Second Time Around (14 page)

“I have a meeting with a Realtor. I'll see you later.”

Emily offered her halfhearted best wishes to Kat on finding a studio that had room for a few employees and storage for her stock. The door closed behind her sister as Emily pried the cover off the handle and started turning the screwdriver.
Maybe if I readjust the handle, it'll make it through lunch, anyway.

“Morning, beautiful. I saw Katarina outside, and she told me to come on in.” Kevin closed the door and walked across the living room. “What are you doing?”

Emily turned, relieved to see Kevin. “Hi. Where's your mother?”

“She thought we should have some time alone after…” He stepped closer. “You're not taking that off, are you?”

“I'm just going to see if the washer needs to be replaced.”

“You did shut off the main water valve, didn't…”

Emily lifted the screw out and jiggled the handle, and the water exploded like a fountain all over the
kitchen. “Help!” She tried to put the handle back on, which only made matters worse.

“Move. Hold a bowl or pan over that so it will at least force it back into the sink.” Kevin dropped to the ground, pushing her aside. He reached under the sink, tossing bottles of cleaner out of his way. He let out a grunt, then yelled, “Wrench!”

She grabbed the pliers and handed them to him. He popped his head out of the cabinet and gave her a look of disgust.

She shrugged her shoulders. “It's all I have.”

Groaning, he banged on the handle and began twisting. “Give me some oil. Maybe that'll loosen this rust.”

Emily looked at the pan, knowing that the minute she let go of it, water would spray everywhere again. At least his idea kept it somewhat contained. “It's in the cabinet across the kitchen, to the right of the stove. Can you get it? If I move, the water's going to spray everywhere again.”

Emily looked at the pictures on her refrigerator that were ruined, the Victorian lace curtains that were dripping water, and the puddles inching their way toward the carpet.

He scooted across the floor and returned with the towel and oil. A few minutes later, the water finally slowed to a stop. Kevin slid out of the cabinet again and slumped against the refrigerator. “You forgot one itty-bitty detail, Doc.”

“Sorry.”

Kevin laughed. He looked at her and smiled. “What was that agreement we made? I won't practice medicine, you don't do any building? Let's add plumbing to that list.”

Soaked, Emily knelt next to him and lifted one eyebrow. “Don't suppose I could beg for mercy and ask you for a favor?”

He pulled her into his soggy embrace. “Gee, I don't know. You haven't saved my life, or my business, or…anything.” His words faded into a whisper as he gave her a kiss that made her very happy she was already sitting down.

T
he next morning, Kevin discussed the clinic plans with Alex, answering his questions about the next phase of the project. Kevin struggled over leaving his “baby” in someone else's hands, though he knew Alex was more than capable of handling everything. Throughout the first week, he made excuses to stop in daily. Kevin soon realized everything was under control and that he might as well get other work done.

Knowing the project was back on track made it easier for him to follow doctors' orders—both Emily's and Dr. Roberts's. The last thing he wanted was
more
medical attention.

With any luck at all, Monday morning the doctor would give him the all-clear to return to work next week.

Taking advantage of Alex's help, Kevin prepared bids for future projects and caught up on paperwork. After looking at the stack of potential contracts, Kevin ran a few figures through the computer, and
smiled. He was beginning to see real benefits to having his brother around.

Despite his initial anger, the two were working well together, and Kevin was beginning to wonder if there was room to add
Brothers
to the name MacIntyre Construction, after all. If Alex was serious about giving up firefighting, he and his brother had something to discuss.

Kevin stopped by the clinic to check on the progress the crew had made under Alex's sole direction. He had to admit, the results were impressive. Still, though they were back on schedule without him and he'd been relieved to get ahead on the office work, Kevin was itching to get his hands dirty again.

Kevin walked inside, greeting the staff along the way. As he got closer to Emily's office, he overheard Bob Walker trying to sweet-talk her again.

“I had a small mix-up for this weekend, Em. I didn't realize it was my turn to be on call already, and I made other plans. Could you fill in for me?” the man begged.

Emily didn't respond. Kevin peeked around the corner, trying to decide whether to walk on in or wait in the hall. A smile remained plastered painfully to her bright face. She was going to give in, again.

Oh, no, you don't, Doc. If you're too generous to say no, then I'll take care of it for you.

Kevin stepped into the room, startling both Emily and the other doctor. “Hi, sweetheart, sorry I'm late. I just picked up our train tickets for this weekend. It's all planned. Hot springs, here we come.”

“Kevin!” Her green eyes widened in amazement when he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her
on the cheek, then turned to the arrogant Dr. Walker and smiled.

The man's face went blank as he stammered, “I—I didn't think you'd be busy. Sorry. You and the builder are…?”

