What the Doctor Didn't Tell Her (3 page)

Nina frowned as if
fearful of making a mistake.

“
With just
two players, we deal seven cards each.” Sarah shuffled the deck,
flipping them in the air as her father had showed her years ago.
The little girl watched in fascination. “Can you help me count
them?”

Eagerly, the girl
joined in, counting to seven along with Sarah as she laid out their
hands, face down. Picking them up, Nina arranged the cards by
herself.

“
You’ve
learned your numbers already. You’re in good shape to start
kindergarten.” School would begin in a month. “Do you know your
alphabet, too?”

“
Uncle
Danny taught me.”

They’d played three
rounds of Go Fish, two of which Nina won, when Sarah heard a noise
from the living room. Glancing up, she met Daniel’s admiring brown
eyes.

“
You’re
good with her.” He went to his niece. “Did you have fun,
sweetie?”

“
Yes! Can
Sarah come with us to the fair on Saturday?” the little girl asked.
“Please, please, please!”

Daniel made a silent
appeal to Sarah before saying, “I traded overnights with Jane so
I’m free this weekend. If you don’t have plans on Saturday, we’d
love for you to join us.”

Sarah had meant to
catch up on sleep and do a little shopping before her Sunday
on-call shift. But this was the fair’s last weekend.

“
It’ll be
crowded,” she warned. “But yes, let’s go.”

As uncle and niece
departed, Betsy emerged from her bedroom. “I’d say he’s as keen on
you as Nina is.”

“
You were
listening!” Sarah pretended to glare. “Anyway, it was his niece who
invited me, not him.”

“
I didn’t
hear him objecting,” her mother murmured.

“
He could
hardly do that, could he?” All the same, Sarah was glad to be
invited.

*

It had been years
since Sarah visited the Orange County Fair. As a teenager, she’d
gravitated to the big-name concert acts and the roller
coaster-style rides that drew up to a million guests during the
event’s month-long run.

She hadn’t appreciated
its old-fashioned, child-friendly side until today. Nina adored the
miniature pig races, with little pink piglets jumping over tiny
hurdles. After that, they took in a magic act and a performance by
acrobats, then toured the model farm with its lambs, baby goats and
chicks.

“
I can’t
believe this place,” Daniel said as they watched a demonstration of
camel milking at the Oasis Camel Dairy. “A petting zoo and a dog
show I might expect, but this is unusual.”

“
Have you
toured the collections exhibit?” asked a young woman next to them,
hanging onto twin boys.

“
Collections?” Sarah echoed.

With her chin, the
woman pointed to the crafts building. “People collect all sorts of
weird things.”

“
Sounds
like fun,” Daniel said. “Thanks.”

Nina broke in. “I’m
hungry!”

“
And no
wonder.” Her uncle checked his watch. “It’s been hours since
lunch.”

They bought chicken
and pineapple kebabs. Those were healthy and not too fattening, but
they couldn’t resist following up with such fair specialties as
chocolate-covered bacon and deep-fried ice cream bars.

“
We should
know better,” Daniel murmured as they staggered toward the crafts
building, stuffed with cholesterol-laden foods. “We’re
doctors.”

“
Keep your
voice down, okay?” Sarah teased.

Nina gave a little
skip. “This is cool!”

Above her, Daniel eyed
Sarah appreciatively. “I’m glad you came with us.”

“
So am
I.”

“
Do you
spend much time with children?” he asked suddenly.

“
Only when
I’m helping my mom. Why?”

“
You’re
good with Nina,” Daniel noted.

“
I hope
so.” The conversation puzzled Sarah. However, they’d reached the
crafts building, and there were other things to talk
about.

The collections, they
discovered, consisted of anything that people chose to amass. There
were wrapped moist towelettes from restaurants around the country,
unusual canned goods, vintage bottle caps, and a display of Bermuda
shorts. Although Sarah had assumed those garments came from the
island of the same name, she’d never realized they originated with
the British Army for use in hot climates.

“
You learn
something new every day,” she observed.

“
Especially here.” Daniel patted Nina as she leaned against
him. “Tired, little one?”

“
Wore
out,” she said.

Reaching down, he
lifted her against his shoulder. “Let’s go home. Okay,
Sarah?”

“
Sure..”

It was nearly seven,
and the sunlight was dimming. In the rear seat, Nina fought to stay
awake. “When we get home, Sarah has to read me a night-night
story.”

“
We have
to drop Sarah off at her house on the way,” Daniel said.

Sarah saw the little
girl’s jaw set stubbornly. Exhausted, Nina obviously had no
emotional reserves, and Sarah hated to spoil the day. “You only
live a few blocks from us.” Daniel had mentioned how lucky he was
to rent an apartment close to work. “I can walk from
there.”

“
Are you
sure?” He studied her with concern before returning his attention
to the freeway traffic. “Your feet must be sore.”

They’d probably
traipsed the equivalent of ten miles today, Sarah reckoned. “Thank
heaven for athletic shoes.”

“
You’re a
good sport, no pun intended.”

“
I enjoy
reading picture books too,” she responded lightly. Also, she was
curious to see where he and Nina lived.

The apartment proved
to be a charming one-story unit surrounded by flowering bushes.
“This is pretty,” Sarah observed as Daniel unlocked the
door.

“
Best I
could find, and you can’t beat the location.”

The carpet might be
worn and the front room furnishings plain, but Nina’s room came
from another realm. A princess-pink canopy bed, a white bureau
stenciled with fairy tale characters, and a shelf overflowing with
picture books transformed it into a fantasyland.

“
It’s
beautiful,” Sarah said.

Beaming, Nina took out
a pink nightgown. “You stay right here while I brush my
teeth.”

“
You bet.”
While Nina was gone, Sarah knelt by the shelf to select a
story.

