Baby Experts 02 (12 page)

His white shirt was streaked with soot. There was a smudge below his eye and soot on his forearms.

He took off his Stetson, dusted it against his leg, and then hung it on the hook behind the door. “The wind was blowing my way.”

“Was it bad?”

“Bad enough. At first we were afraid the volunteer fire company couldn’t put it out. I was ready to call Lubbock but then the wind died down and a few more men arrived. The restaurant’s history now. It’s a shame.”

“What caused it?”

“The fire marshal from Lubbock is examining the scene. They’re talking to the owners and the witnesses. It sounded as if it started in the storeroom. My guess is old electrical wiring sparked and caught.”

“They were open for business?”

“No, thank goodness. They’re closed for vacations. Did Sean go down okay?”

“He was a sweetie. Janet and I both sang him lullabies. She’s really good with him.”

“I don’t think I want to hear this,” Vince grumbled as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged out of it.

Tessa swallowed hard. All that tanned skin, black chest hair, well-developed muscles.

“I need to get a quick shower,” he said. “I suppose you have to go. Do you have rounds in the morning?”

“Yes, I do, so I should be on my way. But, Vince, I think you need to know something first.”

He tossed his shirt to the counter and came closer to look at her more carefully. “What do I need to know? Did Janet say something about the way I’m raising Sean?”

“No, nothing like that. In fact, I really do think she was impressed, at least she seemed to be. She also seemed sincere and that’s why…”

“Why what?”

“She asked me a few questions. My being here aroused her curiosity and then of course I mentioned we knew each other in high school. So she wanted to know if we were dating or anything like that.”

Vince’s brow furrowed. “And?” he prompted.

“I told her we married after we graduated from high school.”

His astonishment drew lines around his mouth. “Why would you tell her
that?
”

“Because it’s not a deep, dark secret. If she digs around at all, she’d find out. Do you want her to think we’re keeping it from her?”

Tessa knew that look in Vince’s eyes. He wanted to blow up or rant and rave, but he wouldn’t. Calm control took over.

“Don’t shut down like that,” Tessa protested.

“I’m not shutting down. I’m trying to hold on to my temper. She doesn’t need to know every detail of my life!”

“Vince, I’m sorry. I thought being up front about us was best.”

He raked his hand through his hair. “I get that. It’s just—I know now how you felt about my leaving for the Air Force. I don’t want her to think we didn’t try.”

“We
didn’t
try, did we?”

“We
tried,
Tessa. We tried before you lost the baby. We never should have gotten married and you know it. I don’t want Janet thinking that because our marriage didn’t work out, I’d leave Sean for some reason. Our situation was complicated but my taking on the responsibility of Sean isn’t. He needs me and I’ll never forsake the responsibility that Scott and Carol bestowed on me.”

Their situation had been complicated. But why hadn’t he been this committed to her? Because he knew her father would support her and be glad Vince was gone from her life? “Maybe you should be telling
her
that,” Tessa replied, holding in past hurt to deal with the present situation.

“Maybe I will. I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of her.”

Tessa fought to stay in the present. “I think she’d really like to babysit for Sean while she’s here—all alone without someone looking over her shoulder.”

“If I let her do that, she could become really attached to him. You know what I’m afraid of, Tessa? I don’t want her thinking she can take him back with her.”

“She knows you’re his legal guardian.”

“And she’s his great-aunt.”

“Just think about it,” Tessa prompted.

“I will.”

There were only mere inches between them, and they gazed at each other, neither looking away. “If I kiss you again,” he asked, “will you run?”

“If you kiss me again,” she said truthfully, “I might not make it in time to the hospital tomorrow morning to make rounds and I have a full day of appointments.”

“So what would happen if I asked you to stay when you didn’t have a full day of appointments?”

What
was she saying and doing? Something had happened tonight and she wasn’t sure what—some subtle shift in her relationship with Vince. A shift that scared her.

“We both have an early day tomorrow,” she murmured. “Maybe we should just leave it at that.”

