Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy) (17 page)

Kara spoke. “Sh-she said I remind her of herself as dancer when she was a girl.”

“Oh.”

Once again, tired of being ignored, the baby started to make noise. She didn’t cry, but she let her presence be known. Immediately, Kara stood and picked her up. “It’s all right, Ellie. We’re here.”

The baby was so beautiful. From beside her, Kara said, “Want to hold Ellie, Miss Dana?”

For a moment, Dana froze. How could she tell the girls she’d never in her life held a baby? She’d never babysat because all of her time, since she was seven, had been given over to practice. She was an only child and her dancer friends had no children. And after the accident, she’d had no opportunity to be around babies and didn’t want to. Dana avoided any parent who came to the studio with one.

Swallowing hard, she said, “Yes, I’d like that,” and the girls went into action.

Kaelyn got two blankets out of the carriage and looped one over the left arm of the wheelchair. She placed another on Dana’s lap. “Now you can have her.” Kara placed the child in her lap.

Huge, blue eyes stared up at her. “Goo, goo, goo.”

“Goo, goo to you, sweetheart.” Dana touched the child’s downy hair, which was the color of Cole’s. She ran her knuckles over the petal-soft cheek. Ellie grabbed a finger and held on tight. Then she smiled, let go, and batted Dana’s cheek. When she grabbed Dana’s hair so hard it hurt, Dana laughed.

And when Ellie started to fuss at being in one position, Dana lifted her up to her shoulder, where Ellie cuddled sweetly into her neck. She smelled of baby powder and lemony shampoo. Dana closed her eyes and savored the moment.

It was then that Joe joined them, with Cole at his side.

Cole smiled. “Hey, Dana, she likes you.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Joe asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. “She’s one terrific woman.”

And just like that, Dana felt included, like she fit in and was part of something. She vowed to enjoy it.

Chapter 10

The night of the wedding, Joe sat in Dana’s living room, eyes closed, head back, feet up on her coffee table. He only stirred when he heard her come into the room. He looked up at her and smiled.

“Seems like you need this,” she said, holding out a mug.

Dropping his feet to the floor, he took the drink from her. “You having some, too?” When she shook her head, he remembered something she’d said online. “That’s right, you don’t do caffeine.”

 “I try to avoid putting chemicals in my body. I made some tea.” Turning, she went back to the kitchen and got her cup. She couldn’t carry two at once and it bothered him she had to make a second trip.

When she returned, he said, “What kind is it?” He winked at her. “For future reference.”

“Green tea. It helps me sleep better.”

Arching a brow, he quipped, “I can think of better ways to put you to sleep, darlin’”

She laughed. “I bet.”

With an agility he admired, she transferred herself to the couch—he noticed a table sat in front of half of it. Still he gripped his cup, struggling not to help her.

“Joe. Some things are just easier or better if I do them myself.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Your face did. You want to scoop me out of the chair and put me on the couch. You obviously want to do things for me.”

Her comment sounded like an accusation. “Is that bad?”

“No, not in itself. But there are reasons I need to do for myself.” He waited and she explained. “Take pushing the chair when I use the manual one. A wheeler wants control of her own speed and direction. If someone pushes her, quite frankly, it’s a bit scary. And I don’t have to exert as much effort as it looks. I did initially, but wheeling doesn’t tire me out now.” She sighed. “Same goes for getting into the car.”

“I guess I’m an open book.”

Now she gave him a tender smile. “I love that about you. And as I said before, you’re a rescuer by nature. So as a compromise, if there’s a time I need your help, or it would just be easier for us as a couple, I’ll tell you.”

“It’s a deal.” He moved in closer and slid his arm around her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he relished the feel and scent of her. A few hours ago, he’d thought he’d never experience having her close to him again.

“I can tell you’re exhausted. Maybe you should have gone home.”

“Yeah, like that was going to happen. I finally get you to agree to see me and I’ll be damned if we don’t celebrate tonight.”

She clinked mugs with him. His brows rose.

“What?” she asked. Her voice was flirty. “You wanted more than a toast?”

“Hey, babe, I’m game for anything.”

“Joe, Ruth is here.”

