LITMIR.BIZ

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move, seemingly to enjoy the way she formed a tight sheath around him, his eyes burning deeply into hers.

      Then he pumped up and down until the fiery explosion hit them at the same time. Moments later he lay limp on her with her arms clasped tightly around him.

      “Am I too heavy?” he whispered at last, his breath caressing her ear.

      “No.”

      “Oh, but I am.” He chuckled, then rolled over so that she was now on top of him.

      She leaned down, kissed him, and said in an awed voice, “I can’t believe you’re still inside me.”

      “Me, either, especially since all the lead’s gone out of my pencil.”

      She giggled and kissed him again.

      Suddenly his gaze darkened on her. “Know what?”

      “I know lots of whats,” she said in a teasing voice. “One of them is that I love you.”

      “I love you, too, so much that I got carried away and didn’t use a condom.”

      For several seconds, silence fell between them.

      “Are you mad at me?” he asked.

      “No,” Molly responded, feeling her brows gather in a frown. “It takes two to tango, as the saying goes.”

      “Right, but I should’ve been more responsible.”

      “Shh. It’s okay. It’s not the right time of the month for me.” Molly paused. “At least I don’t think so.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “Don’t you dare say that. I loved every minute of it. There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

      It was the thought of those words that jerked Molly out of the past back into the present. Back to reality. To the pain and hurt that had resulted from that passionate afternoon of lovemaking.

      Knowing her face was drenched with tears, Molly went into the bathroom and wet a washcloth with cold water. Though the cloth felt like ice against her skin, it did what she’d hoped it would and that was clear her fogged mind.

      She couldn’t change what had happened between her and Worth. All she could do was change how she reacted to him now. Though the aftermath of their affair had left deep and lasting scars, she wasn’t sorry because out of it had come the blessing of her life—her son.

      For that she would never be sorry.

      It was then that Molly suddenly heard the sound of an engine. Hurrying to the French doors, she walked onto the porch where she saw Worth sitting in his truck. She was still standing in the cold when the taillights disappeared.

      With her teeth chattering, she went back inside, not stopping until she was in her mother’s room, facing her son’s animated face.

      “Mommy, Mommy, come see what Granna gave me.”

      Squaring her shoulders, Molly shoved the past back under lock and key deep in her soul.

      Four

      “Oh, Doctor, thanks so much for returning my call.”

      “Not a problem,” Dr. Roy Coleman responded. “I know you’re concerned about your mother and well you should be.”

      Molly winced under the doctor’s direct words, but then she was a nurse, for God’s sake, so she shouldn’t be surprised. Most doctors nowadays didn’t tiptoe around the rose bush. They called the problem as they saw it and let the chips fall where they may. Her boss Sam Nutting was cut from that same bolt of cloth.

      Somehow, though, she was reluctant to hear the truth because it was her mother, who had always been Molly’s lifeline and still was. Her dad had died from heart failure when she was young, leaving them without ample resources. Hence, Maxine had had to work her fingers to the bone for other people in order for them to survive. However, she never forsook her daughter; Maxine always found time to spend with Molly no matter how exhausted she was, or how much she had to do.

      “Are you still there, Ms. Bailey?”

      The doctor’s crisp voice brought Molly back to the moment at hand. “Sorry, I was woolgathering about Mother, actually. Now that I’ve seen her and the condition she’s in, I’m really concerned.”

      “As I said earlier, you have good reason. She took a nasty fall, which did major damage to her back, as you already know, of course. The main plus, however, is that she has no fractures.”

      Even though Maxine had slipped in the hallway two weeks ago, it seemed much longer to Molly because she hadn’t been able to leave work and come immediately. Her mother had insisted that she not, making light of the accident.

      Only after Dr. Coleman talked with her, then sent copies of the MRI did Molly know the extent of the damage to her mother’s back. Ergo, she lost no time in rushing to Maxine’s side.

      “I appreciate you keeping me posted at every turn, Doctor.”

      “Wouldn’t have it any other way. As I told you, Maxine’s special, a rare breed. I know she’s in pain, yet she suffers in silence.”

      “Only that’s not good.”

      “You’re right. It’s not. I don’t want her in pain. But Maxine is one of—if not the most—hardheaded patients I have.”

      “That’s why I’m here, Dr. Coleman, to see that she does like she’s told and behaves herself.”

      He chuckled, and Molly liked that. Although she’d never met him, they’d had countless phone conversations. Each time she was more impressed with his sense of humor and his care of her mother.

      “I’d like to get another MRI soon, so we can see if the severely strained muscles are beginning to heal on their own. Meanwhile, I’ve ordered a corset for her to wear. In fact, I don’t want her even sitting on the side of the bed without it, much less walking.”

      Molly tried to remain upbeat, but under the circumstances that was becoming more difficult by the second. “That sounds like she’s going to be incapacitated for a good little while.”

      “Because of her osteoporosis, she will be.”

      Molly’s heart sank. “So we’re looking at long-term recovery instead of short-term.” A flat statement of fact.

      “Not necessarily. Maxine is so determined that she could rebound much quicker than most, I suspect.” Dr. Coleman paused. “However, work of any kind is out for now.”

      “What about physical therapy?”

      “That’s coming, but it’s too soon. The corset is enough for now.”

      Molly fought back the unknown fears that were festering inside her. For the moment, the picture was dismal. What if her mother never regained the full use of her body? Maxine had always worked, had always been full of energy. She didn’t believe in resting on her laurels, she’d told that to Molly all her life. An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay had been Maxine’s philosophy.

      “You’re going to have to help me convince her that she can’t work, Doctor. So far I don’t think you’ve gotten that across to her. She thinks she’ll be mopping floors next week.”

      “Someone will be mopping floors, but it won’t be Maxine.”

      “Thank you for being brutally honest with me.” Molly’s sigh was shaky. “Now, I have to be brutally honest with her.”

      “If you want to wait, I’ll drive out to the ranch. We’ll gang up on her.”

      A doctor who made house calls? No way. Yet he had offered, though Molly wasn’t about to take him up on that offer. She could handle Maxine, but it wouldn’t be easy. No matter. Her mother had no choice but to comply.

      “Thank

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