A Little Moonlighting

“To take care of me.” A bittersweet smile played at her lips. “Oh, Carter, you should know me well enough by now. I can take care of myself.”

“Hmm.” His mouth twisted, but he wasn’t going to remind her of the basket case she’d been just a few hours before.

“Well, at least they are sure Meg and Tim will pull through. Their conditions have both stabilized. But they will have to be hospitalized for…” She swallowed hard and forced herself to continue. “For weeks, maybe months. Tim’s back was broken. And Meg—” Her face crumpled suddenly. “Both legs broken…” she managed to whisper, shaking her head, her fist to her mouth.

Carter stared at her, feeling helpless and angry with himself. He wanted to take her in his arms. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything was going to be all right. It shouldn’t be this hard. All he had to do was reach out…

He raised a hand awkwardly, ready to pat her shoulder. But she moved away without noticing and he let his hand drop. Something cold and painful filled his chest.

“No,” she was telling herself fiercely, closing her eyes and fighting back the tears. “I will not cry. I can’t cry.” Straightening her shoulders, she frowned at him. “I’m the one who has to take care of things. I will not cry,” she promised.

Carter shrugged, shoving his hands deep into his pockets and trying to look casual. “Go ahead and cry,” he said gruffly. “I’d say it’s a crying situation.”

“But I don’t have time for that,” she was saying briskly, wiping her eyes and heading for the elevator. “I’ve got to go to the children.”

He blinked, trailing behind her. “The children?”

She nodded, jabbing at the down button. “Meg’s children. Deedee and Scamp and Jillian, the baby.”

“Oh.”

He relaxed. Meg’s children. Of course. Arrangements would have to be made. He could help her with that. He knew people who would know of a good child-care agency. A few phone calls should do the trick. His spirits brightened and he looked forward to doing this for her. It would make him feel a little more useful.

The elevator arrived and they boarded side by side.

“Those poor babies,” Amy was saying. “They must be so scared. Thank God they weren’t in the car when the accident occurred.”

He looked at her, barely hearing her words. He’d always liked the way she looked and for some reason, she was especially fetching right now with her lipstick rubbed off and her eyes so huge. Another impulse to offer her something more in the way of physical comfort rose in him, but he fought it back. They’d made it through two years and he’d managed to keep from letting their relationship get personal. This was no time to let his defenses weaken.

Pendleton was the best associate he’d ever worked with, more a partner than an employee. Together they made magic in the business world. If he allowed his natural inclinations to lead him to a romance with her, all that would be ruined. Once emotional elements were allowed to enter into it, the balance would be destroyed and disaster would be lurking just around the corner.

No touching.

That was his golden rule. He’d had enough experience to know that romance never lasted and, when it was over, what had once been sweet quickly turned to bitter ashes.

They’d gone through a rough patch for a while. She’d definitely been attracted to him and she’d let him know it. He’d thought at first there would be no real problem, as she wasn’t really his type. But then he’d realized she wasn’t really any type at all. She was just darn good at business, and darn appealing to his male spirit. He’d needed the strength of Hercules to resist her, and there had been times he’d almost succumbed.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

That was another of his watch phrases. He’d come up through some hard times in his youth and he’d repeated that phrase whenever his situation seemed almost too much to bear. Now he told himself those words whenever the temptation to take Pendleton in his arms was almost overwhelming. He wasn’t sure if it really applied, but it always made him feel better.

Right now she was lifting her face to him and his breath stopped in his throat. The need to kiss those beautiful lips crashed though him like a summer storm. He stared down at her, only minimally aware that she was speaking.

“Meg was conscious for a while and I got to talk to her,” she said.

Carter blinked, catching hold of himself and looking quickly away so that he could breathe again.

“That sounds like a good sign,” he muttered, hoping she hadn’t noticed his minor lapse.

“Yes, I think so.” She sighed and he realized she looked close to the end of her rope.

“Why don’t we go eat?” he suggested. It had been hours since their last meal, and that had been airplane food.

“Eat?” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I can eat.”

He gave her a halfhearted grin. “Well, you could watch me.”

She patted his arm. “No thanks. I’m going to have to get out to Meg’s house,” she said, turning away.

“Meg’s house?”

“The children,” she reminded him just a bit impatiently.

They left the elevator together and both turned automatically toward the parking lot.

“I promised Meg I would go out and take care of them right away.” She shook her head. “That was the only thing she could think about and she could hardly force out the words, but I knew what she meant. All she cares about is those kids.”

She sighed. “Poor little things. And now they are going to be saddled with an aunt they barely know instead of their mother and father.” She remembered how they had reacted to her just days before and bit her lip. How was she going to win them over?

“Where do they live?”

“Just outside of town, in the Las Palmas Valley. It’s probably ten minutes from here.”

Carter frowned. “Listen, you don’t have to do that. I can make a few calls, get someone to handle this. I know some very good sources. We can get expert care out there immediately.”

Amy stopped dead and turned to look up at him, realization dawning in her gaze. “Carter, I don’t think you understand. I’m the one who is going to ‘handle’ this. I’m going to take care of them for the duration. I’m the only one available to do it.”

His brows came together. Something told him he wasn’t going to like the plans she was making.

“That’s absurd. You’re not a baby-sitter.” His glance was scathing. “You’re a businesswoman. You don’t do diapers. And believe me, you don’t want to.”

“Oh, Carter. How do you know?”

“You’d be surprised,” he muttered, scanning the lot and spotting their cars, parked together in the next area.

He nodded in the direction they needed to go and began to lead her there. “Where are the children now?” he asked.

“I think a neighbor has them. I have to check on that.”

“Then let the neighbor take care of them,” he began, but she stopped short again and faced him.

“No, Carter. I will not let the neighbor take care of them. They are my family and my responsibility.”

“But we have the Northridge situation to look into in the morning,” he said, looking as though he just didn’t get why she would prefer the company of children to the fast-paced atmosphere they both thrived in. “You know that’s going to blow up on us if we don’t take care of the details right away.”

“You’re going to have to take care of it on your own,” she told him firmly. Then she hesitated, knowing it was time to make him face what she knew he didn’t want to. “Carter…” She put her hand on his arm and searched his eyes, wishing she could think of a way to soften the blow. “Carter, come to grips with this,” she said softly. “I won’t be in tomorrow. I won’t be in the day after.”

He laughed shortly. “But you will be in the day after that. Two good days of child-care duty and you’ll be begging for an emergency assignment.”