Undercover Father (12 page)

The man checked a clipboard in his hands, and as Megan reached them, she heard the doctor say, “Bed ten.” He glanced at Megan, then back at Rafe before he motioned to a door behind them. “I’ll ring you in.”

He went to a security pad by the door, punched in a code and the door buzzed. Rafe hit the handle, and when the door swung back, Megan followed him into the E.R., past cubicle after cubicle hidden behind pulled curtains. The sound of beeping monitors, all out of sync with each other, seemed to be everywhere. Rafe strode down the aisle, then stopped and pulled back a curtain.

Gabe all but leaped out of the arms of one of the day care center’s staff and into his dad’s. He hugged Rafe for dear life, burying his face in his chest. Then Megan saw Greg. The child was lying very still in the bed, his skin pale and his eyes closed. A stark white bandage covered almost his entire forehead.

Rafe held Gabe, but moved to Greg, reaching out to touch his son’s hand. “Greg?” he said in a low, unsteady voice. “Buddy boy?”

The little boy stirred, opened his eyes, then focused on his father’s face, his relief heart-wrenching. “Daddy,” he whispered, and Rafe bent over him, holding Gabe and hugging Greg at the same time.

Finally he stood back and looked at the woman who had been sitting with Gabe when they came in. Megan had recognized her as a part-time worker at the center. “What happened?” he asked.

“Sir, I’m so sorry. He just moved so quickly. He got in a stall while a cow was being milked, and he tried to climb up and ride it.” She looked so worried. “Now that you’re here, I really need to get back to the center.”

Rafe thanked her, then looked back at Greg. “You tried to ride a cow?”

“Huh,” the tiny boy said. “He was real big and brown, sort of.” He grimaced. “But I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me. I hurted my head real bad.”

Megan saw the tension in Rafe, and could only begin to imagine how he felt right then, seeing his child in a hospital bed. Her heart ached with sympathy. When he shifted Gabe to his other arm, she found herself touching him on the shoulder.

“Rafe?”

He darted her a quick look. “You can leave,” he said, without giving her a chance to say anything.

“No, no,” she said. “Let me take Gabe?”

He hesitated, probably as surprised as she was by her offer. She knew she didn’t have many maternal instincts, but right then she felt an overwhelming need to do something to help make the situation easier for Rafe. “He’s okay,” Rafe finally said, but Gabe overrode his words by twisting toward Megan, his hands stretched out.

A second later the little boy was in her arms, and without hesitation, snuggled into her shoulder, burying his face in her neck. She adjusted him on her hip and softly patted his back, never looking away from Rafe. “It’s okay,” she said, as much for his sake as for the child’s.

Rafe closed his eyes for a long moment, then his dark eyes met hers again. “I need to go and find the doctor.”

“Go ahead. I’ll stay here.”

But he didn’t have to leave. A doctor pulled back the curtains right then. “I’m Dr. Wynn.” He held out his hand to Rafe. “You must be Greg’s dad.” The two men shook hands, then the doctor turned to Megan. “And you must be Greg’s mom.”

Rafe literally braced himself for the blow he knew would come with the doctor’s words, but incredibly, it didn’t materialize. He had a flat feeling in his middle, an oddly detached sensation, then a sense of settling that he didn’t understand. But what he understood completely was the image of Megan holding Gabe to her, cuddling him to her shoulder and watching Rafe carefully with those huge blue eyes. She didn’t say a thing.

“How’s Greg?” Rafe finally asked.

The doctor, a nice man with faded blue eyes and thinning black hair, actually smiled. “Oh, he’s a tough kid. No real damage done, beyond two stitches and some bruises.” He moved closer and leaned over his patient while he kept talking to Rafe. “He’s going to have a scar, but there are no signs of concussion or anything.” Then he straightened and looked back at Rafe. “You can take your son home now, but my advice is to keep him away from cows until he’s older. Have that wound looked at in a few days by his own doctor.”

The relief Rafe felt registered on so many levels that it made him slightly light-headed. He knew he thanked the doctor, but later he couldn’t have told anyone what words he’d used. He didn’t remember picking up Greg, but he remembered having to take several deep breaths to steady himself before he looked at Megan again. She smiled, a soft upward curl of her lips, and asked, “He was trying to ride a cow?”

He felt Greg hug him and snuggle closer. “A cowboy fixation,” he murmured, then nodded to Gabe. “Can you manage him? He can get pretty heavy.”

