Shattered Dreams (Moonchild) (10 page)

“Dr. Lockley’s office. Can I help you?”

“Is Manon available?”

“Who’s calling?”

“Rafe
Marshall.”

“Is there a problem?” A chill note crept into the woman’s voice. “Is Mrs. Patton in trouble?”

“No problems. I need to explain something to Manon.”

“You need to explain a lot.”

Had his cohort turned enemy? Her sharp tone angered him. He felt like a child being forced to confess to misdeed. He wasn’t telling this woman a thing. “I’d like to speak to her.”

“She’s booked solid today. I can take a message.”

Would she pass one on? Rafe tapped his fingers on the desk. “I’ll catch her later. Just what do you think I’ve done?” The answer might give him a place to begin with Manon.

“Took a bribe from her father to stand her up the night of the prom. To leave town and not return.”

“What?  The man never offered me a cent and if he had,  I wouldn’t have taken a penny from him.”

“Then why did you leave?”

Rafe closed his mount on the words that nearly emerged. “That’s for Manon’s ears. I’ll call her later.” He banged the receiver in the cradle.

“Problems?” a sultry voice asked.

Rafe looked up to see Janice Moore lounging in the doorway. Just who he didn’t want to see. “None I can’t solve.”

She strolled inside and closed the door. A sense of being in a trap hit Rafe. What did she want? Scratch that question. She wanted what she wouldn’t receive.

“Maybe I can help you.” She glided around the desk. “A group of us are getting together after work for drinks. Come with us.”

“Don’t think so.”

“Why not?” She ran a finger along his arm. “A friend told me you were quite the party boy.”

Her predatory gaze caused the hair at his nape to rise. “Your friend doesn’t know me.”

“Sure he does. Said he knew you in high school where you and Dr. Lockley were quite an item.” She ran her tongue over her lower lip. “You broke her heart when you roared out of town on your prom night."

“Tom Sands was not a friend.”

She leaned closer. “He said you knew how to show a woman a good time. Said he admired your technique but I won’t believe it’s that good without a demonstration. Tonight?”

Rafe stiffened. Those damned pictures. He remembered Manon’s father had flashed them. Had Tom’s been the finger on the shutter? The man deserved a beating. What if Manon heard? How far had the story spread?

“He lied.”

Janice frowned. “There’s no sense mooning after Dr. Lockley. She and Tom are engaged.”

Rafe laughed. “Really. News to me.”

She edged closer. “I can make you forget.”

“Sorry. I have plans.”

She leaned forward and ran her tongue across his lips. “I could change your mind.”

Rafe grasped her arms and moved her back. “A warning, Ms. Moore. Wise up. I’ve heard you’re a good nurse and that’s why Mrs. Patton has kept you on staff. I won’t.”

She straightened. “I see.”

“I hope you do.”

She walked to the door. “Wait until I tell Tom you didn’t bite.”

When the door closed behind her, Rafe rose and paced the room. The minute his day ended he had to see Manon. He would camp outside her office until she listened.

Chapter
7

After examining the last patient of the day, Manon wanted to go home and collapse. Yet she couldn’t. She had a ton of notes to be added to the records while they were fresh. She walked down the hall so the elderly man could dress. Leaning against the wall, she drew a deep breath. Would this day ever end?

She pushed away from the wall and entered the reception area.

Emma rose. “Long day.”

“What about tomorrow?” Manon asked.

“Busy but not as hectic.” Emma reached for her purse. “Let me head out. Class in half an hour.”

Manon gestured to the door. “There’s no place I need to be.” She held back a sigh. Her life had fallen into a pattern and the rut grew deeper every day. Home, hospital, office, patients and home again. Since Emma had started the nurse practitioner’s program there’d been just one ladies’ night.

She pushed the feel-sorry-for-herself thoughts away. In the past few days, the potential for change had happened. Rafe and sex had seemed a good idea. Then last night, he’d walked away. What was wrong with her?

“You all right?” Emma asked. “I could skip class and get notes from someone. We could go to dinner.”

“Though I’d enjoy going to dinner, go to class. I’ll be so glad when you’re finished and join the practice.”

“One year.” Emma opened the door. “Are you sure you want me? What about Rafe
Marshall?”

“He’s not a nurse practitioner. Why would he want to work with me?” Manon spread her hands on the desk. He had shown last night that he didn’t want to be with her. “I doubt he’ll be in town for long. Last time he remained two years.”

Emma returned to the desk. “Don’t be so sure. He called earlier. He wants to talk to you.”

Manon’s gaze slid to the appointment book to hide the pain she knew was in her eyes. “He wants to talk about a time best forgotten.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Emma grinned. “I yelled at him. Told him about the money he’d take from your father. That surprised him. Totally denied taking anything. Maybe the person who told you lied.”

“I can’t remember who was the first to speak of the money but Tom enjoys reminding me.”

“Talk to Rafe.”

“I don’t want to know why he left.”

“I think you do.”

Manon glared at her friend. “I don’t want to relive those dreadful days.” She grabbed a prescription pad. “Go before I push you out the door.”

“See you tomorrow.” Emma opened the door. “Think about listening to the man.”

Manon drew a deep breath. Why? Who would want to dredge up what had been the most painful time they had ever lived. She bit her lower lip remembering the angry tears she had shed. Tears she didn’t want to cry now.

Mr. Greene stopped at the desk, “You okay?”

She handed him the prescriptions and smiled. The elderly man had been her favorite high school teacher. “Never better. See you in a month. Do you want to make an appointment now or call?”

