Dance with the Doctor Read online

  IT STARTED to snow again just past the town of Bailey. The snowflakes seemed to fly right at the windshield, a swirl of white confetti against the growing darkness, glittering in the headlights. “It’s like we’re in the middle of a giant snow globe,” Taylor said.

  “Then I wish whoever owns the thing would stop shaking it,” Darcy said.

  “But it’s so pretty.”

  Any other time, Darcy might have agreed. The world was covered in white frosting, all the sharp edges softened, even the sound of the car’s tires muted by snow.

  The car slowed as the transmission shifted to a lower gear. They climbed a steep hill. The road curved toward the top, threading between a rocky cliff and a steep drop-off.

  Pete’s car had landed at the bottom of that drop-off, rolling an estimated six times before it landed, upright, in a pasture where bison grazed.

  Sometimes, horrible as it sounded, she was glad Pete had died. Even that grief was easier to bear than the thought of him having lived while Riley hadn’t. She didn’t think she would have been able to forgive him.

  She still hadn’t forgiven him, just as she couldn’t forgive herself.

  She was crying by the time she reached the top of the hill, tears streaming down her face. She tilted her head forward, her hair falling across one cheek, hiding her face from the child in the backseat. She prayed Taylor didn’t notice her distress in the gathering darkness.

  Taylor. She fixed her thoughts on the girl. The child with Riley’s heart. Taylor had a gentleness and a vulnerability Darcy’s rough, tough boy had never possessed. She was a child, yet all she’d suffered gave her a maturity that showed up at unexpected moments. Sometimes when Darcy looked at Taylor, she saw her own insecurities and doubts staring back at her.

  She slowed the car to a crawl at the top of the hill, forcing her foot to stay in contact with the accelerator, gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were white, grateful for the darkness and the swirling snow that prevented her from seeing beyond the reach of the headlights.

  And then they were past the danger point. The curve straightened and the highway descended gradually toward the lights of Fairplay, laid out along the river like a Victorian mining town.

  Shaky with relief, Darcy guided the car into the lot of the first business she saw, a combination gas station/liquor store/coffee shop.

  “Why are we stopping?” Taylor asked.

  “I need a break.” Darcy pried her stiff fingers from the steering wheel and fumbled with her seat belt. “Hot chocolate sounds good, don’t you think?”

  “Hot chocolate sounds great.”

  Taylor met Darcy outside the car as she unfolded from the front seat. Darcy still felt wobbly, so she put one hand on the door to steady herself, and the other on the girl. She drew Taylor close and gave her a quick hug.

  “What was that for?” the girl asked.

  “I’m just glad you’re here with me,” she said. Glad life had given her a second chance to get things right.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  MIKE HUNCHED over the steering wheel, trying to make out the road through the swirling snow. Traffic crawled up the steep grade of the last of three passes he had to cross to get to Breckenridge. Visibility was so poor all he could do was follow the taillights of the car in front of him and hope they didn’t lead him over a cliff.

  This was insane. Any man with sense would get a hotel room and wait for the storm to pass. Or better yet, he would never have left home in the first place. But there was nothing for Mike at his empty house; Taylor and Darcy waited in Breckenridge.

  Chest X-rays had shown mild congestion in Brent’s lungs, and the blood work had revealed a slightly elevated white count, a sign of infection, though not a severe one. Mike had prescribed antibiotics and a decongestant and sent the boy and his mother home with instructions to report to the emergency room if Brent’s symptoms worsened.

  Darcy had called Mike just before he left Woodbine, to let him know they’d arrived safely. She’d sounded so calm, as if driving ninety miles in a blizzard was something she did every day. Listening to her made him feel better about the long drive ahead.

  He remembered one of the last trips he’d made to the condo while he and Melissa were still married. Melissa was never a shrew, but she didn’t like being inconvenienced. She’d complained about the heavy traffic, pointing out if they’d left earlier they could have avoided the backup. She’d chided Mike for driving too close, then made disapproving noises when he let another car cut in front of him. She’d frowned over the crowded condition of the parking garage, which had forced them to park far from the elevator. Mike began to think of her as a black cloud, casting gloom all around her.