“I knew I took those weight lifting classes at the gym for something,” she said, her smile growing wider as she shifted the little boy on her hip. “I’m fine.”

She didn’t look particularly athletic, but rather slender and delicate. “Good,” he said. Then the four of them headed back through the E.R. and out into the noontime sun. That’s when Rafe stopped and stared in disbelief at a red-and-white ambulance that was parked right where his car had been. “What in the—?”

He looked around, certain this was where he’d left the SUV, then saw a guard off to one side and called out to him.

The man came toward him, and Rafe could see he was wearing a Dagget Security uniform, including a badge and a name tag that read “S. Smits.”

“What do you need?” the man asked. Then he saw Rafe’s uniform. “Hey, you work for the company?”

“Yes, but I’m over at LynTech. My son was just in the E.R. and I parked my car here.” He motioned with his head toward the ambulance. “Now it’s gone.”

“A black SUV?”

“That’s the one,” Rafe said.

The man looked at Megan and Gabe, then back at Rafe and Greg. “Sorry, buddy, but we tow in restricted zones.”

Rafe knew that, and if the guy followed the rules, the next thing he’d do would be to give Rafe a card with the address of the impoundment yard on it and the phone number to call to get the car back. After that, a short sermon on violating a restricted parking zone would have been appropriate. “Can you call and get it back here?” he asked without much hope. He couldn’t pull rank. Not here, not now.

“Wish I could, buddy, professional courtesy and all, but I don’t think—”

“Sir?” Megan said, and the guard turned to her. “It’s been hard enough going through everything in the E.R., but this is so disturbing, and the twins need to get home as quickly as possible.”

“Ma’am, I understand, and if it was just up to me, I’d do it in a minute, but...” He shrugged. “Sorry.”

Then Megan smiled at the guard. It was a slightly sad expression, but laced with understanding. “Oh, I know—it’s your job and you can’t do anything to jeopardize it. I’m sorry for asking. I shouldn’t have, but I was just hoping...” She let her voice trail off as she readjusted Gabe in her arms. “Never mind, we understand.”

“Oh, man, I could get in a lot of trouble, but...okay, okay.” He glanced at Rafe, then at Megan. “I’ll get that car back for you.”

Rafe didn’t know if he should laugh or be ticked off that the man could be bribed, even if that bribe was a smile that he knew few men could resist.

“Oh, thank you so much,” Megan said with an even sweeter smile. Rafe wondered if she had any idea how her smile affected people, but found out she probably did when the guard looked away to take out his two-way radio, and her smile grew larger as she met Rafe’s gaze.

He found himself returning the smile and barely controlling a laugh. He looked away from her to the guard, and focused on the man speaking into the radio. “Spike? The SUV you got on the back of your truck? Bring it on back to the E.R. entrance.” There was static, a voice that he couldn’t make out, but the guard obviously could. “It was a mistake and I’ll take the heat. Just bring it on back here, right away.” Then the man looked at Megan again. “It’ll just be a few minutes, ma’am, but it’s on its way back.”

“Oh, thank you so much,” she breathed. “You’re terrific.”

The man actually seemed to blush a bit. “It’s nothing, but I need to get on with my rounds. Now, if you have any problem at all, you go inside and tell them to radio Sly Smits. That’s me.”

“I just don’t know how to thank you, Sly,” she murmured, her chin resting on Gabe’s head.

“No need,” the man said, then took off.

Rafe moved closer to Megan and leaned down to speak to her in a low voice. “Nice job, Counselor. If I ever need representation, I’ll be sure to bring you into court with me.”

“Oh, he wanted to do the right thing,” she said, those blue eyes turned up to his and that smile lingering in their depths. “Most people do.” Rafe bet that smile of hers was illegal in any number of states. “I just hope he doesn’t get in any trouble over this.”

“He won’t,” Rafe said, and knew that he couldn’t fault the man for giving in when Megan smiled. “But you have to get back to work, don’t you?”

She shifted Gabe a bit, let him settle with a sigh, then said, “It’s okay. Mary probably figured out why I left and where I went, so she can tell Mr. Lawrence where I am.”

“Well, if you need to get going, we’ll be fine,” he said. That was a lie, but he had to offer.

She shook her head as she slowly patted Gabe’s back. “I came in your car, remember?” Before he could respond, she glanced past him. “And there it is.”

He turned at the sound of a heavy diesel engine, and saw a black-and-white tow truck lumbering toward them with his car hitched behind. Both boys were immediately alerted by the sound. “Daddy, it’s got our car,” Greg exclaimed.

