A Match for the Doctor (16 page)

“Yes, we do,” Madelyn contradicted. She'd been standing in the hallway, out of sight, listening to the exchange between her father and her sister. But now she stepped into the doorway, determined to get her father to do something about this situation.

“And what do we need her for, Madelyn?” he asked gamely, curious despite himself to hear what she had to say.

Madelyn never hesitated. “You need her to make you not sad again.” Frowning, Madelyn took a deep breath and then launched into her explanation. “Mommy never liked it when you were sad, Daddy. She always wanted you to be happy. Kennon made you laugh.” She glanced at her sister for backup. “She made all of us laugh.” Meghan bobbed her head up and down in fierce agreement. “And that's a good thing, right?” Madelyn pressed, asking her father. When he slowly nodded, she pushed on. “Mommy would have liked Kennon, I know she would have,” she insisted. “So it's okay for us to like her, too. Please, Daddy, can Kennon come back? She'll come back if you ask her to,” she told him, with
the certainty of the very young who could still see the world in uncomplicated terms.

He hadn't been that young in a very long time.

Simon shook his head. “I don't think she wants to come back.” Both his daughters were staring at him now, and neither looked convinced. “I said some things to make her go away.”

“Then un-say them,” Meghan pleaded.

Madelyn seemed to see that he didn't believe it was that easy. She added weight to her sister's plea. “Mommy always said that if you say you're sorry,
really
sorry, the bad things you did or said aren't so bad anymore. If you're sorry enough, they go away.”

Simon looked at his older daughter for a long moment.
Out of the mouths of babes.
His eight-year-old had just put into words what he'd been feeling. Made him face what he'd tried to ignore. Kennon had made him feel happy for the first time in thirteen months. Made him so happy that it had scared him.

Because he was afraid that happiness would be yanked away from him, just as it had been before, when his wife had died. But rather than protect himself from pain, distancing himself from Kennon had only brought it on in spades. It made him realize that a little bit of happiness was better than his current dark, formless state.

Better for him and better for his girls.

They deserved to have a happy father—and he deserved Kennon. If he'd known what lay ahead, he wouldn't have allowed Nancy to go in his place. And he wouldn't have gone, either. But Nancy
had
elected to go and life had dealt him—and the girls—a very harsh hand.

But now life had shuffled the cards again, promising him a better hand for however long he could hang on to it.

Maybe for the rest of his life.

He looked at Madelyn and then smiled at her. “How did you get so smart?”

Her worried look fading, Madelyn puffed up her chest. “Mommy made me smart.”

Rising, he crossed to her and gave the girl a quick hug. Displays of feelings also had come more easily to him after Kennon had entered their lives. They all owed that woman a vote of thanks. And more.

“She certainly did,” he agreed.

“Me, too!” Meghan piped up, not wanting to be left out.

He smiled and nodded. “Yes, you, too.”

The very fact that he could embrace his daughters, laugh with them, was also Kennon's doing. She'd taught him to be more open with his girls, to listen to them when they spoke. And to treat them like pint-size human beings. He couldn't just let a woman like that, who could open both his eyes
and
his heart, slip right through his fingers because of his inability to leap into action.

It was time for him to leap.

“Edna,” he called out to the nanny. Edna had arrived back home three days after he and Kennon had parted company. She'd brought pictures of her brand-new grandnephew and immediately noted the somber atmosphere. “I need to go out for a little while.”

Edna seemed to materialize out of thin air, approaching them. “To see Miss Kennon, I hope.”

He looked at her, taken a little aback. Was everyone part of this conspiracy to bring Kennon and him
together? “You, too?” he asked, not bothering to hide his smile.

“Me, too,” she assured him.

“I'd better get on my way, then.”

“I was just thinking that,” she said, all but physically pushing him out the door.

I
t wasn't pressure that finally caused Kennon to rethink her position and surrender.

At least, not outer pressure. This, despite the fact that Nathan had developed the annoying ability to make almost every other comment out of his mouth somehow refer back to Simon. It wasn't even her mother, who called every day—sometimes twice a day—to “chat” and ask how “things” were going. The “chats” always ended with her mother asking Kennon how much longer she would waste time before coming to her senses.

Though both things very nearly drove her up the wall, neither was responsible for her caving. What finally did it was that she missed Simon. Missed him desperately. Missed him
and
his daughters far more than she thought humanly possible. The raw ache inside her grew until it all but swallowed her whole and made it impossible
for her to concentrate. She was no good to herself or to anyone else in this state and she had to act.

She missed Simon infinitely more than she'd
ever
missed Pete, even initially. She couldn't allow herself to endure this self-imposed life sentence of what amounted to solitary confinement. She would break out of jail and make a run for it, back to Simon and the girls. Hopefully, once she'd done that, she'd find a way to work things out, make Simon want her. She was confident the girls were in her corner.

Or would be once she apologized to them for disappearing this way.

Right in the middle of searching for the perfect accent pieces to go with her present client's newly added game room, Kennon left the cavernous discount house, got into her car and headed straight to Simon's house like an arrow to its target.

