Daddy on Call
Judy Duarte

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Coming Next Month

To Colleen Holth, Laura Astleford, Gail Duarte,

Lydia Bustos and Gloria Duarte.

I grew up with brothers; my sisters came later.

Chapter One

Dr. Luke Wynter had only started his shift an hour ago, but he’d already sent his third broken bone of the day up to radiology, stitched up a nasty wound on an elderly woman’s brow, admitted a five-year-old for dehydration and diagnosed three cases of the flu that had been plaguing the area.

“Doctor, we’ve got an ambulance coming in with a pregnant woman who’s been badly beaten by her boyfriend.”

Luke glanced up from the chart he’d been reading and addressed Marge Bagley, a fifty-something RN who could run circles around the first-year residents and mentor those who’d acquired their fair share of rotations. “What’s the estimated time of arrival?”

“Three minutes or less.”

He nodded, then quickly completed his task.

Marge was one of Luke’s favorite nurses. Together, she and he worked the night shift at Oceana General. He wouldn’t say they’d become friends, since they never associated outside the hospital, but they’d developed a healthy respect for one another and had shared plenty of overbrewed coffee.

Luke had a few friends, mostly the guys who’d become known as Logan’s Heroes, a group of men who’d once been delinquents but had turned their lives around thanks to the guidance of Detective Harry Logan. But for the most part, he didn’t socialize much. Hell, how could he when he worked nights and required a few z’s to function?

“Showtime,” Marge whispered, as she nodded toward the paramedics rushing through the door.

“Take her into room three,” Luke said as he walked alongside the stretcher, conducting a quick assessment of the victim’s injuries and taking note of the vitals being announced by Craig Elwood, one of the paramedics.

“Who did this to her?” Luke asked.

“Apparently, a jealous boyfriend. He held the cops at bay for a while, then slipped out the back.”

The bastard had done a real number on her, and Luke hoped the police caught the guy. He’d be facing assault charges if she lived, homicide if she didn’t.

Marge, who walked with them, asked, “Does she have any family members coming in?”

Luke knew the RN was asking about next of kin.

“She’s got a friend coming in behind us, driving her own vehicle. Her name’s Lonnie, I think. The patient’s name is Carrie Summers.”

Luke nodded, then ordered a battery of tests and scans. The patient—or rather the victim in this case—had suffered a dislocated jaw, a head injury and possible internal bleeding. Luke wasn’t sure whether he could save her life, let alone that of the baby she carried.

But he was up for a fight. In fact, he always had been, only now he battled death.

“Who’s the resident neurosurgeon?” Luke asked Marge.

“Dick Wofford. And I’ve already called him. I also paged Arlene Gray. She’s on duty in obstetrics tonight.”

Luke liked working with Marge. She seemed to know what he was thinking. During the downtime, when they were free to make light of things, he called her “Radar,” like the character on M.A.S.H.

Always one to dish it back, Marge referred to him as Hot Lips, although he suspected it had nothing to do with the classic television show and everything to do with a particular blonde lab technician who’d kissed and told.

As Luke worked on the patient and ordered more tests and scans, Dick Wofford arrived, followed by Arlene Gray. Together, they decided the best treatment for mother and child. Neither specialist was any more optimistic than Luke, and both commended him for his treatment thus far.

Marge, who’d slipped out of the room momentarily, returned. “The victim’s friend just arrived, and I sent her to the waiting room near the ICU.”

It was, Luke realized, the best place for the friend to wait. The neurosurgeon would be making the call on whether the critically injured woman needed surgery or not, but either way, she would be spending time in intensive care.

After passing the patient on to the specialists, Luke headed for the waiting room to find Carrie’s friend.

Talking to loved ones was his least favorite part of the job. His bedside manner had never won him any accolades, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t afford to let the patients or their families get to him. Keeping some emotional distance allowed him to do what he did best—save lives.

He paused in the doorway and scanned the handful of people waiting for word on friends and family members. An elderly couple rested on a sofa near the television, holding hands. A middle-aged man sat alone in the corner, reading a magazine, while a dark-haired woman wearing a silver clip in her hair stood at the window, looking into the dark of night.

“Who’s here with Carrie Summers?” he asked.

The woman peering out the window turned to face him. When her gaze met his, the past slammed into him, causing his mind to numb and his pulse to jam.

Recognition crossed her face. Shock, too.

He supposed he couldn’t blame her, since she’d pretty much considered him a juvenile delinquent the last time he’d seen her. And here he was now—the attending physician in the E.R. of one of the county’s busiest hospitals.

Of course, the fact that he’d turned his life around and had morphed into a doctor had surprised a lot of people.

She neither smiled nor frowned, which made it tough to regroup, to gather his wits. Or to rein in emotions that threatened to run amok.

Leilani Stephens had been his first love, and not many days went by that he didn’t think about her. Dream about her.

As a kid, he’d been in awe of her lovely hula-girl shape, year-round tropical tan and knockout smile. But it had been more than her physical attributes that had caught his eye and kicked up his hormones. Her innocence and sweet nature had slapped him with a full-blown case of puppy love.

Even so, it hadn’t been her memory that had haunted him for the past twelve years. It had been her parting words, the anger in her voice and the tears in her eyes that had burned into his soul.

She’d held Luke responsible for her younger brother’s death. And she’d never forgiven him for it.

When push came to shove, he supposed he’d never forgiven himself, either. No matter how much time had passed. Or how big a change he’d made in his life.

But he wasn’t the only one who’d changed. Leilani was no longer the teenager he’d once loved, either. No longer the seventeen-year-old Polynesian beauty with silky, waist-length black hair who could turn a guy’s heart inside out. She’d grown older and undoubtedly wiser.

Yet her gaze still had the power to take his breath away.

“Luke,” she said simply, her voice a bit more mature, but still as soft and melodious as he remembered.

“It’s Dr. Wynter now.”

He regretted his response the moment it left his mouth. It probably sounded as though he was flaunting the medical degree he’d fought long and hard to earn. Instead he’d only meant to validate himself in her eyes. To let her know a lot had changed since her brother had died and she’d shut him out of her life.

That she could trust him now.