“Sure does,” Rafe said, watching as the truck stopped, and a man got out to lower and undo the SUV from the chains. He finally came around to Rafe. “Is this your car?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Next time, don’t park it in a restricted area.”

“Absolutely not.”

With that, the man got back in the truck and drove off, while Rafe and Megan carried the boys to the SUV and secured them in their safety seats. Rafe got in behind the wheel and watched Megan climb into the passenger seat. For a second, he had the same flash as he’d had in the E.R. room—fantasies about what might be. But wouldn’t be. He reined in those fantasies, foolish and frustrating as they were, when he glanced at the ring on her finger. Totally useless. “Let’s get out of here,” he murmured, and put the car into gear.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

T
HEY
DROVE
IN
silence most of the way, at least until Rafe sensed Megan looking back at the boys. “They’re asleep,” she said in a soft voice.

“They’re worn out,” Rafe said, releasing a deep breath.

“Are you going to take them straight home?”

He glanced at them in the rearview mirror. “Yes.” He took out his phone, then put in a call to Carmella, and quickly told her what had happened. After reassuring her that both boys were fine, he asked if she could come back to the house early today. She didn’t hesitate to agree. “We’ll be there in a bit,” he said, and hung up.

He laid the cell phone on the console. “The babysitter’s meeting me at the house.”

“They’ll let you off for the day, don’t you think? I mean, it being a family emergency and all.”

He knew that rule wasn’t in the employment contract his employees signed. “No, it doesn’t work that way.”

“It should.”

“How do you think it should work?”

“Anyone deserves time off when a child’s been hurt or is sick. They need to have a parent with them.”

He’d make sure that change was put into effect when he called the head office later to make sure the guard at the hospital didn’t get into any trouble. “Okay, I’ll mention it to somebody and see what happens. Why don’t you call Mrs. Garner and let her know what’s going on?”

She did as he asked, while Rafe listened. “I’m with Mr. Diaz now. He’s dropping me back at work, then he’s taking the boys home.” Megan listened again, laughed softly, then said, “I’ll see you soon,” and hung up. She turned the phone off, then looked at him. “She pretty much figured out where I was, and she said to tell Greg to get better soon.”

“I’ll let him know when he wakes up,” Rafe said, and turned onto the street where LynTech was located. He rolled up to the curb at the front of the building, waved off the valet who started toward his car, then checked on the boys before he turned in the seat to look at Megan. “Back to work for you,” he said.

She seemed to hesitate, then touched his hand where it rested on the console next to his phone. “Are you okay?”

The three words were filled with concern and, combined with her touch, made his throat tighten. “Sure, I’m fine now,” he said, and heard the roughness in his own voice. “Thanks for asking.”

Her hand tightened on his for a moment, then the connection was gone. “Do you want me to tell Security what’s going on, or anything?”

He glanced past her and saw Brad through the glass door. “Send the door guard out for a minute, and I’ll explain.”

“Sure.” She glanced back at the boys one last time, then got out and hurried toward the doors. He watched her head inside, and before long Brad was jogging toward the car. Rafe rolled down his window.

“Heard what happened,” Brad said. “Kids sure mess up your life, don’t they?”

Brad obviously didn’t have a clue what Rafe’s boys meant to him. “They make it interesting. I just wanted you to know I’d be gone awhile.”

“No problem. Word came down a few minutes ago that you have today off and whatever other time you need.” He grimaced slightly. “I don’t know who you know, but they’re handing you a deal, buddy.”

“I’ll take it.” At least for the rest of today. When he expected Brad to move away and let him leave, the man leaned in the window. “So, you got her in the car, huh?” He glanced at the wedding ring. “Not that I’d tell anyone or say anything.” He winked conspiratorially. “You’re scaring me. You might just win this thing.”

Rafe felt his distaste of Brad rise to a new level. “She was just helping me at the hospital.”

He raised one eyebrow. “Helping you with what?” Then he hit Rafe on the arm. “Forget it, buddy. You’ve got another week.” This time he hit the frame of the window. “Get out of here.”

Rafe nodded and drove off, glad to be away from the man. As he wove through the city streets, heading toward the ranch, Brad faded from his thoughts, and Megan took over. Fantasies formed, but Rafe let them go. An ice princess? No, she wasn’t cold. She wasn’t severe and remote, the way Brad had her pegged. Rafe knew that. And he knew how wrong he’d been about her at first. At least partially. He couldn’t quite forget their conversation that night at the loft.

