Noah to experience a prick of apprehension. “Dorothy told me about Bonaire, and I’m sure you didn’t realize there’s absolutely no night life there. Nothing but scuba diving.”

      “That’s what we’re doing,” he reminded her, experiencing a twinge of irritation. “Remember, you said you wanted to learn.”

      “Well, sure, but I thought we’d do that one afternoon, maybe two. I didn’t think you meant to scuba dive day in and day out for the whole vacation!” Her voice had taken on a slight whine. “Noah, with my delicate skin, I can’t spend a lot of time in the sun. That’s why I changed our reservations to the most scrumptious hotel on Aruba. You’ll adore it. Aruba isn’t that far away from Bonaire. You can maybe meet Sam and Dorothy a couple of mornings to dive while I sleep in. It’ll be absolute heaven!”

      Noah heard his vacation plans getting flushed, but couldn’t believe it. “You’re kidding, right?” he said with a light laugh, presuming this was her idea of a joke.

      He hadn’t been diving since college and was excited about starting again. For a long time he’d been searching for an antidote for the stress and long hours of his work. Something to balance out a career he loved, but found too all-consuming. He needed peace, a quiet place to go and rest, both physically and emotionally. The cool, silent primeval depths of the ocean seemed perfect.

      His first effort in finding emotional peace had been his relationship with Jane. She was beautiful, always ready for fun. But after two years, he was starting to realize something was missing.

      “Kidding?” she asked. “Why would I kid, Noah? We can do our thing and they can do theirs. Doesn’t it sound like heaven?”

      He experienced a tightening in his gut as the detestable truth hit. “No, Jane,” he muttered. “It doesn’t.”

      “What?”

      Noah could almost laugh at the disbelief in her tone. She had no idea he might be angry, that he would consider what she’d done to be self-centered, high-handed manipulation. Just two months before, to Jane’s dismay, he’d turned down a plum job at Boston’s Women’s Hospital. According to her, in her invariable whine, “the Barrett name means something in Boston! You could do anything you want, be important there!” To appease her, he’d been forced to get Sam to cover for him while he took her on a long, romantic weekend in Las Vegas.

      Yeah, he knew all about the Barrett name and the obligatory pomp and circumstance that came with it in Boston society. That was a major reason he’d left to attend the University of Texas, then Baylor’s College of Medicine. By the time he graduated he’d lost his Boston accent, loved the casual comfort of cowboy boots, so he’d stayed on to open his ob-gyn practice in Houston. The Barrett name didn’t mean a hill of beans in Houston. Besides, he liked his patients, especially the cases he saw one day a week when he volunteered at a charity clinic.

      He remembered how Jane had complained, “But you can have your precious charity cases in Boston, too!” Noah didn’t bother to explain his feelings—that his patients were not merely names on files, but flesh and blood, and they depended on him.

      At this moment he was not only furious and frustrated, but suddenly weary of the high-maintenance relationship with Jane. He needed a little space, some time to calm down. With a gritted curse, he caught sight of Sally Johnson, trudging up the stairs, lugging one of the bags. He frowned as a bizarre thought struck.

      “Sweetie?” Jane’s query drew him back. “Where did you go?”

      “Put Sam on,” he muttered, the vague beginnings of an idea forming in his mind.

      “What?”

      “Put Sam on, Jane,” he repeated, working to hold his temper.

      He heard her call Sam. As he waited he ground his teeth.

      “Hey, buddy, can’t find the goggles?”

      “I found them.”

      “Good. See you soon.”

      “I don’t think so.” Noah was not ordinarily an impulsive man. But right now he was angry, so he wasn’t quite himself. “Your sister asked me to do her a favor,” he said, deciding to go with the impulse and let the chips fall where they may. “Tell Jane to enjoy herself. I’ll join her as soon as I can.” Literal translation, When I cool off.

      Sam laughed. “Very funny.”

      “I’m serious. I’ll mail your goggles.”

      There was a pause. “Jane’s going to be royally ticked.”

      “That’ll СКАЧАТЬ