“Please.”
“Anything else?”
“Such as…?” The question hung between them like a flash-fire of heat.
“You name it.” Brody slashed the silence as he gripped his wounded finger, now throbbing in unison with the quick, steady clip of his heart. He squeezed his eyes shut and massaged his forehead as the room swam. He felt like someone had just ripped the floor from beneath his feet. “Never mind. I must be delirious.”
“Are you OK?” Her soft scent teased his senses as she crossed the room to close the distance between them, her voice suddenly full of concern. “I didn’t hurt you too much, did I? Your face is flushed. How long ago did you cut yourself?”
“I’m fine, Cate.” He rubbed the scruff of his chin, and then winced as the wound made contact with stubble. His disorientation had nothing to do with his finger and everything to do with her. He felt as if the earth had shifted on its axis. Coffee sloshed over the carafe as he bobbled it and dropped it back onto the burner. “Call off the dogs.”
“Let me take another look.” Catherine eased in closer, her shoulder brushing his. Her perfume was a powerful elixir.
“Don’t.” His chest constricted painfully. He could hardly draw a breath. Perhaps he was having a heart attack, and she’d have to scrape him off the floor before it was all said and done. Now that would be something. “Don’t touch me.”
“Maybe you have a fever.”
“I’m warning you.” A thread of panic rose as his resolve weakened. His breath came in short, painful gasps. “Don’t come any closer, Cate.”
“Brody, you’re being silly. Stop backing away.” Catherine closed the distance that remained between them. She lifted her hand and pressed a cool palm to his forehead. “Are you hurting?”
“Oh, I’m hurting.” Something inside him snapped, and Brody gritted his teeth as clarity came. He took her by the hands, pulling her toward him so they were merely inches apart. The office was suddenly an inferno. “But not the way you think.”
“Brody…” Her breath was warm on his face. “Please.”
“Say it again…my name.” Every nerve ending hissed, each synapse crackled. His chest might very-well explode if this continued, yet he couldn’t make himself stop. Not until he had some answers and spoke his piece.
“Brody, we shouldn’t—”
“Hush and listen. It’s my turn now to have my say.” He slipped his fingers through her hair, stroking the silky mass as his gaze captured hers and held tight. He waited a moment, two, for the room to stop spinning. “I never quit loving you, Catherine. All this time…all the distance. I’ve never, not for even the slightest moment, quit loving you.”
****
The force of his words stole Catherine’s breath. The room closed in, and the aroma of coffee mingled with roast beef as his pulse throbbed against her wrist. She was aware of his breathing, fast and shallow to match hers while his scent, clean and purely masculine, covered her like a fine mist. Sunlight spilled through the picture window, turning the room to a sauna.
She found her voice. “You can’t mean that. You can’t still have feelings for me. Not like that.”
“I do.”
“Surely, after all this time, you’ve stopped—”
“No.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Her voice climbed a few decibels to match the deafening thud of her heart. She grasped his hand, afraid she might fall if she let go. “Why now?”
“You need to know. I want you to know. It’s only fair.”
“Nothing is fair—not where we’re concerned.”
“Even so…” A single, callused knuckle skimmed her cheek, his gaze a flash of lightning as it drank her in. “Why did you come here today?”
“I told you.” She swallowed hard against the growing lump in her throat. “I brought you lunch.”
“And that’s all? That’s the only reason?”
“I’m not sure.” Her nerves were tangled, and her brain refused to function beyond the most basic tasks—breathe, beat, blink. “I thought that was all. But now…”
“Tell me, Cate. I need to know what you’re feeling. Right here, right now. You know I’ve never minced words and neither have you. So let’s lay everything out on the table, set the record straight and go from there. It’s the only way.”
“I know. You’re right.” She pulled back from him and turned to pace the length of the office. Solid oak planks lined the floor, and she imagined Brody had helped Mason lay the wood with his own hands. The sweet, musky scent of sawdust had a calming effect. “When I saw you again last night, Brody—”
Catherine’s cell phone suddenly exploded in a fast-paced ring tone coupled with an earth-shattering vibration, startling them both. Catherine’s hand trembled as she pressed it to her hip to still the annoying quake.
