How Do I Love Thee? (11 page)

‘It’s the only thing I want to hear,’ she cut in. ‘And the one thing you never said.’

‘I offered to marry you,’ he growled.

‘For the baby’s sake, not because you want me.’

‘I’ve always wanted you. I just …’ He coughed. ‘I just didn’t know how to say it.’

‘Then we have Desmond to thank for showing you the way.’

Cade felt his eyes brim again. ‘You want to name your son after my foster father?’

‘He’s the best role model any child could have. How does Desmond Cade sound?’

His grin threatened to split his face. ‘It has the perfect ring to it.’

Could any day be more beautiful than this, Laura asked herself a month later as she came out of the doctor’s surgery. Both she and Desmond Cade had been given a clean bill of health. Cade had done all the right things in the lift, although it had been a huge relief when they were finally freed after
a neighbour had called the maintenance company. They’d fixed both the lift and the emergency phone, and had offered a handsome sum in compensation. Happy to accept, she and Cade had agreed they didn’t want a legal battle, considering how well everything had turned out.

Cade stepped out of the shade to greet her. ‘Everything okay?’

‘Any fitter and we’d be dangerous,’ she said, knowing the same could be said of him. He was already dangerous to her peace of mind, and she knew he always would be. But she could live with that, provided he kept looking at her as lovingly as he was doing now, as if she was a gift he’d never expected to receive.

She shifted the sleeping baby more comfortably in her arms. ‘What did you find out from Alice Grollier’s doctor?’

Cade’s features shadowed. ‘They think it’s only a matter of hours, so you should see her soon.’

He moved to take the baby from her, but she shook her head. ‘We’ll all go. Alice is the last link to your mother, and would want you there. You made quite a friend in her.’

‘She isn’t hard to like,’ he said, falling into step as she headed towards the hospice building.

Alice was lying in bed, her skin papery and her eyes closed. Her lids fluttered open and she smiled gently at the
sight of Cade at her bedside. ‘Alan, you came. They said you couldn’t get here in time.’

She groped for his hand and Cade took it, conscious that she wasn’t seeing him but her lost husband, and content to play whatever role gave the older woman peace. ‘You knew I’d come,’ he assured her. ‘I have someone else to see you.’

Laura moved closer, Desmond Cade cradled in her arms. At the sight, Alice’s eyes filled with moisture. ‘You brought my darling Patrick. They told me …’

‘Sssh,’ Laura murmured. ‘Everything’s all right.’

‘It is now that I have Alan and my baby here,’ Alice quavered. She crooked her arm. ‘Put him beside me.’

With a glance at Cade who nodded, Laura placed the tiny bundle into the curve of Alice’s arm. ‘Let me know if he’s too heavy for you.’

‘My Patrick could never be too heavy, although I am very tired.’ The woman’s eyes started to drift shut but her mouth tilted into a dreamy smile. ‘So good that you’re here, Alan. Thank you for bringing Patrick. So tired …’

Cade stroked Alice’s hand. ‘Sleep now, we’ll take good care of the baby.’

‘Bless you.’ A sighing breath escaped her lips and her arm slackened on the coverlet.

With a choked cry, Laura took the baby, cradling him against her. ‘Oh, Cade.’

He placed an arm around her shoulder, drawing them both close. His family. ‘I know. But look how peaceful she is. In her mind, she had her husband and baby back at last.’

Laura rested her head on his shoulder, too choked up to say anything. She felt him kiss the top of her head as his fingers stroked the baby’s. It was a shame Alice wouldn’t be there for their wedding in a month’s time. Laura’s married friends had agreed to be Desmond Cade’s godparents, after returning home with news of their own.

‘Did I tell you Marylou is pregnant?’ she said now.

Cade smiled at Laura and the baby. ‘Alice would say that’s just how it ought to be.’

A
LEXIS
F
LEMING

‘
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways …
’

‘Oh, what a cutie. Where did you come from? Are you lost?’

Tori dropped to her knees and held her hand out to the dog. The canine inched nearer, sniffed at her skin, then took a tentative swipe with his long tongue.

‘See? Nothing to be scared about.’ She ran one hand along his snout and brought the other up to scratch behind his ear. When the animal angled his shaggy head, she burrowed her fingers in the thick ruff of hair that circled his neck and ended under his chin.

