It Had To Be You (14 page)

The doorbell chimed so she headed downstairs.
Smiling, she opened the front door, ready to concentrate fully on
another man.

But she found Beck on the stoop. “Oh. Oh!”
Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He wore nice, black pants,
which fit his trim waist perfectly, and a gray, long-sleeved shirt,
which molded to his torso, rolled up on his forearms. For a minute,
her mind spun out a vision that Beck was her date, coming over for
the night—where they’d eat and talk like normal people, then end up
in bed. For a long time.

Jamming his hands in his pockets, he stared
at her. “Sorry to drop in unannounced.”

“
Um, that’s okay.” She nodded to his
clothes. “You’re all dressed up.”

“
I have a date.”

Damn it! “Ah. So do I.”

He scanned her appearance and his eyes
narrowed. “I hate that you gussied up for him.”

Leaning against the door, she asked, “Beck,
why are you here?”

He pounded the jamb with a fist. His eyes
sparked frustration. “Because I don’t want to go out with someone
else.”

“
We agreed not to talk about
that.”

“
Do
you
want to date another
man, really?”

“
Beck, don’t.”

Without warning, he reached for her. And God
help her, she couldn’t resist. She looped her arms around his neck
and melded into him. His scent was something new, something spicy
and woodsy at the same time; his body was hard against her. She met
his gaze squarely.

He stared down at her.

Then he lowered his head.

The kiss wasn’t rough, but it wasn’t tender,
either. His mouth brushed hers, nipped, then pressed in full force,
making Lela’s knees buckle. She met the intensity with her own and
locked her hands tighter at his neck. His tongue probed her lips
until she allowed him entry.

Then he devoured her.

And she devoured back.

She didn’t know how long they’d stood there
kissing—in the open doorway, for God’s sake, but when he drew back,
his eyes were full of hot desire.

Then, without a word, he turned and stalked
down the brick pathway to his SUV.

o0o

With her slight build, steel-blond hair and
hazel eyes, Alexis Wellington was a beauty. They sat on the deck of
Gabe and Rachel’s condo on the lake, and the breeze coming off the
water cooled Beck’s heated skin. His
still
-heated skin—from
a kiss that never should have happened. What the hell had he been
thinking to go over to her house? To initiate a kiss that had
knocked his socks off? He was an idiot.

With the discipline he’d mastered in the
army—apparently absent when he was around Lela—Beck concentrated on
Alexis’s story. “So then I said, ‘If you don’t let me do surgery on
him, he might die.’”

“
You never were one to mince words,
sis.” Rachel, who had the exact same coloring as her sister, made
the comment from where she was comfortably ensconced in a chaise.
Gabe wouldn’t let her get up to do anything, though she had a good
two months to go in her pregnancy. They were grilling outside, and
Alexis had prepared all the accompaniments. Beck had brought wine
and beer.

Alexis scrunched her nose. “Well, geez, why
wouldn’t the specialists come right out and tell the parents the
truth?”

“
Malpractice?” Gabe suggested, sitting
next to Rachel and holding her hand, sipping a beer. Dressed
similarly to Beck, his captain was relaxed and at ease in his
home.

“
At least Sophia backed me up. She’s a
pediatric nurse.”

“
Yeah, we all know her.” This from
Rachel. “Do you, Beck?”

“
I met her the night of the warehouse
fire. She’s a nice woman.” As was the one with her that evening in
a pretty, clingy dress. The one who’d kissed him just hours ago
like she wanted to eat him up. Was she kissing Singer
now?

“
Do you know Christian Singer?” he
asked Alexis before he could stop himself.

“
Uh-huh. He’s a great doctor.” She
winked at Rachel. “And a looker. But I don’t mix my personal and
professional lives.”

Must be Lela didn’t feel the same.

Shit.

Sick of his mind retreating to Lela at every
comment, Beck excused himself to go to the john, then when he came
back, Gabe was at the grill. Getting another beer, he crossed to
his friend. “Can I help?”