“Very close,” Kevin confirmed, hugging Emily.

“Oh, Kevin and me? Yes, we go way back.” She looked up at him with “I can't believe you did this” twinkling in her eyes.

Bob backed slowly away. “I didn't realize. Well, if you'll excuse me. Ah, have a nice weekend.”

“Same to you, Bob,” Kevin said, loosening his hold on Emily.

She was still gazing up at him, but said to Dr. Walker, “Sorry I can't cover for you again, Bob.”

“I'll figure something out.” The man backed out of the office, his stare boring through Kevin as he turned around.

“I'm sure you will.” How she managed to sound sweet was beyond Kevin's comprehension.

Kevin watched to make sure Bob was out of ear-shot, then closed the door. He studied her sanctuary lined with medical books and journals. There was nothing in here that revealed the Emily he had once loved, just the doctor she had become. Her many honors lined the walls of her study.
Summa cum laude,
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Fellowship, American Academy of Obstetrics… Kevin turned away from the reminders of what had come between them and what it had already cost them.

“Why didn't you just tell the jerk ‘no'?”

“I was going to, before you interrupted with that
outrageous
claim of yours. And where in the world did you come up with ‘sweetheart'? Good grief,
Kevin. Do you realize the implications?” she asked with quiet emphasis.

His blue eyes narrowed speculatively. “I would have thought that removing yourself as my physician would already have opened up the ‘implication' file.”

“The only one who knows—make that
knew,
was Dr. Roberts. But that's obviously not the case now. Everyone will know by Monday morning.”

“I'm tired of watching you work yourself into the ground. Don't you ever take time to relax?”

Emily tilted her head to the side and placed one hand on her hip. “Aren't you one to talk? If you weren't working all the time, you wouldn't know how many hours I put in, now would you?”

He didn't bother pointing out that he'd just taken time “off,” since, just as soon as he was able, he'd be making her statement true again. “So we both work too much, which is all the more reason we need to get out of town.”

“I hope you enjoy yourself,” Emily said absently as she stepped behind the desk to the chair and opened a patient file.

Kevin saw the phone book standing on her desk and looked up a number, while Emily returned to her work. He reached for the receiver and dialed a number. “Yes, I'd like to see if you can reserve two tickets for the train ride to Glenwood tonight.” He smiled. “Great, I'll be right over to pay. My name is Kevin MacIntyre.”

Emily popped back to her feet. “You wouldn't dare.”

Kevin looked at the phone and handed it to her. “I just did. We're going to relax if it kills us. I might
as well take a few days to get away while Alex is still around, right? Can you be ready at five?”

Emily thought of Ricky. He'd be arriving next weekend, and she had to get a room ready for his visit. Even though it was officially just a visit, she was thinking of it as—sort of a trial run—and she wanted everything to be just right. “I can't go.”

He leaned over and kissed her cheek, whispering in her ear, “The break will be good for both of us. We haven't had much time together. I think it's time we do, don't you?”

Emily felt her heart skip a beat. “Oh, Kevin. I don't know.” She felt the blood rush to her cheeks. He sounded so—serious.

She thought of Ricky, and becoming a mother, and the fact that this might be her last chance to get away, as well. Though Katarina claimed she'd be willing to continue living with her in order to make the transition smooth, Emily was still hesitant.
If I adopt Ricky, I'm going to have to rethink
everything
I do.

His gaze bore into her in silent expectation. Before she knew it, Kevin was standing next to her and lifting her chin to him. When he spoke, his voice was tender. “Come on, Emily. With our careers, you never know how long it might be before we have the chance to get away again.”

Suddenly the distance between them faded, and Emily could think of only one reason to stay home—fear.

A lot had changed since they had been engaged. “Older and wiser” was more than just a quaint phrase to her—it was what had given her the courage to accept God's forgiveness and rededicate herself to Him.
You have to talk to Kevin before it's too late.

Two hours later, Kevin drove up to the house and knocked on the door. He loaded her bag into the truck for the short drive to Union Station in Denver to catch the train.

Once the truck door closed and they pulled away from the curb, Kevin took her hand. “I want to give it another try, Emmy.”

For the past two hours she'd practiced how to tell him there was someone else in her life that was now her first priority. She took a deep breath, yet her courage faltered.
Give me the words to tell him, Father.
Would he understand why it had to be different between them this time?

“What makes you think anything has changed, Kevin? If anything, we're even more set in our own lives now.”

“Hasn't this past month been enough to show you that we can juggle schedules with the rest of this crazy world? Before my accident, I didn't think I could let Alex help with the business, either, and that's working fine.” Kevin told her in detail about the disagreement between Alex and him that had led to closing down his father's business. Until Alex had come here, the two men had simply ignored the issue, finding that the only way to get along.