It had been eight days since they'd seen each other and it felt like an eternity.

The Bedford police department appeared to be otherwise occupied and nowhere in sight, which was fortunate because Kennon had raced all the way there, squeaking through yellow lights by less than a breath at times.

A cauldron of emotions spilled over her the instant she saw his house.

Anticipation swirled through her.
Please don't make this hard,
she prayed, parking.

Kennon didn't see Simon's car in the driveway, but that was all right. The garage door was closed. She knew from experience that Simon preferred parking his vehicle inside the garage to keep the car clean longer.

For a man, he was incredibly neat—in every possible definition of the word.

Nerves danced wickedly through her as she rang the doorbell. Her fingertips felt clammy as she found herself praying that it wasn't too late.

Praying that Simon hadn't decided that she'd been right to create this separation between them.

Edna's smile was spontaneous and warm, not to mention wide, when she opened the door and saw her standing there. Kennon's nervousness evaporated immediately.

“Miss Kennon, how
are
you?” the nanny asked, then urged, “Come in, come in,” before Kennon had a chance to answer her.

The moment she stepped over the threshold, Kennon found herself encircled by two pairs of small arms and on the receiving end of fierce hugs and raised, happy voices. Madelyn and Meghan, drawn by Edna's greeting, had both flown to the door to see for themselves if their beloved Kennon had returned.

“You came, you came,” Meghan cried happily, hugging her so hard the little girl became utterly breathless.

“Dad
did
it!” Madelyn declared in triumph. “He did go and get you!”

Touched by the profusion of love, Kennon drew back slightly, although she kept one arm tucked around each little girl. She tried to make sense out of what Madelyn was saying.

“Your dad's not here?” Even as she asked, Kennon scanned the room. Disappointment burrowed through her.

In response, Madelyn peered around her torso and
tilted her head as she looked outside the door. She answered Kennon's question with another question. “He's not coming with you?”

“No. Why?” Kennon did her best not to sound as nervous as she felt. “Did your father say he was going to?”

She looked up at Edna for an explanation.

“Dr. Simon told the girls that he was going to go see you.” Edna paused for a moment, then lowered her voice as she moved in closer, trying to share her thought with only Kennon. “My guess is that he was coming to apologize for doing whatever it was that he did to make you leave.”

“He didn't do anything,” Kennon said, feeling guilty that he'd even thought he had. “It was my fault,” she admitted, then delicately extricated herself from her two biggest fans. “I'd better try to catch him.”

Rather than agree or wish her luck, the tall, sturdy woman placed a large hand on Kennon's shoulder and held her in place.

“My suggestion is to stay right here. Dr. Simon does have to return home at some point, and if you leave and try to catch up with him, I can see the man doing the same the minute the little ones tell him you were here.” She eyed Kennon sympathetically. “The two of you could spend an entire lifetime missing one another, just like in that old, frustrating poem,
Evangeline
. Why don't you just stay here with us until Dr. Simon comes back?” she suggested, with the confidence of a woman who knew she was right.

It made sense, Kennon thought as she nodded. “All right, I'll stay here and wait.”

The second that was settled, Meghan piped up, “Did you miss us?”

With children, there was no need for games, or secrets. Children responded well to the truth. “Terribly,” Kennon assured both girls. Once again she put an arm around each set of small shoulders. “More than you can possibly ever know.”

“We missed you, too,” Madelyn reported solemnly. For good measure, she crossed her heart.

Hopefully, Simon had missed her, too, Kennon thought. She did her best to focus only on the girls and not let her mind drift over to thoughts of Simon and questions that began: “What if—?” She'd find out “what if” soon enough.

 

Simon swallowed the curse that hovered on his lips.

Kennon's shop was closed down for the night when he got there. Looking in through the showroom window had yielded no telltale back-office light, no light at all to indicate that she might be somewhere on the premises.

He was confronted with the same dead end when he arrived at her house. There wasn't even a front porch light on to indicate that she was coming back this evening.

Could she have taken off on a trip somewhere? Just like that? he asked himself uneasily.

Was there someone else?

Simon tried her cell. It went to voice mail after four rings. Three frustrating times.

Calling her landline yielded another runaround episode. This time he got to listen to her voice on the answering machine. “If you'd like to leave a message—”

“No, I wouldn't like to leave a damn message,” he growled under his breath. “I want to talk to you in person. I want to hold you and make love with you until you realize we belong together.”

Suddenly aware that the answering machine was picking all this up, he slapped his cell phone shut, terminating the call.

Great. Now she would think he was crazy and take out a restraining order against him.

Frustrated, Simon paced in her driveway and debated waiting in front of her house until she finally came back, but if she
was
off on a trip somewhere, heaven only knew how long she'd be gone. He couldn't just wait out here like some mooning, lovesick teenager. He had a life to lead. A life that didn't feel as if it was a proper fit anymore, not without her in it.

