BareBottomGirl (12 page)

“Yes, Sam?”

“Would it be possible to speak in your office?”

He stepped to the side and pointed to the open doorway. “Go
on in.”

With an impersonal smile, he waved her in before him, making
sure to leave the door open. He also didn’t miss the resident’s frown as she
saw he had, and warning bells jangled in his head.

“What was it you needed to speak to me about?” he asked,
keeping his tone casual and cool.

Sam dug her hands in the pockets of her white coat as though
she were nervous about something. “As you know, I’m new to the area. My brother’s
coming to visit, and I…well, he worries about me being here by myself, and
I…uh…told him I was seeing someone.”

Chas leaned back against the wall next to the door. “I
suppose that someone was me?”

She shifted, and he guessed she was a bit unnerved by his
cool reception.

“I asked around. Everyone said you’re not dating and not
married.”

“Doctor,” Chas interrupted, deciding to put things on a much
more formal footing, “I don’t make a habit of blabbing the details of my
personal life around the hospital.” He eased away from the wall, but kept his
arms crossed over his chest. “Nor do I make it a habit of dating or even
casually seeing anyone with whom I work…particularly residents.”

She stood, flicking her hair back over her shoulders, her
hands now visibly fisted inside her coat pockets. “I knew it was a long shot.
In fact, several nurses told me I wouldn’t get anywhere because you are seeing
someone…just not someone female.”

Chas’ eyes narrowed. “That is absolutely none of your
business, Doctor. Before your brother gets to town, I suggest you disabuse him
of the idea you and I even know each other’s first names, let alone that we’re
seeing each other. I also suggest you remember where you fit in the hierarchy
around here.”

“Are you threatening my position?” There was a calculating
gleam in her eyes that put his back up.

“I’m suggesting you take a good, hard look at what it means
to be a professional. This hospital has always maintained the highest standards
among its staff. You should take a good look at yours and decide whether they’re
really a match.”

“Prick,” she snapped and stormed out the door.

“Thank God for that,” Chas muttered.

If that was going to be any indicator of where the weekend
was headed, he was more than ready for it to be over with. The way things were
already shaping up, Chas knew there’d be very little sleep with it. Twenty-four
hours before he would be home with Liam and Greer. Going over to the fridge he
kept behind his desk, he extracted a bottle of water and some yogurt. Chances
were good he’d be back in the ER or surgery soon, so he had to take advantage
of what break he had.

Chas shut his office door. After the little scene with the
blond resident, he wouldn’t take a chance on going to the call room. If he got
any sleep, it was going to be here, and he’d just let them know he was crashed
in his office.

The encounter left him feeling like he needed a shower.
Instead, he pulled out his phone and dialed the house. Liam answered.

“What’s up, Chas?”

He relayed the bizarre encounter with the resident.

“Be careful,” Liam warned in a low voice.

“I’m sure she won’t cause any trouble…”

“Chas,” Liam interrupted. “You just have no idea, man, and I
don’t mean that in any way trying to slam you. But you always look for the good
in people, and sometimes, well…it’s just not there. Don’t take any chances.”

Chas blew out a breath and ran his free hand over his
disheveled hair. “You worried she might out us?”

“Fuck no. That’s the least of my worries. While we haven’t
exactly been holding hands and kissing in public, I think our relationship’s
far from secret. No, I’m worried she’ll fuck up your career.”

Chas thought back to the conversation with Sam. Liam might
be overstating things, but caution would be a good thing. Chas checked
schedules to see if the chief of surgery was going to be in over the weekend.
Once he determined that was a no, Chas picked up the phone and called him.
Michael Brandt was headed to the country club.

“Put everything you can remember about the incident in a
confidential memo to me, Chas. We’ll keep it on file just in case. I don’t want
to ruin a career at this point, but I will have her mentor keep a closer eye on
her. In the meantime, check schedules and make sure she’s moved off any shifts
overlapping yours.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

After Liam had ended his call with Chas, he’d turned to find
Greer watching him as she set a snack in front of Wyatt.

“Everything okay?” she asked quietly.