Vince took a step back. “Whatever the lady wants. Thanks for the help with the gravy and asparagus.”

“Maybe sometime I’ll make you one of my home-cooked dinners,” she teased.

“I’d like that.”

Before the aforementioned kiss could become a reality, she picked up her purse and headed for the door. “Have a good weekend, Chief.”

“You, too, Dr. McGuire. I’ll be in touch.”

When she left Vince’s home, she couldn’t help but wonder when and where he’d be in touch. She couldn’t help being excited about the thought of seeing him again.

“I think you already have more outfits in your arm than he can wear in a year.”

Tessa looked down at everything she’d picked up. The children’s store was like one great big candy shop and she was having the time of her life. “Are you telling me he doesn’t need a new outfit for every day of the week?” she teased with a grin.

“He needs a couple of pairs of shorts and a few shirts.”

She shook her head. “Men! No sense of style.” She pointed to the baby shoes lined up on a shelf. “What about a pair of sneakers?”

“Sneakers are good,” Vince agreed, coming up beside her and dropping his arm around her shoulders.

In that moment, she wasn’t only attracted to his scent and his strength and his sense of responsibility where Sean was concerned. She was also attracted to his sense of humor, his ability to see past the obvious, his stubbornness and his gentleness. With his arm around her while they were buying clothes for Sean, she felt almost giddy and knew that was dangerous. If she started dreaming of a life with Vince again, would her effort bring her joy or more pain?

He found a pair of sneakers in Sean’s size and added them to her pile. Under the brim of his Stetson, his eyes darkened and he looked as if he wanted to kiss her, right there in the baby store.

A chiming sound suddenly came from Tessa’s purse.

“Are you on call?” Vince asked.

“No, but one of the docs could need something.” She handed her pile of clothes to Vince, fished out the phone and opened it. She hesitated only a moment and then put it to her ear. “Dad?”

She saw the tightening of Vince’s jaw, the lines cutting deep around his eyes.

“Tessa,” she heard her father rasp. “I fell—”

“I can hardly hear you. Did you say you fell? Where?”

“Rico is off today. I saddled up Aztec and rode him down to the creek. We were doing fine until a jackrabbit poked out of a dagblasted hole.”

“Where at the creek?”

“Near the three cottonwoods.”

“Should I call an ambulance?”

Vince stepped closer to her.

“No! No ambulance. I don’t think I broke anything. I just can’t put weight on my knee.”

“Isn’t anyone around the ranch so I can give them a heads-up?”

“No one’s around right now.”

“Where’s Aztec?”

“He’s right here, looking guilty like he did something wrong. But he didn’t. He’s not going anywhere. He’s a loyal one.”

“Keep your phone in your hand and stay connected to me. You aren’t in the sun, are you?”

“No, ma’am. I dragged myself into the shade. I do have
some
common sense.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Dad. Hold on a minute, okay?” She looked up at Vince. “My dad took a tumble off Aztec down by the creek. I have to go get him. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get him into the car by myself.”

“You want me to come along?” He looked stunned.

“If you don’t want to, I’ll call one of the docs I know.”

She could see Vince was imagining seeing Walter McGuire again. The idea obviously didn’t sit well with him.

“I’ll go with you,” he decided curtly.

“Dad, I’m bringing help,” she said over the phone.

“Who?” her father asked suspiciously.

“I’m with Vince. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Damn it all, Tessa. He’s the last person I want help from.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure he’s all that thrilled about it, either, but I don’t see that you have a choice, do you?”

“Is this payback?” he growled.

“No, it’s just us getting you out of a jam. Hold on to your phone.”

Her father swore again, a little more vigorously this time.

“Do you think it’s serious?” Vince asked, his eyes steely-gray.

“No way to know until I see him. As I said, if you don’t want to go—”

“If I don’t go with you, I’m obviously ducking karma. But if I do go with you, Tessa, there’s no telling what will happen. I won’t start anything, but you know your dad.”

Yes, she did. She had no way to predict how he’d react to seeing Vince face-to-face again. No way at all.