Simon sighed, dragging his hand through his hair. He had to be getting back to the girls. Somehow, he was going to have to find a way to explain to them why he wasn't returning home with the woman all three of them had fallen in love with.

There, he thought, starting up the car again, he'd said it. Admitted it without having his arm twisted, albeit silently and to himself, but it was a start. He loved Kennon. And he wanted to have a chance at spending forever with her.

But first, he told himself, he had to find her.

After
he got home and talked to the girls. He didn't want them waiting and worrying.

 

Lost in thought, Simon didn't register the car at the curb as he glanced toward it without seeing it. He pulled into the garage and depressed the garage door remote.
The door was on its way down when he realized what he'd seen. Springing to life, he darted outside. The garage door came within a hair's breadth of closing on him before it stopped moving, shuddered and then went back up again.

That was Kennon's car. He recognized the make, as well as the license number.

Was she here? Had she come looking for him while he'd been out trying to find her so that they could talk?

Or was there some other reason Kennon was here?

He didn't care about the reason. Whatever had brought her back was fine with him. All he wanted was to make use of the opportunity and talk her into reconsidering walking out of his life.

Most of all, he wanted to talk Kennon into giving him another chance. He wanted to be able to make the right sort of impression this time around, to change her life the way she'd changed his—and the lives of his girls.

The moment he opened the door leading from the garage into the house, his daughters came running over to him, excitement pulsating through them as well as the atmosphere they generated around them.

“She's here, she's here!” Their young voices melded together as they excitedly shouted out the announcement to him.

Each girl grabbed one of his hands and pulled mightily, leading him into the living room.

Simon didn't remember walking. One second the girls were coming at him, the next he was in the living room, facing Kennon, wanting nothing more than to sweep her into his arms.

Well, maybe
one
thing more. But if he kissed her now, he might not be able to stop, so he refrained.

Kennon watched him a little uneasily, not quite certain how to gauge his reaction to her being here. “I didn't mean to barge in—”

He spoke over her. “I went to your store. Then your house—”

Two voices undercut one another, dueling for space and to be heard exclusively. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said—”

He shook his head, negating the part he heard her say. “I should have come to you sooner—”

They continued talking over one another, mixing words, sentences, emotions. The two little girls looked at one another, clearly frustrated.

Madelyn stepped in between them, pressing a small hand against each of them. “Stop talking and kiss each other,” she pleaded.

Mutually struck by the absurdity of the situation—and how confusing it had to seem to the girls—Simon and Kennon stopped talking and laughed.

Kennon glanced at the man who had won her heart without even trying. “You have a very smart daughter.”

She'd get no argument from him. “I'm just beginning to find that out.”

Tired of being on the sidelines, Meghan got behind Kennon and pushed her toward Simon.

Not to be outdone, Madelyn got behind her father and pushed him toward Kennon.

Neither had to work too hard to achieve their goal.

“Ask her, Daddy. Ask her!” begged Meghan, a budding matchmaker.

“Yeah,” Madelyn chimed in. “Ask her before she changes her mind again.”

He hadn't intended for his confrontation with Kennon to be a group effort. And he certainly hadn't intended for the two pint-size women in his life to steal the thunder of what had been hovering in the back of his mind for the last week, especially as he began mourning the demise of a relationship that had never been allowed to flourish and take serious root.

Impatient that her father wasn't being fast enough, Meghan took the lead and put the all-important question to Kennon. “Will you be our mommy?”

Stunned, Kennon felt a wave of heat pass over her even as a sense of longing, mixed with joy, surged through her.

But the question wasn't coming from Simon, it was coming from his daughter, she reminded herself. All the man probably wanted was just some sort of a temporary relationship. But at least it was a
relationship.
And that was a start.

Simon looked down at his younger child and did his best to sound stern. Before Kennon had come into their lives, it wouldn't have taken any effort at all to sound that way because he
was
stern. She'd mellowed him. And he was grateful.

“Meghan, you can't put Kennon on the spot like that,” Simon told her.

Madelyn came to her sister's defense. “But you're not asking her, Daddy,” the older girl complained. “So we have to help.” She took her place beside Meghan and turned large, luminous and, above all, pleading eyes on Kennon. “Will you?”

With all her heart, she wanted to shout yes, but she
was afraid that if she showed too much enthusiasm, it would make Simon back off again. So she chose her words carefully.

“I can tell you that I'll always be there for you when you need me,” Kennon hedged.

Meghan shook her head. “But you
gotta
marry Daddy. That's part of the deal,” she stressed.

Chagrined, Simon didn't know where to begin. He looked at Kennon and apologized.

“I'm sorry about putting you on the spot like this.” He looked at his daughters, but for the life of him, he couldn't be stern right now, especially since he understood how they felt.

Because he felt the same way.

“Don't be,” she told him, then looked away in case he saw too much in her eyes. “It's nice being wanted that much.”

He'd never get a better opening than that, he thought. “Well, in that case…”

She could have sworn her heart hitched in her chest just then. “Yes?”