He’d told her about Gabriella, and it had seemed the right thing to do. It had been a relief to him, saying things he hadn’t said to anyone since she died. Then everything had changed with the phone call at Megan’s loft.
It’s no one.
He was nobody. At least Rafe, the hourly guard, was nobody. And he couldn’t tell her who he really was. Not yet.

Then again, she’d stayed with him, helped him with the boys, when she’d been the one to tell him once that she wasn’t good with kids. He’d always been afraid to feel anything for anyone since Gabriella had gone. In a way, being with another woman seemed dishonest. Or maybe the hurt, the pain of possibly losing someone else, wasn’t worth it. He’d barely survived losing Gabriella. How could he ever go through that again?

But with Megan things were different. He wasn’t sure where this...relationship was going, if anywhere, but he couldn’t just walk away. He wouldn’t.

* * *

A
T
WORK
THE
NEXT
DAY
, and over the weekend, Megan fought the urge to call Rafe and make sure everything was okay. She’d heard from Mary that Greg was doing fine, that Rafe was with him. She wanted to know for herself. But she never made that call, and instead worked straight through the weekend at the loft.

By the time she went to work on Monday, she was on edge. She worked on the computer at the center all day, but didn’t see Greg. No Gabe. No Rafe. Mary wasn’t sure why they hadn’t come in, but didn’t seem concerned. Then late in the afternoon, she came into the office.

Megan looked up when Mary spoke. “I’m not finished with the document,” she said.

“Oh, I didn’t expect them this soon.”

“Well, Mr. Lawrence expects a rough report before I leave,” she said, sitting back.

“That man works you too hard.”

“It’s okay,” she said, and meant it. Working kept her thoughts occupied, because when she wasn’t focusing on work, her mind drifted into the strangest scenarios. Most of them involving Rafe. “I’ll get them to you tomorrow.”

“Fine, fine.”

“Did you need something?”

“I was just wondering if you’d heard anything from Mr. Diaz?”

Megan pressed her hands flat on the papers on the desk. “No. Why?”

“Just wondering. He didn’t call today, and I haven’t seen him. His number’s in our contacts list. Why don’t you give him a call and see when he’s bringing the boys back? The other children are asking for the twins.”

“I don’t want to bother him.”

“Please, just call. I’d do it, but I’m meeting someone and I can’t be late.”

“The children are all gone?”

“The last two just left. Brittany picked up Walker and Anthony. So you’ll have peace and quiet.”

She actually hadn’t noticed the noise lately. It just sort of blended into the background. “Okay, I’ll call.”

“Leave me a note if there’s a problem?”

“Sure.”

“Well, I’m off. You have a good evening, and don’t work too much longer. It’s not good for a young woman like you.” Then she left, and Megan checked the list for Rafe’s number.

She put in the call, closing her eyes as it rang once, twice, before it was answered. “Yes?” a woman asked in soft voice.

“I’m calling from the day care center at LynTech. We were wondering about the twins, when they’ll be back?”

“I’m sorry, they’re not here, and I’m not sure when Mr. Rafe expects to bring them back to the center.”

“Thanks. I just wanted to make sure they were okay.”

“Oh, they’re fine. Just fine.”

“Thanks a lot,” she said, and hung up.

It was then she realized that she had wanted Rafe to answer the phone so she could hear his voice. Megan shook her head sharply, then started to gather up the papers to put in her briefcase. She was done. At least she had the work Mr. Lawrence needed first thing in the morning. She’d finish the rest at the loft. She put everything away, picked up her briefcase and headed up to Legal to get the rest of her things and leave the folder for her boss.

She went straight to her cubicle there, found a big envelope and slipped Mr. Lawrence’s papers in it, then headed for his office. She knew he was gone. In fact, everyone was gone. She went through the empty offices, into Mr. Lawrence’s private office and put the folder on his desk. She found a pen, wrote, “Revised Figures for Charity Ball,” signed her name, added the time and date, then turned to leave.

Time stopped the moment she found Rafe in the doorway. He was in his uniform, with no hat, those dark eyes lost in the shadows. “Oh,” she said softly when she found her breath.

“Hi, there.” He didn’t move. “How are you?”

“Just leaving papers for my boss.”

“I asked how you are, not what you’re doing,” he said, and the suggestion of a smile touched his lips.

“Oh, I’m doing just fine,” she said, staying where she was. “How’s Greg?”

“Great. He’ll have a scar, and he’s pretty proud of it.”

