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Kelly nodded tiredly again. “Yes, but not for long. By the time the judge wrapped her in an old shirt, my cell phone was working. The paramedics came, and brought my precious baby and me to the hospital. The doctor said she has a big cry for a baby so small. Did I tell you she weighs six pounds and one-half ounce?”
“Yes, you did. Have you seen Judge Colton since he delivered your daughter?”
“No,” Kelly replied. “Have you?”
“Er, um, no,” she said. “Judge Colton couldn’t be reached for comment.”
In any other situation, Grey would have smiled.
“Do you think things will be strained between you and the judge the next time you and a client stand before him?”
Kelly pondered that, a faraway light in her soft green eyes. “I honestly doubt it. Judge Colton is a very fair and focused man. He’s probably already forgotten all about what happened. My mother will never forget it or forgive me for having the baby without her. She and my father are driving out from Chicago sometime late tomorrow.”
The baby started to cry from Kelly’s arms, a lusty, hearty sound that brought the interview to an end. The reporter left Kelly to her child, ending the segment with a few facts regarding Judge Grey Colton’s career, as well as speculation that he would hold a seat on the Oklahoma State Supreme Court someday.
The instant they went to a commercial, George switched off the television. A heavy silence ensued as he made an obvious perusal of the frayed and faded shirt he’d loaned Grey. He stared at Grey, an indecipherable look in his nearly black eyes.
Grey said, “If you would have asked what happened to my shirt, I would have told you.”
George stood, shoulders stooped with age, hips thrust forward, legs bowed, hands slightly unsteady. “A wrong turn will lead the wolf to the right path.”
The skin on the back of Grey’s neck prickled again. What wrong turn? he thought, donning his overcoat and soggy shoes. He had an inborn sense of direction that prevented him from taking wrong turns. Hadn’t he found his way out of mazes and blizzards? He’d navigated through law school and local politics and small-minded people in large groups. Grey had learned to work within each of those systems. His sense of direction had served him well.
He was a man, not a wolf. And he was calm on the drive back to Black Arrow. Although he hadn’t been able to put Kelly and the baby out of his mind, he’d put them, and the situation, in perspective. In no time at all, mother and child would move to the back of his mind, forgotten except in those rare instances when some sight or sound triggered the distant memory.
Back at his house, he took a hot shower. Shirtless again, he padded barefoot to the kitchen. Portia, his housekeeper, had left the pot roast she’d prepared for his dinner in the refrigerator. Evidently, delivering a baby had stimulated his appetite. He made himself a thick sandwich, carrying it and a cold soda to his desk, where he planned to study some new changes in the law.
He wound up staring into space, marveling at the way Kelly had fielded the reporter’s questions. He wondered how she and the baby were. Realizing it was futile to attempt to study the intricate changes in the state and federal laws tonight, he left his plate of crumbs next to his unfinished can of soda, and went upstairs. In his big bedroom, he donned a lightweight merino wool sweater, socks and shoes, and headed for his SUV.
The hospital corridor was quiet when the elevator door slid open. Following the arrows, Grey made his way to the maternity wing. Nurses glanced at him as he passed, but no one asked if he needed help. He knew the way, which further diminished his grandfather’s statement that a wrong turn would lead to the right path.
Grey Colton simply could not afford to make wrong turns.
The door was open in the room at the end of the hall. All was quiet inside. Kelly was asleep. He paused, uncertain how to proceed. A dim light was on over her bed, casting shadows where her eyelashes rested above her cheeks. Grey couldn’t help staring. His reaction was swift, powerful and instinctive. She was beautiful, and it wasn’t just the color of her hair and lips.
He moored the balloons at the foot of her bed and left the bouquet of pink roses on the window ledge. Tucking the stuffed rabbit in the crook of his arm, he started for the bed, only to stop. He didn’t know what he was doing here, and couldn’t shake the feeling that he was walking on eggshells. Perhaps he shouldn’t have come. She’d had a hard day, and he didn’t want to disturb her.
He wished she would wake up.
A sound at the door drew him around. A nurse entered the private room nearly as quietly as Grey had. Glancing at her patient, she whispered, “It looks like the new mother is sound asleep. Are you a friend? Or relative? Or are you the father?”
It occurred to Grey that he knew nothing about the baby’s father. He considered the other categories. “I suppose you could say I’m a friend.”
Kelly’s eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes opened. Grey started to smile.
“Judge Colton!” she said.
The smile never made it to his mouth. He would never forget the pride he’d felt the first time someone had addressed him that way. Judge Colton. Tonight, he was disappointed.
“So you’re the man who helped bring the baby into the world!” The nurse thrust a thermometer into Kelly’s mouth, and held a stethoscope to her chest. Next her blood pressure was taken. After making notations on a chart, the nurse said, “Later, we’ll get you up so you can take another walk. I believe Joanne is on her way with your baby.”