She cleared her throat as though still trying to take it all in and decide how she felt about it. “The nurse mentioned Carrie was being examined by Dr. Wynter. But I had no idea…”

“I can understand why.”

“How is she?”

“Stable,” he said. “For now. But she’s critical. Come with me. Let’s talk in private.”

He led her down the hall to the room set aside for giving a patient’s family bad news. Not that he would paint a dark picture. It was too early to tell for sure. But the guy who beat Carrie had nearly killed her, and she was a long way from being out of the woods.

It was a painful walk—more so than any other he’d had to make. His mind scurried to find the right words. But not so much about her friend.

All that had separated them before jumped to the forefront, just as real and heartbreaking as the day she left San Diego and never came back.

As they entered the small room, with its pale green walls and living room-style atmosphere, he asked Leilani to have a seat.

She chose the floral-print sofa, but sat on the edge as if wanting to bolt.

He could relate. He felt like hightailing it out of there, too.

For some reason, he would have preferred to be outdoors when he talked to her, away from the four walls that sometimes closed in on him when he was faced with grieving friends and family members who struggled with the shock of an accident, illness or death.

He might be a whiz when it came to treating bullet holes, knife wounds and broken bones, but he wasn’t good at handing out sympathy along with the tissues or saying the right thing. Hell, if he’d had any gifts in the emotional support department, maybe his mom wouldn’t have chosen to end it all a few years back.

Luke took a seat on a beige vinyl recliner. To say neither of them had expected to see the other, to be sitting across the table face-to-face, was an understatement of gigantic proportions.

“Leilani,” he said, realizing that her name, as Hawaiian as the island on which she’d grown up, slipped off his tongue as though the last twelve years hadn’t gone by. As though they were still kids tripping over their hormones.

Yet the past hovered over them like a vulture ready to swoop down and consume the remnants of innocence—her brother’s and hers. As much as he’d wanted to apologize years ago—to explain his version of the story—that wasn’t why she was sitting across from him. Nor was it what she wanted to hear right now.

Luke always remained detached from his patients—for their sake as well as his own. He merely assessed injuries and illnesses, then provided emergency treatment until the patients could be passed to the appropriate specialists or sent home to recover. He struggled to do the same this evening, but it wasn’t working very well.

He suspected it was because he’d let Leilani down before and was hoping to provide her with a better outcome this time.

“Is Carrie going to die?” Those pretty golden-brown eyes searched his for answers he didn’t have.

“It’s too early to know. I won’t beat around the bush. She’s hurt badly. And her pregnancy complicates things.”

“How’s the baby?”

“Alive. I’m afraid we don’t know much right now. But the neurosurgeon and obstetrician will determine the best treatment for her.”

Her gaze, wide-eyed and luminous, lanced his chest, making him feel like an awkward adolescent with a crush on the new girl at school—an exotic beauty who’d been blessed with the best genetics her Anglo father and Hawaiian mother could offer.

And in spite of the voice inside begging him to step back, to pass not only the patient on to other doctors, but to pass Leilani on, too, he found it tough to do so.

“How are you holding up?” he asked.

“Me?”

Leilani wasn’t sure what to tell him. Needless to say, she was deeply concerned about her friend and the baby. But running into Luke Wynter had never crossed her mind. And the fact that he’d turned his life around merely added more surprise to the mix.

“I’m okay,” she said, although that wasn’t entirely true. There was a lot of history between the two of them, and Luke didn’t know the half of it.

A wave of guilt rolled over her, as well as the ever-present resentment she felt whenever she’d thought of him over the past twelve years.

“I didn’t realize you were back in town,” he said. “I’d heard you relocated to Los Angeles.”

“I’m just visiting my aunt.” She glanced at the garnet ring on her right hand, an heirloom that once belonged to her mother, and fingered it. When she looked up, she added, “And I also came to see Carrie. She’s a friend I met in Los Angeles. She relocated a while back….”

He nodded as though that made sense and didn’t press for more information. She was glad; she wasn’t ready to renew their friendship.

Their friendship?

God. They’d become involved as teenagers on the cusp of adulthood.

Young lovers who’d been wrong for each other.

A nurse poked her head through the doorway. “Excuse me, Dr. Wynter. But there’s an important call for you from Dr. Kim. And those lab results for Mrs. Rosenberg are back. You told me to let you know the minute they were in.”

Luke nodded.

He’d grown up and filled out, Leilani realized, yet he still wore his hair the same—attractively unkempt. And apparently he didn’t shave every day, which left him with the rugged look that had always appealed to her.

“If you’ll excuse me,” he said, his voice settling over her like a sense of déjà vu.

“Of course.”

She was pleased to know Luke had made something of himself—something noble and respectful. Yet the fact that he had also made her feel guilty about the secret she’d kept.

A secret she’d decided to keep when Luke had been little more than a delinquent and she’d expected him to spend the bulk of his life behind bars—especially after her brother’s death.

When she left San Diego, she’d had every intention of forgetting Luke Wynter, but she hadn’t been able to.

Not when their eleven-year-old son reminded her of him daily.

Early the next morning, when his shift was over, Luke did something he rarely did; he went to check on a patient he’d handed over to specialists.

But it wasn’t just any patient.

It was Carrie Summers, who was in a coma.

He read her chart, then spoke to the nurse who’d been assigned to her. Carrie was, so far, holding her own.

On his way out of the ICU, he stopped by the waiting room where he spotted Leilani seated on a sofa. She was wearing the same white blouse and black slacks she’d had on last night, rumpled clothing that indicated she hadn’t gone home to sleep.

Somewhere along the way she’d unclipped the silver barrette she’d been wearing and let her hair down. It was shoulder length now, but just as glossy as it had been before. Just as tempting to touch.

She glanced up when he entered. “Is something wrong?”

Yeah, there was something wrong. He’d been getting by just fine until she snuck back into his life. And now she had him dancing around the past like a Mexican jumping bean. “No problem. So far, so good.”

She merely stared at him, as though wondering why he’d stopped by. And he was just as perplexed as she was. After all, twelve years ago she’d made no secret of the fact that she no longer considered him a friend, let alone a lover. And he’d never been one to plead or beg.

