Full Circle (4 page)

“That’s very generous.”

“If you want to call it that.” She sighed and stared into space. After a moment, she focused on him, waving her hand toward the kitchen. “Do you want a drink? I’m sure I’ve got a beer or something.”

He shook his head. These formal niceties were driving him insane. He had seen her in her pajamas at midnight, curled up on the couch watching a movie with Brett, who’d spent most of the time on his laptop checking email. When she had the flu, Liam found her pale, red-eyed and miserable after
he
skipped class to go to the drugstore and take medicine to her room—because Brett had been busy helping some other girl “study”.

For God’s sake, they had made love. She didn’t have anything left to hide from him.

“All I want is for you to stop playing this game.”

She froze in the doorway to the kitchen then faced him, her expression wary. “What game?”

“The one where we don’t know each other.”

“Of course we know each other. I never said we didn’t.”

“I never got a chance to tell you today, but I’m very sorry about your loss. I didn’t get the news.”

You never told me.

“It’s all right. It was a long time ago.”

She didn’t look all right, and she avoided his eyes. Since her mind was on the past, he might as well pull the trigger.

“Where did you go, Elisa? And what happened to Brett? Did he finally do something bad enough to make you leave him?”

“He left me.” Her voice rose, her defenses up. “Trust me, I wish I’d been smart enough to leave him instead.”

Liam would be first in line to agree with that, but now wasn’t the time to insult her. That deadbeat Brett could go to hell. He hated that he had once considered the guy a friend.

He stepped closer to her. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Guess I just never understood what you saw in him.”

She shrugged. “We were young. He was cute, I was naïve…you know the drill. Women have sex to get love, men give love to have—”

“He hit you. Is that your definition of love?”

Elisa jolted, as if right then, Liam had done the same thing.

“He did once,” she admitted then quickly added, “He said he was sorry. It never happened again.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed. He’d lived with the guy. He knew his temper. “It would have.”

She sighed. “I don’t know, and I don’t care. Besides, where were you if you were so concerned about me?”

“You moved in with Brett. Your choice was clear.”

“I thought I loved him. I thought he would be a good provider—”

“I know. You stayed with him because he knocked you up. You should have kicked him out the moment you lost the baby.”

She blinked. Her whole body shook. “That’s none of your business.”

It wasn’t. He’d gone too far, and he needed to end this conversation before his frustration got the best of him, if it hadn’t already. He couldn’t stand listening to her defend her relationship with a guy who had lied to her, cheated on her, laid his hands on her for the purpose of causing pain—then got her pregnant and ran off. It was a blessing in disguise that she didn’t have to spend her life raising Brett’s kid. Someday, she would get a chance to make a baby with someone who actually gave a damn about both of them.

He nodded. “You’re right. Again, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“Liam, I didn’t mean—”

His pager went off. He yanked it out of his pocket so fast he nearly dropped it. Anything to avoid listening to more of her excuses.

“It’s your brother,” he said then glanced at his watch. Almost nine o’clock.

Elisa seemed equally relieved for the distraction. “You better take it. Could be an emergency at the clinic.”

He placed a call to Justin, during which Justin spoke a couple of rushed sentences and hung up before Liam had a chance to answer. His concern must have been on his face though, because Elisa jumped in front of him the second he hung up.

“What’s wrong?”

He sighed. “It’s not the clinic. Justin’s taking Laura to the ER. She—”

“Oh my God! And he didn’t call
me
? Who’s taking care of the boys?”

“Laura’s sister. He didn’t want you to worry. He just wants me to know where he is in case he doesn’t show up at work tomorrow.”

She shoved her feet into the nearest pair of shoes. “Which hospital?”

“Elisa, he said it’s probably ligament pain or something. They’re just going to be on the safe side, you don’t have to—”

“Or something could be horribly wrong. I’m going.
Which
hospital?”

She looked terrified. Once again, he was certain she was thinking about her miscarriage—which he still hadn’t gotten a chance to ask her about—and she didn’t need to drive a car with that much on her mind.

