Midnight Kiss (18 page)

Autumn continued to glare at her father. The man was uncouth. Didn’t he know that women weren’t supposed to go chasing after men? Then a smile curved her lips. Since when did she follow the norm? She was, after all, an O’Neil. “You’re right, Dad.” She opened the door to the house. “But I’m going to do it my way.”

Ten minutes later she stepped off the porch to the cheers and laughter of her entire family. Being dressed up as a turkey wasn’t as easy as she’d thought it would be. Huge orange plastic feet flapped with her every step, and goosebumps covered her legs clad only in orange tights. Feathers scattered in her wake as she strutted to the truck and opened the door. She realized she wouldn’t fit behind the wheel.

“Want me to drive?” Bain asked.

“Would you?” She threw him the keys. It took two of her brothers to lift her up into the cab of the pickup. “Thanks.” She placed the basket filled with the wooden eggs she and Thane had painted on the seat beside her.

She cheerfully waved good-bye to the crowd as Bain backed the truck out of the driveway.

#

Autumn placed the plastic beak over her nose and mouth and glanced down at her costume once more. It was show time. Nurse Harris had told her that Thane was in the dining hall with the residents. She looked at the double doors, tried to take a deep breath, and pushed open the doors. “Gobble, gobble, gobble.”

Squeals of laughter and delight filled the room.

She spotted Thane sitting with Paddy and Lillian. They were eating pumpkin pie. She ignored the rumble of hunger in her stomach as she strutted into the room. Feathers floated to the ground as she “gobbled” her way from resident to resident handing out brightly colored eggs.

Thane choked on a piece of pie when Autumn had made her entrance. He knew she had planned on handing out the eggs that night, but the costume had come as a shock. He laughed with the residents as she squeezed between tables and wheelchairs trying to avoid hands reaching out to pluck her bald. Feathers seem to be the coveted item of the hour.

“I’ve got a yellow one!”

“Mine’s pink.”

“Knock it off, you guys, and take your eggs,” Autumn pleaded. The way it was going, she would be the sickest-looking turkey in Virginia by the time she reached Thane’s table.

Thane calmly finished his pie, thinking Paddy had been right when he’d said Autumn would come. She was here, and she wasn’t leaving until he had had his say.

Autumn cast a quick glance at Thane as she strutted up to the last table-- his. She handed Beatrice and Harold their eggs, flapped her wings, and bowed as she presented Lillian with a charming pink egg. Autumn glared at Paddy as she reached into her basket for any old egg and thrust it into his hand.

Finally, with great care, she brought out a cloth-covered egg and slowly unwrapped it. Her fingers slightly trembled as she handed it to Thane.

Thane tenderly cradled the egg in his palm. Every eye in the room was on him as he silently read the fine inscription on the golden egg: “
What can I say? I’m a turkey. Forgive me. Love, A.
” He looked up into the love-filled eyes gazing back at him. Slowly he stood up and placed the egg in his pants pocket. He took the basket from Autumn’s fingers and handed it to Paddy with a wink. A wicked grin flashed across his face as he smoothly swept the turkey into his arms.

Cheers and laughter filled the hall as he carried his prize catch out of the dining hall.

Autumn clutched Thane’s neck and tried to keep her huge feet from hitting the walls as he carried her down the hall and into his office. She raised an eyebrow as he kicked the door shut and locked it.

He lowered his bundle and removed her beak. “Talk.”

Autumn nervously shifted her weight and studied the man who seemed more intent on removing her costume than listening to what she had to say. In a rush she said, “I’m not police material.”

#

Thane looked up from the knot on her costume he was trying to undo. “Explain.”

“I’m an O’Neil. All O’Neils are in law enforcement. I was the first to break tradition and resign.”

He removed the hood of her outfit and ran his fingers through her hair. “I love the feel of your hair.”

Autumn swallowed. “I’m a coward.”

Thane chuckled at the absurdity of her statement. He bent over her plastic feet. He refused to ask a woman dressed like Thanksgiving dinner to marry him.

