Marrying the Playboy Doctor (13 page)

A little too much for his peace of mind.

Kylie wanted to scream when Ben asked for the fifteenth time when Dr. Seth would arrive.

“Ben, constantly asking me when he’s coming isn’t going to make him show up any sooner.” She tried to soften her words with a smile. “Why don’t you go outside and play with Joey for a while? You’ll see Dr. Seth drive up in his car, I’m sure.”

“Okay.” Ben ran out of the house, letting the door slam behind him.

She rubbed her temples, wondering if Ben was more excited about the football game or seeing Seth again. For herself, she didn’t know what she wanted. She looked forward to seeing Seth, but at the same time she knew the situation between them was impossible.

She’d used being busy as an excuse to avoid him all this week. The reality of running around doing all the mundane chores of parenthood made her realize Seth didn’t really have a clue what her life was like. If Tristan hadn’t stayed to help raise his own son, why would Seth take on that responsibility?

She simply couldn’t imagine it. Especially when Seth had been so upset by finding out his dad wasn’t his biological father. So they’d remain friends. No matter how much she longed for more.

Glancing inside the duffel bag one more time, to make sure she had everything they were going to need, she zipped it closed and took it outside to her trunk. They’d have to take her car, since Charlene didn’t have a backseat.

Inside the house, she found herself pacing, waiting almost as impatiently as Ben for Seth to arrive. At five
minutes to four she heard a car drive up the driveway. She took a moment to double-check her reflection in the mirror over the bathroom sink before going out to meet him.

On the porch, she stopped when she noticed a navy blue four-door sensible sedan parked in her driveway. She frowned. Had someone else stopped by?

“Hi, Kylie.” Seth was standing beside Ben.

“Seth, where’s Charlene?”

“I sold her to a friend of mine.”

She stared. Had she heard right? “You
sold
her? Why?”

He lifted a negligent shoulder, flashing a lopsided grin. “Simon coveted Charlene from the moment I bought her. He offered a fair price and I took it. It’s better to have something a little more practical anyway.”

Practical? Since when did Seth care about practical?

“I—uh—already put our stuff in my trunk,” she said, trying to gather her scattered thoughts.

“I’ll take care of it.” He chatted with Ben as he moved their overnight cases from her old, dependable car to the trunk of his new one.

Her heart fluttered painfully.

He’d sold his racy sports car. Was this a sign that Seth was ready for a more serious relationship after all?

“I
BOUGHT
something for you.”

Kylie stared in surprise at the bag Seth dropped in her lap. He started the car and then glanced at her expectantly.

“For me?” Since the name on the bag advertised the name of a local retail store, she knew what she’d find inside. She smiled as she pulled out the shirt. “A Green Bay Packers jersey?”

“And a Bears jersey, too,” Seth quickly interjected, when Ben protested loudly from his perch in the backseat. “This way you can root for either team, depending on who happens to be winning.”

She laughed, already feeling torn between Seth’s Packers and Ben’s Bears. “Maybe I should cheer for a different team altogether?”

“Not the Vikings, Mom. They stink.”

She shot a warning look over her shoulder at Ben. “Watch your language,” she chided, before turning back around to the front. The interior of Seth’s car smelled brand-new, as if he’d just driven it off the lot. She still couldn’t believe he’d bought a new car.

And not just any new car.

A family car. A four-door sedan.

“So, are you going to name this one, too?” she asked, smoothing her hand over the plush fabric of the seat cushion. The car might not be sporty, but it certainly didn’t lack any luxury.

“Yeah, I already have.” Seth shot her a cheeky grin. “Suzanne.”

“Suzanne?” She raked the interior with a skeptical glance. The car didn’t scream Suzanne to her.

But then she wasn’t a guy.

“Why not?” Seth asked, heading for the interstate highway. “She’s sleek, classy. As soon as I saw her I knew she was a Suzanne.”

“Did your father name his cars, too?” she asked, trying to understand this weird tendency to humanize his possessions.

“Nah. That was something Caleb and I started, after reading Stephen King’s classic,
Christine.
”

Good grief—he’d named his car after reading a horror novel? “That’s sick.”

He gave a negligent shrug. “Caleb and I wanted to see if our cars would come to life, like Christine, but they didn’t.”

“And a good thing, since the Christine in Stephen King’s novel tried to kill its owner,” she said in an exasperated tone. She would like to meet Seth’s brother. And his sister, Tess. But clearly, Seth didn’t think their relationship was at the point where he’d consider introducing her to his family.

Would he ever take that step? A more drastic move than simply buying a new car? She wasn’t sure.

