Forever After (10 page)

Seth's mouth hovered enticingly close above hers.  "Gentle persuasion."

"Gentle?  Like an eighteen wheeler!"

Seth's lips forbade further comment.  They sensually covered hers.  He held her like that for an eternity, applying an easy pressure, not demanding or asking, just being.  Close.  Man to woman.  Seth to Darcy.  Quietly with gentle intimacy.

Then his lips moved apart and his tongue tested and outlined the soft surface.  Darcy vined her arms around his neck, curving into the bend of his body like a pliant willow.  He was more than muscles and a handsome face.  He was substantial and honest and she sensed a sensitivity he let no one see.  Her response was organic, primal.  Her thighs pulsed, her belly throbbed, and she longed to be tight against the cradle of his hips.  She soon had her wish.

As Seth's burgeoning need became more imposing, he ended the kiss, bringing them back to her office.  Touching his forehead to hers, he sought to control his ragged breathing.  She couldn't believe she caused this response in him.  Kisses with Gary had been matter-of-fact.  He'd never acted as if he'd like to kiss her forever.  Did Seth always kiss women as if they were more special than a summer sunset?

Darcy unlocked her wrists and let her fingers curl on his shoulders.  "We make music together, don't we?"  She knew she was fishing, but couldn't help it.

"A symphony," he responded in a husky voice.  "With clashing cymbals."

She leaned back in his arms to look at his face and felt a thrill run through her.  "You feel it too."

His eyes gleamed wickedly.  "Explicitly."

Heat swept through Darcy and she lowered her line of vision.  That was a mistake considering their conversation.  Her lashes flew back up and she could feel her blush from her forehead to her knees.

Seth enclosed her in a bear hug.  "Facts are facts, bright eyes.  But I won't rush you.  You have to want me as much as I want you."

She did want him.  But she had to be prepared.  This time she'd take no chances with getting pregnant.  She'd heard it took a month for birth control pills to work.  How would Seth feel about that?  "You might get tired of waiting."

"You're worth waiting for."

***

Two weeks later, Darcy wondered if Seth still felt that way.  She kept her balance on the top step of the short ladder as she swished her paint brush along a top rung of the trellis.  Smiling, she thought about dancing with Seth last night at the night club.  They'd attended the fourth dance class together and learned the cha cha and samba.  But last night they'd practiced neither.  They'd danced so close, so intimately, it was almost like making love.  Almost.

They'd seen each other often the past two weeks.  Seth had wined and dined her at elegant restaurants, procured theatre tickets, taken her on a picnic.  They'd played and laughed, discovering a hundred and one details about each other.  They'd become friends, possibly more than friends.

But it was clear Seth was afraid of emotional intimacy.  He shared few feelings, nothing about his background.  She told herself she had to be patient.  When he kissed her, she thought the sky would cave in or the earth would drop away from beneath her feet.  She could sense his restraint, that he wanted more, but he was waiting and so was she.  She'd seen her gynecologist and she had to wait at least two more weeks until the pill was effective.

Jenna's voice pulled Darcy away from her musings.  "I'm done my side.  Are you soon done the top?"  The little girl looked up at Darcy expectantly.

Darcy hazarded a quick glance at Jenna, noting her dripping brush and the white streaks of paint adorning her arms and legs.  The evening air was turning chilly with the descent of the sun, and although Darcy's jeans protected her legs, her arms were covered with goose bumps.  Jenna was clad in a short-sleeved green sweatshirt and old faded shorts.  Marsha had known of Darcy's plans to paint the trellis alongside the house and had dressed her daughter accordingly.

"Why don't you go in and start washing up?  I'll be in in a few minutes.  I want to take a shower before Seth comes."

He'd accepted the place Jenna held in Darcy's life.  When he learned she was baby sitting, he'd offered to visit later in the evening to keep her company.  They didn't talk about Brad or Marsha, and Seth never pried information from Jenna.  Brad as yet had not made another appointment with Seth, and Darcy hoped he wouldn't.

