Daddy By Design?. Kate Thomas

in there when I tried to climb the wall. Literally.”

      She laughed. “No one would have blamed you, either.” Her smile slowly faded into a frankly assessing expression. “But it’s not over yet. Not if you don’t want it to be.”

      Trey frowned. “What do you mean?”

      “Cinda said she’d like to see you. And thank you.”

      Trey caught his excited grin before it could come fully to his face. He couldn’t become attached here. Cinda was not his wife, and Chelsi was not his baby. A wife and a baby were two things he’d postponed, given all the traveling he had to do. And he’d heard enough from Cinda to know he was the last thing she needed, after her late husband’s antics. The truth was, he needed to walk away. Now. So, taking a deep breath and letting go reluctantly, he said, “Well, that’s real nice of her, but—”

      “Do it. Just get up and let’s go.” That was, of course, Peg. She held her pudgy hand out to him and waggled her fingers. “Come on. Get up. I’ll take you to her.”

      Trey gaped at the stocky woman and then spoke to Dr. Butler. “I see why you brought her.”

      Dr. Butler chuckled and glanced up at Peg before focusing again on Trey. “You’ll have to forgive us. Cinda’s become quite special to all of us. She’s been through a rough time, Mr. Cooper. And I don’t mean just today.”

      His serious expression matched hers. “I know. She told me about her husband. That was tragic.”

      “Yes, as absurd as the circumstances were, it was tragic. I don’t know you, but you look like a decent sort. A nice man. We’re bending the rules here by allowing you to see her since you’re not family. But Cinda asked for you. And I trust her instincts. Just so you’ll know, at Cinda’s request, the nurses have called her and her late husband’s families. They’ll all arrive soon. No doubt with enough flowers and toys to spill out into the hallway. But you still have a few minutes of quiet time. That is, if you want to see her.”

      Trey stood up. “I do. And thank you, Dr. Butler.”

      She stood along with him. “You’re welcome. I’ve got to go. The pediatrician is checking the baby over, so I’m going to attend that. I’ll turn you over to Peg’s tender mercies, and she’ll take you to Cinda’s suite.” With that, the doctor strode confidently across the room and out the door.

      Arching an eyebrow, Trey eyed Peg. “Lead on. I’d follow you anywhere.”

      She narrowed her eyes at him. “Hmph. My first husband was a Southerner. Biggest mistake I ever made. North/South marriages never work.” She spun around, heading for the same double doors, obviously expecting Trey to follow her, which he wisely did. “So don’t you try any of your silver-tongued-devil charm on me because it won’t work, Mister Kiss My Grits. Besides, I’m a married woman again.”

      Trey grinned at the short woman’s broad back and stocky legs. “Yes, ma’am. Just tell me this, please. Why are the good ones always taken?”

      Over her shoulder, she said, “They’re not. At least, Mrs. Cavanaugh isn’t.”

      COVERED BY BLANKETS, pale and breathing shallowly, Cinda Cavanaugh lay on her back. Her eyes were closed. Faint purple shadows formed half-moon crescents under her eyes. She was still dressed in an unflattering hospital gown that did nothing, in Trey’s opinion, to detract from her blond, patrician good looks. There was an IV needle stuck in her arm. A bag of so-labeled glucose hanging from a hook on its wheeled stand slowly dripped the fluid into her system. On her other side, some kind of vital-signs-monitoring machine crouched protectively, ticking and beeping away.

      Believing her to be asleep, Trey sat quietly beside the bed, which was the centerpiece in a posh and elegant suite. Well, she had said her husband was a millionaire. Her late husband, he amended, recalling Peg’s parting words. He smiled. Not once had Peg or Dr. Butler asked him if he was “taken.” Maybe he gave off “single” vibes accompanied by visible-only-to-females blinking neon arrows that pointed to him.

      Just then, Cinda opened her eyes and rolled her head. She caught sight of him. A weak but warm smile came to her generous mouth. She blinked and ran the tip of her tongue over her pink lips. “Hey, you’re here,” she said, her voice sounding scratchy. “Look at you. You could be a doctor.”

      A thrill chased through Trey…at her smile for him, at her wanting him to be here. He looked down at the hospital greens he still wore and tugged the hair net off his head. “What? These old things? They were just hanging in the closet.”

      Cinda managed another smile, this one warmer and saying more than her words. “I’m glad you’re here, Mr. Trey Cooper.”

      His heart fairly leaping now, and more affected than he was willing to admit—he really had to get away from this woman before it was too late to escape—Trey leaned forward. “I’m glad you’re glad.” Then he didn’t know what to say. The silence grew thick. Finally he remembered Peg’s parting orders. “Hey, you want some water or something? The nurse said you should drink if you woke up.”

      Cinda’s chuckle instantly became a grimace of pain. She shifted cautiously about in the bed, putting a hand to her much flatter belly. “Ow,” was her first comment. Then, after another moment, she said, “I was laughing—or trying to—about the medical confirmation that I should drink. In that case, you got any gin you can put in the water?”

      Even now she was witty. Trey liked that. He snapped his fingers. “Darn. I knew I forgot something. You want me to run out and get you a six-pack of beer or a nice wine in a paper bag?”

      She offered him a quick grin, then became more sober. “Listen, I really am glad you’re here. I was afraid you might have left. I wanted to thank you for everything. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

      “It was nothing.” Trey was as uncomfortable as he was pleased. This woman troubled him. She could make him want something he could never have. He stood up and went to the pitcher of ice water that sat on the bedside tray, grabbed up the plastic cup, and poured the water into it. He stuck the bendy straw into the cup and handed it to her. “Here you go,” he said cheerfully…too cheerfully.

      He watched her take tiny sips of the cold water and swallow. After a moment, he felt compelled to speak again. “You don’t have to thank me, Cinda. I did what anybody would do, which really wasn’t anything, if you’ll think about it. So please don’t read more into it than that.”

      Cinda’s caramel-gold eyes…such unusual coloring…met his gaze and held. In the next few silent seconds she seemed to read his mind. It was as if she could see his hesitation, his wariness of her…his reluctance to become involved with an uptown girl. A wounded smile tilted her lips. She handed him the water cup and rested her hands against her stomach.

      As he set the cup down on the table next to her bed, she said, “You’re right, of course. Still, I’m grateful for your presence in that elevator, if nothing else. But it could have been a lot worse for me and my baby and you. Had it been, I…well, let me put it this way—if I’m ever stuck on a deserted island, I now know who I’d want to be stranded with.”

      Trey allowed himself a grin. “Thanks for that. You’re a great lady. And a new mother. Congratulations.” She beamed a smile his way, making his heart flutter. He looked around the hospital room. “I guess I could have gotten you some flowers or something. Or a stuffed animal for the baby. But Peg wouldn’t allow any detours on the way here.”

      She frowned. “Peg?”

      “She’s a nurse. And a drill sergeant in a former life. All I can say is do everything she tells you to. Even if it hurts.”

      “I’ll try to remember that.”

      The moment to leave was here.

      “Well,” Trey said, “I’ve got to go. And I’m sure you can do with some sleep. Again, it was…” He was dying inside and couldn’t seem to look away from