Lullaby for Two / Child's Play: Lullaby for Two

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“Isn’t it?”

Her eyes were wide with a vulnerability she rarely showed him.

“I care about you and Sean. Maybe too much.”

Tessa believed those were the words he needed to hear right now. Her denial had ended because they were true. Maybe after this crisis, they could figure out how involved they were going to be in each other’s lives.

Tessa peeked into Sean’s hospital room at nine o’clock that night, gripping two take-out bags. Vince had pulled a chair over to the crib and laid his hand on his son’s arm. The tableau touched Tessa deeply and she gripped the bags a little tighter. Just what had she admitted to Vince this afternoon? What had he deduced from it?

She entered the baby’s room now and spotted the recliner that had been rolled in so Vince could stay the night. He was unaware of her presence until she tapped him on the shoulder.

He went still for a moment, then rose from the chair. “I’m losing my instincts,” he said gruffly. “I should have sensed you coming.”

“All of your attention is on Sean. I can understand why you didn’t.”

He shook his head. “That’s no excuse.” He inhaled deeply and smiled at the bags in her hand. “Is that food?”

She grinned back. “I don’t know what’s going to happen if you eat enchiladas this time of night, but I know they’re your favorite. At least they used to be. You haven’t sworn off of them, have you?”

He laughed. “No.”

Handing Vince the bags, she went to the crib and looked down at the baby. “Has he been awake?”

“On and off. He fell back to sleep a little while ago. He’s been through a lot. I’m just grateful Rafferty thinks the surgery was successful.”

“Remember, the improvement will happen slowly.”

“I know. I’ll be patient about it. I have no choice.”

Tessa was close to Vince and she liked the sensation of her shoulder bumping his. Vince had always made her feel safe and protected and cared for. Until—

Until he’d been silent and uncommunicative when he’d visited her in the hospital. Until he hadn’t objected to her going home with her father.

She couldn’t help but lean over Sean and whisper in his little ear, “I hope you’re having sweet dreams, baby. You deserve good dreams from here on out.”

Tessa could feel Vince’s gaze on her and she swallowed hard. Turning toward him, she said, “I’m sorry I’m so late. I had an emergency and then patients got backed up.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Tessa. You don’t even have to be here.” He raked his hand through his hair. “Sorry, that didn’t come out the way it should have. I just mean…I cornered you in the recovery room today. I’m surprised you came back.”

She admitted she cared about him, but she wasn’t going to tell him she couldn’t keep away. “Come on, let’s eat. There’s a taco salad there for me.”

With a vinyl chair pulled near the recliner, they ate in the dimly lit room, the hospital noises outside the door seeming far away. A nurse came in to check on Sean and then departed once more.

After Vince had downed the enchiladas and half of his soda, he said, “I’ll probably take Sean home late afternoon tomorrow. In the morning, the physical therapist is going to show me exercises for his wrist and thumb and fingers. It will be a few weeks before we can do anything with his shoulder.”

“Are you nervous about taking him home?”

“Not nervous. Just concerned he’ll need something and I won’t understand what it is.”

“Would you like me to come over tomorrow evening? I could just check and make sure everything’s okay.”

Vince studied her for a long time.

“What?”

“I’m going to owe you a few Texas T-bone dinners or a room full of flowers when this is all done.”

“You don’t owe me anything.”

Again he was silent for a few moments, then he asked, “Will you answer a question for me?”

“Maybe. It depends on the question.”

He shook his head and chuckled. “I should have known.” Then he sobered. “You said you care about me and Sean. Is that why you’re here?”

“Does it matter? I help friends, Vince, and they help me. That’s the way small towns work. You know that.”

“Maybe I’d forgotten, or maybe I just never experienced small-town life the way you have. When my dad was passed out on the living room floor, I don’t remember anybody helping.”

She imagined him as a young boy, in a situation much too complicated for him to figure out on his own. “Did you ever ask for help?”

“Hell no! It was a matter of pride for both me and Dad.”

“So why are you accepting my help now?”

His expression changed, going from serious to much lighter. “Because you have great taste in restaurants,” he joked, pointing to the crumpled bags on the floor beside his chair.

“Vince.”

With a sigh, he ran his hand through his already disheveled hair. “I knew you wouldn’t let that pass,” he grumbled. Finally he admitted, “I’m not sure. Probably because you care about Sean. You care about babies and you know what you’re doing. Since you’re a doctor, Sean needs you to watch out for him. I’ll never deprive him of that, pride or no pride. I guess I’m learning that by being a parent, I can’t let anything stand in the way of what’s best for him.”

She knew that was the right answer, but maybe she’d wanted a different answer. Maybe she’d wanted him to say that he still felt connected to her on some level. Maybe she’d wanted him to admit that whatever was between them so many years ago wasn’t yet finished. Heck, she’d just admitted that to herself after their last kiss. She hadn’t wanted to consider it before. Denial was a great wall that could keep worries and complications at bay. The problem was—it was a wall that always crumbled.

Right now she was tired, not just physically tired, but emotionally drained. She’d worried along with Vince this morning and she knew she was becoming entirely too invested in Sean’s welfare, not to mention Vince’s life. But that would soon end. Sean would be recuperating and then Vince would be leaving. So if she wanted to play Good Samaritan or friend, there was no harm in that.