‘No collar. Unless you’re microchipped, you’re obviously a stray. And if I don’t miss my guess, some type of cross between a wolf-like breed and a domestic dog.’

His coat was thick and bulky, charcoal grey with streaks of black. Slanted eyes. Elongated snout. If she didn’t know wolves weren’t found in Australia, except in zoos, she’d swear this was a full-blooded member of the species. Wolfdogs were allowed, but only under very strict conditions. Too big a chance they’d breed with the wild dingoes and create a more vicious breed if they weren’t regulated.

She tilted the animal’s head up and inspected him. She’d never seen a wolfdog with eyes quite that colour of amber. ‘You’re a handsome beast, but I’ll bet you know that already, don’t you?’

She buried her head in the thick hair behind his ear. The dog turned his head and licked her up the side of her neck. When she jerked back in reaction, he flicked his tongue over her mouth.

‘Eww, doggy drool.’ She swiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. ‘I don’t mind kisses, but not on the lips, okay?’

He nudged at her shoulder. Tori lost her balance, falling onto her butt in the dust. The dog gambolled about her, licking wherever he found bare flesh. Bizarre for a stray to be so friendly. Perhaps he had a family out there. She’d ask
around and see if anyone had missed him. In the meantime, he could stay here at the dog shelter.

She sat up, laughing at the dog’s antics. He tucked his muzzle into the curve of her neck and Tori heard a distinctive sniff. He snuffled his way down her body, finally burying his nose in her crotch.

Tori pushed him away. ‘Bad dog, enough of that. That is
not
a gentlemanly thing to do to a girl.’ The canine stretched his mouth wide and she could have sworn he was grinning at her. Her lips twitched. Boys will be boys, animal
or
human.

‘See you’ve found a new friend, Victoria.’

Tori whipped her head around to find her adopted father, Ross Calligan, standing behind her. She was supposed to be on her guard. She hadn’t even heard him approach.

Ross Calligan had been the local vet for as long as she could remember. And after her parents were killed in a car accident when she was thirteen, he’d adopted her. Because of the head injury she’d suffered in the crash, she couldn’t remember much of her earlier years, but she had an occasional flash of a much younger Ross bouncing a young child on his knee.

Ross ran his hand over the dog’s head. A grin pulled at his mouth. ‘Think you should be cavorting in the dirt with a strange male? You never know who he might be.’

‘Nothing strange about this beautiful fellow. He’s just a little lost. He can stay here until we find out if he belongs to anyone.’

‘Oh, I don’t think he’d allow anyone to own him. Probably the other way around. I get the feeling he’d make his own rules.’

Tori stood and dusted off her shorts. ‘Let’s go up to the house.’

She led the way, the dog following. When she opened the door, the animal hurried inside, as if afraid he wasn’t going to be invited. Tori chuckled. ‘Yeah, I’ll let you come in for now, but don’t get used to it. Dogs belong down at the kennels. And we’ll have to do something about dosing you up for any undesirables. The last thing I want are fleas jumping around my home.’ The dog whined and scooted under the nearest chair, looking at her as if terrified.

Ross roared with laughter. ‘Don’t think he likes that idea. Why not let him go and see if he heads home? There’s probably a whole stack of people out there wondering where he is.’

The dog growled, glaring at Ross. Ross perched on the arm of the sofa, a grin curving his mouth as if he indulged in some great joke.

Tori dropped down beside him. ‘What brings you here today? I thought you’d be at the surgery.’

‘No surgeries scheduled for the moment.’ He waved Tori further up the couch and slipped into the vacant space. ‘I needed to talk with you and figured this was the best time.’

Pulling her legs up, she crossed her arms on her bent knees. ‘What’s the problem?’

‘I’ve arranged a bodyguard for you. He’ll stay with you twenty-four hours a day to make certain you’re safe.’

There was dead silence for a moment and then Tori glared at Ross. ‘No way. I do
not
need a bodyguard.’

‘Victoria, be sensible. This is the second time someone has tried to break into your house in the middle of the night. Then there was that attempt to snatch you at the local supermarket. You need to take care. You didn’t even hear me coming earlier. I could have been anyone.’

Tori lowered her head onto her arm. Ross was right. She did need to be careful, but she sure as heck didn’t need a bodyguard. ‘The new police sergeant is on the case, but says the would-be abductor could be miles away by now. And the most likely explanation for what I thought were break-in attempts is wild dogs attracted here by the kennels, because of the paw prints found around the house.’