She clutched at his shoulder for balance. The man wasn’t listening to her. “Really, Thane.”

He slipped the feet off and turned her around, looking for the zipper. “Tell me why you think you’re a coward.”

He lowered the zipper and helped her out of the outfit as she told the story of what had happened that star-studded night in a filthy New York alley. His hands trembled as he hauled her into his arms. She could have been killed. He might never have known her love. “Ah, baby, I’m sorry.”

She raised her mouth for his kiss. “You don’t think I am a coward?”

He brushed her lips with his thumb. “No, I think you were a very brave young woman who had happened to step into the wrong career.”

“But you’re a hero.”

The final piece of the puzzle fell into place. “No, love. I’m just a man who happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.” He glanced at the faded scars on his hand. If it hadn’t been for the accident, he would never have met her. “Or was it the right place at the right time?”

She raised his hand and pressed her lips to the faint marks. “I love you, Doctor Clayborne.”

He tenderly brushed her hair away from her cheek. She looked so desirable in the brown-and-orange leotard she had on under the costume. “I’m very glad you couldn’t pull the trigger.” The mere thought of her being in that alley was going to give him nightmares for a long time.

“Why?”

He kissed her enticingly moist lips. “How would it look for a doctor’s wife to go around shooting people?”

“Wife?”

Thane chuckled. “I’ve seen your brothers.” He kissed the surprised look from her mouth. “Besides, Paddy has threatened me with a rubber hose if I don’t make an honest woman out of you.”

She snuggled closer. “Don’t let my family intimidate you.”

He gently cupped her chin and gazed into her eyes. “Will you, Autumn O’Neil, do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“We will probably disagree a lot.”

“Undoubtedly.” He teased her lips with a sweet kiss.

“I would like to attend some art classes.”

He caught her lower lip between his teeth, then released it. “I’d pose nude for you anytime.”

“O’Neils tend to have large families.”

“I’ve noticed.” He bathed her dewy lip with his tongue.

“What about . . .”

He crushed her mouth with a heated kiss, then pulled away when his control started to slip. Three days without Autumn had been pure hell. “Dammit, Autumn, answer the question.”

Her sweet whisper moved across his lips. “Yes.” Imitating his loving attention, she captured his lower lip between her teeth, then slowly released it. “Yes.” Her tongue skillfully bathed his lower lip. “Yes.”

Thane’s control snapped as heat built to a feverish pitch. “We can’t go back to your place.” He pressed her hips against his straining arousal.

She rotated her hips and pulled his mouth back down toward hers. “There’s always your place.”

He cupped her bottom and groaned. “My parents are there.”

She ran her tongue around his ear. “Why?”

“They wanted to meet you.” His hands slipped up to her waist and cupped the gentle swelling of her breasts. Hard nipples strained against his palms. She wasn’t wearing a bra. “Autumn, you have to help me here.” He kissed her throat. “We can’t make love in my office.”

She pulled him deeper into the cradle of her thighs. Three nights without him was a powerful aphrodisiac. “Why not?”

“Unprofessional,” he muttered against her neck.

She chuckled and glanced around the room. “I’m not your patient.” Her fingers trembled with desire as she reached for the buckle on his pants. “Tell me, Doctor Clayborne, have you ever made love on an examination table?”

Night had gently fallen. Moonlight was bathing Maple Leaf and the brightly decorated eggs placed lovingly on nightstands and bureaus. The residents were all tucked in their beds for their well-deserved rest, and many of them dreamed of past loves, weddings, and happily-ever-afters. Earlier the dining hall had buzzed with their cheers and knowing smiles. They had all felt they had played a small part in the doctor and Autumn’s happiness. After all, if it wasn’t for them, the young couple would never have met.

The halls were dimly lit, and nurses were trying to keep awake through another night shift. Nurse Nagel left her chair to tack a notice on the announcement board. A smile softened her stern features. The Virginia Coalition of Retired Persons had listed Maple Leaf as the number-one facility for the elderly in the state.

A dark figure melted into the shadows and slowly made its way through the home. He bypassed three open doors before silently slipping into one.