She wasn’t involved with Vince.

Her salad only half-eaten, she settled the lid on it and stuffed it into the bag.

“That wasn’t much of a supper,” he scolded.

“It was enough. I’ve got to get going or Francesca and Emily will send out the search dogs.”

“They don’t know where you are?”

“Not exactly. I just told them I wouldn’t be home until late.”

After Vince pushed himself up from the recliner, he took his empty bag and dumped it in the trash can. “Are you taking that home to finish it?”

When she shook her head, he took the bag from her and tossed it into the can on top of his.

“If you had your choice, which would you pick? Flowers or the steak dinner?” he joked.

She rolled her eyes.

“Humor me.”

Would she choose the safety of flowers, or the complication of a dinner with Vince? That’s what he was really asking, wasn’t it?

“I like flowers,” she decided, taking the safe route.

“That’s good to know.” His gaze was trying to turn her inside out. Before it did, she moved toward the door.

She stopped before exiting the room. “You can call my office tomorrow and let me know when you’re home. I’ll be there until after five.”

“Will do.”

The light was too dim to read his expression.

As she murmured, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” and left the room, she heard him call, “Drive safely.”

She had taken safe roads up to this point in her life. Were safe roads really what she wanted?

That was a question better left unanswered for now. That was a question that was better left unanswered until after Vince left Sagebrush.

When Tessa arrived at Vince’s condo around seven o’clock, Mrs. Zappa was still fussing in the kitchen. The housekeeper had opened the door to Tessa and exclaimed, “Maybe you can make him eat!”

Tessa wasn’t sure if Mrs. Zappa was talking about Vince or Sean. In fact, she’d never been introduced to the housekeeper and wondered how Mrs. Zappa knew who she was. “I don’t think we’ve met,” she began.

“Oh, I know who you are. You’re Walter McGuire’s daughter and you were once married to Vince.” Conspiratorially, she leaned toward Tessa. “I’ve never told him I know, but I do.”

Tessa had to smile in spite of herself. “Do you think he’d be uncomfortable if he knew you knew?”

“You know men. They like to keep their life private. If he wants to do that, it’s fine with me. I’m not going to poke where I’m not wanted. He only let go of that boy to get a shower since he brought him home from the hospital, and now he’s holding him again. Vince needs to take care of himself, too. The casserole’s still in the oven. It’s going to be dry as toast if he doesn’t eat it soon.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Tessa assured her. “How is Sean?”

“From what I can tell, that little boy is doing fine. He ate his supper.”

Tessa laughed. “That is a good sign.”

Mrs. Zappa moved toward the door. “It was good to meet you, Dr. McGuire.”

“It was good to meet you, too, but please call me Tessa.”

“And you can call me Rhonda.” She gave a last wave and left.

Moments later, Tessa was standing outside Sean’s room. A small CD player on top of the chest played soothing music. Vince was sitting in the rocking chair with Sean asleep in his arms. He was looking down at his son as if he never wanted to look away.

“How’s he doing?” she asked softly.

Vince gently touched the sling on Sean’s arm. “As long as I talk to him and play with him, he’s not fussy. I guess it distracts him from any discomfort he’s having.”

“Rhonda says you need to eat your supper. Now would be a good time if Sean’s asleep, don’t you think?”

“Rhonda?”

“Mrs. Zappa. She told me I could call her Rhonda.”

He frowned. “Yeah, that was the name on her application. I’ve just never used it.” Standing with Sean in his arms, he carried him over to the crib and gently laid him down. “I hate to leave him. I don’t want him to wake up and be afraid, or think he’s still in the hospital.”

“You’ll hear him on the baby monitor if he cries. You’ve got to give yourself a breather, Vince. Have you even slept in the past two days?”

“I got a few hours’ sleep the night before surgery, and again last night.”

“In a recliner in Sean’s room.”

“It was comfortable.”

“Has anyone ever told you your stubborn determination can be frustrating?”

He smiled at her. “I’ve always considered it one of my better traits.”

When he smiled like that, she felt butterflies flutter in almost every part of her body. She was only here to help him with Sean. “I haven’t had supper, either. We can share Rhonda’s casserole.”

Tessa decided to serve their meal on the coffee table in the living room because Vince needed to relax. Maybe he would if the atmosphere was casual enough.

When he came into the living room and saw the two steaming plates, he admitted, “I think I am hungry. I had a sandwich from the cafeteria but that was a long time ago.”

“This looks great.”

Vince sat beside Tessa and dug his fork into the casserole.

They ate in silence for a few minutes until Tessa asked, “Are you going to work tomorrow?”

“I’m going in late. That way I can make sure everything’s okay with Sean and Mrs. Zappa—Rhonda—before I leave. I’ll stay late if I call home and everything’s okay.”

“You’re not going to call her every hour, are you?”

He gave Tessa a sideways glance. “How did you guess?” Then he smiled. “No, I’m not going to call every hour. I trust her. The doctor said the incision on Sean’s shoulder and the one on his leg looked good. I changed the dressings and Sean didn’t seem to mind too much.”