Liam glanced at Wyatt. “We can talk about it a little later.
Hey, Wyatt…”

“What, Daddy?”

“Once you finish that snack, you want to go to the barn and
see the horses?”

Wyatt grinned. “Can we ride ‘em?”

“If you want.” He glanced at Greer. “You want to ride?”

“It’s been a while.”

Liam chuckled. “We won’t be doing anything more than a walk
with Wyatt along. Put on some jeans. I’ll keep an eye on Wyatt for a few
minutes.”

She nodded and turned for her room, shutting the door behind
her. Liam stared after her. She’d been shy around him most of the day. He
wondered if it was because she regretted the night before or because it was
something so entirely new. Just thinking back to the way she’d felt wrapped
around him, the way Chas had joined them, made Liam want to repeat it. Tonight,
though, he wanted the opportunity for a little one-on-one, needed the
reassurance she wasn’t afraid of him but was just as drawn to him as he was to
her.

Greer returned to the kitchen in under five minutes, a pair
of worn jeans snugging her hips and thighs in all the right places. He really
needed her to let him sculpt her. Somehow, Liam had a feeling that would be a
lot more difficult than getting her to agree to make love with him again.

Wyatt held her hand, tugging her toward the barn while Liam
hung back watching them. He still found it hard to believe just how comfortable
Wyatt was with her. He’d always seemed a bit shy of strangers, although he’d
taken to Chas right away as well. Liam smirked. Maybe they needed to use his
son as a character barometer. Anyone meeting with Wyatt’s approval, must be
okay.

They’d reached the fence. Greer scooped Wyatt up and lifted
him so he could climb the brown boards. As he straddled the top one, she held
his little bottom in place. Liam wondered if she realized what a natural she
was at mothering. An image of her swollen with their child superimposed itself
on the scene in front of him. His child or Chas’, it really didn’t matter.

Lord, he’d never say anything to her about what he was
thinking for fear he’d frighten her off. Was he already so vested in Greer, he
was thinking babies? And what about Chas? They’d never really talked about it
much. Now that seemed selfish on his part. He had a child, but what about Chas?
What did he want? What did Greer want?

He pushed the thoughts away as he drew close and gave her
and Wyatt a big grin. “If you guys will find the brushes, I’ll catch the horses
and bring them in so we can groom them. Oh and look to see if there’s some fly
spray in the tack room. The bugs will be worse now it’s evening.”

Greer bit her lower lip. “We are taking it easy, right?”

He cupped her cheek for a minute as he started past with
halters and leads. “Just at a walk, and I’ll take Wyatt with me.”

Her look of relief made him chuckle. Unable to prevent
himself, and forgetting for a moment about Wyatt, Liam dipped his head and gave
her a kiss. When her lips parted in surprise, he stepped closer and slipped his
tongue along her teeth. Mm. She was sweet…

“Daddy! Why you kissin’ Greer?”

He eased back, watching her blush. And that did make him
laugh. “I’m kissing her ‘cause she’s pretty. Don’t you think so?”

Wyatt nodded and held out a brush. “I gots brushes.”

“That’s great, Wyatt,” Greer said bending to him. As she
continued to talk to him, Liam rounded the barn and headed to the pasture,
whistling for the two geldings. Like the gentlemen they were, the two horses
trotted obediently to him, standing still as he haltered them and attached
leads.

He sucked in a deep breath, feeling a contentment he’d
missed. Chas had helped. Being with him, absorbing some of his upbeat outlook,
had eased much of the bitterness and tension he’d been under since his divorce,
but he realized Greer’s addition to the equation was simple—it completed them.
She smiled at him as he rounded the barn corner, coming over to take one of the
leads from him.

In no time at all, it seemed he was double-checking the
girth and giving her a leg up onto the big Quarter Horse’s broad back. He’d
originally bought this gelding for Julie, but she would have nothing to do with
the horses, dismissing them as too filthy to bother with. After sitting Wyatt
on the front of the other saddle, Liam vaulted behind him, his hands on the
reins bracketing Wyatt safely aboard.

“Ready?”

Greer’s smile was just a bit nervous, but he admired her
gumption. “You lead.”

