A Very Special Delivery

“Answer the door, hon,” he said, raising his clenched fist to knock again.

Just then the door swung back and there she was, all green eyes and long bare legs beneath those denim cutoffs she was wearing. His breath nearly died in his throat. He’d forgotten what a lovely creature she was.

“Mick?” A trace of pink tinged her cheeks, and her voice rose as if she hadn’t seen him in eight years instead of eight days. If things had worked out, that might well have been true, but things had happened and he couldn’t stay away.

“Invite me in,” he suggested with a lazy smile as she stood there staring at him, her lovely lips parted slightly.

The sweet pink flush deepened. She smiled somewhat self-consciously. “Of course. Come in,” she said, holding out her arm in a big swoop. “You startled me,” she said by way of explanation.

No surprise. He’d startled himself by coming here.

“Where’s your little munchkin?” he asked, looking around the room. Then he spied her bassinet in the corner. “Is she sleeping?” He lowered his voice to a whisper.

Just then a tiny pair of toes kicked into the air.

Laura chuckled. “I’d say…no. But she’s happy right now. We can talk. Or maybe you just came to see the baby.”

Confusion colored those green eyes. For a second Mick wondered how many men had lost track of their conversations just by staring into those eyes. He wondered how many men had forgotten to breathe just being this close to the soap-and-water-and-woman scent of Laura. He didn’t kid himself into believing that he was the first whose chest felt tight when he looked at her. Meggie had been conceived by a man making love to Laura. A man who’d been so driven by passion that he’d failed to take precautions to protect her when he clearly hadn’t wanted a child.

It wasn’t a picture that he wanted to focus on, so he charged ahead with the subject that had drawn him here.

“I hear you’re planning on working at the day-care center at the clinic,” he began quietly.

Laura blinked. “My, word does spread quickly. I only made that decision yesterday, but yes, I’ll be starting in about a week. Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “I work outside the hospital, and gossip about the Maitlands spreads quickly. I know your daughter’s name, that you have two brothers named Rafe and Luke, that you have half siblings named R.J. and Anna that you’ve just met for the first time in your life. I’m privy to all the news. That’s why I’m here.”

He paused to look around before continuing. “The clinic has experienced some acts of vandalism lately.”

“I know that.”

“It might be the Maitlands and not just the clinic that’s being targeted.” Mick spoke gently.

Her eyes widened. She sucked in a deep breath. “You think I have something to do with what’s been happening.”

Instantly he felt like giving himself a kick in the butt. “Damn it, don’t look like that. Of course I don’t think that.”

She raised one brow. “Why not? You don’t know me.”

“You think I could stare into your eyes for hours and not know you a little?” Ah, she didn’t like that much better than she’d liked his first statement. The lady didn’t want her privacy breached. Well, he understood that feeling all too well.

“Lady, I saw you with your baby, and I heard the way you spoke to me and to Megan. You wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize her or any of the babies being born in that clinic.”

“I wouldn’t,” she said solemnly. “And I thank you for saying that.”

Mick sighed. He had a feeling she didn’t completely believe his words could be trusted. And maybe they couldn’t, because there was a lot he wasn’t telling her. Like the fact that it was his stepfather, Clyde Mitchum, who had deserted a pregnant Megan years ago. And the fact that Clyde was back in town and Mick had followed him here to keep an eye on him. And there was also the fact that he wasn’t revealing that last little bit of information to anyone, least of all to Clyde.

No one knew that he and Clyde were related and no one would until he found out just what Clyde was up to, and he was definitely up to something, good or bad. He’d hinted as much on the phone a few weeks ago. But if Mick showed his hand now, he’d never know just what Clyde’s plans were. His stepfather was more than capable of going underground.

“Laura, I’m concerned for you,” he said, which was the absolute truth. “The clinic might not be a safe place. If you need a job, I’m sure I could find you one.”

That delicate brow rose again. That delicate sexy brow. She was probably wondering just what kind of pull a construction worker would have. He was probably not going to tell her that he was on the verge of becoming a partner in Dell Douglas Construction at Dell’s request, and that Dell knew most of the people in the Austin construction scene. It was how Mick had gotten this job, but saying that would lead to too many other explanations.

“You don’t have to work at the clinic,” he repeated.

She smiled. “I know. I have a brother who would take me in if I’d let him. But I want this job. It will give me a chance to start to pay back Megan. They’re short on employees at the day-care center and that means fewer employees at the clinic can leave their children there, and more absenteeism at the clinic itself. I could be a help. I love children, and I’ve studied nursing. I know enough to be of aid in an emergency.”

Okay, so there was going to be no talking her out of this. He tried to think fast.

“I’m going to worry about you, you know.” His voice dropped soft and low and he found that he was only speaking the truth this time. It was going to drive him nuts not knowing when something was going to happen next, or even if something was going to happen next. He wished he knew just who had it in for the Maitlands so badly.

“You’re such a good man, Mick.”

No, he was a heel. Here today, gone tomorrow, just like his alcoholic father had been and like Clyde was most of the time. And he could see that he wasn’t making his point.

“You’re determined to take this job?”

Her chin came up. “I’m an adult, Mick. I make my own decisions.”

“I respect that, but it doesn’t make me worry less. Will you do me a favor?”

“What kind of a favor?”

“Ease my mind. Let me at least see you to and from work. Let me stop in to check up on you now and then.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

“You’d let me suffer when I don’t have to?”

She grinned. “That’s low, Mick.”

He grinned back. “You bet it is, but it’s also the truth. I’m not asking for the world.”

She gazed down at her hands, which were resting in her lap. He was helpless not to look beyond her fingertips to that long bare stretch of legs. Mick took a deep breath and concentrated on the shiny crest of her hair.

“Laura?” he urged.

She brought her head up, her long hair swishing over her shoulders. “You stayed with me for hours. You didn’t ask for anything, really, but letting you stand guard over me seems so…nineteenth century. I can take care of myself.”

“Are your brothers capable of taking care of themselves?”

“Of course. They’re grown men.”

“Don’t you worry about them now and then?”

“Every day. Especially Luke. I don’t even know where he is.”

“So it’s okay to worry even if you trust them to be capable men.”