Uncharted Waters (10 page)

“What's wrong?” he asked.

Alison gave him a killing look, then her gaze swept to Kimberly. “Get him out of here. Don't let him in again. I'm going to check on Kevin.”

Drew watched her walk to the rear bedroom, felt the worry begin to pound through him with every beat of his heart. He looked helplessly at Kimberly. “What happened?”

Her shoulders lifted slightly as she took a breath, then she let out a long, measured sigh. “We had to take Kevin to the emergency room earlier.”

She might as well have slugged him with a bat. For an instant, Drew wasn't sure he'd heard her right. “Emergency room? What happened? Is he all right?”

“He's fine. But he had a bad asthma attack during dinner. The inhaler wasn't working. He just got tight and couldn't breathe.”

“He's all right now?” he asked.

Kimberly nodded. “He's fine. The doctor gave him some medication. He's sleeping.”

“Jesus.” Drew felt his own hand shake when he scrubbed it over his jaw. “Is there anything I can do?”

She shook her head. “I think she wants you to leave.”

“I want to make this right.”

“You'll have to take that up with her.”

“I'm not leaving until I see him.” The words were out even before he realized how badly he wanted to see the little boy.

“Drew—”

“Look, I...” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I care about them, okay?”

She gave him a long, lingering look, then sighed.
“She's really angry with you. She'll kill me if I let you go back there.”

“I'll take full responsibility.”

She looked toward the heavens as if to ask for strength, then stepped back and motioned toward the dimly lit hall. “He's sleeping, so be quiet. And don't stay too long.”

Drew walked to the bedroom at the end of the hall. Alison stood next to the bed. He could feel her quietly furious gaze burn into him when he entered the room, but he didn't let it deter him. A Spider-Man night-light next to the bed cast yellow light over Kevin's sleeping form. The sound of the little boy's breathing was regular and very reassuring. Drew wasn't an expert on asthma, but as an EMT, he knew an attack could be very serious. Even fatal. Seeing Kevin lying safe and sound in his bed was an enormous relief.

Drew watched Alison walk over to the bed and bend to kiss her son's cheek and tug the covers over his shoulders. For the first time he noticed that she was wearing a dress. It was a simple summer dress the color of coral. Not revealing in any way, but the silky fabric clung nicely to her slender body. Her shoulders were bare and her skin looked incredibly soft. She wore low-heeled sandals, and he couldn't help but notice that her toenails were the color of a hibiscus.

Drew knew he shouldn't be thinking of how sexy she looked when they were standing in her son's bedroom and she was angry with him. But for the life of him he couldn't keep the thoughts from his head.

Carefully avoiding looking at her, he walked over to the bed and turned his attention to Kevin. The boy looked small and vulnerable cuddled with a ratty
stuffed bear and his one-armed Spider-Man figure. He wasn't sure why that got to him, but it did.

The need to keep this precious child safe moved through him like the deep ache of a broken bone. Before even realizing he was going to touch him, Drew reached down and brushed the hair back from his forehead. “Was he upset because I didn't show?” he whispered to Alison.

“He was disappointed.”

“I'm sorry. I just—”

“I can deal with you hurting me, Drew.” Her voice was low, quietly angry. “But, damn you, don't you ever hurt my son.”

Shame cut him. He'd disappointed this sweet child. A child who'd already had his share of disappointments in his short life. He'd let down Alison. A woman he cared for and respected. A woman who'd known far too much pain already.

“The asthma attack was my fault, wasn't it?”

She met his gaze levelly. “No.”

But the guilt slapped him like a cold hand, anyway. Feeling like a loser, he glanced down at the boy, spoke to him even though the child was sleeping soundly. “Sorry I didn't make it tonight, sprout.”

He wanted to pull him close, but didn't want to wake him, wasn't sure he trusted his emotions. For some crazy reason he didn't want Alison to know just how much this had shaken him. “Tell me what happened,” he said.

“Kevin didn't respond to his medication the way he usually does,” she replied. “It's happened before and has nothing to do with you.”