As if on cue, another nurse entered the room, pushing a plastic Isolette in front of her. “I hear you’ve had a nice nap!” she exclaimed. “The baby’s been sleeping, too, but I think she wants to see her mama now.”
All eyes were on the child as the nurse scooped the infant up and deposited her into Kelly’s waiting arms. The baby had been bathed, and was wearing the smallest white shirt Grey had ever seen. Her eyes moved beneath her closed lids, and her little lips parted.
“Alisha,” Kelly said softly, “do you remember Judge Colton?”
The other nurse said, “Ring if you need anything, dear.” Both left the room.
Grey finally completed the trek closer. “Grey,” he said quietly, his gaze on Kelly. “After this afternoon, ‘Judge’ seems a little formal, don’t you think?”
Kelly shrugged, nodded, shrugged again. She thought it was a good thing the nurse had finished taking her pulse, because it skittered alarmingly as she stared at the dark-haired, dark-eyed man who had delivered her daughter. Despite the comforting weight of her child in her arms, she was aware of a current in the air and a tingling in the pit of her stomach.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
She shook her head. He handed the stuffed toy to Kelly, but didn’t readily release it. For a long moment, they both held it. She looked up at him, recalling everything he’d done for her. He’d seen her at her worst. No man in his right mind could be attracted to her after that. That meant this was one-sided. She would have liked to deny even that. She’d just had a baby. Women who’d just had babies couldn’t possibly feel attraction.
“Are you in pain?” he asked.
Physically, not really. Emotionally, he had no idea! But she shook her head a second time. What she was feeling was simply gratitude. And respect. Okay, maybe even genuine fondness.
Oh, dear. Genuine fondness wasn’t good. Feeling genuine fondness for the judge had all the markings of a major complication.
Smoothing the wrinkles from the baby’s blanket, Kelly reminded herself that she couldn’t afford any more complications. She had her daughter to think about. This beautiful, precious child was all that mattered. It had been this way since the moment Kelly had discovered she was pregnant. The very fact that Alisha had been conceived hours before Kelly’s divorce had been final was proof that when it came to matters of the heart, she didn’t always make the smartest choices. Sealing the divorce with a kiss hadn’t seemed like such a strange request when Frankie had made it. Despite all his faults, her ex-husband was a great kisser. Unfortunately, far too many women knew it. She’d loved him once, and he’d hurt her terribly. She had Alisha now, and she could no longer afford to allow her emotions free rein over her common sense.
Still, she didn’t know quite what to make of the feelings swelling her heart this very minute. Serious and brooding, Judge Colton was the wrong kind of man for her. Not wrong in the same way that Frankie had been maybe, but wrong just the same. Frankie DeMarco was charming, fun-loving and the life of every party. He was everyone’s friend. She’d learned the hard way that he was nobody’s hero, especially not hers.
She stared at Alisha’s tiny face, memorizing every feature. Alisha was hers, all hers. The nurses all said she looked just like Kelly. Maternal love washed over her with such force tears welled in her eyes.
“Do you want me to call the nurse?”
It had been an emotional day. Blinking back tears, Kelly studied the judge. He had a rugged physique, broad shoulders, a muscular chest. His facial features were dark and chiseled, striking and strong, his chin, his cheeks, his forehead. She didn’t know much about his personal life, but today, he’d been her hero, which probably meant that this was hero-worship, and nothing more.
Smoothing the fine wispy hairs on the baby’s soft head, she sighed in relief. “I don’t need the nurse, thanks.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
She shook her head. “You can stay awhile if you’d like.”
Grey couldn’t quite understand why he felt compelled to stay, but he did. He sat in the chair next to the bed and studied the baby. He’d never had much of an interest in babies. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off this one. “You named her Alisha?”
“I’d been tossing other names around these past months. William, after my grandfather, if she’d been a boy, Grace for a girl. After we got here, and the doctor checked us both out, I held her, and watched her sleep. And I kept thinking about the stories you told me when I was having her. About your mother, Alice, and your grandmother. I considered naming her Gloria, but Alisha Grace feels right.”
“Alisha Grace,” he repeated. “It suits her.”
Kelly nodded. “Alisha, after your mother. Any woman who raises six children, one of whom didn’t panic and was able to deliver a baby in his chambers in less than ideal conditions, deserves a special honor.”
Somewhere down the corridor, a baby cried. Kelly’s baby opened her eyes, as if curious about the sound. She was going to be smart, Grey thought. She was already observant. He touched her tiny hand. Instantly, she grasped his finger, her grip unbelievably strong for someone so small.
“Did you see the news?” Kelly asked.
He nodded, mesmerized by the baby’s clear gray eyes looking up at him.
“I didn’t think about the press,” Kelly whispered, “or how they might want to do a story about what happened.”
He hadn’t, either.
“It was wise of you to be unavailable for comment.”