Lingering near the
door, Daniel looked big and masculine amid the frills. “You fit in
perfectly.”

“
Did her
parents buy all this?” Then she recognized her error. “I forgot
about the fire.”

“
I tried
to replace things as best I could.” He ran his hand over the soft
fur of a teddy bear. “She never said much about it.”

“
It must
have felt strange to her, living with you.” Book in hand, Sarah sat
by the bed in the glow of a lamp. “To you, too.”

Shadows obscured
Daniel’s eyes. “While I was familiar with her routine, she’d slept
on my cot one or two nights a week at most. Becoming a single dad,
well, I’m still adjusting. We both are.”

Nina returned and
snuggled under the covers. While Sarah read, the little girl
yawned, and by the last page, she’d fallen asleep.

Sarah kissed her
cheek. “Sleep well, sweetie.” As they exited, Daniel switched off
the lamp.

“
She
really doesn’t recall anything?” Sarah asked in the living
room.

“
Only in
her nightmares. But obviously that night troubles her deeply.”
Daniel ran his hand through his hair. Already mussed from the day’s
activities, it sprang up at odd angles.

Without thinking,
Sarah reached to smooth it. As her palm caressed the soft texture,
she heard his quick intake of breath.

His large hand covered
her smaller one, bringing it to his cheek, which was roughened by a
day’s growth of beard. As Daniel moved closer, his male scent
mingled with aftershave lotion, sending heat surging through her
body.

His hand at her waist
eased her against him, length for length, feeling his strength and
his longing. Rising on tiptoe, Sarah touched her lips to
his.

Then she was hard
against him, her mouth yielding, his tongue exploring while his
arms caged her. A low moan tore from her, pent-up desire rushing to
the surface.

She was lost, flying
outside herself. Melting into this man who meant so much, even more
now that they’d both learned, lost, grown.

Daniel lifted his
head, his heart thudding so fast she could feel it through their
clothing. “I’ve missed you terribly.”

“
Me, too,”
she whispered.

His hands cupped her
face and they were kissing again, slower and deeper. Sarah’s palms
found Daniel’s ribcage, then his spine. How well she remembered
those taut muscles and powerful hips. She wanted more of him, much
more.

With a sigh, he
released her. “We have a lot to discuss.”

At a
time like this?
“Daniel, what’s this about?”

“
I have
something to ask you.” A flicker of hesitation, and then he said,
“How would you feel about being a mother?”

Sarah certainly hadn’t expected
that.
“What do you mean?”

“
You and
Nina have bonded.” He searched for words. “She needs a
mom.”

Disappointment knotted
in Sarah’s stomach. “That’s why you’re interested in me? So your
niece can have a mother?”

“
I didn’t
put that very well.”

“
How else
would you put it?” She couldn’t believe she’d let herself fall for
him again. He’d played on her feelings and her attachment to Nina,
when all he wanted was a stand-in wife to shoulder some of his
burden. Maybe not even a wife, just a convenient housemate. “I
guess it would be handier to have me on the premises, is that
it?”

“
No, of
course not.” His tone was pleading, his manner distraught. What a
great actor. “I wish things weren’t so complicated.”

“
Never
mind.” She refused to stand here while he figured out the most
effective lie. “I’ll see you at work.”

Sarah strode out
without glancing back. If she did, she was afraid she might be
tempted to grant Daniel another chance.

Her cheeks flamed as
she recalled how she’d responded to his touch. What a gullible fool
she was. By next week, no doubt he’d be putting the moves on Edda,
or some other sucker.

Sarah’s heart
squeezed. The cool evening breeze, typical of Southern California’s
dry climate even after a hot day, gradually dried the tears. Even
so, it took a long while before she had calmed enough to face her
mother.

Chapter Four

For the next week,
Sarah spoke to Daniel as little as possible, and deleted his texts
and emails. All he did was apologize for his clumsiness and repeat
that the two of them needed to talk. Why? So he could formulate a
more effective plan to manipulate her?

At home, Betsy watched
her anxiously but didn’t pry. All Sarah had said, on arriving at
home Saturday evening, had been, “Daniel isn’t what he
appears.”

The following Friday
night, when Nina stayed over while Daniel worked a labor and
delivery shift, Sarah heated pre-cooked turkey sausage in the
microwave and fixed a salad. The stove wasn’t working properly; her
mother had ordered a replacement to be installed on
Monday.

Betsy kept casting sad
glances in Sarah’s direction. For goodness sake, did her mother
have to fall for Daniel, too? He sure knew how to pile on the charm
when it suited him.

After watching an
animated film with Nina curled on her lap, Sarah put the little
girl to bed. She’d grown too attached to distance herself from the
child.

In her own room, Sarah
tossed and turned. When Daniel learned of the opening at Jane and
Luke’s practice, why had he been so eager to join the staff? Surely
he had plenty of other opportunities.

Mentally, she replayed
their last encounter. What exactly had he said? Could she have
misjudged him, or were her doubts simply another sign of how
susceptible she was?

Sarah fell asleep at
last, only to be awakened by the shrill of the phone. It was the
charge nurse in labor and delivery.

“
There
must be something in the water,” the woman said apologetically.
“We’ve had a rush of women in labor, and Dr. Durand’s performing an
emergency Caesarian section. I know it isn’t your night, but can
you please come in?”

Sarah checked the
clock. Three a.m. Oh, well, she’d had five hours’ sleep, which
ought to suffice. “I’ll be right there.”

Leaving a note for
Betsy in the living room, she hurried out. At this hour, she drove
rather than walked, arriving at the hospital barely in time to
deliver a baby. The mother, who already had four children, gave
birth easily and quickly. Two more uncomplicated births
followed.