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

She walked into his hold and, for a few moments, silence pulsed with attraction they couldn’t deny was there. Unnerved by it, she said, “I guess you have a lot in common with the men here tonight.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You said you and Sean’s dad were friends as well as partners?”

“We were. We had each other’s backs. He was like a brother and when he married Carol, she was like family, too. She was family. I spent more time at their place than my own. And when Sean was born—I’d just come off a shift and was waiting at the hospital with Scott. I got to see Sean shortly after Scott did. He came out and got me.”

Tessa could hear the huskiness of emotion in Vince’s voice, and she realized how deeply he’d cared about his friends and about the baby who’d become his son.

“So Sean has no other family?”

“Only his great-aunt. I’m not sure what to think about her. I have to take pictures of him this week and send them to her. I suppose it’s better to stay in touch than not.”

Vince went quiet as they swayed to the music, in unison stepping to the left, to the right, front and back, his strong body intimately guiding hers. She shouldn’t let the intimacy happen. She closed her eyes, feeling burdened by the past, uncertain in the present.

His hold tightened and she opened her eyes. They’d come to the edge of the patio. Glimmers of light streaked the border of the flagstone.

Vince urged, “Come with me for a minute. I want to ask you something.”

He held her around the waist as they stepped off the patio onto the gravel and he tugged her around the side of the house. The moon was three-quarters full and her heart pounded with excitement. What could Vince want to ask her?

He stood close, as close as they’d been when they were dancing. “What do you feel when you see me with Sean?”

That wasn’t what she expected, though she didn’t know what she’d assumed Vince would ask. Did he think that pulling her into the shadows would help her give him a more honest answer?

“Vince, we shouldn’t leave the party. Everyone’s going to wonder—”

“No one’s going to miss us and you know it. There are too many people here for anyone to notice. Answer me, Tessa. What do you feel when you see me with Sean?”

She didn’t want to look at Vince, she really didn’t. She’d blocked thinking about how she felt with very good reason. Now with his question, she couldn’t block the emotion anymore. She could picture Vince bringing Sean into her office the first time, how she’d noticed right away how comfortable the baby was in his arms, the tender expression on Vince’s face. The night he’d called her to his condo, he’d been so worried. Before he’d put Sean to bed, the baby had nestled into his shoulder, knowing safety. And when he’d brought Sean to the house—

Her chest tightened and her throat almost closed, but not altogether. She managed to say, “It hurts, Vince. It hurts so much. I see our baby, our son, and I just ache.”

The tears came so fast she didn’t have the opportunity to blink them away. They rolled down her cheeks and caught on her chin.

Then Vince was holding her, his hand on the back of her head. He was stroking her hair, his lips at her temple.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

Her breath hitched, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d let herself cry like this.

One hand still on the back of her hair, Vince leaned away slightly and raised her chin with his thumb. A car door slammed.

The chatter of the party was just around the corner. The music smoothed into something bluesy and Vince’s mouth came down on hers. She was seventeen again, and he was everything she’d always wanted. The sweep of his tongue was possessive, and she kissed him back as if time and fate and distance hadn’t kept them apart.

Then as suddenly as she was overcome by his kiss, she rejected it. She rejected him and tore away.

“No! No, this isn’t happening. This can’t happen. I won’t let it. You’re here now, but you’re going to be leaving again. I have a life here, a life I want. I’m going to—”

She’d almost told him she was going to adopt a child, a child who needed her and a home just like Sean needed him. But she couldn’t confide her most important dream to him, not when she’d just confided her deepest hurt. She did not want this closeness or need it. She’d only be hurt by it. She knew that because she’d been hurt by him once before.

She tried to turn and run, but he held her by her shoulders.

“Stay still, Tessa. Stay still. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to do anything. I never should have started this here, but I knew you didn’t want to be alone anywhere with me. I knew you’d never let me start this conversation if I didn’t spring it on you now.”

“And what good did it do, Vince? So now you know I hurt every time I see you with Sean. What good is that?”

“It’s honest.”

She inhaled slowly and then let her breath fade out of her mouth. “I’m going to go home. I can get a ride with someone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll drive you. I’ve had enough party to last me a while.”

They both had. Maybe tomorrow she could put this in perspective, but right now she couldn’t.

Sitting with Vince in his SUV, Tessa was grateful when his cell phone rang. The silence between them practically rippled in its intensity, but she knew nothing either of them could say would break it.

“Rossi,” he barked into his phone after he put it to his ear.

Tessa listened as he asked tersely, “When did it happen?” A pause. “Where?” Another pause. “I’m on my way, ETA ten minutes.” He glanced at Tessa as he put his flashers on and sped up. “There’s been an accident over on Route 82. Teenagers. I’ve got to get there. I can have an officer take you home.”

“Don’t worry about that. I might be able to do something to help.”

“Emergency services was called. The paramedics were dispatched. They’ll probably be there when we get there. But if you can help, too, I’m sure everyone will be grateful.”

“How many kids?”

“Six, from the eyewitness account. Let’s hope it’s not more.”

She knew better than to ask any questions about the accident. Until they were on the scene, nothing was for sure. Her stint in emergency medicine had not been one of her favorite rotations. She’d treated sullen gang members from drive-by shootings, knife wounds, heart attacks, strokes, and a multitude of other injuries and ailments. What she’d disliked most about the E.R. service was that there never had been any follow-up, not by her. If possible, patients were dispatched to their family doctor’s care. Many didn’t return to the E.R. The ones who did saw whichever doctor was scheduled for that day. Now Tessa looked forward to follow-ups, to the resolution of patient care.

“Are you often called out?” She knew Vince had a lot of administrative work to handle.

“If something major happens. If other jurisdictions are involved. I have to make sure protocol is observed and everything’s done by the book.”

“Mrs. Zappa will watch Sean for you without any notice?”

“Without any notice.”

Five minutes later they drove up to the scene. Red, blue and white flashing lights practically illuminated the sky. Both cars from the accident were smoking, twisted pieces of metal. They looked older, possibly with no air bags, probably fixup cars like Vince’s truck had been.

She and Vince both jumped out of his SUV. He headed toward one of his officers. Tessa aimed straight for the paramedic in charge. She usually carried her medical bag wherever she went but tonight she didn’t have it. Tonight she’d wanted to forget she was a doctor and just be a woman.

But she should have known that wasn’t possible.

While she spoke to the medical responders, one ambulance pulled away, sirens blaring.

“We’re waiting for two more ambulances,” the EMT told her. “Two kids in the back of one car and one in the other weren’t wearing seat belts. We’re transporting them first.”