Grey lifted his gaze, and found Kelly looking at him. Her makeup was gone, her face clean scrubbed. Her hair had been brushed, the overhead light casting shadows below her cheekbones and beneath her chin. Her eyes were clear and observant and very green above the faded blue hospital gown. Her nose was narrow, her mouth was…
Kissable.
He forced his gaze away and stood, the action tugging his finger from the baby’s grasp so quickly he startled her. For a moment, he thought she was going to cry. He held his breath, releasing it only after the baby relaxed again, secure and safe in Kelly’s arms.
“I wasn’t really prepared to be interviewed,” Kelly confessed.
“You handled it like a pro.”
She smiled down at her daughter. Apparently in the mood to chat, she said, “I’m an attorney. You’re a judge. Some people might read more into what you did for me and Alisha.”
Grey scratched at the prickly skin on the back of his neck.
“They could even think I might try to use the incident to gain special treatment in court,” Kelly said. “I assure you that that won’t happen.”
“Of course not.”
“If you ever need a kidney, come see me.” She wavered him a smile. “Otherwise, rest assured, it’ll be business as usual.”
She lifted her gaze, and held out her hand. Grey had a feeling that somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she knew exactly what she was doing. What did she mean it would be business as usual from now on? He took her hand, shaking it as if in slow motion.
Kelly’s heart expanded, and something very close to sexual attraction uncurled in the pit of her stomach. She’d been experiencing mild afterbirth pains. This was different. It wasn’t hero-worship, either. Oh, dear, she thought. This was bad. It definitely had all the markings of a major complication.
Only if she let it. She withdrew her hand from his grasp. “Thank you.”
He bristled. “We both did what had to be done.”
My, my. “I was referring to the flowers, the balloons and the plush toy for Alisha.”
Silence. He wasn’t happy, but at least she’d put whatever was between them back on an even keel. Now she had to keep it that way. “I guess I’ll see you in court, Judge,” she said.
“Grey.” His eyes glittered, as if daring her to dispute it.
“But I thought we agreed…”
“You said it best yourself this afternoon. We’ve shared too much for such formalities, at least outside the courtroom.”
“That isn’t what I said.”
“What did you say, then?”
She gulped, because what she’d said was that only a woman’s doctor and her lover should see her the way Grey had seen her. Oh, no, he didn’t. She wasn’t going to repeat that.
He had the nerve to smile.
It was a nice smile, a masculine smile, a disarming smile that sneaked up on her, causing her to smile, too.
“Kelly?”
“Hmm?”
“You and I both know I’m not your doctor.”
He walked to the door on silent footsteps, and Kelly was left with her mouth hanging open, her heart beating a heady rhythm, her mind reeling.
From the doorway, he said, “Call me if you need anything.”
“That’s what I was trying to…I don’t think…That is, it would be best if…” She clamped her mouth shut, raised her chin. In a steadier voice, she said, “I won’t need anything. I’ll see you in court.”
She caught his expression before he turned on his heel and left. Her point had hit its mark.
“I probably shouldn’t have done that,” she whispered, nuzzling Alisha’s unbelievably soft cheek. “What else could I do?”
The baby started to cry. The waaa-waaa grew in volume until Kelly hugged her to her breast. Instantly, the crying stopped. That was easy, she thought, stroking the baby’s head. When it came to her child, she just had to do what came naturally. The same did not apply to Grey Colton. And that was final.
Chapter Three
The courtroom was quiet as Grey studied the document in front of him. He made a notation, then looked straight at the man standing before him. “Forty hours of community service!” His decree was punctuated by one sharp rap with his gavel.
“But, Your Honor, this was my first offense…”
“Make it your last and we’ll get along better in the future.”
“But I thought—”
Grey silenced the young man with a quelling glare and a quiet question. “Would you like me to make it sixty hours?”
A buzz went through the people waiting to stand before Judge Colton for whatever misdemeanor they’d committed. The youngest judge in Comanche County was reportedly also the toughest. Although he was neither condescending nor self-serving, no one knew exactly what to expect. In the courtroom, he was swift, cutting, but just. Nobody cared to meet him in a dark alley. Especially not today.
The attorney answered for the young man who’d been caught red-handed desecrating public property. “No, Your Honor. My client will do his forty hours.”
Grey caught the covert glance the attorney and his client shared. They’d been hoping he would be more lenient because the younger man’s record had been clean up to this point. Earlier that morning, Grey had seen two attorneys on opposing sides share a similar look, obviously in unprecedented and total agreement: Judge Colton was even tougher than usual today.
They were wrong. It was possible that Grey was more abrupt, his tone sharper today, but his sentencing was fair, as always. He hadn’t let his mood influence the punishment. If he had, the last woman, a shoplifter, would have gotten life.
The next case went quickly, as did the one after that. At ten minutes before twelve, Grey pounded his gavel a final time and broke for lunch.
“All rise!”
