Unlocking the Surgeon's Heart (6 page)

He was practically drooling, but he was too conscious of his morning scruffiness to agree. His face itched, he needed a shave and a shower, and his teeth felt furry. He definitely wasn’t presentable for the dining table.

“I should clean up first.”

“Probably,” she agreed, “but this waffle is ready and the griddle’s still hot if you’d like seconds.” Her gaze traveled up and down his full length, making him even more aware of his half-dressed appearance. “Judging from the way you look, the kitchen will be closed before you come back, so I suggest you eat first and shower later.”

He got the sneaking impression that once she unplugged the waffle iron she wouldn’t plug it in again. How had he ever thought her easygoing and malleable? She had a steely spine that he’d never seen and certainly hadn’t expected.

“I should put on a shirt,” he began.

Once again, she avoided his gaze. “Suit yourself, but, whatever you do, I promise to sit downwind.”

“Mom never lets Dad eat at the table without a shirt,” Derek said, “but if Uncle Linc can, can I?”

This time Christy looked at him helplessly, her gaze sliding from his pectorals to his face and back again. “Well,” she began, “these are extenuating circumstances—”

“If those are your mom’s rules, then they’ll be ours, too,” Linc said firmly. “I’ll be right back.”

The lure of the waffle was too great and the slices of ham too appetizing to do more than grab yesterday’s wrinkled shirt and slip it on. He’d only buttoned the middle two buttons before he was back in the kitchen and sliding into an empty chair.

If Christy noticed his speedy return, she didn’t comment. Instead, she simply set his plate in front of him, passed the meat platter and returned to the stove.

Linc dug in. He was hungry enough to be grateful for the hospital’s bland cafeteria food, but he was pleasantly surprised to discover Christy’s meal actually melted in his mouth. When she delivered a second waffle as perfect as the first one, he could only utter a long sigh of appreciation.

“These are delicious,” he said as he drenched it with maple syrup.

“Surprised?” She took the chair beside him and began sectioning her grapefruit.

“A little,” he admitted. “Where did you learn to cook like this?”

“My mom. She owns an exclusive little gourmet restaurant in Seattle and she sends recipes for me to try before she adds them to her menu.”

“Then that explains all the fancy food in the fridge.”

Confusion spread across her face. “Fancy food?”

“You know. The organic milk, the fruit and vegetables I can’t identify.”

She smiled. “I don’t consider organic food as being fancy. As for the unidentifiable stuff, I try new things to see if I’ll like them.” She motioned to his plate. “Speaking of new things, how would you rate this recipe?”

“It’s a keeper.” The cuckoo suddenly popped out of his door and chirped twelve times. “I didn’t realize it was noon. Did you guys sleep late, too?” he asked.

“We’ve been up for
hours
.” Derek drained his milk glass and wiped his mouth with his forearm until Christy cleared her throat and he sheepishly swiped at it with his napkin.

“
Hours and
hours
,” Emma added. “Christy said we had to be quiet, so we ate our breakfast on the patio.”

“Isn’t this breakfast?” he asked.

“This is lunch,” Christy corrected. “Breakfast was at eight and consisted of cold cereal, fresh strawberries, pineapple, and toast.”

“Whole wheat,” Derek mumbled with disgust.

She chuckled and Linc was entranced by the sound. “With all the jelly you slathered on, you couldn’t taste or see that I didn’t use white bread.”

Emma obviously didn’t care because she continued her play-by-play account of the morning. “Then we took Ria for a walk around the block so he could get ’quainted with the dog smells in the neighborhood. After that, we watered Mama’s flowers and weeded and before we knew it, Christy said it was time to eat again. I think she’s almost as good a cook as Mama is, don’t you?”

He’d been put on the spot by a mere six-year-old. No matter how he answered, he was going to have one female in the household unhappy. Christy obviously saw his dilemma because her eyes twinkled with humor. He wouldn’t receive any help from that quarter… .

“Almost,” he agreed loyally, as he exchanged a smile with Christy that said otherwise.

* * *

“We’ll wait for you in the cafeteria,” Christy told Linc a few hours later as he parked in the physicians’ parking lot. They’d decided to spend the afternoon running errands, including driving to his house to pick up a few of what he referred
to as “necessities”, but on the way he’d wanted to run in and check on Jose.

