Changed by His Son's Smile (7 page)

Phil chuckled. “And I have a feeling that ‘doting’ will be an understatement.”

Evelyn grasped Phil’s hand and they walked over to stand on either side of Drew, forming a bridge with their arms. “Drive through the tunnel, engineer Andrew. But watch out, there might be a landslide and it could collapse on you,” Phil said.

Drew shrieked in delight as he drove around their legs and through the “tunnel,” ending up trapped as their arms surrounded him.

As she watched them, Dani’s heart filled with how lovely Chase’s parents were and how lucky Drew was that they wanted to be a part of his life, even though their time together would doubtless be infrequent.

“I can’t believe this,” Chase said.

She looked at his disgusted scowl and knew he wasn’t talking about his parents’ game with Drew. “Is this finally the proof you need that you should get over the unpleasant controlling streak you have? Even your mother thinks so.”

“She didn’t say I’m controlling. And I’m not.”

He stepped close and she was glad his parents were here. Surely Chase wouldn’t touch her and kiss her and make her feel all weak and out of control while they were around.

“But convincing?” His mouth came close to her ear, and he smelled so good, like fresh soap and aftershave and him, that it was all she could do not to turn her head for a kiss anyway. “Convincing you will be a pleasure.”

He backed off a few inches, and the promise in his dark eyes told her resistance would be tough going. But she could do it. She
would
do it. To protect Drew and to protect her own heart.

“Lunch, everybody!” Spud bellowed from the door.

Drew jumped off the plastic train, knocking it over onto its side, and ran to Dani. He flung one arm around Dani’s leg and wrapped the other around Chase’s. “I hungry! Daddy, will you feed me more bugs?”

“You bet. I’ve got some big, fat ones picked out just for you.” Chase lifted his gaze to Dani. His eyes turned from soft and smiling to hard and cool in an instant. “Drew, at least, knows we’re already connected, no matter what you want to believe.” He reached down to lift Drew into his arms, kissing his round cheek before settling the child against his shoulder like he’d been doing it fo rever.

The image of father and son, of their brown eyes and thick dark hair so like the other, along with the tender expressions on his parents’ faces, gave Dani another pang of guilt. But she reminded herself she hadn’t really robbed all of them of two and a half years of togetherness. Chase and his parents would have been living who knew where in the world without her and Drew anyway.

“Whatever Spud made, it’ll be good,” Chase said, his head tipped against Drew’s for a moment before he looked at his parents. “Then we’ll make a plan for the rest of your visit with your grandson.”

CHAPTER SIX

“T
O
THINK
YOU
’
VE
always hassled me about my smooth moves when you’re the true master,” Trent said as he and Chase pulled off their gloves and gowns after surgery and headed toward the hospital corridor.

“What smooth moves?”

“Getting your parents to come and gush over Drew and put the pressure on Dani. Brilliant.” Trent grinned. “Except, of course, that my moves work and yours are a pathetic failure.”

“Glad you think it’s funny,” Chase said, still stunned at his parents’ reaction to Dani not wanting to marry him. He’d been so sure his mother would have seemed, at the very least, disappointed. And with Dani’s eyes looking so soft and tender as she’d watched them with Drew, he had been positive a little pressure from them would have been a big help toward his goal.

“I still can’t believe they didn’t back me up. Even threw me under the bus completely when they said it was between the two of us and didn’t care whether we got married or not.”

“I never thought I’d hear you say you wished you had more interference from outside forces in your life.” Trent chuckled. “Seems to me you always complain when anybody at GPC sticks their nose in your business.”

“Interference wasn’t what I had in mind. Coercion was what I had in mind. Helping Dani see what’s obviously the best solution here.” No, the interference he was worried about might come in the form of a jerk named Matt he didn’t even know. Except the guy was halfway across the world, while he had Dani with him, and there was some old saying about possession being nine-tenths of the law. He planned to take full advantage of it.

“You have no clue about women,” Trent said, shaking his head. “The harder you push, the faster she’ll run. Show her what a great dad you’ll be to Drew and give her time.”

“There might not be much time. Who knows how soon you and I’ll be relocated?”

“True. But you’ve got to relax a little instead of bugging her to death. Let her remember why you two were together in the first place. Lord knows, I can’t figure out why, but a lot of women do like you.”

“I’m just trying to remind her what we had before.” Seemed to have worked, for a moment at least, both times he’d kissed her. Just thinking of the feel of her mouth on his, her sweet body pressed close, made his body start to react all over again.

“Then lay off and play hard to get. I guarantee she’ll start thinking of your old times in Honduras and come back for more. Women are perverse like that.”