He tilted his head. “How about we go side by side?”

He took her along the edge of the pasture and into the
woods. Trails that had been there for years curled through the tangle of trees.
They circulated through several neighboring farms. There’d always been an
unwritten agreement that allowed crossing boundaries so long as any gate
opened, was also closed after going through. It was simple common courtesy, but
it had gotten them through plenty of years without incident.

“You know, I used to play in these woods when I was a kid.”

He caught Greer gazing off at the creek, a nostalgic look on
her face.

“I wish I’d known,” he murmured. “I might have joined you.
Now I wonder what the girl Greer looked like.”

She laughed, her gray eyes twinkling. “I had braids usually
still damp from swimming—my first love—and I was even known to take a dip in
the creek a few times.”

“So did you use the swimming hole where our property joins
the Huntingtons’?”

She raised her brows as though surprised he knew of it,
making him chuckle. “And here I always imagined I was the first ever in the
history of mankind to find that particular swimming hole.” She eyed him up and
down. “Why would you bother? You had your own pool.”

“Precisely why. Down here there were no parental eyes
watching. My high school buddies and I spent a lot of misguided evenings here.”

Greer cleared her throat and glanced pointedly at Wyatt who
was watching the two of them with lively, interested eyes. Liam glanced at his
son and smiled indulgently. “So what do you think, Wyatt? You about ready for
your own pony?”

His eyes rounded. “A pony? Tomorrow?”

“Well maybe not that quickly, sport. We’ll have to find the
perfect one, and sometimes that takes time.” His gaze settled on Greer’s
profile.

They let the horses drink at the edge of the pool, but when
Greer’s gelding started to paw the water, Liam cautioned, “Give him a kick and
take him on across. He likes to lie in water if you give him half a chance.
Managed to soak Chas but good the first time he rode.”

Greer booted the horse and clucked, sending the gelding on
his way. “Thanks for the warning. I think I’m past the point where I really
want a dunk.”

“There’s always the pool when we get back.”

Her shoulders stiffened. She started to say something, but
Wyatt piped up before she could speak. “I wanna swim. Can we? I packed
swimmies.”

Liam saw the trepidation on Greer’s face. “We’ll see, buddy.”

She was still reluctant for anyone to see her scars. Liam
sighed. In truth, they weren’t nearly as bad as she probably thought them. He
remembered a kid he’d gone to school with who’d been burned as a child when he
turned a pot of boiling water over on himself. The scarring had covered almost
one entire side of his body and part of his face, but no one had ever really
seemed to notice. George possessed such an engaging personality, he’d been
everyone’s friend, so the burns had been a small and unimportant afterthought.

He hoped Greer would reach the point where she could see
herself that way, but he’d seen last night, at the Captain’s Quarters, just how
thoroughly she’d cut herself off from her previous life. Maybe it was time to
force some of her past out into the open.

“You mentioned liking to swim,” he began. “Did you do it
competitively?”

She nodded as she negotiated a bank and a turn in the trail.
“Yes. I swam on a club team and also for my high school.”

“Did you ski too?”

“Yes, I even had a scholarship offer to do it at Missouri
State.”

“But you chose to stay here.”

“I’d never been away from my family, or Markus.”

Liam fell silent. He’d packed his bags and gone to Yale, had
toyed with the idea of not ever coming home again. But his parents’ deaths had
changed his outlook, and he’d realized he was more tied to the area than he’d
thought. He’d brought an already growing reputation as an up and comer in
sculpture with him. Combined with his family and social connections in the
area, his success had been all but assured.

“I still want you to work with me in my studio.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Bring Wyatt. He likes to play with clay, and I can give you
some pointers. We should head back.”

“Swimming, Daddy,” Wyatt reminded him. “Everyone.”

Greer’s nerves began to jump as they returned to the barn
and untacked the horses. Wyatt had done nothing other than remind them again
and again he wanted to swim. As he did once more, Liam met and held her gaze.

“Join us, Greer.” His tone was firm.

Her stomach turned over. “I…I don’t know if I can.”

He leveled a look on her, making it clear he wasn’t going to
take no for an answer. “I’ll take Wyatt upstairs with me to change while you
get into your suit.”