But there was something drawing him to her. Something that was unsettled, unfinished. Unsaid.

So he made an excuse for stopping by. “I just got off duty and wanted to check on her before heading home.”

That reason ought to fly, especially since Leilani had no way of knowing that wasn’t his usual style.

“You work nights?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Must be tough.”

Not for Luke. “I like the action. More gunshots, stabbings.”

“I suppose you’d find that exciting.”

He wasn’t sure what she meant. He hoped she wasn’t referring to his early years, when he’d gotten into his share of scuffles. Or that month he’d spent at juvenile hall. Actually, he was talking about having the opportunity to practice emergency medicine, to use the skills he’d perfected.

“I never expected you to become a doctor,” she added.

Neither had Luke. It had taken tragedy, heartbreak and a lucky draw like crossing paths with Harry Logan for him to make that kind of a turn. But he supposed she wouldn’t care to hear about it. “I’ve always had an aptitude for science.”

“I know. You tutored me in chemistry, remember?”

He remembered everything. The scent of her as she leaned over him in the library, the way her hair sluiced over his cheek. The difficulty he had focusing on the problem at hand, rather than his raging hormones. “Thanks to me, you got an A.”

“No. I believe it was a B-plus. But it would have been an F without your help.”

God, it was strange, skating around the past. But he wasn’t ready to jump head-first into it, either. So he decided to use a little humor to take the edge off the reality. “I had to knock several honor students on their butts in order to have a chance to tutor the pretty new girl.”

Actually, there was a lot of truth to that. The moment he’d laid eyes on her, he’d been swept off his feet and would have done anything just to be alone with her.

He wanted to ask if she’d ever gone on to college, like she’d planned. Whether she’d gotten a degree of any kind. But that would only lead them to the reason she’d left town.

And the reason she’d never talked to him again.

Instead, he nodded toward the sofa. “I see you spent the night here.”

“Carrie doesn’t have any family, so I felt as though I ought to stay.” Leilani combed her hand through her hair, her fingers snagging on a tangle before busting free. “And I agreed to be her baby’s godmother and promised to look after him if…anything happened to her.”

“Dr. Gray has managed to stave off contractions,” he said, figuring Arlene had already told her the baby’s chances of survival if it was born now.

“I know.” She bit down on her bottom lip, something she used to do when they were friends.

And lovers.

At the time, Leilani’s heart was as big as the Pacific, although little good that did him. Once her brother died, she’d refused to hear Luke’s side of the story, refused to let him apologize. Would she now? Had enough time passed?

Had anything changed?

Not on the part of his hormones. He couldn’t help being drawn to her.

It was amazing. Even after all she’d been through and then dozing all night in a chair on top of that, she looked damn good. Prettier than ever, he decided. And just as out of reach.

He wasn’t crazy enough to think that they could ever be lovers again, but he wanted her to know how sorry he was about her brother’s death, about his part in it.

“Leilani,” he said, hoping to get her away from a hospital setting. “Would it be all right if I bought you a cup of coffee?”

She didn’t respond right away, and he wasn’t sure what to expect when she did.

Was it too much to hope that she might find it in her heart to forgive him?

If so, he might be able to forgive himself.

Chapter Two

How about a cup of coffee?

Leilani opened her mouth to decline, but at the same time she was eager to learn more about Carrie, to hear the E.R. doctor’s opinion.

“In fact,” Luke added, “you could probably use some breakfast.”

She was torn. She hated to leave her friend’s side, yet was desperate for Luke’s prognosis for both mother and child. “All right. But I’m afraid I look a mess.”

“No, you don’t. You look like a concerned friend.” He stepped aside, allowing her to exit first, then escorted her down the hall and to the elevator.

It felt weird walking with him again and was reminiscent of the times they’d strode the halls when they were seniors in high school. As much as she dreaded being alone with a man she’d loved once upon a time, she struggled with the same attraction, the same excitement his rebellious smile provoked.

The fact that they had a son together only heightened her discomfort.

Her heels clicked on the linoleum as they strode through the corridor, and inadvertently, her shoulder brushed against his, warming her from the inside out. Funny how, after all this time, his touch could still do that to her.

The various medical personnel they passed along the way—lab techs, nurses’ aides, RNs—either greeted Luke with a smile or nodded in respect. Leilani couldn’t help noting that several of them eyed her with curiosity.

When they reached the cafeteria, he led her to the buffet, then grabbed a couple of trays, one for each of them. He started by taking an extra-large glass of orange juice for himself and offering her one.

“No thanks.”

“By the way,” he said, “the breakfast burritos are really good. And filling.”

“That’s nice to know, but I’m just going to have tea and a bagel.”

As if she’d never said a word, he picked up a bowl of fruit and placed it on her tray. “If you’re going to hang out here, sleeping on chairs, you’ll need something more substantial than that to eat.”

In the past, Luke had always been assertive with his friends, but he’d seemed to tiptoe around her, letting her call the shots. Apparently, that wasn’t the case any longer.

He poured himself a large coffee and waited while she chose an herbal tea bag and filled a cup with hot water. And when they reached the breakfast food that had been placed under warm lights, he took a burrito. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you with this?”

He’d always tempted her—in more ways than one. But they were adults now, older and wiser. And with a past that separated them rather than bonded them together.

“I’m sure,” she said.

When they reached the cashier, he tried to pay, but she refused to let him do so. For some reason, it had seemed too much like a date, too reminiscent of days gone by. And quite frankly, she preferred they keep a respectful distance.

Luke led her to a corner table in the rear of the room where they took a seat. So much had changed, yet the past hung over them like a black storm cloud that threatened to burst in an angry downpour.

Her brother, Kami, had only been fourteen when he’d died, run down in the middle of the street by drug dealers. Had Luke not broken his promise, Kami would have been home and safely tucked in bed.

And Leilani still would have him.

But she’d be darned if she’d mention anything that would open up a conversation about the tragedy that tore them apart. Or the fact that Luke had not only led her brother astray, but led him to his death.

Instead, she broached the subject of Carrie’s baby boy. “Dr. Gray is trying to ward off contractions until the medication that assists lung development kicks in.”

“At this point, each day in the womb makes a big difference,” Luke said.