“I’m beginning to see why your relationships with women last a nanosecond.” Part of Chase wanted to laugh, but Trent’s words did make him pause. Could giving Dani a day or two to take the lead be the answer to speeding things up? Just the thought of heading to his next job without his ring on her finger filled him with cold anxiety. Especially with “Mr. Matt” waiting in the wings, four thousand miles away or not.

“Trust me. She won’t be able to figure out why you’re suddenly not touching her and annoying her all the time. It’ll drive her crazy and she’ll want to jump your bones. Then she’ll say yes, and you can get married.” He slapped Chase’s shoulder and grinned. “We’ll get three weeks off before we start our new jobs. Plenty of time for a honeymoon. I bet your parents would love to have Drew stay with them up in Senegal while you and Dani go somewhere alone. You’d better start deciding where.”

The thought of a week or two alone with Dani shortened Chase’s breath and sent his thoughts down the erotic path they persisted in going. Not good, because he and Trent had just entered the hospital to do rounds on patients.

A halo of curly blonde hair immediately caught his attention. Dani moved her stethoscope here and there on a child’s chest, and while he couldn’t really see her expression, he knew it would be intent and focused.

As though she could feel him looking at her, heart-stopping blue eyes lifted to him, and for a moment they stared at one another across the room. She seemed so far away and yet not, as though they were touching one another, breathing one another’s breaths, sharing one another’s thoughts, despite the expanse between them.

Trent leaned closer and in an undertone said, “Yeah, she’s crazy about you. Take my advice, and I’ll call the preacher.” With an unholy grin he headed towards one of his patients.

Chase inhaled a deep, mind-clearing breath. Why not give Trent’s method a try? What he’d been doing the past few days hadn’t seemed to convince her, that was for damned sure.

He joined Dani as she checked on her patient to find out what she thought of the child’s condition. She smiled at the boy before turning to Chase. “His lungs seem to be clear today. I think it’s fine for him to go home tomorrow. Will you tell him?”

The boy grinned at the good news and pumped his arms in the air victoriously. Dani joined him, smiling brightly, mirroring his fists pumps with her own as she exclaimed, “Yahoo!”

The boy laughed, and Chase marveled at her cheerful exuberance. From the very first moment he’d met her he’d noticed that whenever she walked into a room, worries cleared, people smiled, and the rise in energy seemed palpable. His own energy included.

He turned to Dani. “I’m about to check on Apollo. Want to join me?”

Her beautiful eyes smiled at him. “Yes. I was waiting for you.”

He liked the sound of that. More than liked it, and wished it was true in more ways than for work. Like in her room at night. In her life, for ever.

It was all he could do not to clasp her face between his palms and give her a soft kiss. He turned away and walked toward Apollo’s bed.

The boy’s mother had gone somewhere for the moment, with the blankets she used as she slept on the floor carefully folded and stacked. Apollo looked uncomfortable with the apparatus holding his leg in traction to keep the bones aligned, and his expression reflected his misery. He touched the child’s forehead with the backs of his fingers, and it felt thankfully cool. No fever was a good sign.

“Does your leg hurt?” he asked. They’d kept him on painkillers, but sometimes it just wasn’t enough. “Is the traction rubbing against you anywhere?”

The child shook his head then turned his attention to Dani as she stopped at the other side of the bed. And who could blame him for wanting to look at her? He himself could look at her all day and night, and never tire of her sweet face and vivacious smile.

“The nurses tell me he’s eating and drinking okay, so that’s good,” Dani said to Chase. She examined the stitches in Apollo’s forehead closely, then put her stethoscope in her ears and pressed the bell of it to his chest.

Chase studied the pin he’d placed in the bone as it protruded from the boy’s skin. Thank God it wasn’t bleeding and didn’t show signs of infection. The boy was lucky. “Your leg looks good. Pretty soon we’ll change the cast to cover your whole leg, okay?”

Apollo nodded, still looking miserable, poor kid. Chase wished he could hurry the process, but controlling the pain was the best he could do for now.

“Vous avez...un coeur...très fort,”
Dani said haltingly to Apollo.

Chase had to grin at her accent, which was pretty bad, but he gave her credit for trying. “She’s right,” he said in Fon, in case the boy wasn’t adept at French. “You do have a very strong heart. And your leg will be strong again, too. I promise.”

“You’ll be getting better every day, and that should make you smile.” Dani placed her fingers gently on the corners of Apollo’s mouth and tipped them up, and he gave her a small, real smile in response. “Maybe we need to find a way to help you remember that smiling and laughing will make you heal even faster.”