  In contrast, Darcy was full of sunlight.

  He held on to that thought as he guided the car down the opposite side of Hoosier Pass and on into the town of Breckenridge. The lights of the condos and shops sparkled in the snow like Christmas decorations. A few people moved along the snowy sidewalks between the restaurants and bars, and a white shuttle bus chugged slowly away from a stop.

  He found a parking space in the condo garage and carried his duffel bag and ski boots to the elevator. He felt as weary as if he’d walked all the way from Woodbine. A quick check of his watch showed it was nine o’clock. Taylor should be in bed, though part of him hoped she’d waited up for him.

  He was fumbling with his key in the door when it opened. “Daddy, you’re finally here!”

  Taylor, in flannel pajamas and fuzzy pink slippers, stood on tiptoe to embrace him. He dropped the bag and his boots and scooped her up, breathing in the smell of strawberry shampoo.

  As he straightened he saw Darcy. She wore yoga pants and a light knit top—a sexier version of sweats—her long hair loose about her shoulders. “I hope your drive wasn’t too bad,” she said.

  “It was horrible, but that doesn’t matter now that I’m here.” He shifted Taylor to his right hip and held out his left arm. Darcy came to him and he hugged her, eyes closed, savoring the moment.

  Taylor squirmed, reminding him his daughter—and his back—couldn’t hold the pose that long. “I’m glad you waited up for me,” he told Taylor as he set her on the floor once more. “But isn’t it past your bedtime?”

  “I want to stay up with you and Darcy,” she said.

  “You’ll see plenty of me and Darcy tomorrow. And if you don’t get enough sleep you’ll be a big grouch. Come on, I’ll tuck you in.”

  “While you do that, I’ll reheat your dinner,” Darcy said.

  He shed his coat, then carried his duffel to his room and Taylor to hers. She made no more protests, clearly weary from the excitement of the day. By the time he’d verified she’d taken her medications and brushed her teeth, pulled the covers up to her chin and kissed her good-night, her eyes were already drooping. He switched off the light and moved quietly down the hall and into the kitchen.

  “Something smells good,” he said, moving in close behind Darcy. He wanted to put his arms around her and pull her near, but wasn’t sure how she’d react.

  “Pork chops, hash browns and peas—all stuff I found in your freezer.” She gave him an appreciative glance. “You keep things well stocked for a bachelor who doesn’t visit here often.”

  “I like to eat, and I always have intentions of making it up here more, so at the beginning of the season I stocked up.”

  The microwave dinged and she reached up and took out a plate. “I hope you don’t mind that it’s re-heated. Taylor and I ate earlier.”

  “I’m so hungry I could eat fried boot.” He watched as she arranged the potatoes alongside the chops. If he’d been making the meal he’d have eaten everything from the pan.

  “How is your patient?” she asked, carrying the plate to the table at the end of the counter. “The one you stayed to see?”

  “Not too good.” He sliced into a pork chop, suddenly starving. “It’s a boy, a couple of years younger than Taylor, with a similar heart valve problem.
I’m worried he’s going into congestive heart failure, though the cardiologist didn’t seem too concerned.” He frowned. The cardiologist had agreed with Mike’s decision to prescribe medication and send Brent and his mother home. Mike would have rested easier if Brent had remained in the hospital for observation. He couldn’t decide if his medical instincts were trying to alert him to a real problem, or if guilt over Taylor had him imagining disaster where there was none.

  “I hope he’s okay,” Darcy said. “Would you like some wine? There’s a bottle of red in your cabinet.”

  “I’d love some.” After the third mountain pass he’d contemplated a stiff shot of Scotch, but the wine would do.

  He continued eating while she opened the wine and filled two glasses. “To a lovely weekend,” she said, and touched her glass to his.