“I realize now that life is too short to harbor anger and bitterness, Emily.” He paused, then added with quiet emphasis, “I don't have time for it.”

Hope took another step up the ladder to her dreams.

If he could allow himself to change in that respect, maybe he could eventually change his mind about a future for the two of them, and a family to fulfill all of their dreams.

“I've spent my time off in my office, preparing bids, and filling out contracts. God's been good to me. I'm going to have to hire help to keep up with everything if I want a life at all.”

He went on excitedly about his hopes of asking his brother to stay on permanently, and eventually expanding to two totally separate divisions.

Emily was thrilled to see Kevin's excitement over the changes Alex's presence had made. They pulled off the interstate and turned into the Friday evening rush-hour traffic. Kevin unplugged his car phone and stashed it in the glove box. “Do you want something to eat before we get to the station?”

She shook her head. “I'm fine, but feel free to get something if you want.” The opportunity to get into a new discussion had passed, she realized.

Traffic moved like molasses on a winter day, and Kevin pulled into the first burger joint they saw. “We may as well eat something while we sit in the traffic. I know you're not fond of junk food, but they do make a great bowl of chili.”

She smiled. “That sounds good. Here, let me.” Emily pulled a bill from her purse.

“I thought we covered this already.” He quirked his eyebrow.

“So did I,” she said, gently reminding him of the conversation they had had the previous week about the joy of giving, and learning to receive graciously. “I didn't argue when you made the reservations for both of us, did I? Well, not too hard, anyway.”

He placed the order and accepted the twenty. “Thank you for dinner.” She didn't fail to notice the note of resignation in his voice.

“You're welcome. And thank you for making me
take time to relax.” Emily tried to keep her own tone playful.

Finally the traffic thinned, and they were able to find a parking spot at Union Station. After checking their luggage, they boarded the train. Emily sat next to Kevin, feeling snug and comfortable. Conversing quickly became awkward over the noise of other passengers. The rhythm of the train ride was strangely relaxing. Emily fell asleep with her head resting on Kevin's shoulder and didn't wake until they pulled into the station at Glenwood.

The shuttle driver met them inside the small station to take them to the hotel. Emily and Kevin found their bags and climbed into the van. Immediately offended by one of the young men whose breath smelled like the inside of a beer barrel, Emily leaned closer to Kevin.

Kevin wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulder. “We should be there soon.”

A few minutes later the driver pulled up in front of the historic Rockfront Inn. Kevin grabbed their luggage from the back and escorted Emily to the registration desk. “Why don't you pick up a few brochures, see if you can find something fun for us to do tomorrow. I'm taking care of this,” Kevin whispered.

She started to speak, then saw the look of reproach in his gaze. Reluctantly, Emily glanced at the advertisements, picked up a few that looked interesting and waited for Kevin to return.

“We're on the second floor. The pool is closed for tonight, but opens at ten in the morning.” With Kevin leading, they climbed the wide stairs and turned left.

Emily paused momentarily to admire an antique chest in the hallway. Kevin set their bags in front of a door and inserted the key.

I have to say something,
she thought.

“Here you go.” Kevin opened the door and motioned her inside.

Her feet were like lead. She dragged herself into the room and looked around. Her stomach churned with anxiety. Though she was relieved that he'd reserved a two-room suite, she still had to make a few things clear. The door closed at the other end of the room, and Emily panicked.

“Kevin, we can't share a room,” she blurted out, rushing on before she lost her courage. “There's someone more important in my life now—”

Emily spun around. The room was empty.

“Kevin?” She searched the bedroom, the bathroom, the closet. No one.

She ran to the door and opened it. Across the hall, the door opened and Kevin stepped out.

“How's your room?” He gave her an irresistibly devastating grin, and she knew she'd been set up.

“You…are so ornery!” The tension broke, and Emily began laughing.

The smile in his eyes contained a sensuous flame. He lifted her room key and quirked a brow questioningly. “May I? I'd like to explain, in private.”

Emily took the key defiantly and crossed her arms in front of her. “I don't know,” she teased. “I'm not very happy that you made me agonize over this for the last six hours.”

“Forgive me?” His brilliant blue eyes sparked with excitement. “I wanted to see how much you trusted me.”

“Now you're testing me?”

“Us.” Kevin took her by the shoulders and pulled her close, his gaze as soft as a caress. “Testing us,” he whispered. He paused as if asking for permission before his mouth covered hers.

A few moments lost in the velvety warmth of his kiss, and all the emotions of their past returned. The warmth of his embrace was so male, so comforting. Emily wanted the moment to last forever. Kevin leaned against the wall, holding her firmly against him as the kiss ended.