“Leave it.” Brody admonished. “We have to talk.”
“I have to take this.” She held up a single finger and reached into the pocket of her jeans. “It’s the clinic, and that’s my emergency ring.”
“Take it, then.” Brody nodded.
She hesitated only a moment before lifting the phone to her ear as it rang once more.
“But I have more to say, and I’d like some answers.” He held her gaze as he stepped back to let her engage the call. “We’re not finished here, Cate. Not by a long shot.”
5
Brody watched Catherine move through the front waiting area of the clinic, straightening magazines along the coffee table and switching off overhead lights. The soft glow of a security beam streamed from the hallway, bathing her in milky shadows as she removed a stethoscope and set it on the reception desk before shimmying from her lab coat and draping it over the desk chair. She released her hair from an elastic band and ran her fingers from crown to ends, smoothing the silky strands, before reaching into her pocket for a tube of lip gloss.
Brody tapped the clinic’s window glass and Catherine’s head shot up. Her gaze caught his, and her mouth rounded into a slight oh of surprise as her hand slipped and applied gloss to her nose instead of her lips.
Cute, he thought, as she crossed the room to unlock the entrance door, swiping at the berry-pink shade. Cute and a handful, too.
“That color looks good on you.”
“Thanks.” She pulled a tissue from her pocket and swiped once more, removing any remnants that were off the mark. “You startled me. I missed my lips.”
“I can help you with your aim. We could practice.”
“Brody…”
“There you go again, saying my name. I have to admit it sounds pretty good, coming from you.”
“Please. Be serious.” She stutter-stepped back from him. “I work here.”
“Yes, and you’re the boss.”
“Someone might come in.” Her voice was breathy and light as the dimple along her cheek deepened. “Then what?”
“Is that all your worried about? I’ll lock the door.” He turned back, flipped the latch. “There you go. It’s done.”
“I’m serious. And, no, that’s not all I’m worried about. You make me feel…”
He took a tentative step toward her, scratching his chin. “Feel what?”
“Hungry. I’m starving.” She sidestepped, turning to switch off the reception area lights. “If I remember right, I missed lunch.”
“Right. Yeah. That’s why I’m here.” Brody’s hands slipped into his pockets. He fished out his truck keys. “I figured you’d be ravenous by now, so I dropped by to take you to dinner.”
“That sounds good, because my stash of peanut butter crackers isn’t cutting it.” She pressed a palm to her belly as it grumbled. “See what I mean?”
“I do.” He jangled the keys and pointed toward the boulevard, where his Ford F-150 waited. “Well, Hunter enjoyed your sandwich, by the way.”
“I’m sure he did.” She turned and headed toward the far side of the waiting area. “I just have a few things to finish here and then I’ll be ready to go.”
“I can help. Give me a job.” He followed her, pausing to straighten a stack of magazines as she motioned to the coffee table. “I was worried about you, too. You said you had an emergency.”
“One seven-year-old playing superhero plus one step-ladder equals one compound fracture of the ulna.”
“I thought one and one equaled two.”
“It does, if you factor in the kid’s two terrified parents.”
“Is he gonna be OK?”
“She. And, except for missing out on a summer of swimming, yes.”
“That’s too bad…about the swimming, I mean.”
He watched as she tossed blocks into a bin and straightened a row of colorful hard-plastic chairs lined against the wall.
“And a girl? That’s a shocker.”
“Why?” Catherine turned back to glance at him over one shoulder. “Do you have something against females acting on their ambitions?”
“No. I’m all for that.” He followed her lead, straightened a second row of chairs. “The broken bone part…now that I can do without.”
“It’s all a part of learning.”
“I suppose.” He surveyed the room, nodding appreciatively at the splash of primary colors that added a burst of happiness. Someone had taken a lot of time to airbrush cartoon caricatures along a corner area that held a small playhouse and a bin of chubby-block puzzles. The opposite wall showcased a long, backlit saltwater aquarium that held an array of exotic fish. “You’ve put in a lot of work here. It’s nice.”
“I’ve worked hard to make this area inviting. Kids are scared enough walking through the front door so I do my best to make them feel comfortable while they wait their turn.”