Intellectually Drew knew he wasn't to blame. But on an emotional level, he couldn't help but feel
responsible. He should have had the courage to face Alison, to face what he'd done. If something terrible had happened to that sweet little boy...

“I'd like to make it up to him,” he said.

“That's not a good idea. And I really don't want you to feel obligated.”

He glanced over at her, saw the anger, the wariness, the way her eyes sparkled in the dim light. “I don't feel obligated. I want to make it up to him. I mean it, Alison. I feel terrible for not showing. For not calling.” He glanced down at the little boy. “He's a great kid.”

For the first time her eyes softened. “Yes, he is.”

“I just... What happened between us earlier...” He grappled for words. “I didn't know how to handle it. Then I got busy with the tour.” He shrugged. “It was easier to stay away.”

She contemplated him with a cool gaze and a silence that was as cold as ice. At that moment, Drew thought he'd never felt so much like a reprobate in his entire life.

“This isn't about you, Drew. It isn't even about me. It's about Kevin.”

“I know. I screwed up. I'm sorry.”

“If you're doing this out of some sense of guilt, don't bother. Don't feel sorry for him because he has asthma. Don't feel sorry for him because he doesn't have a dad. He's happy. He doesn't need your pity.”

He considered her words, accepted them because he knew she was right. “I don't feel sorry for him, Alison.”

She let out a shuddery breath, and some of the tension eased.

“I want to make it up to him,” he said after a moment.

“You don't have to do that.”

“I know. I want to. If you'll let me.” He looked over at Kevin, thinking of his own childhood, then shot Alison a steady look. “Has he ever been deep sea fishing?”

“Oh, um, his uncle Roger—my brother—took him fishing once when we went to visit him in San Diego.”

“So he knows the basics?”

“He knows how to hold the pole.”

“Good enough.” He studied her, suddenly aware that they were in a small bedroom with the lights dimmed—and that her protective older sister was undoubtedly hovering in the hall with a shotgun. “Can he go out on a boat with the asthma?”

“As long as he takes his medication, has his inhaler on hand and a backup.”

“Sounds doable. I mean, as long as it's all right with you.”

When she didn't respond, he looked over at her. She was still pale, but her lack of color didn't diminish the power behind her vivid blue gaze. She was protecting her son, and that had brought out a sharp edge in her he hadn't seen before. An edge he admired very much.

“Kimberly has to get to work at the hospital.” She started toward the door.

Drew followed her into the living room, wondering if she was going to let him make things right with Kevin, wanting that, he knew, more than was wise.

“He's sleeping,” Alison told her sister.

Kimberly looked up from her place on the sofa. “Good.” Her gaze went from Alison to Drew and then back to Alison. “You didn't get dinner. You should get something to eat.”

Alison started to wave the statement away, but
Kimberly stopped her. “Why don't you two go get a bite to eat?” she suggested.

Alison frowned. “Don't you have to get to the hospital for your shift?”

“I just called my supervisor. The day shift nurse is filling in for me, so I can stay with Kevin long enough for you and Drew to go out and get a bite to eat.” Kimberly shot Drew a pointed look. “She hasn't eaten since breakfast. She faints when she's hungry.”

“Faints?” Drew echoed.

“I do not faint,” Alison snapped.

“I remember at least one occasion—”

“Oh, for Pete's sake, that was in high school.”

Kimberly raised her hand and pointed at Drew, daring him to argue with her. “Take her to get something to eat. Kevin will be fine here with me.”

Drew shrugged. “Yes, ma'am.”

“I'm not hungry,” Alison said.

Kimberly rolled her eyes. “You haven't had dinner, Al. You skipped lunch.” She looked at Drew. “She doesn't ever get out. She loves seafood. Take it easy on the wine. She's a lightweight.”

“Kimberly, I don't want to leave Kevin—”

“If you can't leave your son with his aunt—who happens to be a registered nurse—then you'll be in big trouble when the time comes for kindergarten.” Rising, she shooed Drew and Alison toward the door. “I think I have it covered, guys.” She glanced at Drew. “The Reef serves food until eleven o'clock. I recommend the grilled snapper. Stay away from the Caesar salad—the dressing's a bit too strong.”

