LITMIR.BIZ

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      He turned and stared into a face devoid of makeup except for a bit of lipstick, her hair falling freely to her shoulders, her gold eyes quietly reassuring. She looked younger than she had before, more like the girl he remembered, the one he’d thought he’d loved, the one he’d so callously left behind. “Sorry it took me a while to get here, I had to round up a babysitter.”

      “You have a child?” Matt asked.

      “Two. Twin girls. Four years old.” Her serious face brightened at the mention of her daughters and Thorne tried to ignore the ridiculous spurt of jealousy that ran through his blood that another man had fathered her daughters, then he gave himself a swift mental shake. What the hell was he thinking? “And I’d trust them to Geoff—er, Dr. Arnold.”

      “Good enough for me,” Matt allowed, though his face was still tense.

      “Nothin’ else we can do but have some faith in the guy,” Slade agreed, then cursed softly in frustration.

      “There are always other options,” Thorne disagreed.

      “None better.” Nicole’s voice brooked no argument. Her face was a mask of certainty. She had absolute trust in this man and again, ludicrously, Thorne felt a prick of jealousy that she would have such unflagging confidence in another male. “Let me talk to Geoff and see what’s up.” Nicole punched a code into the door lock. “I’ll just be a minute.” The electronic doors opened. Nicole slipped through.

      Slade shifted from one foot to the other. Scowling through the glass, he eyed the two doctors and finally said, “I think I’ll go check on Randi, then head back. You can fill me in when you get home.”

      Matt nodded curtly. “I’ll come with you.” He glanced at Thorne. “I’ll catch a ride back to the ranch with Slade.”

      “Fine,” Thorne said. “Call Striker again. Tell him I want to talk to him. ASAP.”

      “What about?” Slade asked.

      “The kid’s father for starters.”

      “Okay, I’ll try to find Kurt.”

      “Don’t try. Do it.”

      Slade’s eyes flared and he slanted Thorne a condescending, don’t-push-me-around smile. “Don’t worry, brother. I’ll handle it.” With that he turned and walked away.

      “Hell, you can be an insufferable bastard,” Matt growled. “You might be used to barking orders at your office and everyone hustles to do what you want, but back off a bit, okay? We’re all in this together. Slade’ll call Striker.”

      “Will he?” Thorne’s eyes narrowed. “It seems to me he’s made a lot of promises in his life that he somehow managed to forget.”

      “He’s straightening out.”

      “Good, ’cause he sure as hell has messed up his life.”

      “Not all of us are blessed with the Midas touch,” Matt reminded him. “And, as far as I can see, you’re not in much of a position to start slinging arrows.” Matt glanced through the glass to Nicole. “Somethin’ about the lady doctor that’s got you riled?”

      Thorne didn’t respond.

      “Thought so.” Matt’s smile was positively irritating. “Well, good luck. She doesn’t much look like a filly that’s easy to tame.”

      “This has nothing to do with her.”

      “Right. I forgot. You never get too involved with a woman, now, do ya?” Matt gave an exaggerated wink, pointed his finger at Thorne’s chest, then sauntered down the hall after Slade.

      Irritated as hell Thorne waited, watching Nicole and Dr. Arnold through the glass, hating the feeling that he was powerless, that the baby’s life was out of his control, and that his brother had seen through his facade of indifference when it came to Nicole Sanders Stevenson. The truth of the matter was that she’d already gotten under his skin. He’d kissed her last night not certain of her marital state, not really giving a damn, then taken a flower to her doorstep like some kind of junior high kid suffering some kind of crush. Afterward he’d called her and manipulated the facts just to get a date with the woman. He’d never acted this way before. Never. Didn’t understand it. Yes, she was beautiful and beyond that she was smart. Sassy and clever. But deeper still, he sensed a woman like no other he’d ever met. And he’d lost her once. Given her up all for the sake of making a buck.

      He was still mentally kicking himself up one side and down the other when Nicole emerged. Her brow was creased, her eyes shadowed with concern.

      “How bad is it?” Thorne asked.

      Little lines appeared between her eyebrows and he braced himself for the worst. “It’s not good, Thorne, but Dr. Arnold is doing everything he can here. He’s also linked by computer to other neonatologists across the country.”

      Thorne’s jaw was clenched so hard it ached. “What can

      I do?”

      “Be patient and wait.”

      “Not my strong suit.”

      “I know.” The ghost of a smile crossed her lips as they walked down the stairs and outside together. Nicole flipped up her hood and held it tightly around her chin. They dashed through puddles to her SUV while sleet pelted from the sky in icy needles.

      “Thanks for calling me and letting me know about J.R.,” he said as they reached the rig.

      “J.R.? That’s the baby’s name?”

      “He doesn’t really have one. But I’ve been thinking that he should be named after my father since Randi is still in a coma and well…who knows what she’ll call him when she wakes up.” If she wakes up. If the baby survives. “Anyway, I appreciate the call.”

      “No problem. I said I would.” She fumbled in her purse, found her keys and unlocked the door.

      “Yeah, but you didn’t have to go to the trouble of getting a babysitter and driving down here.” It had touched him.

      “I thought it would be best.” She flashed him a small grin. “Believe it or not, Thorne, some of the doctors here, including Dr. Arnold and me, really care about our patients. It’s not a matter of clocking in and out on a schedule so much as it is about making sure the patient not only survives but receives the best care possible.”

      “I know that.”

      “Good.” She blinked against the drops of water running down her face and a twinkle lighted her gold eyes. “Okay, so now you owe me one.”

      “Name it,” he said so softly that she barely heard the words, but when she looked into his face and saw an unspoken message in his eyes, her throat caught and she was suddenly touched in the most dangerous part of her heart. She remembered his kiss, just yesterday in this very parking lot, and she couldn’t forget all the passion that was coiled behind the press of his lips against hers. And that was just the start of it. She knew that within the past day and a half her life had changed irrevocably, that she and Thorne had rediscovered each other and it scared the devil out of her, so much that she couldn’t think about it. Not now. Not ever. “Careful, McCafferty,” she said, clearing her throat. “Giving me carte blanche could be dangerous.”

      “I’ve never been one to steer clear of trouble.”

      “I know.” She sighed, remembering how many of her friends had tried to warn her off Thorne way back when. The McCafferty boys were known as everything from rogues to hellions who always managed to find more than their share of trouble. “Look, I’ve got to go—”

      He grabbed the crook of her elbow. “I meant it when I said thank you, Nicole. And I really am sorry.”

      “For—?”

      “For taking off on you way back when.”

      Her

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