“Better call. Never know what the wife has planned. She’d talking about visiting the kids next month.”

“You’ll enjoy that.”

“Certainly will.”

When the door closed behind him, she walked to her office, opened the computer and one by one typed the notes on each of the twenty-two patients she’d seen since ten fifteen this morning. She looked from her jotted notes to the screen. She had reached the final one the bang of the door startled her.

A gasp escaped.
Fool.
She should have locked the door after Mr. Greene left.
Nothing ever happens in Fern Lake.
Those words offered no comfort. She pulled her cell phone free. Her finger hovered over the speed dial to 911. Who had arrived?

Would Tom dare? Why wouldn’t he leave her alone? She feared the answer. What she’d glimpsed in his eyes troubled her. If he had changed from a bumbling pest to an enraged stalker she was in trouble.

She sensed someone in the doorway but couldn’t force herself to look up. “What are you doing here? I told you to find another doctor.”

“I came to tell you why I left last night
.”

Relief that he wasn’t Tom made her drop the phone. She had no desire to talk to Rafe either. Desolation returned. He had walked away. “Why bother? Abandoning me is your habit.”

He placed his hands on the desk. “Wasn’t what you thought.”

“Do you read minds?”

“No and neither do you.” He cleared his throat. “A noise woke me. I saw Tom messing with my bike. Gathered my clothes, dressed and went to confront him.”

“You took everything. Didn’t seem like you planned to return.”

“Left my gloves. Keys were in my jacket pocket. Had to be sure he hadn’t done anything to cause an accident. He didn’t harm the bike but cracked my helmet.”

She stared at him. Was he telling the truth? “Did you fight?”

“Hardly. He made some threats and ran off. He’s a coward.”

“Why didn’t you return to the house?”

“Tried. Door was locked."

Manon giggled. “You could have called me.”

A hint of red colored his cheeks. “And explained to your answering service why I wanted them to wake you. ‘Ma’am, I was in her bed and had to check my bike. Locked myself out.’”

“You could have found a good explanation.”

“Maybe but there was another problem. No protection. Being around you makes me want you.”

Those words brought a rush of desire. He wanted her. She wanted him.

He sat on one of the chairs across from the desk. “Is Tom a stalker?”

Manon shrugged. “I’m not sure. I thought he was just a man who doesn’t understand no.”

“How long has this been going on?”

"Forever.”

“I mean recently or did he travel to Europe with you and your father?

Manon shuddered. “That would have been horrible
. He tried when I was in med school but my schedule prevented that. He returned to Fern Lake in January after my father died.”

“Was Tom afraid of your father?”

Manon frowned. “He insisted he was the favorite.”

Rafe straightened. “Didn’t realize your father had any.”

“Certainly never anyone I liked.”

Rafe pushed to his feet and rounded the desk. “Listen to me. There are things you need to know.”

Manon pressed her lips into a firm line. Being this close to him plus the memories of last night sent her desire roaring through her veins with the force of a flash flood. Those recollections of the fabulous sex brought a need for him to the surface. “What do I need to know? Already know about the accident and the aftermath. I’m sorry they happened. I know why you left.”

“Do you?” He glared. “Did you know Tom’s telling everyone you and he are engaged?”

“In his dreams.”

“I hope he doesn’t become a true danger when he realizes the truth.”

She looked up. “Why would he be?”

“Stalkers can be dangerous.”

Manon shook her head. “I can handle him.” Rafe was the one she couldn’t. She couldn’t deal with the things he made her feel.

Rafe crossed his arms. “There are things I must tell you.”

She clenched her fists. “The past is gone. We were two kids who were carried away by hormones and fairy tales. Now we’re adults who had sex.”

“We made love.”

She leaned forward. “The sex was great, especially when it’s been some time for me.” She groaned. Why had she said that? She wanted him. Talking about their physical encounter as love led to places she didn’t want to visit.

“You need to know what happened.” With a quick move he pulled her from the chair and into his arms. His mouth covered hers.

The thrill of the encounter confused her. How could she feel this intense desire when she knew what he’d done? Someone, either her father or Tom had told her about the money. Money or not, Rafe had left town allowing her father the control he wanted until the inheritance from her mother had come through and she’d chosen her own life.

What if that tale had been a lie? Nothing had changed. Rafe had left. She couldn’t take a chance he wouldn’t leave again.

She wrenched her mouth free. “The past made me what I am today. Talking changes nothing.” She smiled. “The sex was exceptional. We can continue that way until one of us becomes bored.”

He shook his head. “Won’t work. We need to put the past to rest so we can have a future.”

Some note in his voice, some odd feeling in her gut made her want to believe.
Not doing that.
“Sex is better than talk.” She met his gaze. “Come with me.”

“Anywhere.”

She walked to the examining she needed to clean. After pulling new paper over the padded surface of the table she gathered the used equipment and tossed them in the trash.

Rafe stood in the doorway. “Enough avoidance. I must tell you why I left. What you were told was lies.”

Manon stepped toward him and pressed her mouth against his. She didn’t want to hear another word. If they talked, her simmering anger would boil over. She’d worked hard to bury resentment of Rafe and her father. She had questions. She had suspicions. Her father had died without providing facts.

As she ran her tongue over Rafe’s lips, a shock rolled along her spine. He always made her feel this energetic excitement. She stroked his arms and shoulders seeking deeper intimacy. She wanted him and from the hard thrust of his hips against her belly he wanted her.