“
No thanks. Stay and talk to me,
though. Steaks are at a stage where I have to watch
them.”

Beck leaned against the railing of the deck,
trying to enjoy the beautiful, early May evening. The setting sun
had turned the sky a pretty pink-blue.

“
You seem preoccupied tonight,” Gabe
commented.

The Molson’s he sipped went down cold. “I
guess I am. I did something stupid earlier and can’t get it off my
mind.”

Taking a quick glance at Beck, Gabe’s dark
brows rose. “I’m a good listener, if you want to tell me.”

He nodded to the women, who were paging
through a catalogue of baby things. “Not tonight. Maybe some time.”
He smiled. “So are you looking forward to impending fatherhood
again?”

“
I am, though I never thought I’d have
another kid. It’s a girl, you know.”

“
I heard. I never had a
girl.”

“
Did you want one?”

He shook his head, sure of
that
answer. “I’m not a very good father.”

Gabe set down the tongs and faced him. “You
never had a chance to be.”

“
Hmm. I guess that’s true. I missed a
lot of years with Tommy.”

“
I hear your PTSD group took the kids
to a gathering at Sea Breeze.”

“
Yeah. My boy misbehaved, then met up
with somebody he liked, and we had fun the rest of the
day.”

“
That’s nice.”

For Tommy and Josh maybe. He remembered
joking with Lela,
Our kids will probably meet up today and
become best friends, then we’ll have to deal with that.

“
Gabe, come here and look at this high
chair. It can have the baby’s name carved into the back.” Across
the room, Rachel held up the catalogue.

“
I still think Maria is too plain.
Marietta, maybe?”

Rachel shook her head.

Rolling his eyes, his cap said, “Keep an eye
on the steak, will you?”

His back to the others, Beck stared down at
the grill, willing himself not to think about what he couldn’t
have. From behind him, he heard, “Sorry about the fix-up.”

Turning, he found Alexis had joined him. She
looked cute in a yellow, one-piece overall thing. “Excuse me?”

“
Sorry about the fix-up. You don’t seem
happy to be here.”

Pretty, competent
and
direct,
something he valued in women. “No, I am glad to be here. I had an
unpleasant encounter before I came, is all. It’s taking me a while
to shuck it.”

She raised delicately arched eyebrows. “Okay.
If you’re sure.”

Reaching out, he squeezed her arm. “I
am.”

Dropping down on a chair at the table across
from the grill, she grinned up at him. “Then tell me about why you
decided to become a firefighter after serving overseas. I’d think
you’d done enough for society.”

“
Habit, I guess. The need to protect
others.” He slugged back more beer. “I love the job as much as I
did the army.”

She glanced over at her sister. “So does she.
Drives me wild, though.”

“
I’ll bet. The worry’s hard on
families.”

“
Seems everything is.” She sipped from
the wine glass she held, its contents ruby red. “Tell me about
somebody you saved. Other than Gabe, so I can concentrate on the
good that emerges from the risks she takes.”

“
You’ll like this one.” He gave her a
genuine smile. It was easier than he thought it would be. “I saved
a baby.”

Beck was surprised how much he enjoyed the
rest of the night. After supper, they played euchre, which was fun,
and he was good at it because they’d had games in theater, where
the competition had been fierce. When the evening ended, he was in
a better mood.

Until he walked to his car and wondered how
Lela’s evening would end!

o0o

Christian Singer was good at everything.
Cooking—he’d done the seasoning for the rice, which was delicious.
Conversation—he’d told her about his med-school days with
self-effacing humor, which she enjoyed because he always seemed so
competent and confident at the hospital. And overall, he seemed
comfortable with himself, something she admired in people. If Lela
hadn’t been distracted by the debacle earlier with Beck, she’d be
enjoying herself. But the feel of Beck’s hands, gripping her
tightly, and the taste of him in her mouth, which the best wine
couldn’t get rid of, stayed with her the entire night.

Damn it, Lela, get over it!