When she stole a glance at Vince, she noted the hard set of his jaw. This encounter with her father wasn’t going to be an easy meeting and they both knew it.

Handling the pickup expertly, Vince edged it as close as he could to the cottonwoods and to Walter McGuire. Aztec, a seventeen-hand bay gelding, wasn’t far away. He was eyeing the pickup as if he recognized it.

“How do you want to play this?” Vince asked Tessa. “You’re not going to get him to the pickup on your own steam.”

“We can both help him, then you can drive Dad back to the house and I’ll ride Aztec.”

“
You’ll
ride Aztec?”

“He spooks sometimes, but he’ll be calm because he knows me. Besides, how long has it been since you rode a horse?”

“Not so long as you might think. I went riding in Albuquerque.” He peered toward the trees. “We’ll see what your dad has to say about the whole transportation scenario. He might not want me even driving his truck.”

They exited the pickup and approached Walter McGuire. When they’d driven up, he’d been lying flat. Now he sat up and adjusted his Stetson on his head.

“Rossi,” her father acknowledged tersely.

“Mr. McGuire,” Vince returned, giving a bit of deference yet using the same curt tone.

Vince hunkered down next to Tessa’s father. “There’s more than one way to do this. Tessa could try to help you to your truck, but you could fall and damage your knee further. I’m sure I could get you there on my own, but if you’re concerned I have something else besides your welfare on my mind, Tessa can help you on your good side and I’ll help you on your bad one.”

“You think you have this all figured out, don’t you?” her father muttered.

“I don’t have anything figured out, sir. We just got the call you needed help and here we are.”

Her father gave Vince a sharp look, and she knew both men were wondering what the other was thinking.

“Let’s get you out of the heat, Dad. If you and Vince want to have a conversation, you can do it back at the house.” She lifted her father’s wrist and took his pulse. Next, she put a stethoscope to her ears and listened to his heart.

“It’s my knee, daughter.”

She gently felt around the knee and when he jerked away, she shook her head. “I think you did it this time. Arthroscopic surgery for sure.”

“I think all doctors are sadists. They can’t wait to make that incision and get inside.”

“Only to fix something, Pop. I don’t want you putting any weight on that leg.”

Before Tessa envisioned what Vince was going to do, he counted, “One, two, three,” and hiked her dad up to a standing position.

She quickly filled in on his other side.

“I need to take you to the E.R., Dad, and get an MRI.”

“This isn’t a good day,” he grumbled.

“No day’s a good day. We can ice your knee, but my guess is that it’s going to swell and hurt like blazes.”

“You have a crystal ball?” her dad asked acerbically.

“I have a lot of experience. I don’t need a crystal ball,” she shot back.

Realizing he might have hurt her professional pride, his tone gentled. “I have a pair of crutches from that fall I took a couple of years ago. I don’t want to get into that whole rigmarole at the E.R. Let’s just see what happens.”

Tessa sighed. Once her father made up his mind, there was no changing it. “If the knee swells, I’ll take you to the E.R. in the morning. In the meantime, Vince will drive you back. I’ll ride Aztec in.”

Her father looked as if he was going to protest and then he realized why she’d suggested it. “Yeah, Aztec knows you. I guess that’s best.”

“I’m sure I can handle him, Mr. McGuire, if you’ll feel more comfortable with Tessa driving you.”

“Since you
are
chief of police, I trust you handling my truck, rather than one of my prized horses.”

When Tessa saw the scowl on Vince’s face, she knew he and her dad were off to a bumpy start.

Fifteen minutes later, she and Vince had helped her dad to his favorite recliner in his den. “Why don’t you go get us something to drink,” her dad asked. “Me a shot of bourbon, Rossi here a beer or something if he wants it.”

“No thanks, sir, I’m fine.”

“You know where my good bourbon is in my office,” he said to Tessa.

She took that as a cue to leave. The showdown had to take place without her, she supposed, though she’d give a month’s salary to find out what the two of them had to say.