  “To a lovely weekend.” He sipped the wine, which was smooth going down, warming him. “Another half a bottle of this and I might forget about that horrible drive.”

  “That bad?” she asked.

  “The roads were almost invisible by the time I got to Hoosier Pass,” he said. “How was it for you?”

  She shook her head. “I still had daylight. In some ways, I think not being able to see would have made it easier for me.” She stared at the wine, but didn’t make a move to drink it. Something in her stillness disturbed him.

  He laid aside his fork. “Why is that?”

  “Pete and Riley were killed at Red Hill Pass,” she said. “They were on their way to see a friend of Pete’s. I…I haven’t driven past there since.”

  “Until today.” His own afternoon’s ordeal seemed petty next to all she’d faced. “I never would have insisted you drive Taylor by yourself if I’d known. Why didn’t you say something?”

  “I didn’t want you to think I was a coward.”

  “I would never think that.” She had faced tragedy with more courage than he imagined he’d be able to muster in similar circumstances.

  “Thank you for saying that.” She raised the glass to her lips and took a long drink, her eyes meeting his over the rim.

  He saw all the pain in her eyes, and the courage that had somehow carried her through. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he said. “I wish I could’ve been there with you.”

  “Some other time we’ll make the drive together. I made it because Taylor was with me—and because I wanted to be with you this weekend more than I wanted to be home alone. I’m tired of grief being the strongest emotion in my life.”

  He pushed aside his plate and reached across the table to take her hand. “You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever met,” he said. “Every day you face things I can only imagine.”

  “I’m tired of being brave.” The heat in her voice caught him off guard.

  “Then don’t be,” he said quietly. He stood and pulled her up with him, into his arms.

  She melted against him, her kisses searing him, banishing the last ice around his heart.

  He pressed her back against the counter. She wasn’t wearing a bra and when he slid his hand beneath her sweater and felt her bare breast he groaned.

  “Shh,” she whispered. “Taylor will hear.”

  “No she won’t. She’s exhausted from the excitement. She’ll sleep all night.” He wouldn’t use his daughter as an excuse to keep them apart any longer.

  He kissed her neck, sucking on the sweet, smooth flesh. “My bedroom is at the other end of the condo. Darcy, I want to make love to you. I think I’ve wanted it practically from the moment we met, but now that I know you better I only want you more.”

  “Yes. I want that, too.”

  “The world won’t end if Taylor finds out we spent the night together. She loves you. I love you.”

  “Oh, Mike.” She smiled, eyes glittering. Then she let him take her hand and lead her to the bedroom.

  DARCY FELT the same butterflies she got before she debuted a new dance. She reminded herself sex was not a solo performance. Rather, it was a duet. She only hoped she could remember her part.

  “You’re trembling,” Mike said as he took her in his arms after he’d locked the bedroom door behind them.

  “I’m nervous,” she admitted. “It’s been a while.”

  “For me, too.” He held her, her head cradled on his shoulder. “I don’t think it’s something we forget. But if we do, we can help each other remember.”

  He kissed her again, almost tentatively, hands that had explored her so boldly before hesitating at the hem of her sweater, as if the short walk from the kitchen had given him too much time to think about what they were doing.

  She’d had a dance teacher early on who’d told her the reason she wasn’t getting any better as a performer was that she thought too much about the moves she needed to do and not enough about how the music made her feel. If she focused more on her emotions, her training would take over and the moves would come naturally.

  That teacher had been right. Darcy gripped the hem of her sweater, lifted it over her head and sent it sailing across the room. Not looking at Mike, she also stripped off the pants, and stood before him naked.

  When she did meet his eyes he was smiling, and she felt warmed in the heat of his gaze. “So much for taking it slow,” he said.

  “We’ve wasted so much time already.” She undid the top button of his shirt.

  He kissed her again while she fumbled with the buttons, tracing the curves of her hips and thighs as she pulled the shirttails from his pants and pushed it back off his shoulders.