God. Did she even still have a suit? As it turned out she
did. Thank God, it was a one-piece at least. The conservative training suit
covered more than she might have suspected because of its high neckline front
and back.

When Greer had finally screwed up enough courage to emerge
from her rooms, she looked out the kitchen window and saw Liam and Wyatt
already alongside the pool. Liam was carefully sweeping it while Wyatt trailed
behind him. She should get out there to help instead of standing here with her
feet glued to the floor. She really should. Except her hands gripped the
counter as though the earth were quaking, and how stupid was that? Her breath
hitched while her heart pounded. Oh no. Not this time. She couldn’t give in to
a panic attack, especially right in front of Wyatt.

And what was she frightened of? He was a marvelous little
kid. He wouldn’t make fun of her, probably wouldn’t even look at her as though
anything were out of the ordinary. Wyatt, she’d already discovered, was a very
different little boy, in some ways mature far beyond other children his age.

But he would still look at her, still see the scars.

The house phone rang. Greer tried to slow everything down,
but she knew when she answered she sounded breathless.

“Carle Residence.”

“Hi, sweetie.”

“Chas.”

A pause on the other end. “Greer? What’s up? You sound a bit
panicked.”

“I am…count with me.”

The next couple of minutes, Chas walked her through slowing
and deepening her breathing while he had her count with him.

“Better?” he asked at last.

“Yes.”

“Mind if I ask what brought it on?” She heard only caring in
his deep voice. Greer could picture the warmth shining from his sky blue eyes
and was able to take a slow, deep breath.

“Liam wants me to go swimming with him and Wyatt.”

“Ah… Is it the swimming or having to reveal your scars in
the light of day?”

“I’m worried about…” She trailed off. “Both I guess. I haven’t
been swimming since the accident, but I’m also worried about Wyatt. What if it
makes him scared of me?”

Chas’ deep chuckle floated through the phone line, helping
her to calm. “He won’t be scared of you. If you could have seen the way he was
tucked into you so trustingly last night, you’d know that, Greer.”

In the background, she heard the sound of someone being
paged.

“I gotta go, sweetie. We have a trauma case coming in. If
you don’t hear from me again tonight, I’ll give you a call in the morning.”

“Thank you, Chas.” After she’d heard the disconnecting
click, Greer breathed deeply. He was right. Wyatt was special. He would ask
questions, not because he was mean—because he was curious.

She stepped out the rear door onto the patio, carrying the
towels she’d brought with her. As soon as Wyatt saw her, he came running. She
caught him in her arms and swung him on her hip.

His little fingers touched her scarred skin with a featherlight
brush. “You gots a boo-boo.”

Her stomach churned, but she smiled at him. “It’s okay,
Wyatt. It happened a long time ago.”

“Did you get a Band-Aid?”

“Kind of.”

He nodded and gave her shoulder a kiss. “I make it better.”

Greer had to stop, blinking rapidly as tears sprung to her
eyes. Not a single one of her friends from the past had even wanted to look at
her injuries. Not until she’d stepped into this house had she felt such
acceptance, even from her own parents. It was almost as if the scars had made
her less than what she had been, inside and out. Yet Wyatt had put the cap on
everything she’d felt from Liam and Chas.

When she had herself under control, she glanced up. Liam
watched them. Worry narrowed his eyes and tightened his mouth. When he noticed
her looking at him, he arched a brow as though to ask if everything were all
right.

She nodded to him. “I’m good, Liam.”

And that was it. One of the things she’d feared most in the
years since the accident was how others, especially children, would react when
they saw her. Now she had an answer. For Wyatt, it turned out to be no big
deal, and she guessed it would be the same with a lot of people—young or old.

The knowledge was curiously freeing, as if a burden had been
lifted from her, a burden she’d been damn weary of lugging around. She grinned
at Wyatt.

“Let’s go swimming. You do like to swim, don’t you?”

He nodded. “I only gets to go on the steps. But I gots
swimmies.”

Greer heard the protest in his statement. Obviously Wyatt
wanted to do more than stay on the steps. She glanced at Liam who sat on the
edge of the pool idly swinging his long calves in the water.

