Assignment: Baby. Lynne Marshall
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He strolled back to his desk, picked up a piece of paper, returned and handed it to her. “Here’s mine. Where’s yours? I want to make sure you’re getting enough calories.”
She pushed his list away. “You don’t have to report to me.”
“The syllabus says everyone will participate in the activities. Hand yours over.” He motioned with his fingers.
“I… I don’t have it.”
He raised a playful brow. “Naughty, naughty.”
Too young to have hot flashes, she was swiftly burning up. Why was he tormenting her?
“Mandy’s not playing fair, Sophie,” he teased, picking up the baby, who had now pulled herself to stand in the playpen. Sophie smothered his mouth with her hands. He kept talking, but Amanda couldn’t make out one single syllable.
“Okay, okay, I’ll start keeping track like everyone else.” She had a sudden overwhelming urge to bite the hangnail on her finger, but resisted.
Rather than look at Amanda, he made a clown face for the baby. “There you go.” Sophie giggled. “The playing part’s kind of fun, but the rest—” He made another face and the baby laughed more.
His frivolity was driving Amanda nuts. She picked up a chart and studied it, determined not to let Hunter lighten her mood. “I’ll tell them about the music meditation later, after we go over their EKG results at the group meeting this afternoon.”
She tapped her finger on her upper lip. There was no time like the present. “I have a few ideas, too,” she said.
“Yeah?” he said over his shoulder, putting Sophie in her jump seat, which he’d just attached to the door frame. The baby automatically started bouncing up and down, making a wide, gummy grin. “See—this is a lifesaver. I can hang her in here and she keeps herself busy for up to an hour sometimes.” He rubbed his jaw. “Now, if I could just figure out what to do with her the rest of the time…”
“Hunter.” Amanda refused to get sidetracked. “We need to set some ground rules about our professional relationship,” she said, noticing how ridiculous she sounded the moment the words left her mouth.
He stood perfectly still, while Sophie ricocheted off the floor as if an atomic particle.
Amanda cleared her throat and tried not to be distracted. “I don’t think we should discuss our past at work, or socialize in any way.” A flutter of nerves gathered in her stomach, making a tightly bound knot. “And no touching. That should be off- limits, too.”
He quirked a brow.
“Anything you’d consider off-limits for your medical assistant, or any female coworker, please do the same for me.”
He squinted, took a deep breath as if to say the first thought in his mind, then stopped and regrouped. “Sounds as if you could use some music therapy, too,” he grumbled, and stepped around the bouncing baby to leave the room.
Sophie grew fussier as the morning went on, until Hunter couldn’t stop her crying.
“Why don’t you borrow an otoscope from Peds and check if she’s got an ear infection?” Amanda suggested.
“She doesn’t feel feverish to me,” he said, pressing the back of his hand against her cheek and forehead. “And she’s not pulling at her ears. But it’s a good idea.”
When Hunter whisked Sophie out of the office and headed down the hall for the pediatric clinic, it dawned on her. Sophie was nine months old. She was probably teething. She rooted through the baby bag and came up with a liquid-filled teething ring. After washing her hands and the teething ring with soap and water, she waited for Hunter and Sophie’s return.
Soon he reappeared in the doorway, shaking his head. “Not an ear infection.”
Sophie whimpered and kicked her legs.
“Teething.” She held up the toy to entice Sophie to chew on it, instead of on Hunter’s chin and beard stubble.
“Would you like me to take her for a while?”
Hunter nodded gratefully.
When Amanda stepped forward and reached for the child, she noticed the dark circles under Hunter’s eyes. She hadn’t seen that before—probably because she’d avoided looking at him all morning. Had she put that on the no-no list? No eye contact? Maybe she’d add it, because as she recalled, his haunting dark eyes could work better than Svengali’s when it came to getting his way.
The poor guy had probably been up all night with a fussy baby. She regretted chiding him for being late again. His world had been turned sideways, having Sophie thrust on him right before he’d been hoodwinked into mentoring the Mending Hearts Club project. Truth was, she felt kind of sorry for him, and she wanted to make amends…to both of them. She also felt a major reversal coming on. For crying out loud, it had only taken two days.
“You know, Hunter, my house is only five minutes away. Why don’t you and Sophie go there and take a nap during lunch? It might do you both good.” That doesn’t qualify as socializing, does it? So what if the guy would have full access to where she lived? She wouldn’t be there. Was it too late to take back the offer?
He hesitated, making a thin line with his lips. “I couldn’t do that.”
Okay, good. She could back out now. He was right. He couldn’t and shouldn’t do that. “No. Really. You should.” Had she lost control of her mouth?
“I’d be breaking one of your rules,” he teased.
Underneath her professional facade, she was a person, a person with a heart. The guy needed to catch a break and she could give it to him. She’d do the same for any of her coworkers.
“This is an exception. You both look worn-out, and I can’t afford for you to get so run-down that you get sick.”
“Since you put it that way,” he said, fighting off a smirk, “I’ll take you up on the offer.”
Amanda fished through her purse and found her keys. She dangled them before him. “Turn left out of the driveway, go to the second light and turn right. I’m the third condo from the corner. Ground level. One-one-seven.”
“Thanks,” he said, snatching the keys from her hand—but not before he’d held her fingers for a moment. Staring deeply into her eyes, he said, “Sorry. I’m not supposed to do that, am I?” He caught her off guard with his charming smile and a quick wink. “You know me. I like breaking rules.”
That was precisely what she was afraid of.
CHAPTER THREE
HUNTER dug into his pocket with a damp palm for the house keys Mandy had given him. How would it feel to invade her privacy after being away all these years?
The door opened to a bright living room, much as he’d expected, and a house that smelled of flowers and grilled vegetables. Mandy had always been a healthy eater.
One long lime-green divan covered with flashy throw pillows and two loudly patterned chairs were an obvious change in her style. Candles were everywhere, almost like a shrine, and it made him worry she spent too much time alone…in the dark. Dried flower arrangements and picture frames were perched on bookcases and tables. Not one photograph was from their time together. Strangely, it made him feel forgotten.
He recognized an oil painting she’d bought when they were married, one they’d chosen together, and remembered how much he’d liked the abstract style after she’d convinced him to open up his artistic tastes.
A family shot taken of Mandy and her parents stood out. Her dutiful daughter role. To the common eye no one would notice her smile was ever so slightly strained. But he knew better. They’d never had any faith in Mandy, and it used to cut to her core. He, on the other hand, had encouraged her to go after her dreams…until she’d admitted to him