“I’ll take you there if you’re that worried,” he answered.

“No!” Her lids flew open wide. “I’ll be fine. I’d rather go alone.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” She was already out the door.

He followed her, told her name of the hospital Justin had mentioned then watched her taillights disappear around the corner before heading back to his place. What had happened in her life nine years ago? Though he’d sworn he was finished shielding her from Brett’s actions, if violence had caused the loss of Elisa’s pregnancy, the guy had a jail cell waiting for him. One way or another, Liam had to find out.

Chapter Three

Elisa returned from class the next evening and found her front door unlocked. What in the world…?

Her heart pounded. She left the door ajar and backed away, fumbling in her purse for her cell phone. She’d lived alone long enough to know she should call for help rather than walk inside, but her hands shook so badly that even after she grabbed the phone, she couldn’t aim well enough to press 9-1-1.

“Elisa, is that you?”

Her finger froze over the keypad. The familiar male voice had come from the house.

“I’m in the kitchen,” he called.

She exhaled heavily and put the phone away. An intruder wouldn’t announce his location—and that was Liam’s voice.

She hoped he wouldn’t pick on her about leaving so quickly last night. She had, of course, seen him at the clinic earlier, but so far she’d succeeded in keeping their discussions professional during work hours. She hadn’t yet admitted to him that she’d driven to the hospital in Austin, a trip of forty-five minutes each way even without traffic, only to find out that Laura had a case of false contractions and everything was fine. Oh, and she’d also scored a lecture from Justin—the same one she’d heard a few dozen times—about overreacting to every little thing with the baby. Her brother had paged Liam thinking he was at his own house and had never intended to tell Elisa about the trek to the emergency room.

That bothered her a lot. Her own false contractions had ended up being very real and led to emergency cesarean delivery of a baby not developed enough to survive. She wasn’t overreacting. She was being prepared, and Justin should appreciate her experience, not keep her in the dark.

When she entered her home and saw Liam lying on the kitchen floor, his head and arms stuck inside the cabinet beneath the sink, Elisa cursed her brother yet again.

Damn him. She’d complained for months about the repairs that needed to be done around the house. Instead of dragging his butt over to help her fix them, Justin had put his spare key to what he considered to be good use. After last night’s fiasco, she would make sure to get it back from Liam before she took any more baths.

“What is going on in there?” she asked when he stopped banging on…whatever he was banging on.

He waved a wrench in greeting. “The leaky faucet is about to leak no more.”

“You’re a regular Mr. Fix-It.”

“I can be quite the handyman.”

“You scared me to death. I thought you were a burglar. Where’s your car?”

“I walked. Sorry to scare you. Justin said you wouldn’t be home until later.”

Ha! She’d been right—her evil brother had plotted this surprise. Good thing class had ended early today so she could bust him.

Liam continued his assault on her pipes. Elisa tossed her books onto the sofa and then joined him in the kitchen. He was flat on his back, his denim-clad legs bent and spread. She opened the fridge and stuck her head inside its cool interior longer than necessary before grabbing two sodas and placing them on her mother’s old kitchen table.

She didn’t know whether to appreciate his help or be annoyed that he had resumed the caretaker role, even though this time he was fending off water damage instead of a selfish boyfriend. She opted for the former, hoping he would take it as a sign that she enjoyed his company more than she let on. As a kid, she had made a lot of mistakes, but the way she’d treated Liam was one she could fix. He had proven many times that he didn’t deserve her blowing him off as a nice guy, a face in the crowd.

He was so much more than that.

“So what are you doing here, Liam Barton?”

The rhythmic grinding of the wrench stopped again. “What? I just told you. Fixing your faucet.”

“No, I mean, what are you doing
here
. In Windy Flats. Sounds to me like you were making quite the living back in Dallas.”

He dropped his tools and emerged from beneath the sink, quirking an eyebrow at her. “Been talking with your brother?”

“Yep. After I told him about you spying on me in the bath, he was willing to tell me anything I wanted to hear.”