“May I take him in with me if we put the swimmies on?”

“Use your judgment, baby.” The
I trust you
was
implicit, and man how it warmed her from the inside out. He trusted her with
his son.

Greer smiled at him as she led Wyatt over to the flotation
devices and helped him tuck them up his arms so they wouldn’t fall off.

“There you go, big guy,” she told him. “You’re ready to swim
with me.”

While it was obvious he enjoyed the water and had no fear of
it, it was also obvious he didn’t know how to swim. After she’d played with him
for a few minutes, Greer guided him back to the steps.

“Why don’t you play on the steps with some of your toys for
a few minutes while I talk to Daddy?”

“Okay.” Boat noises accompanied the splashing of his toys
through the shallow water on the steps as Greer swam over to Liam. Hanging onto
the side of the pool she grinned at him. “Are you coming in, or do you need
swimmies too?”

In answer, he braced his arms on the side and lowered
himself in next to her. Tilting his head close to hers, he murmured, “I’m one
giant flotation device. Wanna see my air valve?”

Greer smacked him on the shoulder. “That is so wrong.”

He grinned, running his fingers down her cheek. “I like
watching you with Wyatt. He likes you.”

Heat curled from her belly to her cheeks. “He’s a great kid.
You should have him around more.”

Liam’s mouth thinned, a sad look in his eyes. “I’d like to.
I had to fight for what I’ve got.”

Greer couldn’t hide her surprise. “Pardon me for saying so,
but your ex doesn’t really seem to be very interested in him. Why would she…?”

“To punish me.”

“For Chas?”

He shook his head. “We were separated before Chas ever
entered the picture. No, I really think it’s to punish me for getting her
pregnant to begin with.”

Greer gazed at Wyatt with his dark curls and his blue eyes
as he played happily, splashing the water and turning his cars into boats. “I
don’t understand.”

“Wanting to punish me?”

“Not wanting her pregnancy.” Greer swallowed. She and Markus
had talked about having a family. It was one of the reasons they’d taken their
relationship to the next level.

Liam’s gaze was intense, searching her expression before he
murmured, “No, you wouldn’t understand, would you?”

Greer knew it was a rhetorical question, so she remained
silent, keeping one eye on Wyatt to make sure he was staying at the top of the
steps. He was such a darling, how could anyone not want him? But she had
sensed, more clearly than she would have guessed, Julie regarded her son as a
job more than a joy.

“Have you ever thought about having kids?”

“What?” Greer’s eyes widened, Liam’s question catching her
off guard. He repeated the question, his dark gaze warm. She swallowed, ducking
her head so he couldn’t read her expression. “Markus and I talked about it.”

His fingers tilted her chin so he could see her face. “And
did you? Want kids?”

The tears were back, damn it. Greer blinked them away. “We
wanted a family.”

His thumb brushed beneath her eye, then rubbed along her
lower lip. “You would be a wonderful mother.”

Greer eased away from him with a smile designed to cover her
true feelings. “It’s a moot point. My life has changed. I’m no longer the same
person, Liam.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the
pool wall as if he were about to say something else.

“Greer! Play wif me.”

It was an excuse to escape, and she was absurdly grateful to
Wyatt for providing it. Liam’s questions were touching too close to home on
things she’d tried to shut in her past.

Liam let her go, cursing himself for poking and prodding her
so much. As she sat next to Wyatt on the steps, he had a vision of her, rounded
with his or Chas’ child. But seeing her pregnant didn’t matter so long as she
was with them, creating a new image of what it meant to be a family. He and
Chas had been forging one on their own, but deep down both of them had known
the picture wasn’t really complete.

Then Greer arrived, big-eyed and breathless. She made his
heart pound. What he felt was more than lust. Liam realized he couldn’t
possibly let her go any more than he could let Chas go. They belonged together.
All three of them.

He hoped Chas felt the same way, and he prayed they could
both convince Greer to be part of that image. Liam sighed. He wasn’t a patient
person, except when it came to sculpting, but wasn’t that a bit of what was
going on here? Greer had come to them locked inside so many protective layers,
but as each day passed, they chipped away her shell. With every layer he
uncovered, Liam fell a little more in love.