“Do they know whether he suffered any brain damage during the beating?”

“The initial ultrasound looks good,” he said, as though unwilling to discuss the possibility.

She watched as he opened his burrito, spooned in a load of salsa, then rewrapped it and took a hearty bite.

“And what about Carrie?” she asked.

“It’s still touch and go right now.”

They ate quietly for a while, which should have been comforting. But for some reason, the silence was unsettling, and she felt compelled to fill the void.

“They arrested Joel Graves,” she said. “The perp.”

“Good.” Luke took a thirsty swig of juice. “It was a brutal beating, and he was obviously out of control. Why did he tear into her like that?”

“Jealousy,” she said.

“Sounds like she made a bad choice of boyfriends.”

“Carrie grew up in a dysfunctional home,” Leilani explained. “And her parents abused her. She ran away when she was sixteen and married a guy who ended up beating her, too. She entered a battered womens’shelter in Los Angeles a few years back, got counseling, took some college courses, and relocated to Phoenix. But while she was there, she got involved with Joel and soon learned that he was prone to violence.”

“Sounds like she’d be better off remaining single,” Luke said.

“She recently came to that conclusion, too.”

He took another drink of orange juice, nearly finishing the glass. “If Carrie was living in Phoenix, what was she doing in San Diego?”

“She works for an advertising agency and had a chance to transfer. She’d broken up with Joel, but suspected that he wasn’t happy about the split. So she used the opportunity to put some distance between them. For a while it appeared that he’d accepted that the relationship was over. But apparently, he got wind of her pregnancy and that really set him off.”

“Is the baby his?” Luke asked.

“No. And she wasn’t cheating on him, either. She went to a sperm bank.”

When Luke didn’t comment, she let the subject drop.

“How’d you meet her?” he asked.

“I’m a social worker and counseled her at the shelter in L.A.”

In fact, Carrie had been her first project. No, that’s not true. Luke had been her first project.

At one time, and for the past twelve years, she’d thought she’d failed with him. But maybe not. It’s possible that he’d taken to heart some of the things she’d told him.

“It’s a good profession for you to pursue,” he said. “You always did have a thing for strays and underdogs.”

She supposed that was a result of growing up in the home of a minister and his wife. But Luke’s turnaround hadn’t been as easy to see coming.

“What about you?” she asked. “What made you decide to go to medical school?”

It wasn’t a tough question, but Luke wasn’t sure how honest he wanted to be.

Her brother’s death had been influential—but in a negative way. After Kami died, Leilani and her family blamed him. And when she returned to Hawaii for the funeral, she never came back to San Diego, never contacted him. Never answered his calls.

The guilt and grief threatened to destroy him, so he’d easily fallen back into his old lifestyle to escape. Only the drinking, carousing and fighting became worse than ever before.

Did he want Leilani to know all of that?

Did he want her to realize she and her family had been right about him all along?

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “One night, I met a police detective named Harry Logan. The guy has a real knack with hard-ass kids and saw something promising in me. He took me under his wing, encouraged me to go back to school, then helped me get a job at a hospital. Medicine fascinated me, and I decided to become a doctor.”

“Harry must be a special guy.”

“He is. And there are quite a few young men in and around the San Diego area who consider him the father they never had.”

Luke was one of them.

His real dad had been an alcoholic college professor and had run off with a graduate student when Luke was just a kid. And his mom had never been able to recover from the emotional blow. At least not while he’d been in his formative years and could have used a functional parent in his corner.

He’d loved his mom—and the fact that he’d failed her when she’d needed him most would haunt him for the rest of his days. But when he was a kid, she seemed to think she was the only one who’d been abandoned and was hurting, so he’d found it easier to avoid going home.

By the time he’d become a teenager, they had moved to a run-down apartment in the inner city—not far from where Leilani’s aunt lived. And with no one to encourage him or keep him in line, he began hanging out with the wrong crowd.

Luke might have been a natural-born rebel, but he suspected that having a half-decent father probably would have kept him from getting into too much trouble.

When he met Leilani, she was a college-bound senior who’d recently moved in with her aunt. And his hormones had done what the teachers hadn’t been able to—got him to knuckle down and study.

Had Kami not died, Luke might have become a doctor anyway—because of Leilani’s influence. She’d believed in him and had made him want to be the kind of guy she could respect.

“Having a father to look up to is important for a boy,” she said now, obviously thinking about the baby her friend was carrying.

Leilani had always been compassionate, always concerned with the feelings of others. And Luke could see the grief and worry etched on her face.

He reached across the table and placed his hand on hers. “You can’t get personally involved like this. It’ll drag you under if you let it.”

Luke’s touch sent a shiver of heat up Leilani’s arm, and she nearly bolted. But before she could pull away or argue about her decision to get involved with Carrie or anyone else who reached out to her, Luke’s name blasted over the intercom.

“Dr. Wynter, dial zero-five-six. Dr. Wynter, dial zero-five-six.”

“Excuse me.” He stood, then picked up his tray. “I need to take that.”

Leilani watched him go, watched the way he swaggered out of the cafeteria with confidence and pride.

Just seeing him again had resurrected memories of what they’d once had and lost. What he’d thrown away by being negligent and acting carelessly.

When Kami died, she’d written Luke off as a delinquent, a lost soul. She now realized she’d been wrong. He’d managed to make something out of himself and earn a medical degree to boot. She ought to be happy for him, she supposed. And in a way, she was.

But that opened a whole new can of worms—night crawlers and squirmy critters sure to complicate her life and that of her son.

Seeing him again was a complication in itself, she supposed. A reminder of the secret she’d kept.

Danny had Leilani’s tan complexion, her dark hair. But he had his father’s eye color, a pretty emerald green. The shape, too. But more than that, he had Luke’s mannerisms—the charming smile, the single dimple in his cheek when he cracked a joke.

As she finished her tea and picked at the melon in her fruit cup, a group of nurses entered the cafeteria. After snagging their breakfast from the buffet, they chose a table not far from hers.

She ignored them until Luke’s name was mentioned.

“Guess who managed to get a date with Dr. Wynter last week,” a pudgy blonde said.

“Who?” the group chimed in harmony.

“Tori Claypool.”