She picked up the homemade fly swatter fan, composed of a dowel rod with cardboard taped to it. She pulled a marker from her pocket and drew a smiley face on it before turning it to fan Apollo.

“Don’t worry, be happy,” she began to sing in her sweet voice. And then, in typical Dani style, she began cutely bobbing from side to side, smiling her dazzling smile.

“Don’t worry, be happy.” She waved the smiley-face fan and twirled around. Between singing, she coaxed, “Come on, sing with me! Don’t worry, be happy.”

The child attempted a feeble version of the song then laughed for the first time that day, looking starstruck.

Probably the same expression he wore when he was around her, Chase thought. He watched her slim figure dance around, looked at the sparkling blue of her eyes, and thought about the moment he’d first met her. How she’d stopped him in his tracks for a second look. And a third. Gorgeous and adorable didn’t begin to cover the impact she made on everyone the second she walked in a room with that blinding smile.

At that moment Apollo’s mother arrived, and beamed at Dani and her dancing and singing. Chase reassured her on the boy’s progress, and Apollo turned to his mother, looking much more cheerful than when they’d first examined him. The child spoke to her in Fon, and she smiled and nodded, looking warmly at Dani and thanking her.

“What did he say?” Dani asked.

“He says he likes the pretty doctor. But that’s no surprise.” He wanted to say how much he liked the pretty doctor too, but remembered he was supposed to be playing hard to get. Though that seemed kind of stupid, like he was in middle school. But he was going to give it a try, damn it.

Dani turned a bit pink. “Tell him I like him too. And that I’m glad he’s starting to feel better.”

After Chase did as she asked, she handed the fan to Apollo, patted his shoulder and moved to their next patient. Chase followed and focused on being all business. Just a colleague, not her former lover. Not the man who wanted to marry her and become her current lover as soon as possible. When they finished rounds, they headed back to the housing compound.

“Is it okay with you if I spend some time with Drew and my parents before we hand him back to you tonight?”

She looked surprised. “I... Sure. You don’t want me there, too?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, proud of his acting skills. Yes, he wanted her there but, no, he wouldn’t show it. “I just figured you’d like some time to yourself for a change. We’ll play with him for a while then bring him in for dinner. Sound okay?”

“Sure,” she said again, a slight frown on her face.

Cautious optimism bloomed at the confusion on her face as she clearly wondered why he wasn’t touching and teasing her as he had been before. Damn it, maybe he
had
let his worry and frustration push him to come on too strongly.

Maybe Trent’s idea was a good one after all.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“G
OT
EVERYTHING
?” C
HASE
asked.

“I think so.” Mentally, she reviewed her supply list as she looked inside her backpack. Vaccines, syringes, antibiotics, blood-sugar monitor. “Did you say there’s a blood-pressure cuff already there?”

“Yeah. We keep a lockbox in the building with various things in it. Otoscope, flashlight, and a small pharmacy for drugs that don’t need to be refrigerated.” He threw the strap of his battered doctor’s bag over his shoulder, lifted up a small box that held more of the supplies Dani carried in her backpack and headed out the door of the clinic.

She followed, refusing to notice his flexing triceps and wide, strong shoulders beneath the white polo shirt he wore. The sky was an iron gray but even without the scorching sun the air rested hot and heavy against her skin.

“You don’t think it will be too much for your parents to watch Drew all day? Maybe Ruth should come give them a break.”

“Are you kidding?” Chase rolled a dusty motorcycle from beneath an overhang. “They were practically rubbing their hands together with glee at the prospect of having him to themselves.”

“All right, then, I won’t worry. Though you already know that when he’s on the go, he’s like a rubber-band-powered balsa-wood plane. He keeps going until he conks out.”

“Yeah. He’s a lot of fun.”

The indulgent smile on his face was filled with pride. Why had he been so adamant he didn’t want children? It was so obvious he already adored their little boy.

“I’m sorry about having to ride the motorcycle,” Chase said. He slipped the box into a bigger container attached to the bike. “I usually go alone, and didn’t think to talk to Spud about the car. Didn’t know he needed to get supplies today.”

“In case you don’t remember, we rode all over Honduras on a bike like this.” As soon as she’d said it, she wished she hadn’t. Memories of Honduras weren’t something she wanted to think about. Memories of her body pressed against his as they’d ridden to an off-site clinic like they were today, or when they’d had a day off to spend together and find a great hiking spot. A great lovemaking spot.

Dani shook her head to dispel the thoughts. It should be easy to forget how close they’d been back then. For some reason Chase had stopped the constant touching and teasing and tiny stolen kisses he’d been assailing her with. Surely he didn’t really think she’d report him for sexual harassment?

