Borrowed Identity (28 page)

“Don’t you think things might have changed since then? You’re an adult now. You don’t seem like the type of gal who would shy away from a confrontation.”

Kelly digested the information slowly. Could he be right? It had been a long time since anyone had stared at her scars. Was she hiding for no reason at all?

She glanced at her watch for what must have been the tenth time in as many minutes. She wished somebody would report to them on Michael’s condition. He had been in surgery for over two hours.

“It always takes this long. Don’t worry,” Paddy said. “I’ve had to sit vigil more times than I can count on fellow officers who were shot in the line of duty. The longer the surgery, the better the guy’s chances. That’s what I think.” He smiled at her. “Now, back to you. Where do you see
yourself in five years? Do you honestly want your life to stay as it is?”

“You’re saying I should take a chance, face the world?” A tremor sizzled through her body, but the idea of giving up her peaceful way of life didn’t chill her as it used to. “I don’t know if I can.”

“You can do anything you want,” Paddy said. “You survived a professional killer. What could be worse?”

“You’re right about that.” A smile curved her mouth. “Maybe it’s time for me to take control of my life. Michael suggested I get a job. I think I can do it.” She nodded forcefully. “I’m going to do it.”

“Good for you, honey. You’ve just taken the first step to a new life.”

She leaped to her feet, looking down the long white corridor. “I can’t sit around like this. I’m going to go to the chapel to say a prayer for Michael.” Her chin lifted with the newfound strength coursing through her veins. “Then I’m going to visit some people, maybe the children’s ward, see if I can do something to make them feel better. It’ll keep my mind off my own worries.”

“Michael was right. You are a marvel.”

She smiled dimly. She was going to be the woman that Michael deserved, but she wasn’t doing it just for him. Her scars weren’t important. More than anything, she realized, her scars had been emotional ones connected to her mother. Once she had let go of her resentment and fear of her mother, she was able to see herself in a different light, as well.

T
HE NEXT TIME
Michael opened his eyes, the world wasn’t so comforting. Pain, nearly unbearable pain, screamed from each nerve ending, setting it ablaze. His entire chest felt as if it was going to literally explode if he took too deep a breath. He drew short, shallow breaths instead.

His eyes were heavy, but he forced them to open.

Kelly stepped into view. She was beautiful with the light shining in her golden hair like a halo. For one drug-induced moment he thought he was dreaming. His hand stretched out and she took it. Her flesh was warm, comforting.

“Don’t speak,” she said. “You’re going to be okay. Landis shot you. But Paddy got there in the nick of time and shot him. Landis wasn’t as fortunate as you are. He died.”

It was a relief. Landis hadn’t managed to hurt Kelly. She was okay. In fact, she was stunning, staring down at him with those incredibly blue eyes. Michael could drown in those eyes. And her smile. It lit up his heart.

He opened his mouth to confess his love for her and ask for her forgiveness. He had put her through the proverbial wringer. He’d been a fool to keep her at bay for so long. Life was too short to waste, too short to live without love. He opened his mouth to tell her how he really felt about her.

“Tag!” Paddy appeared on the other side of Michael’s bed. “You had us worried.”

“Now that you’re here and he’s awake,” Kelly said, “I’m going to step out. I need to get some air, maybe some coffee.”

“Go right ahead, hon,” Paddy said. “We’ll be fine here, just the two of us.”

Michael wanted to call out to her, stop her from leaving, but he didn’t have the strength. So he tried to relax. She would be back. He smiled up at Paddy, giving the man his undivided attention.

“We found the hammer that killed Jimmy. That nut Wade Carpenter had it. Landis killed Jimmy, no doubt about it. He couldn’t have known about the hammer otherwise. Forensics tested it. Jimmy’s blood is on it.” Paddy’s gaze drifted to the door for a second. “You know, that little gal didn’t leave your side the entire time. It’s nearly been a
week. You’ve been out of it, although you opened your eyes a few times. She’s unbelievable. She had those doctors and nurses hopping.”

Kelly? His little angel had stood up to the medical staff for him?