When they reached Milwaukee, Seth pulled into a family-style restaurant—one that was completely opposite from the place they’d eaten dinner at last weekend. She sent him an appreciative glance, knowing there would be a decent children’s menu for Ben to choose from.

She decided to try the grilled salmon, while Seth settled on a large burger.

“Gee, have a little chicken with your ketchup,” Seth teased as Ben drowned his chicken strips in the red sauce until he could barely see them. “Why did you get chicken strips if you don’t like how they taste?”

“I like how they taste with ketchup,” Ben said, jamming one in his mouth, smearing a red streak across his cheek.

“Help! Help! He’s not breathing!”

Huh?
Kylie exchanged a look with Seth and they both jumped to their feet, glancing over to where a man was slumped over on the table.

They rushed over. “Call 911,” Kylie told the hovering waitress, who was staring at the man helplessly.

Seth eased the man onto the floor, stretching him out so they could work. Kylie knelt on the opposite side of the unconscious man. “Heart attack?”

“That would be my guess.” Seth opened the man’s airway, bending his head to listen and feel for breathing. Kylie took a few minutes to rush back over to her purse for the face shield resuscitation mask she carried with her at all times.

She’d never had to use it until now.

“Here.” She spread it out over the man’s mouth to protect Seth.

“No spontaneous breathing and no pulse,” he confirmed. “We’ll need to start CPR.”

Kylie found her landmarks on the man’s chest, and then began giving chest compressions, even as she glanced over to keep track of Ben. He’d followed them, and stood near the table, watching them work on the patient with wide eyes. She counted out loud for Seth’s sake, hoping the resuscitation wasn’t too traumatic for her six-year-old to handle.

“Are you getting tired?” Seth asked, after they’d completed several minutes of CPR.

She nodded, indicating it was time to switch. When chest compressions were done correctly, with the proper depth and pressure, they were physically taxing. She’d learned the hard way in the field that staying with chest compressions too long had the potential to harm the patient.

Seth was going strong at chest compressions when the paramedic crew showed up. She was pleased to see that they carried the same hypothermia unit she’d just trained her team on.

She slid out of the way so the paramedic could place an Ambu bag connected to an oxygen tank over the man’s mouth, to provide him with more effective breathing. Falling into the rhythm of her job, she helped place ECG electrodes on the man’s chest.

“Seth is an ED physician,” Kylie explained to the paramedics as they turned on the defibrillator. “So go ahead and use the manual mode.”

The paramedic nodded. Seth stopped compressions and they all stared at the monitor.

“V-fib. Let’s get ready to shock at one hundred joules,” Seth ordered. The paramedic pushed the button, and when that shock wasn’t enough to help change the underlying rhythm Seth ordered a second shock. This time the treatment worked, converting their patient into a normal sinus rhythm.

“Nice job,” Seth said. “I think you’d better get him ready for transport.”

Kylie helped connect the hypothermia machine as the paramedic spread the cooling blanket over the patient. After all the excitement, watching them wheel the patient away was rather anticlimactic.

“My first time using the hypothermia unit and I’m not even at work so I can follow the patient’s progress,” Kylie said in a dejected tone. She hoped their quick response, along with the new hypothermia protocol, would help increase the guy’s chances of survival.

“Is that man going to die?” Ben asked.

Oh, dear. She’d almost forgotten about her son. She bent over to give Ben a reassuring hug. “No, Ben, he’s not going to die. In fact, thanks to our quick work, he should do pretty well.”

“Really?” Ben didn’t look convinced. She glanced helplessly at Seth, seeking advice. Had this been too traumatic for him?

“Your mom is telling the truth, Ben.” Seth took Ben’s hand and led him back to their table. “We were able to save that man’s life because we offered help right away. This is what doctors like me and paramedics like your mom do all day. We help people get better when they’re sick.”

“Like when I was hurt?” Ben asked.

“Exactly.”

Kylie’s heart did a funny little flip when Seth smiled at Ben. She reminded herself not to read too much into Seth’s actions. He was nice to everyone. “Don’t be upset about what happened. Let’s just finish our dinner.”

The restaurant manager came over and offered to bring them fresh meals, since their food had grown cold. He also thanked them profusely for their help. Embarrassed, Seth brushed off the gratitude, but he did take the offer of fresh dinners.

The extra wait, though, meant they had to rush to the train station.

In Chicago they took a taxi cab, thrilling Ben with a novel experience, and they arrived at their hotel much later than they’d planned. Ben was yawning from all the excitement, keeping his eyes open with an effort.

Kylie opened the door to her room, glancing over at Seth, who occupied the room right next door. “Good night, Seth.”