She glanced over at Ross, frowning at the worry etched on his lined face. ‘All right, you win,’ she suddenly gave in, holding up her hand as Ross released a deep sigh. ‘But there are a few rules. This is only until we find out what’s going
on. And he stays in one of the apartments above the kennels along with the other workers.’

‘What good is that if something happens in the middle of the night?’

The dog took that moment to crawl out from under the chair and nudge at Ross’s leg with his long snout. Ross stared at the mutt before getting up to open the front door. The animal zapped out and disappeared around the side of the house.

Ross shrugged as he closed the door. ‘Okay, I can live with that. Provided you use that intercom system I installed between here and the kennels.’

Tori inclined her head in agreement. ‘Who did you get?’

A knock sounded on the front door. Ross opened it before she could move. When she saw who it was, her lips tightened in annoyance, even while her heart started to race.

‘Kaeden? What do you want?’

‘Hello to you, too, Victoria. I’m your new bodyguard.’

Tori’s mouth dropped open. She glared at Ross, not surprised he wouldn’t meet her gaze. ‘Kaeden? Kaeden O’Dowell? You have got to be kidding.’

Damn it, Ross knew she couldn’t stand Kaeden. Something about him pushed her buttons, made her see red whenever he was around. Kaeden had been baiting her since she was thirteen and he didn’t look like stopping any time soon.

‘Sorry. We needed the best and Kaeden is it. I’ll leave you to settle the details.’ Ross marched to the front door, Kaeden stepping aside to allow him to pass.

Kaeden closed the door and dropped the overnight bag he carried at his feet. He leaned back against the stained timber and crossed his arms over his chest. His very bare chest. How the hell had she missed that?

Tight denim jeans hugged his hips and moulded the musculature of his thighs. A brown leather belt hung unbuckled from the belt loops. She ran her gaze over his naked torso, marking the perfectly delineated pecs, the smattering of dark hair trailing down his stomach.

Oh, boy!

She had a sudden desire to trace the tip of her tongue across all that bronzed flesh. Sudden nothing! Here was the real reason she didn’t want to spend time with Kaeden. He made her feel hotter than any other man she’d ever met. He angered the hell out of her most of the time, trying to tell her how to run her life, but she still lusted after him. And maybe, just maybe, if she was honest with herself, it was a little bit more than good old-fashioned lust. Not that she’d admit that to Kaeden.

Hormones, Tori, nothing but hormones!
Yeah, right, she just wished they weren’t quite so vocal.

She tilted her head back and stared at the mischievous glint in Kaeden’s amber-tinted eyes. Something familiar
about them caught in the back of her mind. She frowned, dismissed the thought and focused on the matter at hand. ‘You could have finished dressing before you reported to your new employer. Kind of tacky, don’t you think?’

‘Why, Miss Tori, surely the sight of a bit of naked flesh doesn’t upset you?’ With a lift of his eyebrows, he slid the palm of one hand up his chest. ‘I’ve never had any other woman complain.’

Tori followed his movement, heat streaking throughout her body. She wanted nothing more than to drag him down onto the floor and—she cut the thought off before it got her into trouble. Damn, this had to stop and right now.

‘You arrogant slob.’ She shoved Kaeden away from the door and wrenched it open. ‘Out! You can share the apartment with James or bunk in the kennels along with the rest of the mutts for all I care. You are
not
staying in the house with me.’

Kaeden backed her up against the wall. ‘Oh, I’m going out to the kennels all right, but not to sleep. I want to check on the guys. Giles and Steve are joining James on watch duty tonight. They’ll keep an eye on the outside …’ He leaned forward and dropped a quick kiss on her open mouth, ‘and I’ll watch from the inside. Simple.’

It took a few moments for his words to filter through the sexual tension that turned her brain to mush and sent heat cascading through her veins. By the time she’d collected
herself, Kaeden had crossed the front porch and stepped down onto the gravel path that led to the kennels. She moved into the doorway and braced her hands on her hips.

‘You think you’re so damn smart, Kaeden McDowell. You. Are. Not. Staying. With. Me.’ She grabbed the handle of his overnight bag and dragged it through the door. ‘Go bed down somewhere else. Those burglars couldn’t get through a locked door the other night and I doubt you’ll do any better.’