They’d finished a dinner of salmon, green
beans and rice and taken coffee out to the stone patio Len had
built in one of his better times. They sat watching the stars,
making idle comments about the locations of the constellations.

“
You’re a great cook, Lela,” Christian
said, sipping his coffee.

She gave him a genuine grin back. “I’m glad
we did this.”

“
Are you? You seem sad
tonight.”

She’d tried to keep her feelings to herself
and thought she’d accomplished that. But apparently not. “Did I?
No, I’m not sad.” Mad and frustrated, maybe.

“
You sure?”

“
Yeah, I guess I’m just worried about
Josh. I had to insist on this sleepover.”

“
As a dad, and a doctor, I can tell you
that sometimes children need a push out of their comfort
zone.”

“
That makes me feel better. Tell me
about Kayla. What kind of kid is she?”

Another brilliant smile crossed his face. It
revealed dimples on both his cheeks, something that Lela had never
noticed before. “She’s a sweetie. Now
she’s
sad I’m out of
the house.”

“
Are you? Sad?”

“
I was. But my ex had other
ideas.”

“
I’m sorry.”

“
Do you know the story? It’s all over
the hospital grapevine.”

“
Some of it. I wasn’t gossiping
myself.”

“
I just wish I’d known she was so
unhappy. That sounds trite, but she never once complained about my
hours.” He set his mug down. “She had other outlets, I guess. When
she told me, it was because she wanted a separation. I was
poleaxed. I really loved her.”

“
I’m sorry you had to go through
that.”

He took a bead on her. “Enough about me. How
about you?
I
heard your divorce just became final.”

“
Yes, but we’ve been separated for a
whole year. He didn’t want the divorce, so it was hard. I got the
official papers this week. I’m glad it’s over, too.”

“
Listen to us, talking about our exes.”
He rolled his eyes. “Breaking the cardinal rule of dating after a
divorce.”

“
You know you’re right.”

Sitting back comfortably on the wicker couch
next to her, he slid his arm up on the cushion so his hand was near
her hair. “Tell me what it was like to be an army medic. Honestly,
I can’t believe you did that job. You’re so feminine and
delicate.”

“
Nah, I’m tough. All kinds of women
volunteered.”

“
Why did you?”

“
I was an only child. When my parents
died, I’d been working as a nurse for three years. I was bothered
by what I saw on TV, unattached, and I decided I could help. Then
9/11 happened and that solidified it for me.”

“
How long were you there?”

“
Five years. I quit when I got
pregnant.” She gave Christian a sideways glance. “After we were
married.”

“
I—”

They heard the doorbell through the open
French doors of the kitchen. Her heart leaped in her chest. What if
Beck came back? She’d told him she had a date, but how did she
know, really, what the man was capable of?

“
Who might that be?” Christian
asked.

“
I don’t really know. Stay here,
though.” She rose and walked quickly through the house to the
foyer. When she opened the door, she found Jake Petersen’s mother
on the stoop, holding Josh’s hand. “He wouldn’t stay at the party,”
Sara Petersen began right away. “He said you told him you’d be home
and he could come back if he wanted to.”

Dropping down to crouch, she put her hands on
Josh’s shoulders. “What’s wrong, honey?”

He stuck his fingers in his mouth, something
he hadn’t done for years. “Didn’t wanna stay.”

She gave him a hug, stood and drew him
inside. “I’m sorry to trouble you, Sara.”

“
No, trouble. Got me away from ten
screaming kids. They’re playing war. Jake wanted a GI
Joe-and-camouflage theme for his birthday.”

Lela gulped back the remark she wanted to
make about encouraging kids to play war. Did parents have any idea
how combat ruined lives? “Still, thanks for bringing him home.”

When they went inside, she said, “Josh, I
have company.”

“
Dad?” he asked, his eyes both hopeful
and a bit frightened.

“
No, honey. A friend.”

Just then, Christian came through the French
doors and made his way to the living room. “Hi, Josh.”

“
This is Dr. Singer.”

“
You sick, Mom?” Josh’s voice held
panic.