“From the blood bank? How’d she do that?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. But apparently we’re not the only ones eager to find out why he was nicknamed Hot Lips.”

“You’d better be careful,” the blonde said. “You wouldn’t want to slip and call him that to his face. He doesn’t seem to have a sense of humor when he’s on duty, and I think Marge-the-Sarge is the only one who can get away with teasing him without making him angry.”

“It’s too bad he works nights and so many weekends,” a redhead added. “That’s so limiting to a relationship.”

“If you’re talking about concerts and evening activities,” the blonde said, “I’d be happy to spend a quiet afternoon at his place and show him the true meaning of a cheap date.”

Obviously, Dr. Luke Wynter was not only the resident E.R. doctor, but the resident heartthrob as well.

When Leilani had been in high school and had been dating Luke, she’d heard similar conversations in the girls’ locker room. She could understand why it would bother her then. But for some reason, she found a pang of jealousy even more unsettling now.

She tried to shrug it off and explain it away. After all, Luke was a handsome hunk who exuded raw sexuality. Obviously women still threw themselves at him.

While some things may have changed, others hadn’t. Luke still played the field and had his choice of eager women who didn’t mind being one of several.

Ready to escape the annoying chatter, as well as the green-eyed monster poking around in her chest, Leilani picked up her tray and put it on the shelf set aside for those that had been used. Then she grabbed her purse and headed for the lobby door.

She had better things to do than eavesdropping on a group of giggling post-adolescents. Besides, her car had been on the blink, so she and Danny had flown to San Diego. She’d had to borrow Addie’s Taurus and hated to leave her aunt without a vehicle any longer than necessary. In addition to that, she was eager to see Danny.

Aunt Addie was looking after him, and when Leilani had called last night to check on them, she’d learned that they’d made popcorn and were watching television. She’d promised her son a trip to the zoo today, but now she’d have to postpone it until tomorrow.

It was tough disappointing him.

And if she ever decided to reveal the truth about his father, she’d really disappoint him. Not because of who Luke was.

But because of what she’d told the boy about him.

Leilani parked the car in the underground garage, then took the elevator up to her aunt’s small apartment on the fourth floor and stepped into the hallway that bore the same blue plaid carpet she’d remembered. It was more worn than ever and, like everything else in the building, needed to be replaced.

Without any windows to air out the hallway, the scent of stale cigarette smoke had permeated drapes, walls and flooring.

At one time, the Eberly Arms Apartments hadn’t been the safest complex. But it seemed as though the tenants, at least the ones on this floor, had all been around for a while. Most of them were her aunt’s age and looked out for each other, which was comforting.

As she used her key and let herself inside, Danny jumped up from the sofa and rushed to meet her. “Mom, you’re back. Finally. When are we leaving?”

Excitement spread over his face, and his green eyes—so much like his father’s—glimmered.

She bit her lip, struggling to find words that wouldn’t disappoint him too badly, but failed. Instead, she ran a loving hand through his brown hair and offered him a bone-weary smile. “Just let me take a quick shower, honey. Then we’ll go. All right?”

His grin was worth the sacrifice of a few hours sleep.

As she started toward the guest bedroom she and Danny had been sharing, Aunt Addie stopped her. “Lani, you look dog-tired and ready to drop. Why did you agree to go to the zoo today? I’m sure Danny would understand your need for rest.”

“I know. He’s a good kid.” She cast her elderly aunt a smile. “But this is supposed to be his vacation, too. He’s really looking forward to visiting the reptile house and seeing the pythons and the rattlesnakes.”

“I’m sure they’ll be there tomorrow.”

True, but Leilani also wanted her son to get some fresh air and sunshine. While she’d been gone, she’d asked her aunt not to take him outdoors. She had no idea what she’d do if anything happened to him. The thought of losing him like she’d lost Kami was too painful to contemplate.

“How’s your friend Carrie doing?” Addie asked.

“She’s hanging in there.”

Addie clucked her tongue. “It’s a downright shame what happened to her. She’s better off without a man in her life anyway.”

Leilani found it hard to argue, especially with a woman who refused to remarry after a nasty divorce, a woman who still seemed angry with Leilani’s father for not allowing her to raise his children on the mainland.

But when Leilani’s parents died, their will had been explicit. Leilani and Kami were to live with their maternal grandparents on Lanai—an island not far from Oahu, where they’d been living.

“I’m glad you finally learned that lesson,” Addie said, as she opened the linen closet. She pulled out a blue towel and washcloth then handed them to Leilani.

“What lesson are you talking about?”

“That most men can’t be trusted. You’re better off this way.”

Leilani wasn’t quite sure what she meant. “Do you think that’s why I never married?”

“Well, you’ve had bad experiences with two young men. First with that hellion who was responsible for Kami’s death. Then that Navy SEAL who got you pregnant.”

Leilani glanced down the hall, making sure Danny wasn’t within hearing distance. “Danny’s birth blessed this entire family, so his father did us all a favor. And for what it’s worth, I’ve been too busy with work and trying to be a mother to my son to even think about dating. It has nothing to do with not trusting men.”

“Hmph.” Addie handed her the linens. “Nevertheless, I’m glad you haven’t tried to find that boy a step-father. He’s doing just fine without one.”

Was he?

She’d told herself Danny’s father wasn’t a man he could look up to, a man he could trust. But now she wasn’t so sure.

Of course, there were more reasons than that for keeping Danny a secret for eleven years.

First, she didn’t know Luke anymore. What if he let her son down? Or made promises he wouldn’t keep?

Second, she’d always preached the importance of honesty to her son. And the lie she’d told him about his father had been a whopper.

Perched on a hilltop that overlooked the Pacific, Oceana General Hospital was located about twenty minutes north of downtown San Diego. The large white stucco building had an old-world, Spanish style, with a flower-lined walkway and a stone-crafted water fountain bubbling at the entrance.

Luke liked the way the lights shined upon the water at night, which is why he chose to enter through the front door and not the emergency room.

After parking his SUV in the lot assigned to doctors, he pushed through the double glass doors into the lobby. He walked past the ladies dressed in pink who were members of the hospital auxiliary and headed down the walkway to the ICU. His shift would start soon, but he wanted to check on Carrie—again.