  Then it was her turn. She kissed her way down his chest as he struggled out of the shirt, removed his belt and lowered the zipper over the hard length of his erection.

  The butterflies returned at this blatant evidence of his desire, but they were soon vanquished by her own longing. It had been so long since she’d loved and been loved. Too long.

  She kissed him with new intensity, clinging to him, reveling in the feel of flesh against flesh. Her urgency fueled his desire and soon they were rolling on the bed like randy teens, but with an adult’s knowledge of what lay ahead.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said when they paused to catch their breath. He smoothed his hand across her belly. “So gorgeous.”

  Never mind that her stomach wasn’t as flat as she would like or her breasts as round. With him she felt gorgeous, and that was all that mattered. That, and the delicious tension building inside her.

  Still, she held him off. “I trust a doctor has condoms?”

  “This weekend, I do.” He got up and went into the bathroom, leaving her with the knowledge that he’d had plans to make love to her this weekend. Taylor might have extended the invitation, but Mike definitely wanted her along.

  He’d said he loved her. Magic words that had left her completely undone. “I love you, too,” she whispered, the words hard to say, even when he wasn’t around to hear them.

  Then he was back, stalking across the room naked, stripping open a condom package as he approached. He knelt over her, fitting it on, then she reached for him.

  “Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked, caressing her thighs.

  “I’m more than ready,” she said. “All I want is you in me.”

  “I’m always happy to give a lady what she wants.” The roguish gleam in his eye made her laugh, then he made her gasp as he filled her. Such exquisite pleasure…

  She quit thinking about moves and focused on feeling, letting her body lead the way. What pleased her brought pleasure to him, strengthening the connection between them.

  The intensity of her climax caught her by surprise, and she bit the side of her hand to keep from crying out. Then Mike covered her lips with his own, smothering his own groans.

  When he finally released her, sliding over to lie by her side, she couldn’t stop smiling, despite her tears.

  “Are you crying?” Mike asked.

  “Only because I’m so happy.” She rolled onto her side to face him. “Mike, you don’t know. There was a time I
imagined I could never be this happy again.”

  “Me, too.” He drew her close, to cradle her head in the hollow of his shoulder. “Me, too.”

  Then he fell asleep.

  She rested her palm on his chest, feeling the steady, strong beat of his heart. “I love you,” she whispered, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her.

  VERY EARLY in the morning, Darcy woke up and slipped from Mike’s bed. She found her sweater and yoga pants on the floor, put them on and tiptoed from the room.

  She had thought to retire to the spare bedroom, but she was too restless to go back to bed—or at least to a cold bed, alone. Instead, she went to Taylor’s room.

  The girl slept on her back, one arm flung out at her side, curls falling across her face. How often had Darcy stood over her son and watched him sleep like this? She’d missed the privilege of observing a child so innocent and still.

  She resisted the urge to brush the hair from the girl’s eyes, and contented herself with watching the even rise and fall of Taylor’s chest.

  That Taylor was alive to take a breath was a miracle. To think that one person’s heart could be given to another, that this essential organ could live on after the one who had been born with it was gone….

  But was that any more miraculous than Darcy’s own restoration? She had gone through the motions of living after Riley and Pete died, but inside she had felt empty and hollow.

  Yet here she was, so full of love she wanted to shout.

  “Is everything all right?” Mike’s voice behind her was soft. He moved to the bed. “Did Taylor call out?”

  “No, she’s fine,” Darcy whispered. She tucked her arm in his. He was wearing only sweatpants, a marked change from the dress shirts and slacks she was used to seeing him in. He looked very sexy, and she felt the pleasant warmth of desire.

  “I just like watching her,” she whispered. “She’s so beautiful.”

  “She is.” Mike looked at his daughter a moment longer, then turned to Darcy. “So are you.”

  He laced his fingers with hers and led her from the room, back down the hall to his own bed. “I thought I should go into the guest room,” Darcy said.