“Oh, damn.”

“But I wanted to tell you something about her. After she discovered what we’d done with her profile, I manipulated her into going onto RightMatch. I told her she owed me because she kept your secret.”

“Well aren’t you a sneaky devil? Did it work?”

“Uh-huh, my guess is she’s online with Jeremy right now.”

“Jeremy?”

“A retired doctor who lives across town. He loves ballet, tennis and pool. Ruth’s three favorite things.”

“Have they met?”

“No, though she told me they won’t wait as long as we did. She said
they
don’t have any time to waste.”

“Good for her. She might get laid before you do.”

Dana laughed out loud.

But Joe sobered. He’d been wanting to ask her something, and this was an opening. “Dana, that night we did Ruth’s profile? You wouldn’t tell me what you wanted that you’d never told anybody.”

He felt her stiffen.

“No, don’t do that. It’s okay to talk about things. I watched you with Ellie today. It’s what you wouldn’t share, right? That you want a baby.”

“How did you know?”

“Mostly by the look on your face when you held her. And I’ve also been trying to figure out what it could be.”

“It’s not going to happen, Joe.”

He gave her body a clinical perusal. “As far as I can figure out, if you have a crush injury from the knees down, that shouldn’t affect getting pregnant and giving birth.”

“My doctor said the only drawback to conceiving now would be my age, which works against me. But carrying a child would bring a whole host of problems. Being confined to a wheelchair would make a pregnancy difficult. That could be overcome, but that’s only one reason it’s impossible.”

He could make several arguments but he’d let her have her say. “Why else?”

“Joe, think about it. I couldn’t meet a baby’s needs. A scream in the middle of the night…the mechanics of changing and dressing him or her. And after that phase, I wouldn’t be able to chase a toddler, who’d be getting into everything. But the worst is, no matter what age the child is, I’m not capable of responding in an emergency.” She sighed. “That’s terrifying regarding just me. I live in fear of getting in an accident or stuck somewhere and being unable to get myself out. I could never,
ever
risk all that with a child. If something happened to him or her because of my disability, I couldn’t live with the outcome.”

“I can understand that.” He waited, making sure of what he wanted to say. “But there have to be ways around all that. Have you ever talked to anybody who’s in a chair and had kids?”

“No, and I don’t want to analyze this to death. It’s just a fact of my life.” She watched him with intense, dark eyes. “I never thought to ask, but I guess I should have. And you didn’t say anything on your profile. But do you want more kids? If so—”

He cut her right off. “No, not necessarily. I have my two. But I’ve always thought if I remarried and the woman wanted some, we’d have one.”

“Are you sure?”

“I said I wouldn’t lie anymore, honey.”

 “All right.” For a moment they were silent and Joe enjoyed the way she cuddled into him. Then she said, “Tell me about your job. What happened with the call you went on and weren’t supposed to?”

Now this was a real disappointment. Joe’s job was central to his life and he rarely did anything to jeopardize it. But he’d lost his head after his fight with Dana. “My captain was really pissed at what I did. The worst part is, a promotion had just come through for me and he isn’t going to let me have it now.”

 “Oh, dear, I’m sorry.”

“No, he’s right. I did a stupid thing. Acted out because I was mad. That’s not my usual style.”

“I can see that.”

“I’ll get the promotion eventually. But it stings.”

“I’m sorry for my part in it.”

Again, he didn’t want to think about that. “Okay, I’ll let you make it up to me.”

He kissed her then, lost himself in the slow, soft tumble of desire touching her brought on. He wanted to hop into bed with her to celebrate. But it was also true that there was something to be said about a gradual climb to making love.

Chapter 11

Normally, Dana hated to shop. She bought her clothes online and knew her size by brand. So she rarely had to deal with dressing rooms. Trying things on in the privacy of her bedroom was more expeditious. And comfortable. But she’d accompanied Ruth to Bergman’s today because they both had dates tonight and Ruth wanted a new dress. Dana had tagged along to encourage Ruth’s interest in the handsome doctor.

“Get something sexy,” she said as they came off the elevator at the boutique’s second floor and headed to the dress department. The store wasn’t crowded and had hardwood floors. Dana made her way easily.