“I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Yeah, right,” she said, unable to hide her skepticism.

“You don’t believe I can get away in a reasonable amount of time?”

“Only if you went incognito,” she said.

“I thought I was,” he said. “No one will expect to see me looking like this.”

“Like this” meant dressed in a polo shirt, cargo shorts, and a pair of sandals. It wasn’t his usual garb, so he’d cause quite a stir when the staff saw him. She spoke from experience because she still couldn’t believe this was the same man who’d sat at the kitchen table a few hours ago looking scruffy and bleary-eyed.

A little water and a shave could do amazing things.

As great as he looked now, though, her first image of him was indelibly etched in her brain. His muscles had flexed and rippled under his skin just from the simple act of pouring his own cup of coffee. As much as she’d enjoyed seeing those wide shoulders as nature intended, it was a good thing Derek had piped up when he had. She might have done something really stupid, like set off the smoke alarm or drool in her grapefruit.

Nope, if more women saw the sight she’d been privileged to see, cardiology offices would be standing room only.

“They won’t, but if you’re going to be longer than thirty minutes, give me a call, will you?”

“Okay, but, whatever you do, don’t load them up with a bunch of sugar and junk food.”

She paused, momentarily hurt by his remark. “Do you honestly think I’ll turn them loose at the candy machine?”

He shifted uncomfortably in the seat. “I think you’d spoil them if you had the chance,” he began slowly.

“And you wouldn’t, I suppose.”

“Once in a while, I do,” he admitted, “but—”

Aware of two sets of little ears in the back seat, she lowered her voice and clenched her fingers into a tight fist as she interrupted, “But you think I’ll do it all the time.”

“Maybe not all—”

“Why else would you remind me?”

He shut off the engine, then gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “I only meant—”

She cut him off once again. “I know what you meant.” She didn’t know why his lack of faith bothered her, but it did. Yes, they’d only been joint parents for less than twenty-four hours, but where had he gotten the idea she’d let Emma and Derek run amok, nutrition-wise? And if he thought she’d turn a blind eye to their eating habits, what did he think she’d do when making other decisions?

“All I can say is, if you’re that worried, you’d better finish your business as quickly as possible so you can supervise what they choose for a snack,” she said stiffly.

“I am
not
worried,” he said.

“You are, so you may as well admit it.” As she turned to face the children, she pasted on a smile and injected a lighter note into her voice. “Okay, gang. Let’s go!”

While the two scrambled out of their seat belts, he grabbed her arm. “I’m not worried,” he repeated.

“Of course not,” she said politely. “My mistake.” Then, shaking free, she hopped out of the car and herded her two charges into the hospital like an overprotective mother hen.

When she directed them to the stairwell, Derek complained, “Can’t we take the elevator? Uncle Linc is.”

“We’ll take it on the way up,” she prevaricated, unwilling to see for herself or admit that sharing such close confines at the moment was more than she could handle.

With luck, an hour or so of mindlessly watching the fish swim around the aquarium would restore her good mood.

* * *

Linc had major damage control facing him. For a man who was normally efficient at stating his thoughts, he’d missed the mark today. He’d hurt Christy with his thoughtless remark—that had been evident and he deeply regretted doing so.

To make matters worse, in trying to explain, he’d practically told her that she was a pushover when it came to Derek and Emma and he knew she wasn’t. Christy’s mere glance this morning had convinced Derek to use his napkin instead of his sleeve and if she could do that, she’d be immune to any cajolery they might try.

He checked Jose’s chart and slipped into his room to visit for about fifteen minutes. Satisfied by his progress, he strode toward the bank of elevators, ready to leave. As he punched the “Down” button, he wondered if he should kill time elsewhere in the hospital. If he arrived in the cafeteria too soon, Christy would assume he’d hurried to check on her.

The point was he
was
in a hurry, but not for that particular reason. If anyone saw him, he could easily get embroiled in a patient case and he had too many other things to do this afternoon—
family
things—that wouldn’t allow it. His objective also included getting to know Gail’s best friend because there seemed to be more to her than had previously met his eye.

