Lone Rider (36 page)

             
Tess nodded dumbly, unable to take her eyes off the other woman. Elise was stunning. A riot of rust-colored curls framed the woman’s delicate face, compl
e
menting her emerald green eyes. But the most amazing thing to Tess was the woman’s stomach.

Elise Barnes was pregnant.

             
“Number five and six,” she announced proudly, patting her stomach. She winked at Grey. “Twins. Beat you to it!”

             
The room grew silent. Elise’s head turned from Grey to Tess
,
then back to Grey. “Uh, you did tell her twins run rampant in your family, didn’t you?”

             
Tess’ mouth fell open. Rampant? “He mentioned twin sisters. Is there more?”

             
Elise laughed, clearly pleased to have gotten Grey in hot water. Until she looked at Tess. Then she started clucking like a mother hen. “Ignore me, hon. I’m just giving him a hard time.”

Somehow Tess didn’t think Elise was kidding about the possibility of twins. A subject she’d pursue with Grey later.

“You’re really having twins?”
Tess asked.

             
Elise nodded. “Kevin, that’s my husband, says we’re naming them
The
and
End
. Of course
,
he said something similar after the last four
,
and look at me.”

             
Elise sat next to Tess on the couch. “If you don’t mind me saying so, you look awful, kiddo. May I?”  She grasped Tess’ wrist, checking her pulse.

             
“You look wonderful,” Tess blurted. “I mean, pregnancy obviously agrees with you. It doesn’t me.”

             
Elise chuckled sympathetically. “We’ll have to see if we can change that.”  She motioned for Grey to hand her the black medical bag. She withdrew a digital thermometer and stuck it in Tess’ mouth.

“One-oh-one fever,” she announced a moment later, grabbing a blood
-
pressure cuff.

The room was silent except for the steady hiss of air from the cuff. “And your blood pressure’s low.”

Removing her stethoscope, Elise started asking Tess questions about her general health while she checked the glands under
her
jaw.

Tess winced when she hit a tender spot.

“Sore?” Elise asked. “They’re swollen. You’ve had a lot of stress the entire time you’ve been pregnant, haven’t you?”

Grey, who’d been quietly pacing up till now, snorted. “That’s an understatement considering that just today she survived an explosion and a mugging.”

“A s
trong woman. My favorite kind.”
Elise hooked a thumb in his direction. “Bet you love being stuck with him, hmmm?”

             
Tess had to smile.

             
“Let me see your hands.”
Elise cut away the gauze and examined the cuts. “This might hurt but I need to check for glass and infection,” she warned before pressing on the abrasions.

“Looks like you got it all,” Elise said finally. “I’ll leave an antiseptic ointment to put on that. It’ll help relieve the pain, too.”

             
Standing, Elise looked at Grey. “I need a few minutes alone to examine Tess.” 

             
Grey grabbed a jacket and the room key. “I’ll go buy a newspaper.”

             
When they were alone, Elise patted Tess’ hand. “I’d like to check the baby, if that’s okay with you. I just want to feel your tummy.” 

             
Nodding, Tess moved to the bed. Surprisingly, she felt very comfortable with Elise.
             

“Yes, there’s definitely a baby in there,” Elise remarked when she finished.

             
“And he’s okay?” Tess asked anxiously.

             
“He?”  Elise smiled. “I knew my first two were girls.
He
feels fine. However, there are some routine tests that need to be done, like a sonogram and blood work. You need to be taking prenatal vitamins
,
too. Maybe extra iron and folic acid if you’re anemic.”

             
Elise helped her sit up. Outside the door, they heard pacing footfalls. “Impatient as ever,” Elise remarked, repacking her gear. “Shall we let him back in or make him suffer?”

             
“You can let him in. I know he’s worried about the baby.”

             
Elise winked. “I think he’s worried about more than the baby.”

             
Grey moved straight to Tess’ side when Elise opened the door. Taking her hand, he sat on the bed. “So what’s the prognosis, doc?”

             
Elise looked at Tess. “Educated guess? Exhaustion. Aggravated by stress. Which means
,
Tess, you’re more susceptible to viruses. I suspect that’s what’s causing the fever
,
but I really need to run some blood tests to confirm that. You’re also slightly dehydrated
,
so I want you to increase your fluid intake immediately. That means drinking even when you don’t feel thirsty. I’m going to leave you something to take tonight to ease the aches and pains. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe for a pregnant woman. And I’ll call in the morning.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Tess said. She did feel better knowing the baby was fine.

Elise stood then turned to Grey. “You know, I thought about something on the way over. You obviously need a place to stay. And Tess needs prenatal care. A colleague of mine is teaching in
Europe
for a year. Kevin and I have free run of his vacation house in the mountains in exchange for me seeing some of his patients. You and Tess can stay there. It’s only two hours from here
,
and it’s very secluded, but has all the comforts of home.”

Grey rubbed his chin. “I don’t know.”

Elise stuck both hands on her hips, offended. “What’s not to know? It’s a great idea. You’d be close enough I could see Tess myself.” 

“We have to keep a low profile, Elise.”

“Fine. I’ll see you after hours at my clinic. You can sneak in the back door after the staff’s left. No one would know. And I’ve got a full lab and diagnostic center on the premises.”