“I’m sixty years old, dear.”

“Yeah, you’re sixty, not dead. For Pete’s sake, Ruth…”

To Dana’s shock, Ruth giggled like a girl. “Okay. He’d like something sexy.” She blushed. “He, um, says things online, you know.”

“Like?”

“That we’re still young enough for romance. I think he means more.” She rolled her eyes. “He
said
he means more.”

“I’ll bet. And he’s a handsome man.” Ruth had shown her pictures of her new beau. Jeremy Johnson was over six feet tall, had a head of steel-gray hair and piercing blue eyes. He was damned attractive.

Once they reached the dress department, Dana enjoyed browsing through the racks and picking out possibilities for Ruth’s outfit. They were on their way to a dressing room when Dana saw it.

A lovely summer two-piece outfit in lavender. The material was frothy, it had a low neckline, was sleeveless, and the pants flowed down with a handkerchief hem at the ankles. The whole thing shimmered in the bright overhead light. Ruth stopped when she did. “Oh, my God, that’s perfect for you.”

Dana fingered the wispy material. “It’s beautiful.”

Gently, Ruth said, “We could buy it in two sizes. Try it on at home. I’ll take the other one back.”

“Maybe.” Or maybe she was being a coward again, letting a public dressing room scare her. Lately, she had an aversion to fear. Joe would be proud of her if she crossed this hurdle. And in truth, she was tired of being so
limited
by risks she refused to take. Suddenly, she wanted to be like any other girl trying on clothes in a store for her guy.

“Hell, let’s bring both to the dressing room.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope. I’m going to do this, Ruth.”

Ruth hugged her. “I’ll be right next door.”

“I know.”

In the large, handicap changing room, Dana transferred herself to the bench and began to remove her clothes. She could hear Ruth humming softly next door and felt safe. She slipped on the size eight and found it was just a bit too small on top, though the pants fit great. She’d just disrobed when she heard Ruth’s cell phone ring next door.

“Hi, Jer.” The sensual undercurrent in her friend’s voice was so good to hear. Ruth deserved this happiness. “Yes. I found a couple I like. No, Dana’s right next door. I can’t talk about that.”

Dana yelled out, “Yes, you can. Go find some privacy, I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Ruth returned.

“Yes.”

Ruth left the area, and Dana grinned as she took the next-sized outfit off the hanger. It might be too big, but it was worth a look. As she was about to slip the top over her head, a loud noise rent the air and the clothes dropped from her hands. It took her a moment to realize the sound was a fire alarm.

She was in her underwear.

It took her a long time to dress.

Ruth was off somewhere, far away.

When she remembered that elevators locked up in fires, she panicked and lurched for her chair.

But she grabbed on to it too hard as she caught the arm, and the whole thing tipped over on its side. Unbalanced, Dana fell to the floor with a thud.

There was no way she could right the chair.

Fear pounded in her chest as her skin scraped the rough rug. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

o0o

Joe sat across from Shelly at the outdoor eating area of Jines Diner, having come from a city school again. There’d been a bomb scare at a high school near here which turned out to be a hoax. They even caught the idiot kid who did it because he called from a cell phone and was overheard.

After they ordered lunch, Shelly got that look in her eyes that meant trouble. “So you’ve been seeing Dana again for a week. I have to say, the relationship seems pretty off and on. It’s driving me crazy.”

“Cole says it’s common, though, for people to be more cautious in their forties.”

“How’s it going?”

“Couldn’t be better. She’s a terrific person, Shell.”

“Tell me the truth. You have
no
reservations about getting serious with her?”

Rarely did he lie to his partner. Nor she to him; she’d confessed an affair she’d had not too long ago that had almost ended her ten-year marriage. “Of course I do. I wonder if we’ll make it, will she get sick of me having a life she can’t share?”

“And vice versa.” At his questioning look, she added, “Will you get sick of her limitations?”

“I won’t know until I try. But yeah, I do have twinges when I’m with her sometimes.” He thought of her struggles getting in and out of the chair and how she had to make several trips in her chair because she could only carry so much in one hand.