His interest in the beaten pregnant woman went against the grain, he supposed. Whenever any other cases had tugged at his frayed heartstrings, he’d always been able to successfully fight off the urge to get involved. So he didn’t know why he hadn’t done the same with this one.

Sure you do, an adolescent voice whispered.

He cursed under his breath. Okay, so it was Leilani who had the hold on him—her and that damn guilt he still carried.

Upon punching in the code that allowed him into the ICU, he proceeded to the nurses’ station, where he learned that Carrie had been assigned to Bethany Paige, an attractive redhead he’d dated a while back. The shifts were about to change.

“How’s Carrie Summers doing?” he asked.

Bethany arched a brow, obviously surprised to see him out of the E.R.

Okay, so it was common knowledge he didn’t often follow up on a patient.

He shrugged. “Ms. Summers is a friend of a friend.”

“Oh, yeah?” Bethany crossed her arms as though making some kind of assumption she had no business making. “Not much has changed. She’s having some intermittent contractions, but nothing productive.”

“Is she still unconscious?”

“Yes. There’s been some brain swelling, but Dr. Wofford has been keeping a close eye on it.”

“Good.”

Bethany blew out a sigh. “I hope they put away the guy who did this to her for a long time.”

“So do I.”

The brief relationship he and Bethany had shared was over, yet the memories, few that they were, filled the air between them.

“You know,” she said, “I don’t have any hard feelings about…well, you know.”

Luke smiled. “I’m glad. You deserve someone who can commit and give you the white-picket-fence dream. I’m afraid I’m just a loner at heart, a guy who thrives on working nights and sleeping days.”

“I’d thought maybe that might change—if you met the right woman.”

He tugged gently at a red lock of hair. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that. I’m too set in my ways.”

“Yeah, well thanks for being honest and up-front about it. I appreciate that.”

He let the curly strand go, losing the fleeting connection that reflected the intimacy they’d shared for a couple of weeks.

At first, Bethany had claimed she wanted a no-strings-attached affair, too. But as they spent more time together, she began to press for more, so Luke ended things.

Some men might have let it go on longer, but he’d learned a lot of things from Harry Logan, especially the meaning of integrity. Life was far less complicated when people were honest with each other.

“Will you mention to the night-duty nurse that I’d like to know if there’s any change in her condition?”

Bethany nodded. “Sure.”

Luke tossed her a thanks-for-understanding smile, then turned and left the ICU. He headed to the waiting room, where he expected to see Leilani. Maybe this time, he’d get a chance to tell her what he’d meant to say before.

When he paused in the doorway, he found her seated on the sofa, her shoes kicked off and on the floor, her bare feet tucked under her.

“Isn’t it time for you to be heading home?” he asked.

At the sound of his voice, Leilani looked up, uncurled her legs and quickly slipped on her shoes. “Sorry. I got a bit too comfy.”

“Good. You spend enough time here that you ought to make yourself at home.” He shot her a grin. “In fact, why don’t you come with me to the cafeteria? I’ve got a couple of minutes before I have to head to work.”

“Thanks, but I can’t.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I heard Dr. Wofford is going to be making his rounds soon, and I want to be here when he does.”

Something rigid inside him warmed and waffled, and he took a seat beside her.

“Is this all normal?” Leilani asked.

Luke didn’t want to tell her there was a chance Carrie wouldn’t wake up. Leilani was worried enough, and he didn’t want to add a stress about something that might not present itself.

He went on to explain some of the medical tests and treatments in layman terms. She seemed to appreciate the time he spent with her. More than once, he wanted to reach out to her, to take her hand, but he didn’t want to force an intimacy they no longer had.

Luke had never gotten the chance to tell her how sorry he’d been that Kami had died. And a part of him wondered if he’d ever be able to find forgiveness in her eyes.

He could understand why he might not.

Her brother’s death had been devastating, the details ugly. The poor kid had been young and as innocent as they came. When his death had been declared drug-related, it had cast a sordid cloud over his memory and had shamed his religious family.

Of course, Luke wouldn’t bring any of that up now, not at the hospital. Instead he would drive by her aunt’s house on his next day off and talk to her there.

Assuming, of course, that her aunt no longer had the shotgun she’d threatened to fire at him if he ever showed up at her door again.

Chapter Three

The next morning, when his shift ended, Luke stopped by the ICU again, and the fact that he did bothered him more than ever.

Why couldn’t he let Leilani go?

Damned if he knew. He might be a doctor, but he sure as hell didn’t know the first thing about curing a worn-out case of puppy love. Or whatever it was he still felt for his old lover.

Sympathy maybe?

A misplaced sense of loyalty?

After checking in on Carrie and hearing the latest, he went by the waiting room, only to see that Leilani wasn’t there. A sense of disappointment settled over him, which he found even more annoying.

He ought to be happy she was taking care of herself and getting some rest. That’s what he should be doing.

On the way out of the hospital, he walked through the lobby and kept his eyes peeled for Leilani on the outside chance she would be coming while he was going. And, much to his relief, he spotted her just outside the glass doors.

She wore a pale-yellow sweater and a pair of black jeans today. Her hair was loose and curled under at the shoulders. When she cast a friendly grin at the ladies dressed in matching pink smocks and seated at the information desk, greeting them warmly, he realized she was not only as lovely as ever, but she was just as kindhearted.

When her gaze landed on him, his pulse skipped a beat, then rumbled to life.

Strange how she could still have that effect on him.

As she drew nearer, he noted dark circles under her eyes.

“I was hoping you’d stayed home last night, but something tells me you didn’t get much rest.”

She shrugged a shoulder and offered him a shy hula-girl smile. “You’re right. I didn’t sleep well.”

He wasn’t sure where he wanted to go with that, since she was certainly able to determine her needs on her own. But neither could he completely ignore her statement. “Are you staying with your aunt?”

“Yes, we’ve been…” She cleared her throat. “I’ve been visiting her, and we’ve been catching up.”

“Does she still live at the Eberly Arms? From what I remember, it used to get pretty loud there.”

“It’s not so bad anymore, but last night Aunt Addie had a spell that worried me. So I woke up periodically to check on her.”