On the other hand, Christy seemed like a forgiving sort, so perhaps during their time apart she’d decided to cut him some slack.

He strode into the near-empty cafeteria and saw Emma and Derek peering into the giant aquarium in the far corner of the dining hall.

“Hi, guys. Are you enjoying the fish?” he asked.

“I like the spotted ones,” Emma declared as she pointed to one. “Do you know what kind of fish he is?”

Linc referred to the chart posted above the aquarium. “A Dalmation Molly.”

Emma giggled. “She looks like a fire-truck dog, doesn’t she?”

“She does,” he agreed, then asked, “Where’s Christy?”

“She’s over there with that guy.” Derek inclined his head in her direction.

Linc glanced at the corner in question and saw her with a fellow he recognized as one of the physical therapists. From their wide smiles and the laughter drifting across the room, both appeared entirely too comfortable with each other for Linc’s taste.

“He’s got the hots for her,” Derek said with a typical eight-year-old boy’s disgust.

Linc had arrived at the same conclusion and was instantly envious. His reaction was completely illogical, but when he saw the guy scoot his chair closer and fling his arm over her shoulder to draw her close enough to whisper in her ear, he felt an envy he hadn’t noticed before.

“See?” Derek said with satisfaction. “Maybe we should warn Christy that he wants to get in her—”

Derek’s blunt description finally registered and Linc cut off the boy’s sentence. “Whoa there, buddy. Does your mother know you’re a teenager in an eight-year-old body?”

A blush crept across Derek’s face, which suggested his mother probably didn’t know the extent of her son’s education. “I watch TV,” he defended.

“Really?” Linc raised an eyebrow. “Before I ask what sort of programs you’re viewing and if your mother knows you are, we aren’t going to say a word to Christy. We don’t want to embarrass her.”

He, on the other hand, was jealous.

The boy shrugged. “If you say so, but it’s still true. He held out her chair for her, got her a refill, and keeps putting his arm around the back of her chair and leaning in close. I think he might be her boyfriend.”

A boyfriend. Linc hadn’t considered the possibility that Christy might have her own reasons for not wanting to share the house with him. Living under someone else’s roof with another guy, no matter how innocent it might be, could certainly strain a relationship.

On the other hand, although he didn’t socialize with the staff, he’d picked up enough tidbits from conversations around him to know the gossip currently circulating on the grapevine. He’d never heard her name linked to anyone else’s. If he had, he would have remembered.

On the other hand, her relationship might be new enough that it hadn’t become the latest news yet. Or, as Derek had said, this Masterson fellow might still be trying—

“He isn’t,” Emma interrupted with childlike certainty.

Linc’s mind was too focused on Derek’s report of Masterson’s activities to follow Emma’s train of thought. “He isn’t what?”

“Her boyfriend. I heard Mama telling her that she needs to get one, but Christy only laughed and said she’d think about it after her next pet. Do you think she’s going to get another dog? I hope she finds a little one next time. One you can carry in your purse.”

Linc was totally confused. A boyfriend was contingent on Christy’s new pet? Emma had obviously missed a few important details.

“How long ago did you hear your Mom and Christy talking?” he asked. If their conversation had taken place months ago, Christy could easily have found someone since then to play that role, new pet or not.

“A few days before Mama and Daddy left. Oh, look.” Once again, she pointed to the tank. “Those two fish are
kissing
.” She giggled.

He glanced at the tank and saw two fish with their mouths pressed together. The fish clearly didn’t spend their days swimming aimlessly around their environment. Once again, he referred to the posted list of names and photos.

“They’re called Kissing Gourami,” he reported.

“Do you think they like each other, Unca Linc?” Emma asked.

“Don’t be silly.” Derek rolled his eyes. “Fish don’t like each other like people do.”

“How do you know?” Emma’s eyes flashed. “You don’t know everything just ’cause you’re older than me. If it’s a boy fish and a girl fish, they could,
too
, like each other—”

“Enough,” Linc said firmly. “We aren’t going to argue here. We’ll research the subject on the internet when we get home.”

To his surprise and delight, Christy joined them at the tank. “Actually, those two aren’t getting along right now,” she said.