“The nurses were impressed with her. They offered her a volunteer position here at the hospital, working with sick kids.”

Michael smiled. He had known Kelly had it in her to do something great, given the right opportunity. She was smart and compassionate. The lucky kids were going to adore her.

Paddy went on. “I haven’t seen a woman so dedicated to a man since I met my own dear, sweet Mary.” He paused for a moment. His eyes were moist. “That girl loves you. I hope you know that.”

Finding his voice at last, Michael whispered. “I love her, too.”

“Good. I hope you aren’t going to let her get away.”

“Not as long as I can draw a breath.”

They talked for a few more minutes before the nurse interrupted them, anxious that her patient get some rest. Michael made Paddy promise to give Kelly a message for him. He wanted her to be there when he woke up. He had something important to talk to her about.

Michael drifted off to sleep rehearsing what he was going to say to Kelly the next time he saw her.

K
ELLY FLOATED INTO
Michael’s hospital room wearing a pair of tight jeans and a pretty top that would have given a healthy man heart failure. Her blond hair fell in gentle waves over her shoulders, ending at the soft contours of her breasts. She wore a touch of cosmetics—an innocent pink shade of lipstick and a smudge of silver near her eyes—even though her face didn’t need any enhancements.

Michael beamed in delight at her. She was his angel. He
couldn’t wait to get out of the damn hospital bed and take her into his arms again.

She set a bouquet of flowers on the table near his bed.

Michael opened his mouth to tell her how glad he was to see her, but she held a hand up, instantly capturing his attention.

“Please, let me say what I came here to say.” She spoke quickly, as though she was reciting a long scene from a play she couldn’t wait to be done with. “This isn’t easy for me. I hope you don’t think it is. I was up all night thinking about it. There’s nothing else we can do.”

“What are you talking about?” Michael struggled to sit up in bed. He had the awful feeling he was about to be dumped. “Just say it.”

“We haven’t known each other for very long. Have we?”

“No. I suppose not.”

“We met during extreme circumstances. We had to rely on each other to stay alive.”

“I know all of this, Kelly. What did you really come here to say?”

“We need six months apart.” She blurted out the words and then stopped pacing. She waited at the end of his bed for his reaction.

“Six months? Why?”

“There are a number of reasons.” She started counting on her fingers. “One, I need to get my life in order. I’ve made such a mess of it. You deserve better than that. I want you to have a woman who is complete and happy and ready for anything.”

“I don’t want you to change because of me.” He sat up straighter. Pain tore at his chest. “Did I ever ask you to change for me?”

“No. Of course not.” She was at his side in an instant. “What do you think you’re doing? You need to rest. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“If I’m going to fight for my life, I prefer to do it on my feet.”

“Your life?”

He cupped her face between his hands and stared deep into her lovely blue eyes. “You are my life. Don’t you know that?”

“You don’t have to fight for me, Michael. You already have me.”

“Then what’s all this talk about six months?”

“I need the time for me. Okay? I need to see what I can do on my own, without you there to catch me if I fall. Six months isn’t a lifetime.”

“It’ll seem like it,” he mumbled.

Michael lay back down, a wave of dizziness leaving him weak. He didn’t want to be vulnerable, not in front of Kelly. He wanted to be strong for her, her knight in shining armor.

“Number two.” She bent back another of her fingers, continuing the count. “If we’re going to be together, you have things to work out. You’ll have to figure out what you’re going to do about your home, friends, job. I want you to be sure you want to be with me. Because it’ll be for keeps. For always.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Number three,” she said. “Maybe we don’t belong together. It might be true love. But what if it isn’t? I think we need the six months apart to regain our composure and common sense. Love makes people blind, deaf and dumb.”

He was afraid to ask, but… “What happens in six months?”

“You come to Moore House for dinner. We’ll talk. We’ll compare notes. If our love is real, it’ll still be real in six months.”

“I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?”

She shook her head slowly yet deliberately. “Not a chance.”

“What if one of us has a change of heart?”

“Better to know before we make a commitment. Don’t you think?”

He kissed her fingers, each in turn. His lips lingered on the digits. He sucked one fingertip lightly into his mouth.

