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

“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?”