Unable to quell his curiosity—professional or otherwise—he asked, “What kind of spell?”

“She has diabetes and her blood sugar level dropped. It took me a while to figure out she needed a glass of orange juice.”

“Is she under regular medical care?”

Leilani nodded. “Yes, but since I arrived I’ve noticed that she gets a little…forgetful sometimes. I’m afraid she might not be checking her sugar level regularly or taking her insulin properly. So I have her doctor’s number and plan to give him a call once his office opens.”

They stood there awhile, sexual attraction—at least on his part—buzzing and sparking like a high voltage wire downed by a storm. Her scent, something floral and springtime fresh, mingling with buzzing pheromones, drew him to her. He tried his best to ignore it, but he wasn’t having any luck.

“Now I have another reason to stick around for a while,” she said, “so I called my office this afternoon and requested a leave of absence. I’m going to stay with Aunt Addie until I can be sure she’s following her doctor’s orders and until Carrie recovers.”

Luke didn’t mention that the jury was still out on Carrie’s full recovery. “By the way, I’m not sure if you’ve heard. Her boyfriend was arraigned and charged with attempted murder.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“There’s also been talk about taking the baby early,” Luke added, revealing what he’d learned earlier.

“Have they scheduled the birth?”

“No. They’re still waiting. At this point, each day the baby stays in the womb, the better chance he has.”

“I told you that Carrie asked me to look after him if something…happened to her.” Leilani tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a pearl earring much like June Cleaver would have worn.

“You’ll make a great mom,” he told her, meaning every word.

Her lips parted as though she meant to respond, then she clamped them shut.

“How about a cup of coffee?” he asked. “Maybe breakfast?”

“No thanks. I’d better pass. Besides, your fan club probably doesn’t need to see us together.”

He shifted his weight to one foot and crossed his arms. “What are you talking about?”

Something that resembled humor glimmered in her eyes. “Several of the nurses think you’re pretty hot. And they’re eager to join the ranks of your notable conquests.”

He was aware of that, but for some reason it embarrassed him to have Leilani privy to idle chat, speculation and rumor. “I don’t make a habit of dating the women I work with.”

The humor disappeared from her gaze, and skepticism took its place. “Oh no?”

He doubted Bethany had been talking to anyone. The reason he’d dated her in the first place had to do with her ability to be discreet and the fact she didn’t seem to play the games some of the others did. “If there’s been talk, it’s not true.”

“Aw, come on, Luke.” She crossed her arms, facing off with him in a way that made her appear a lot taller than her five-foot-four stature. “I’m not buying that.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve kissed you before, Doctor. And I have every reason to believe your nickname wasn’t fabricated.”

Feeling both flattered and called on the carpet at the same time, he arched a brow. “My nickname?”

“Hot Lips.” Then she uncrossed her arms and swept through the lobby, leaving him to ponder the heated, breath-stealing kisses they used to share.

And the fact she didn’t believe he’d lost his touch.

The next day Luke was off duty. After getting his minimum required sleep, he made a call to the hospital and managed to get Leilani’s cell number, which she’d left as a contact on Carrie’s chart.

He hoped to convince her to have dinner with him that evening. Nothing fancy. Maybe someplace by the ocean, where they could sit outside and watch the waves roll in. He did his best thinking outdoors, where walls didn’t close in on him.

A seaside café is also romantic, a small voice whispered.

Too damn bad, he answered. He wasn’t going to try and impress her with candles and wine. He just needed to talk to her—out in the open air. And far from a hospital setting.

If Kami crept into the conversation, so be it. It was time for her to hear Luke’s side of the story. To realize he hadn’t meant for any of it to happen.

But when he dialed her number, her voice mail answered on the first ring, which made him suspect she’d turned off her cell.

Odd.

He showered, shaved and threw on a pair of jeans and a light blue button-down shirt. All the while, he struggled with the idea of just showing up at her aunt’s place and talking to her in person.

An hour later, he gave up the fight and drove to Eberly Arms Apartments, where Leilani had said she was staying. Once he parked his black Expedition in the garage, he took the elevator up to the fourth floor. It might have been twelve years, but he still remembered exactly where her aunt lived.

Apartment 4-E.

The building hadn’t changed much, just grown faded and run-down. It was quiet though. No one loitering in the halls.

He pushed the bell, although he didn’t hear a buzz or a ring. So he followed it with a knock, then waited for someone to answer.

God, he hoped it was Leilani. Her aunt had never made any bones about her low opinion of him—even before Kami died—so he wasn’t looking forward to seeing her now.

The door opened, revealing a dark-haired boy who appeared to be about twelve.

Oops. Maybe the old memory wasn’t as good as he thought it was. He glanced at the number on the door. He could have sworn it was 4-E. Leilani had mentioned her aunt lived in the same place, but maybe she’d moved into another apartment in the complex.

“I’m looking for Leilani Stephens,” he told the boy. “Is she staying here?”

“Yeah.” The boy turned and yelled into the living room. “Mom, some guy wants to talk to you!”

Mom?

Although stunned, Luke couldn’t help scanning the kid from the top of his dark brown hair to the white socks on his feet.

Leilani hadn’t said squat about having a kid. And the fact that this one was about eleven or twelve set off all kinds of bells and whistles in Luke’s brain.

“Yes?” Leilani entered the room and approached the door. When their gazes met, recognition dawned and her face paled.

She was obviously surprised to see him, but something else in her expression suggested that his calculations weren’t far off the mark.

He again studied the boy, trying to look beyond the white T-shirt and blue board shorts to spot something familiar, something genetic Luke may have contributed.

His complexion, while more fair than Leilani’s, still bore evidence of her Hawaiian roots. His hair was brown and lighter than hers, but not by much.

Luke didn’t find anything revealing, other than a pair of green eyes—which were sizing up the adults who stood gawking at each other in the doorway.

“Your mom and I used to be friends a long time ago,” he explained to the boy—his son? “I’m Luke Wynter. What’s your name?”

“Danny.”

Luke nodded. “And let me guess. You’re probably about…eleven years old.”

“Yeah.”

“I must be psychic,” Luke said, “and I’m guessing that your birthday is in April.”