Jenna plunked her paintbrush on the sidewalk, leaving a swath of white.  "Did Mom tell you I can stay up til nine thirty?  She said she would."

Darcy dipped her brush into the paint can she held in one hand and attacked the last lattice strip.  "Yes, she did.  Maybe we can convince Seth to play Chutes and Ladders with us."

 Jenna's eyes were wide, her tone confiding.  "I like Seth."

"So do I."

With that confirmation, Jenna scurried up the back porch steps and into the house, letting the screen door whack shut behind her.

   Stepping down from the ladder, Darcy set her paint can on the ground, picked up the lid, pushed it down until it fit into place, and hammered it with her fist.  She didn't look as paint-splattered as her helper but her red knit top and jeans were smudged where she'd inadvertently leaned against the trellis.  She was folding the step ladder when she heard a yelp of pain from inside the kitchen and her name called in a wail.  Dropping the ladder, Darcy ran inside.  Her hand flew to her open mouth when she found Jenna sitting on the floor, crying.

Darcy fell to her knees beside the eight-year-old.  "Honey, are you all right?  Did you hurt anything?"

"It's my arm, Darcy.  It hurts.  I was trying to get us cookies..."

Tears coursed down Jenna's cheeks and Darcy carefully felt the injured arm.  Jenna winced whenever Darcy gingerly touched the area above the wrist.  "I better call your mom.  I don't know if it's sprained or broken."

"I don't want it to be broken," Jenna cried.  "Mom's gonna be so mad...I didn't listen to you."  She hiccupped between sobs.

Darcy rocked Jenna against her and crooned, "It's going to be okay."  She brushed Jenna's bangs over her forehead.  "Come on, let's see if you can stand up, if anything else is hurt."

Jenna's tears still flowed.  "I slipped climbing up.  I almost had my knee on the counter.  I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."

Darcy helped Jenna to her feet and tenderly hugged her.  She didn't need a scolding now.  After determining only the arm was hurt, Darcy led Jenna to the living room and sat her on the sofa.  Jenna was clutching her left arm, biting her bottom lip, trying with all her might to stop her tears.

Darcy speed-dialed Marsha's cell. She knew her friend and Chuck were at a restaurant dining with a colleague of Chuck's.  As the call went through, she tapped her sneakered foot on the fringe of her oriental rug while she waited, smiling now and then at Jenna to reassure her.

When Marsha answered, Darcy explained what had happened and Marsha decided the best course was for Darcy to take Jenna to the emergency room immediately.  She and Chuck would get there as fast as they could.

Darcy grabbed her keys and canvas bag, bundled Jenna into her car, and took the shortest route she knew to the hospital.  She stayed with Jenna while the nurse attached a yellow plastic ID bracelet then recorded as much information as Darcy could provide.  Another nurse led Darcy and Jenna to a bed and pulled curtains around the area.  Darcy had helped Jenna change into a too large hospital gown and was waiting for the doctor when Marsha and Chuck arrived.

Marsha's face was white and drawn, obviously worried as she hugged her daughter.  When the doctor appeared to examine Jenna, Darcy left and settled in the waiting room.

She glanced at her watch, feeling as if centuries had passed since she found Jenna sitting in her kitchen.  It was only eight o'clock.  Eight o'clock.  She had to call Seth.  Her palms were sweaty as she checked her contact list and put the call through, hoping he hadn't left his apartment yet.  He answered on the fourth ring.

"Seth, it's Darcy."

"Hi!  I was just changing clothes.  Do you want me to pick up something on my way?  A bottle of wine or..."

"You can't come over.  I mean I'm not at home."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm at the hospital.  Jenna had an accident.  If her arm's broken, it will be a couple of hours--"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Seth, you don't have to come."

"I'll be there," he insisted before he ended the call.

Darcy attempted to watch the comedy on the television in the waiting room, absently rifled through the pages of an old magazine, unclasped the barrette that held her hair, slipping it into her pocket, and finally let her head loll back against the wall, closing her eyes. 

It only seemed like a few moments until a large, warm hand clasped hers.  She straightened.