“Lots of chairs to wait in.” He took a mental count. “Over two dozen. I suppose you draw quite the crowd.”
“Depends on the day…and the season.” She slipped a final seat into place. “And moms and dads need a place to sit, as well.”
“I guess so. You always did have a heart for kids.” Brody watched an angel fish circle the tank, darting through a tunnel along the way. It reminded him, for just a moment, of snorkeling in the keys where he’d seen everything from stingrays to manatees and barracuda, as well as fishes bearing every color of the rainbow.
“You, too.” Catherine crossed the room to push pint-sized chairs in tight to a small wooden table.
“Do you ever wonder what it might have been like, the two of us doing mission work together, like we planned?”
“I’d be fibbing if I didn’t admit I think about it every once in a while.” She nodded. “But I’ve learned through experience that mission work doesn’t have to be done in a foreign country or some remote location to qualify as such. There’s plenty of need right here.”
“I know that.”
“That’s why you came back, isn’t it?”
“One of the reasons. And that’s only one of the reasons I’m choosing to stay.” He waited as she rounded the corner to the receptionist’s desk and flipped a switch on the stereo console. The room went quiet as soft music faded into the shadows. “So, what would you like for dinner?”
She added a new, crisp sheet of paper to the check-in clipboard and placed it back, with a pen, on the reception counter before looking up at him through the window opening. “Remember when we used to hang out at Manny’s Pizzeria?”
“How could I forget?” Like Pavlov’s dog at the sound of a bell, his mouth began to water. “Do they still have that to-die-for Chicago-style stuffed supreme, extra cheese with loads of mushrooms?”
“Last I checked.”
“And those retro pinball machines—the ones with all the cool lights and sounds—along the wall of the backroom?”
“Uh huh, plus a few new ones.”
“It’s been a while, but I think I still have some decent game.” Brody linked his fingers and flexed his joints, ignoring the tug of skin along his healing cut. “I’d like to give those flippers a whirl.”
“Careful there. You might pull something.” Catherine grinned slyly. “And, if I remember correctly, I won the last pinball game we played together.”
“Is that a challenge, Cate?” Brody twirled his truck keys on one finger and motioned toward the door. “Because that sure sounds like a challenge to me.”
****
“So, what was it like living in Key West?” Catherine asked as Brody slipped a third slice of pizza onto his plate.
They’d played half-a-dozen games of pinball while the pizza was baking, which had ended up in an even draw, eliciting buckets of laughter and smack-talk from both sides. Brody had called for a rematch at a later date, citing his injured finger as cause for his trio of losses.
“Endless sun and fun?”
“No place is endless sun and fun when you’re trying to earn a living. But the ocean does have its bonuses,” he said.
“Such as…?”
“I picked up a lot about running a business on the water. It’s a unique environment, with special needs and issues all its own. I hope to transfer that knowledge to my outdoor adventure enterprise here.”
“So far, so good, right?”
“Except for the glitch in inspections, that’s right.”
“Oh, I almost forgot about that.” Catherine reached into her purse and pulled out a folded slip of paper. “Here you go. Your final inspection release.”
“You worked your magic already? But how?”
“The little superhero I treated today…her dad’s on the county commission. Let’s just say I had plenty of time to give him your side of the story. He wasn’t pleased to hear about the trouble you had this morning. No, sir. He told me that City Hall has had more than its fair share of complaints lately concerning this sort of thing. Before he left the clinic he made a phone call or two and a courier brought that certificate over half an hour later.”
“Wow…I don’t know what to say.” Brody scanned the small print, nodded as he read the official signatures. “Thanks. I owe you big-time.”
“In that case…you could buy me dessert. Some of that tiramisu sounds delicious, and the menu photos are fabulous.”
“Sure.” Brody motioned to the server, waited for her to step over and then placed an order. As she walked away, Brody finished. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Answer a few questions for me.”
“This sounds serious.” He devoured the last bite of his pizza and brushed crumbs from his fingers. “Should I put on my armor?”
“I’m harmless without a needle and sutures in my hand.” Catherine leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table and then her chin on her upturned palms. “Just tell me…did you miss Willow Lake?”