Chase swung his leg over the bike’s seat and curled his fingers around the handlebar grips, turning to look at her. “This village is only about a half-hour ride. But I warn you,” he said, his teeth showing white in his smile, “the road can be rough at times. So hang on tight.”

“Got it.” Sitting on the back of the bike, she slipped her arms around him, her fingers curling into his taut middle.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” Actually, she wasn’t ready at all. Not ready for the feel of her breasts pressed against his hard body. The sensual feel of her groin pressed against his backside. The clean, masculine scent of his neck filling her nostrils.

He opened the throttle and the motorcycle took off down the dirt road. Soon there was nothing visible but groves of trees here and there and lining the bumpy road, the occasional car or truck passing them, and scooters and motorcycles often carrying as many as four and even five people. Bumps in the hard earth jammed her body against Chase and she threaded her fingers together against his sternum to keep from bouncing right off.

“You okay?” Chase shouted over the engine, glancing over his shoulder at her.

“Yes.” Except for that urge she kept feeling to slip her hands beneath his shirt to feel the smooth skin she knew was right there, like she’d used to. The urge to touch more private parts as she had in Honduras when they’d been riding together, making Chase laugh and accuse her of trying to make him crash the bike. Then quickly finding the best place to enjoy finishing what she’d started.

Her own body part that she currently had pressed hard against Chase’s rear began to tingle at the memories and she wished she could loosen her grip on Chase’s middle to smack herself.

She had to stop thinking about their past and focus on the future. On her job. She was here to work and now to establish the framework they’d agree on regarding Drew. A second broken heart over Chase she didn’t need, and the future he envisioned for them would mean exactly that.

Finally, the wide and desolate savannah showed signs of habitation. Small rectangular structures made of mud-baked walls, some with thatched roofs and others covered with corrugated steel, were scattered here and there. Happy, smiling children, many naked or wearing only colorful bottoms and beaded jewelry, played in the dirt or worked with their mothers, hanging laundry or grinding some kind of food in large vessels. A group of men and boys, their hands covered in wet, orange mud, were building a new house. As she and Chase rode by, the men waved and shouted, grinning with pride at their work.

Chase stopped the bike next to a small, worn, cinder-block building with an open doorway and windows. When he turned off the engine, the sudden silence was a relief, with the sound of the breeze in the trees and children laughing the only things to be heard.

Dani slipped off the bike and Chase followed. “Did GPC have this place built for a clinic?” she asked.

“No. I’m told some other group built it to be a school but had to abandon the project. We use it on the first of each month so folks who aren’t from this village will know when we’re coming, too.”

An odd stack of stones and other things atop what looked like a mud sculpture caught her eye. Nestled beneath a nearby tree, there were chains and beaded necklaces looped around the entire thing. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing.

“A fetish. It’s like a talisman. Voodoo to keep away bad spirits.”

“Really?” She walked closer to examine it. “Does all this stuff have a special meaning?”

“I don’t know about that one in particular, but it’s animism. Belief that everyday objects have souls that will help and protect you.”

“Do their beliefs make it hard to get people to come to the clinic, if they think the voodoo will keep them healthy and safe?”

“Sometimes. Like anywhere, it depends on the person.” Chase pulled the supply box from the motorcycle and stepped towards the door. “About two hundred people live in this village, and we get quite a few from elsewhere. I think they appreciate knowing we’ll be here, and rely on modern medicine more than they used to because of it. Which makes it worthwhile to come.”

Dani followed him into the little building, the darkness taking a minute to get used to after the comparatively bright daylight. The single room was certainly sparsely furnished, with only a rickety-looking examination cot, a small table, and a few old chairs inside.

“So they don’t use voodoo to treat illnesses?”

“They do. Sakpata is the Vodun god for illness and healing, and many call on him and offer sacrifices when someone is sick. Priests also use healing herbs.” He organized the supplies on the little table. “Vodun is an official religion in Benin, and a lot of people who are Christian or Muslim still use voodoo elements in their lives, especially when somebody’s sick.”

“So are you going to have someone make a little doll of me and stick it with pins to make me marry you?” She meant it as a joke, but then had to ask herself why she’d brought up the subject of marriage when he hadn’t mentioned it all day.

“Don’t I wish there was some way to make you agree to marry me.” His lips twisted into a rueful smile. “Unfortunately, the dolls and pins thing is mostly Hollywood. While there is some black magic, it’s not a significant part of voodoo. It’s really about belief in ancestry and calling on the spirits to help with their lives. Peace and prosperity.”