After the cool reception Drew had received from her a few minutes earlier, he was surprised by the way she was practically pushing them out the door. Either she'd
changed her mind about him or decided that she'd made her point clear enough so that he would think twice about screwing up a second time.

Considering the way Alison looked in that dress, he wasn't quite as optimistic.

A
lison let herself be shoved out the door, then stood on the front porch staring at the closed door for several seconds, trying to decide if she was angry or amused or both.

“I think we've just been ordered to go to dinner,” Drew said.

“Looks that way.”

“After meeting your sister I'm surprised she let you out of the house with me.”

She glanced over at him, and chuckled. “She raked you over the coals pretty thoroughly?”

“Well done on both sides.”

“She's a little overprotective. I mean, since Rick.”

He looked away at the mention of Rick.

“She doesn't mean anything by it. It's just that after Mom died she sort of appointed herself my guardian. She's never caught on that I don't need one.”

“Maybe she thinks you need protecting from men like me.”

“Do I?”

“Probably.”

Her heart beat a little faster as she contemplated him. “She must have liked you.”

He looked away for a moment, then turned his gaze back to her. “You don't really faint when you haven't eaten, do you?”

“It happened once. But it was a long time ago.”

“Maybe we ought to get something to eat. Just to be safe.”

“I
am
a little hungry.” She shrugged, trying to get comfortable with the idea of having dinner with Drew, but not quite managing. How did a woman have a comfortable dinner with a man who'd kissed her totally senseless just hours earlier?

“It's not like this is a
date,
or anything,” she said.

“Definitely not a date.”

“It's just dinner between two friends.” Two friends who'd shared a kiss hot enough to melt the lipstick right off her mouth.

“Exactly.” He motioned toward his truck parked curbside. “Shall we?”

Mustering a smile, Alison started down the sidewalk. Drew fell into step beside her. She was keenly aware of his size. The scent of his aftershave on the balmy night air. His proximity. When her heart began to dance a jig beneath her breast, she reminded herself that this was just a simple dinner. They could get caught up on a few things. Discuss the fishing excursion Drew had in mind for Kevin. Maybe even do a little reminiscing about the old days.

If only she could stop thinking about that blasted kiss...

* * *

The Reef was an open-air restaurant on the south end of Biscayne Bay. It offered a stunning view of the water, an atmosphere that was distinctly South Florida and the best grilled snapper in the state. Alison's stomach rumbled at the aromas of exotic marinades, fresh-baked bread and sizzling seafood.

It was exactly the kind of restaurant she would have
frequented if she ever took the time to dine out. Elegant without being snobbish. Comfortable without losing its class. It was a place where people came to enjoy the atmosphere as much as the food. After what had happened between her and Drew this afternoon, she found herself wishing it weren't quite so...intimate.

The maître d' led them through a set of French doors to the wood plank balcony at the rear of the restaurant where a scattering of tables overlooked the vast expanse of Biscayne Bay. The lights from downtown Miami shimmered silver and gold on the water. Alison could smell the earthy scent of the sea. She could hear the slap of a restless tide against the piers. She could see, a few yards out, the red and green running lights of a large vessel as it slid gracefully through the water, its engines rumbling like distant thunder.

“This is nice,” Alison said, once their waiter had taken their orders and left.

“I've never eaten here, but I've heard this is where the locals come for the best snapper in town.”

The waiter returned to pour sauvignon blanc into two long-stemmed glasses, waited for a nod from Drew and then hustled away from the table.

Inexplicably nervous, Alison leaned against the back of her chair and ordered herself to relax. This is Drew, she told herself. Solid. Predictable. Honorable. The same Drew she'd known for six years. But the internal reassurance did little to calm her frazzled nerves. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. The way he'd looked at her when he'd held her face in his hands. The way her own body had responded.