Liam stared in horror. “I didn’t see you in the—”

He stopped then cracked a smile, looking more relieved than amused at her joke. “That’s funny,” he said. “I’m more inclined to believe that if Justin heard anything about you being naked, he’d run from the room before you had time to ask one question.”

Hearing him use the word
naked
, in reference to her no less, gave her goose bumps and distracted her from his playful jab. She took a swig of her drink and swiped at her forehead.

He joined her at the table, reaching for the unopened can. “Thanks.”

She nodded, lost in another ridiculous fantasy involving Dr. Liam Barton and the kitchen table.

Something must be wrong with her. Why was her temperature rising about a hundred degrees? She hadn’t been attracted to a man in years. But yesterday at work, his finger on her chin had made her toes curl. Chins and toes were unrelated, she was sure. And those blue eyes…she couldn’t remember the last time a man’s eyes had made her want to lose control instead of run in the other direction.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She could remember—it was the night she’d spent with him.

“Actually,” he continued, interrupting her reverie, “you’re right. Money was good in Dallas, but money isn’t everything. My life was nonstop work. Not to mention twenty-nine is a little old to be hanging around bars. I’d like to settle down and this town seems like a great place to do it.”

Elisa cringed. Laura had been right about him, and so had she—he dreamed of becoming a dad soon, she was sure of it.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night,” he said, his voice suddenly quieter.

“Are you kidding? I stand naked in front of my window all the time.”

There was that word again. Must have been a Freudian slip. She hadn’t been quite nude—thankfully. But Liam made her feel so exposed and vulnerable, the robe hadn’t provided much comfort.

In spite of the summer heat, she usually left her bedroom window cracked at night so she could hear the breeze and the neighbor’s wind chimes. For years, the noise had calmed her and kept her mind from wandering to things like Brett, Liam and the baby so she could sleep. From now on, she’d have to remember to close the curtains during any mad rushes to the bathtub. And get back that spare key.

“I’m talking about the discussion,” Liam said. “I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

Oh. That.

“It’s no big deal,” she replied, trying hard to believe it. “In fact, I wanted to show you the rest of the house, but I, um, had to leave. I guess Justin told you everything is okay with Laura and the baby?”

“Yes. I’m glad to hear it.”

He fell silent but left his gaze trained on her, like he wanted to say something else. Every time he looked at her like that, so seriously, she knew what was on his mind.

She couldn’t let him ask her what happened. If he did, she would have to make up an answer, and she did not want to lie to his face. He didn’t deserve that—not that he deserved to be unaware that he’d fathered her child, but the child hadn’t made it and there was no point bringing that up nine years after the fact.

“Would you like that tour now?” she blurted when he opened his mouth to speak.

He closed his lips and smiled, letting her change the subject. “Sure.”

“This way.”

She got up and walked to the living room, with him following. But as she stood in the middle of the house, a sad feeling settled inside her. She was about to give the world’s most boring tour, because she had nothing to say about the place. She hadn’t bothered to do anything with it that would make it her own—she had only focused on how soon she could leave.

“This place looks barely lived in. Have you been here long?”

She sighed. Liam had noticed the lackluster environment. How could he not? Her parents’ thirty-year-old furniture didn’t come with a lot of personality. Or color. She really should have done something about all that green.

“Nine years. I’ve been in Windy Flats since I left school.”

He opened his mouth again then closed it, and resigned to nod. No doubt he was too stunned to respond.

Elisa hurried to explain her strange living habits. “But I’ve only been in this house for five of those years. I spent the first few with my parents. They live in Florida now.” She hesitated then nodded toward the stairs. “Let me show you the second floor. That’s where I spend most of my time. I only come down here to cook.”

“I see.” Liam fell in behind her. The wooden steps creaked beneath his weight, and she raised her voice so he could hear her while she talked in front of him.

“I’m grateful that my parents have given me a rent-free place to live,” she said. “But since they own the house and I live so close to Justin, well, that has plenty of disadvantages.”