He reached out a gentle hand into the darkness and tenderly brushed a wisp of white hair off Millicent’s pale cheek. Then he grazed her cheek with a soft kiss.

A smile curved the sleeping woman’s mouth while the mysterious intruder carefully placed a long-stemmed red rose on the edge of her pillow.

The dark figure backed away from the bed. A pale shaft of moonlight played across his face as he rounded the bed and silently headed back to the door. Cautiously Reko peered down the deserted hall before slipping out into its darkness.

The Kissing Bandit had struck again, bringing more than just a kiss and a rose. He left behind hope for another tomorrow.

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An excerpt from

Chickens! There must have been ten chickens and two geese running around in circles, squawking and clucking. More than the birds, though, the kids held Jason Nesbit’s attention. Seven of them were trying to catch the chickens; each was slipping and sliding and covered from head to toe in mud. It was a total free-for-all. Laughter and screams filled the air.

Every time the kids made a circle around the chickens, the chickens charged and the kids ended up in the mud as they tried to grab them. No one seemed to mind the mud. Everyone was having a ball. Jason couldn’t tell which were boys and which were girls, except the oldest.

Even with all that mud, he couldn’t mistake the generous fullness of her breasts or the enticing curve of her hips. He grinned as she landed on her well-shaped fanny once again. One of the little ones toddled over and calmly scooped up a handful of mud and dropped it down her back. He could hear the shrieks from where he stood, then he heard her laughter. The happy sound seemed to cascade over him, and he couldn’t tear his gaze from her. Then he pulled himself up short. He wasn’t there to ogle a young woman whom he presumed was Mrs. McCormick’s babysitter. He was there to find his daughter.

And where was she? He studied the boisterous children, but knew his daughter wasn’t among them. He’d been told Charleen had been traumatized by the accident that had killed her mother and stepfather. She wouldn’t be playing in the mud.

So where was she?

The babysitter was now crawling around on her hands and knees, pretending to be a mud monster and chasing the smallest children. One of the other kids jumped on her back, yelling “Giddy-up!” She bucked him off and pawed the air. Another kid jumped on to try his luck, but he met with the same result.

She trotted away from the children, over to a girl Jason hadn’t noticed before. She was small, perhaps only four years old, and her arms wrapped around the neck of the biggest Great Dane he had ever seen. Dressed in jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers, she was the only clean child there. Could this be . . . ?

The babysitter spoke to the girl and held out her arms. The girl shook her head and tightened her grip on the dog, then gazed across the backyard at Jason.

Lightning shot through him when he saw her eyes. His eyes. She had his silver eyes. Oh, God, this was his daughter. Charleen. Impulsively, he started forward.

Riki McCormick noticed Charlie staring at something, then caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A man was walking toward her, around the corner of the back porch. Oh, no, she thought. It couldn’t be. She shaded her eyes to get a better look and frowned. It would be him. With all the rotten luck, why now? She glanced down at the mud caked on her body. Her band of Munchkins looked just as bad. There was nowhere to hide. There wasn’t a rock big enough for her to crawl under, let alone with six children. Chin up, old girl, she told herself. What was the worst he could do? Take Charlie, and he was going to do that anyway.

There was no mistake, she thought. That had to be Jason Nesbit, Charlie’s father. The resemblance was astonishing. He had stopped walking when he saw her watching him, and she took a moment to study him. She judged him to be about six feet tall. He was wearing black trousers and a white short-sleeved shirt. In the shade of the porch his hair looked black, and it was a bit longer than a typical businessman’s. She wasn’t positive, but she’d bet he had the same silver eyes as his daughter. The major difference between the two was Jason Nesbit had a smile playing across his face and Charlie never smiled. With a glance at the girl, Riki gave a loud, high-pitched whistle that quieted everyone immediately. All seven children faced her and waited.

“Kids, I believe we have company. Up to the porch, everybody. Travis, please help Jake.” Riki reached down for Billy-Jo’s hand and they slowly made their way to the back porch.