"Tell me what happened."  Lines of worry bracketed Seth's mouth as he sat in the chair beside her.

He looked so good, bronze against his khakis and white knit shirt.  She was glad he'd come.  Unless, somehow he could use this against Marsha...  No.  He wouldn't do that.

She told him what had happened, ending with, "If only I'd moved the cookie jar onto the counter, this wouldn't have happened.  I usually remember when she comes over." 

"She'll be all right."  He put his arm around Darcy's shoulders and squeezed.  "Any little girl who can ride the roller coaster at the amusement park and wants to do it again, can overcome a fall."

"She told you she rode it?  Brad never should have let her.  He knows Marsha didn't want her to."

"Divorced partners usually don't agree on much.  They're so wrapped up in past grievances, they don't care who they hurt.  That's one of the reasons--"  He stopped abruptly.

"One of what reasons?" she asked softly, glad for something to take her mind from what was happening to Jenna.

Seth looked across the waiting area, removing himself to a place far away.  Darcy turned toward him.  "Seth?"

He swung his eyes back to hers.  "I got tired of the hate, the anger, the bitterness.  No one actually wins in a custody battle.  I fight for my client, my rival fights for the wife, the judge attempts to safeguard the interest of the child.  But lives already torn apart by divorce are shattered further.  I'm not sure it's worth the agony."

"But someone has to do it, and if you approach the situation with compassion--"

He cut in sharply.  "It's not like that.  I'm there to win.  To win, Darcy, not empathize.  I've had to be tough, sometimes ruthless."

She didn't understand.  "Why couldn't you work for everybody's good?"

"That isn't the way to prove men should have rights to their children."

This was the side of Seth she didn't know.  There had to be a reason for his driving ambition.  But he didn't trust her enough to let her understand his motives.  Suddenly she realized she didn't trust him or their growing relationship enough to tell him about her pregnancy four years ago.  But she did have to tell him.  Soon.

Seth covered her hand with his.  "I moved here to escape the rat race, to practice other aspects of law.  I was running fifty ways at once, not giving myself time to do anything but eat and drink custody cases.  I need this break.  And you're helping me learn how to relax again.  So let's not discuss my career."

They didn't have the opportunity to discuss anything else.  Chuck appeared, a smile brightening his rough features...until he saw Seth.  The smile vanished.

He spoke to Darcy.  "It's not broken, just sprained.  They're wrapping it now and she'll have to wear a sling.  In a couple of weeks, she'll be good as new."

Tears pricked in Darcy's eyes. 

Chuck again ignored Seth.  "Marsha said you should go on home.  We're going to stop and get a prescription filled, maybe get an ice cream cone.  It'll help take Jenna's mind off her arm."

"Can I see her before I go?"

"Sure.  The doctor's giving Marsha final instructions."

Darcy followed Chuck to Jenna's cubicle, gave her a hug and a kiss good night, then rejoined Seth.  Hundreds of thoughts raced through her mind, none of them pleasant.

Seth hooked his arm around her shoulders.  "Why don't you let me drive you home?  We can come back for your car tomorrow."

She ran her hand across her forehead.  "No.  I'm fine.  I'll drive myself."

"I'll follow you," he insisted.

She felt she had to say something about the way Chuck had treated him.  "I'm sorry Chuck was so cold.  He's not like that normally."

"I would be the same in his shoes, probably a lot more belligerent."  He kissed Darcy's temple.  "Let's go home."

Darcy parked in her garage and emerged onto her back porch, hurrying to open the door so she could dash through the house and open the front door for Seth.

As she was fumbling for the key, Seth's voice came from the back yard instead.  "Switch on the porch light and I'll put the ladder and paint in your shed.  Is it open?"

"Yes."  Darcy dug into her jean's pocket.  "Here's the key.  Will you lock it for me?"

In the darkening night shadows, Darcy saw Seth shift the ladder so he could also grasp the paint bucket handle, freeing his other hand.  He closed her hand over the key, lifted it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.  "I'll take care of everything out here.  You go in and relax."