How absurd was that? But it had been the same way with Chas.
Liam had known right away Chas was someone special. Had he not been expecting
someone so different from who Greer turned out to be, he might have seen how
special she was the instant he saw her. Now he just needed to make sure they
kept her.

“Getting dark. We should probably head inside.” He glanced
at Wyatt. “‘Bout your bedtime, son.”

As Wyatt’s lip began to protrude, Greer scooped him up and
gave him a motorboat ride around the shallow end. When they finished, she
laughed. “Come on. Clean up. I’ll help. See if you can get your toys in the bag
faster than me.”

Liam hoisted himself onto the edge of the pool and simply
sat for a moment watching Greer. She was a natural. He rubbed his chest at the
ache of regret, but knew what he was feeling was silly. Sure she had lived just
down the road from him for most of his life, but meeting her before now would
have been pointless. She’d been in love with another man, and enough years
stood between them, meeting when she was younger wouldn’t have changed a thing.
He would simply have dismissed her as a kid.

Funny how fate worked. For that reason, he couldn’t even
regret the scars on her back and shoulders. Because of them, she was in this
place at this time. Had the accident never happened, chances were she would be
married to her Markus and already mothering her own children. Now he and Chas
had a chance to build something special with her. He wasn’t sure exactly how
that would work, but the image made him smile.

He carried Wyatt while she toted the rest of their stuff.

“Grab a shower, babe. I’ll take care of Mr. Wyatt’s bath,
then you can tuck him in while I clean up.”

She nodded, seeming relieved by the opportunity for some
alone time. He didn’t doubt it. Coming out to the pool, her scars exposed not
only to him but also to Wyatt, had taken a lot of guts. He was helping Wyatt
out of his clothes and lifting him into the tub when his son surprised him.

“‘N’I stay here forever? I love Greer.”

Liam picked up the soap and a washcloth. “You know we’d love
to have you here more, Wyatt. Your momma would miss you.”

“Uh uh.”

He rubbed the cloth over the soap then set the bar aside,
keeping his tone casual. “What makes you say that?”

“Momma doesn’t love me like Greer does.”

Whoa.
How to address that one? “Momma has a lot of
things on her mind, so she can’t always be with you. Here…well, that’s Greer’s
job.”

Wyatt’s lip stuck out. “Greer chased the monsters away.”

“You mean last night when you had a bad dream?”

Wyatt nodded, playing with one of his tub toys while Liam
rubbed a soapy washcloth over his back.

“Greer made ‘em go ‘way. Momma doesn’t. Weeza neever.”

Liam rinsed the soap out of the washcloth and began to rinse
Wyatt. “You mean her maid, Louisa?”

“Her. She puts me to bed.”

Not Julie. From the way Wyatt said it, he knew it was a
common occurrence. Damn Julie. He’d acquiesced about custody, but it seemed
obvious to him Julie was shuffling a lot of responsibility off on Louisa.

Still trying to tread carefully, he asked, “Where’s Momma?”

“Out.”

Liam shampooed Wyatt’s hair and rinsed it out. “We can talk
about you coming here more often now Greer’s here to help, but I wouldn’t say
anything to Momma about how much you like Greer. It might hurt Momma’s
feelings.”

Liam sent a silent prayer God would understand the lie. His
real fear was if Julie knew how much Greer meant to any of them, including
Wyatt, she would use her to hurt them.

“A secret?”

He lifted Wyatt from the tub and dried him off. “Kind of.”

“‘Kay. Can I have a snack?”

“You bet, buddy. Cereal?”

Wyatt’s eyes lit. Liam helped him into a pull up and his
pajamas then carried him to the kitchen. As if she’d anticipated their needs, a
bowl and spoon were already on the table in front of Wyatt’s booster seat. Liam
leaned into the corner near the sink and watched Wyatt and Greer. She was good
with him, and it was obvious Wyatt adored her. Jesus, he’d have to find some
way to keep Julie from discovering that. Somehow, she’d find a way to use it
against all of them.