“Well, shoot, that’s too bad. I was just thinking about the list of people I might want dolls made of.”

“Sorry. Except not really, because I’m probably on your list.” Chase stepped over to the locked box and pulled out a stethoscope, blood-pressure cuff, and some drugs to bring back to the table. “You’d be amazed by some of the fetishes, though. Hippo’s feet and pig genitalia and even dog and monkey heads.” He grinned. “In bigger towns there are voodoo festivals worth seeing. Drew would probably like all the colorful clothes and dancing.”

“I bet he would. Maybe we could find a day to go to one.” She smiled then looked out the door. Nobody seemed to be heading their way. “So now what? Do you go round people up and bring them in?”

“Round them up?” He smacked his palm against his forehead. “Darn, I forgot my lasso.”

“You know what I mean.” She placed her hand on his thick shoulder and gave him a little shove. “Let them know we’re here.”

Her vision had become used to the low light, and she could see the curve of his lips and the little crinkles in the corners of his eyes before he gave a low laugh.

“I’m sure they saw us.” He reached out to tuck loose strands of her hair behind her ears, of which there were many after their ride. As he curled one strand around his finger, his smile faded, replaced by something in his gaze that sent her heart thumping. “No way they could miss the beautiful blonde as she rode into town.”

His finger travelled down her jaw and she found herself standing motionless, staring into his eyes, holding her breath. His hand dropped to his side and he turned away to briskly finish organizing the supplies.

“As people arrive, you can take care of the children and I’ll look at the adults. I’ll translate when you need me to. I have the records for the kids we’ve immunized here since I’ve been in Benin.”

The shift in his demeanor was startling. What had happened to the Chase of yesterday who doubtless would have taken advantage of them being alone and kissed her breathless? Or, at the very least, continued with the flirting he was so good at?

She’d been sure she didn’t want that from him. But when he’d turned away, suddenly all business, the traitorous part of her that had been thinking about sex during their entire motorcycle ride wanted to grab him and kiss him instead. Wanted to feel that silky skin covering hard muscle she’d been itching to touch the whole time her arms had been wrapped around him.

She mentally thrashed herself and pulled her own supplies from the backpack. Apparently her libido, which had come to life since seeing him again, wasn’t up on the fact that her sensible brain wanted to keep their relationship platonic.

As if by voodoo, the first patients suddenly appeared at the doorway and the next hours were filled with basic examinations and immunizations, distribution of drugs for various problems, medicine to rid children of intestinal worms—which were apparently common here, as they had been in Honduras—and topical or oral antibiotics for the occasional infected wound.

Communicating with the children and their parents was surprisingly easy, with hand gestures working pretty well and Chase translating over his shoulder for the rest.

After being concerned at first that they’d have few patients, Dani couldn’t believe the line of children, standing three and four deep, waiting for their shots. After being so frustrated at the sorry state of the immunization records they had, she was more than pleased at how much she’d be able to add to the database after today.

What a great feeling to know that coming here could make such a difference in the health of these kids. More than once during the day she smiled at Chase and his return smile was filled with a sense of connection, the same understanding of exactly what each was feeling that they’d shared long ago.

By late in the afternoon the line had dwindled to just a few stragglers. The work left Dani feeling both tired and energized at their accomplishments.

“How long do you usually stay?” she asked Chase as she cleaned her hands with antiseptic and looked at the few people remaining outside. “Do you hang around until there’s nobody waiting?”

“It depends. Obviously, at some point you just need to shut it down, especially when it gets dark early. Believe me, you don’t want to be riding home on a motorcycle after the sun sets. It’s not common to be robbed, but it does happen.” He grinned at her. “And the last time I rode on all those rough potholes without being able to see, I was more convinced I might not live another day than the time I walked across a frayed rope bridge over the Amazon in a windstorm.”

Now, there was a image. Dani laughed. “Then let’s be sure to wrap it up before then. We don’t want to orphan Drew.”

The thought squashed her amusement. In her will she’d listed her own mother as guardian to Drew if anything ever happened to her. But her mother was alone, and tremendously busy. Now that Chase was involved in Drew’s life, should they make other arrangements?

“You know, we should talk about that, unlikely as it is, as we figure out our future arrangements with regard to Drew,” she said. “If something happened to me, I figured my mother should take him. But maybe your parents would be a better choice.”

Chase’s expression turned fierce. “No. That’s not a good option. Nothing’s going to happen to us.”

“But we—”

Distraught shouting interrupted her thought as a man pushed his way through the few people standing in line and burst through the doorway.