             
Tess shook her head. “I don’t want to be a problem.”

             
Elise gave her an understanding look. “That’s a noble sentiment, Tess, but not the best choice for the baby. I don’t want to alarm you, but under the present circumstances, I’d classify you as a high-risk pregnancy. You need rest, a better diet
,
and a more thorough physical examination than I can give you here.”

             
Tess’ hand instinctively went to her abdomen. Grey drew her closer, one arm circling her shoulder, his other hand covering hers.

             
“Exactly who knows about this guy’s place?” Grey asked. The last thing he wanted was to put Tess and the baby at additional risk. “What about other hospital staff?”

             
“Nobody knows. He just signed papers on the place. I think he’s paranoid that everyone at the hospital will want to use it once they know he’s got a mountain hideaway,” Elise explained.

She reached in her pocket and handed Grey her cellular phone. “Call Kevin. You know he’ll tell you straight.”  She winked at Tess. “My husband wouldn’t hesitate to tell Grey to ignore me if he had the slightest doubt it wasn’t perfectly safe.”

             
Grey took the phone. Elise’s proposition sounded perfect. He and Tess would have a private place to hide
,
and Tess could get proper obstetric care.

He looked at Tess, reluctant to give her a choice, but knowing it was the right thing to do. Under the circumstances she might not want Elise to act as her obstetrician. “It sounds like a good solution, providing it’s secure. How do you feel about it?”

The fact that he asked her opinion meant a lot t
o Tess. “I just want to be some
place I can feel safe. To sleep in peace. And while I hope this will all be over in a day or two, I would like to see Elise if we’re going to be here a while.”  It was funny to realize she was thinking more and more of the baby.

             
After talking with Kevin, Grey promised to let them know something in the morning and walked Elise to her car. When he returned, Tess had changed and was snuggled beneath the blankets.

             
“Still cold?”

             
She nodded. “Thanks for calling Elise.”

             
“She’s a good woman.”

             
His compliment prompted her next question, one she’d been thinking about since Elise arrived. “So why did you two divorce?”

             
Her blunt inquiry took Grey by surprise. He didn’t think she’d like the answer.

He shook his head, pouring a glass of water and handing it to her along with the pills Elise left. “You’re gonna get sick of me pressing you to drink more, but Elise said the dehydration thing’s serious.”

             
For a moment Tess thought he’d ignore her question. Then he moved to sit on the bed beside her, sprawling his legs out before easing her gently into his arms.

             
“We were college students when we married,” he began. “I had just been discharged from the Army and was returning to finish my degree.”

             
“So you really were in the Army?”  His nod made her feel better. He
had
shared some personal information after all.

“Did you know Elise befor
e your stint in the A
rmy?” she continued.

“No. We met in
Chapel Hill
. Elise was a medical student. We were young and idealistically opposite, but madly in love. Then Elise started her residency. I was offered a job with the
Bureau after
I graduated
from law school.
.”

             
“Did you do undercover work back then?”

             
“No. But I worked a lot of overtime trying to make a name for myself. In the meantime Elise had started delivering babies and knew she wanted a couple of her own.”

             
Grey tightened his grip on her shoulders, wishing there was another way to explain, to cast the blame somewhere other then on his shoulders. He pressed the gentlest of kisses to her temple.

“I didn’t want children, Tess. It was selfish. I liked our lives just the way they were. I volunteered for an overseas assignment
,
thinking the distance would help bring our focus back on each other. It didn’t. In her loneliness Elise grew even more desperate, begging me to come home and start a family. I refused, using every excuse in the book to avoid returning.”

             
He pushed ahead with his story, knowing it was too late to turn back now. “Before I returned, I had a vasectomy. I don’t think I could have come up with any worse way to hurt Elise. It destroyed our marriage, and drove Elise straight into the arms of another man, a man who’d been there for her when I was gone. My best friend, Kevin Barnes.”

             
Stunned, Tess didn’t move. “You, you had a vasectomy? But how?”  Her hands went to her stomach.

             
He covered both her hands with one of his own. “As soon as I realized what an idiot I’d been, I had the surgery reversed. Obviously
,
it was successful
,
but unfortunately it was too late.”

             
Grey hadn’t wanted children. The knowledge tore through her. “Too late?”

             
“To save the marriage. We divorced
,
and she eventually married Kevin. Oddly enough, there’s never been a moment’s animosity between Kevin and me over their marriage. Kevin was there for Elise that whole time I was overseas, at first as a friend, then later... Well, the further apart we grew, the closer they became.”

             
For a moment Grey wondered if Tess had drifted off to sleep. She didn’t move or make any noise and briefly he regretted his honesty. When she finally spoke, her question surprised him.

             
“Do you still love her?”

             
Trick question
.

He took a deep breath, wanting to answer honestly, praying he didn’t stick his foot in his mouth. “Not in the sense you mean. We obviously care for each other, but on a platonic basis. And Kevin and I are as close as ever.”

             
She grew quiet once more
,
and Grey couldn’t stand it. He knew exactly what was bothering her. Shifting to his side, he nudged her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. He hated that he’d caused them.