Michael had the horrible, sinking feeling he was losing her. But what could he do? She’d made up her mind. The backs of his eyes stung. He blamed it on the drugs in his system.

“Promise me something,” he said.

“What?”

“Promise me you won’t change too much.”

She smiled and leaned in for a bittersweet kiss.

Chapter Sixteen

Six months later

Chimes rang throughout Moore House, filling the air with whimsical notes. Candlelight and glowing flames in the parlor’s hearth gave off a golden hue. The smell of cinnamon and fresh baked ham floated from room to room.

Butterflies danced in Kelly’s stomach. She wanted to run to the door, but she forced herself to walk instead. Her day of reckoning had finally arrived. It was evening and Michael had come for dinner as promised. As agreed, neither of them had contacted each other during the past months. There had been no letters, no phone calls.

Kelly pulled the door open wide, a cheerful smile in place.

Michael grabbed her, lifting her off the ground, and swirled her around on the marble steps.

“Michael!”

“I’ve missed you!” He set her down, but seemed reluctant to let her go. His hands remained on her waist. “If you ever suggest we spend time apart again, I’ll throttle you. It was pure torture.”

“For me, too.”

“I want to look at you,” he insisted.

Michael pushed her away. His eyes traveled the length of
her body and then repeated the journey as if he couldn’t believe what he saw.

She was glad to note her trip to the beauty salon in town hadn’t been in vain. Kelly rotated in a slow circle for him. Her new tea-length black dress hugged her petite figure. The thin spaghetti straps bared her arms for the world to see.

Her blond hair was swept up in a flattering style and secured with decorative pins. She wore a little more makeup than usual—in pink tones, because the saleslady had told her it suited her complexion better than the darker colors.

“Well? What do you think?”

“You are stunning.”

“Now it’s my turn.”

Kelly’s eyes devoured the sight of him. He was even more handsome than she’d remembered. His dark hair had obviously been cut recently. It was a lot shorter than it had been before, but it suited him. His dark eyes crinkled at the sides as they swept over her yet again.

He removed his long black coat and casually dropped it to the floor.

Her eyes widened. He was wearing a suit—a gray suit with a crisp white shirt and a dark tie. He looked incredible in it. The suit must have been tailored just for him. It outlined his broad shoulders and muscular body perfectly, causing her mouth to go dry.

Michael’s hand swept one of the spaghetti straps off her shoulder. He kissed the skin there and she shivered. His warm mouth burned the area and then his tongue soothed it.

“Shouldn’t we talk?” she asked.

“I’m not stopping you.” His hands slid up the sides of her silky black dress until they rested beneath her vulnerable breasts. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

“I’m a nurse now.”

“That’s great, angel. I knew you could do it.”

His mouth found the delicate shell of her ear. He sucked the earlobe into his mouth, causing her to squirm. It tickled, but she didn’t feel like laughing. She was on fire, burning with the desire denied her for six months.

He moved on to her throat, as if insatiable.

“Well, I’m not actually a nurse yet. I’m in school for it.” He swung her around to face him. “I volunteer at the hospital twice a week.”

Michael’s mouth explored her neck from a different angle now.

“What have you been doing?” she asked in a breathy voice that couldn’t possibly belong to her.

“I quit my job.” He sucked on the tender flesh above her carotid artery. “I gave up my apartment.” His hands slid around her waist and dipped down to caress her bottom. “I packed my bags, and here I am.”

“The skeleton in the passageway belonged to none other than Elizabeth Barrington. Another mystery solved.” She kissed his throat in turn and smiled against his flesh. “You know, you may look like Jimmy and sound exactly like him, but your heart is undeniably unique. You actually fell in love with me. I still can’t believe it.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You have no idea how incredible you are.”

“Tell me,” she whispered, leaning into him.

“I’d rather show you.”

He lifted her, pulling her tight against the evidence of his arousal.

She sighed. “I made dinner.”

“You want to eat now?” His hips rocked against her in a sensual rhythm. “I’ll stop if you want to eat.”

“I’m not really hungry. Unless you are.”