“Hey, you’re pretty good. It’s April tenth.”

Reality was closing in on him in a cold, hard rush. And he’d be damned if he knew what to do about it.

Leilani had some explaining to do.

“I came by to ask your mom if she’d like to go to dinner with me.” Luke’s gaze traveled from the boy to his mother. “But now that I’m here…I don’t think I’ll give you that much of an option, Leilani. We need to talk. At dinner or outside.”

She didn’t respond right away, but needless to say, she’d been blindsided to see him standing at the door. Just as blindsided as Luke had been when Danny answered his knock.

“Is your car parked in the garage?” she asked.

“Yes. Just outside the elevator.”

“Give me a few minutes. I’ll ask Aunt Addie to look after Danny, grab my purse and meet you down there.”

“All right.”

Then she slowly closed the door, leaving Luke to head for the garage.

The place where he used to wait for her when they were teenagers and her aunt hadn’t approved of him.

The soles of Luke’s loafers crunched on the oil-stained concrete floor as he paced the underground parking garage, where the dank odor of gasoline fumes and exhaust was an unwelcome reminder of days gone by.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long.

When Leilani exited the elevator and joined him in the garage, he opened the passenger door of his Ford Expedition and gestured for her to climb inside. Then he headed west, toward the ocean, where the air was fresh and clean.

Leilani, who’d not only grabbed her purse, but had changed her clothes and put on some lipstick, sat beside him as sober and quiet as a cloistered nun.

The seconds stretched between them like a rubber band that had seen better days, and he waited for the snap. The sting. But apparently they were both hesitant to broach the subject they needed to discuss, the questions he wanted answered.

Did you bear my child?

Why didn’t you tell me?

Where do we go from here?

He wanted to press her, yet needed time to assimilate the possibility, the ramifications, the future.

But it was the past that came to mind, the memory of the first and only time they’d made love. The night they’d conceived a child.

It had happened at the beach one moonlit evening in July, when their kisses had gotten too hot to ignore, their passion too strong to deny. She’d wanted it nearly as badly as he did, and he’d been nervous and afraid. He’d feared that he would hurt her somehow and worried that she’d regret it afterward.

Leilani had been a virgin, and although Luke had already slept with several girls, he’d come to realize there was a big difference between sex and making love.

He’d never experienced anything as sweet as running his hands along her body and claiming her as his own. He’d taken his time and tried to make it special for her. Special for both of them, he realized, because he hadn’t been blessed with anything as innocent or as emotionally moving since and doubted he ever would.

She’d cried afterward, which had torn him apart, but she’d sworn everything was okay, that she was just overwhelmed by it all. While removing the condom, he suspected it might have sprung a slight leak, but hadn’t wanted to frighten her or cause her any more tears. So he’d kept his mouth shut.

More than ever, he’d been filled with the need to protect her forever. But forever hadn’t been in their cards. And days later, when her brother died, he’d realized how lousy he was at looking after anyone other than himself.

After pulling into a parking space at the side of the restaurant and shutting off the ignition, he couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “Is Danny my son?”

She glanced down in her lap and fiddled with the garnet ring, then caught his gaze. “Yes.”

The simple answer bombarded him with shock, hurt and anger, but he fought the urge to respond. He was afraid of what he might say or offer.

Leilani had enough to hold against him. A misguided comment now might open a Pandora’s box of emotion, so he merely nodded, then climbed from the vehicle, realizing his life was becoming complicated in ways he couldn’t quite grasp.

Before he could open the door for her, she exited and headed for the entrance of the small restaurant that had become a favorite of locals.

Once inside, he asked to be seated on the patio and away from the other diners. The hostess obliged, escorting them to an outdoor table, where he caught the heady scent of a sea breeze and could see and hear the waves crash upon the shore. It was cool tonight, but portable heaters stood ready to keep them comfortable.

He was neither hot nor cold, yet his nerves were raw and he was as skittish as a stray cat in a rock-filled gunnysack being hurled off the dock.

Since Leilani wasn’t quick to offer any explanations or a confession, he brought up the subject himself. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She didn’t respond right away, nor did she need to.

The whole Kami thing elbowed into the forefront, settled over them and provided the answers to all his questions.

She’d been too angry with him at first, too devastated by her loss. But he also suspected it had something to do with the grandparents who’d raised her, a conservative minister and his wife who lived on a small Hawaiian island.

“I know we didn’t part on good terms,” he said, “but that’s not the point. You shouldn’t have had to go through a pregnancy alone.”

“I didn’t. My grandmother was with me. And she was very supportive.”

“That’s not the same.” Luke had a ton of experience in obstetrics now. Back then he would have been scared spitless, but he would have done right by her. “You should have called me.”

“It crossed my mind,” she admitted. “But I decided it would be easier not to.”

“Easier for who?”

“Me. My family.” The wind whipped a strand of hair across her face, and she tucked it behind her ear. “And for Danny.”

“Why?”

“You were prone to trouble back then. And you gave me no reason to believe you would be responsible or that you would be good daddy material.”

She had a point. And he wasn’t sure that he was daddy material now. But that didn’t mean he wanted to leave a kid of his to fend for himself, without any paternal influence or guidance. And like it or not, he had fathered a child. A son who’d spent the first eleven years of his life with a single mother.

“Besides,” she added, “you didn’t want to be a father.”

He didn’t. But hell, that was before knowing he actually had a son.

What kind of loser did she think he was? One who was every bit as irresponsible as his own old man?

A myriad of emotions buzzed around in his head—surprise and anger, to name a couple.

“All right, I’ll admit this is a bit mind-boggling. And I’m going to need some time to think about the logistics of it all.” He’d have to make some adjustments in his life if Danny was going to become a part of it. And whether Leilani—or her aunt—liked it or not, he was going to be a father to the boy.

At least as much as he was able.

“I could use some time to get used to all of this, too,” she said. “And to figure out what I’m going to tell Danny.”

“What’s so hard about telling him he has a father who is willing to support him and be there for him?”

She bit her lip and glanced down at the table, finding her hand and fingering the heirloom ring. Then she glanced up, her expression solemn.

“Because Danny thinks you’re dead.”

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