“They gave you time off?”

He nodded. “All the time I needed. I just came back today because they were shorthanded.”

“But the boys weren’t in the center.”

“They’re with family for a day or two.” He leaned one shoulder against the door frame and crossed his arms on his chest. She saw his wedding band gleam in the overhead light. Then she looked at him, and knew that he’d noticed where she’d been looking. “How’s your job going?” he asked.

“It’s going well,” she said, and picked up her briefcase, ready to leave, except that he was blocking the doorway.

“Any idea if you’ll get that promotion?”

She shook her head and told him truthfully, “I don’t know yet.”

He still didn’t make a move to leave or let her pass. “How’s the cat?”

“He comes and goes, and does whatever he wants to do.”

“And Trig, the genius biker?”

“He’s gone. He took off with his friends yesterday, heading back to Colorado and, I assume, the boardroom.”

“You never can tell from first impressions, can you?”

“No, you can’t.”

He looked at her intently for a long moment, then said, “Ready?”

“Yes.”

When she went by him, she felt his uniform sleeve brush her arm, but she kept going. He fell in step beside her, silently keeping pace with her. But when she would have stopped at the elevators, he said, “They’re turned off for maintenance. It’s the stairs or nothing.”

“Okay,” she murmured, and headed down the hallway to the stairs. When she reached the door, she went into the stairwell and started down, more aware than ever of Rafe’s presence. As they went down in silence, she felt him watching her. “Is something wrong?” she finally asked as they approached the last series of stairs before reaching the ground floor.

“No,” he said, and kept going. But when he hit the bottom landing, he turned, and she stopped two stairs above where he stood. He stared at her bare ring finger, then at her face, and said, “You know what?”

All she could think about was the memory of being in his arms at the loft. The feel of his kiss. “Uh, no, what?” she managed to say.

“I hate this.”

She hated it, too. She hated remembering so much about him, but at that moment, if she’d had to recall her first or second kiss with Ryan, she couldn’t have. “You hate what?”

“This hedging and game playing.”

Ever since they’d met, she’d felt it was a game of some sort, but the stakes were higher than she’d ever imagined. “What do you mean?”

“Small talk, acting as if we’re passing strangers who haven’t ever...” His voice trailed off, but she knew what he meant. Thankfully, he didn’t put it into words. Instead he said, “I’m acting as if I ran into you by accident in Legal. The truth is, I tracked you down. I’ve been looking for you for more than fifteen minutes, and thought you might have already left.” He narrowed his eyes. “Can I be honest with you?”

Her heart was hammering and she almost couldn’t breathe, but she managed to nod, because she couldn’t have spoken then to save her life.

“I’m out of practice with women, and I’m not sure how to do it.” He smiled ruefully, a smile that was so endearing it only made things worse for her. “But I’m willing to give it a shot.”

“You were looking for me?” she asked, shocked that she was asking that when so many other questions were floating around in her mind.

He came up a step, and it put them on eye level with each other, with no more than three inches separating their bodies. He touched the railing on either side of her, surrounding her, yet not touching her. “Yes, I was.”

“Oh,” she whispered.

“Yes, oh,” he breathed. He hesitated, then she saw him take another breath. “Will you have dinner with me tonight? Just friends, going to dinner. I’m off work, and you’re here and I’m here.” He shrugged slightly. “How about it?”

There were so many reasons to say no to his questions, so many sensible reasons, and she tried to be sensible.

He nodded toward her hand and she realized she was rubbing the place where the ring had been. “I won’t ask where your ring is. This will just be dinner and talk, and if at the end of the evening, that’s it, I won’t fight it.” He smiled a bit uncertainly. “Dinner. Food. Talking. That’s it.” He drew back, making a crossing motion over his heart. “Promise.”

She exhaled, and knew she wanted to go with him, to talk to him, to just be there. “Okay, I’ll go.”

She told him she’d meet him by his SUV while he went and changed out of his uniform. Meanwhile she made herself breathe, in and out, easy and deep, trying to settle herself. And she almost managed to do it, until she turned and saw Rafe coming out of the executive elevator across the space.

He was wearing a silky, short-sleeved white shirt with no collar, making his tan look deeper, more coppery. Black slacks set off his lean hips. He’d brushed his hair straight back from his face. When he saw her, he smiled, and the expression made her swallow hard. He was so attractive. No, not just attractive, he was gorgeous. And she felt heat flood through her as he got close, making her turn and go to the passenger door.