“Good night, Kylie, Ben.” He stood in the hallway, watching as they entered the room. “Just knock if you need anything,” he added in a low tone.

Kylie suspected Seth was subtly suggesting she could sneak out and come over to his room once Ben was asleep. And she had to admit the idea was tempting—at least on a personal level.

If she were honest, she’d admit she’d used needing to get ready for Ben’s first week of school and all the errands she’d needed to do as an excuse to avoid facing him. Not just because it had been proof he didn’t fit into her life, but because she cared about Seth too much. She
couldn’t have an intimate relationship with a guy like Seth when it wasn’t just her heart but her son’s that she needed to consider.

But then Seth had showed up in a new car. Was she overdramatizing his motives? Maybe Seth had simply grown tired of Charlene? Choosing a sensible sedan might not mean much.

It wasn’t as if he’d declared undying love for her.

And that was the problem, she realized. She’d made love with Seth and she didn’t even know how he really felt about her. Sure, he cared. But what did that mean? Did he think they’d just keep seeing each other when they had time, sharing spectacular sex without any plans for the future?

Maybe. Since Seth had told her from the beginning he avoided planning for the future.

She let out a heavy sigh. Going to Seth’s room right now wasn’t a smart idea, since she suspected Seth didn’t want to spend their time together discussing their relationship and where it was going. And she didn’t want to argue.

She’d come on this trip because she hadn’t wanted to disappoint Ben. A football game was hardly a romantic date.

Best to keep this trip light, since it was for Ben’s benefit after all. Continuing a romantic intimacy when they didn’t have a future wasn’t something she was willing to do.

The next morning they ate Sunday brunch in the hotel restaurant, and Kylie was relieved Seth didn’t seem upset about her decision to stay in her own room all night. At least he treated her no differently than before.

They walked the short distance to the stadium, along with hundreds of other football fans. Once they were seated, Kylie glanced around, awed by the intense energy level pulsing through the crowd. Music blared from loudspeakers and fans leaped to their feet, cheering madly when the players were introduced. The team played to the crowd, waving as they ran out onto the field.

Seth was right. Watching the game from the stands was totally different from seeing it on the television. The players lived for the reactions from the crowd, and the fans didn’t disappoint them. The plays were a little hard to follow, but the hits the players took were loud enough to make her wince.

The Bears were winning, and she found herself rooting for them with Ben, screaming until their voices were hoarse as the Packers tied the game with only two minutes left to play.

“Hey, buddy, you might want to divorce your wife and disown your kid if they’re going to root for the Bears.”

She glanced at the Packers fan who’d addressed Seth, wondering if the guy wearing green and gold from head to toe might have ingested a few too many beers.

“We’re not married,” Kylie replied tartly.

Seth tried to play along. “I’ve been trying to convert them from the dark side,” he joked. “But so far no luck.”

“If you’re not married, then run while you can,” the guy advised, as the Bears took the kickoff and ran a good fifteen yards down the field.

Seth simply shook his head, his gaze locked on the field as the Bears managed to get another first down. Kylie knew the Packers fan was only kidding, but she
couldn’t help realizing her differences with Seth were more than just which team they chose to support. They were so different in other ways, too.

Her annoyance faded as the Bears continued to move the ball down the field. When there were only ten seconds left on the play clock, the Bears team set up for a field goal.

“They’re going to choke,” Seth warned Ben.

“No, they’re not.” Ben was practically jumping from one foot to the other with excitement. Seth lifted him up, setting his feet on the back of the seat in front of them so he could see better.

The kick was good. The crowd went wild as the Bears won the game by three points.

“Maybe you should start rooting for the Bears,” Kylie told Seth as they waited for the crowd to thin before heading back over to the hotel, where they’d left their luggage.

“Never,” Seth said, although his tone lacked emphasis.

They walked back to the hotel to fetch their luggage, and then took a cab back to the train station. Once they arrived in Milwaukee, they picked up some fast food to eat on the ride home to Cedar Bluff.

Ben was half asleep in the backseat, dozing off, and then blinking to wake up. Kylie knew the excitement of the game had worn him out.

“Thanks for taking us to the game,” she said quietly. “I know Ben will remember this day for a long time.”

Seth grinned. “Yeah, especially since his team won.”

The day
had
been special, but not because Ben’s team had won. There was a part of her that had liked
them being together, as if they were a family. Ben had reveled in Seth’s attention, and she knew her son secretly longed for a father.

If things didn’t work out with Seth, Ben would be hurt. Badly.

Seth had never once mentioned raising Ben as his own son, the same way Gregory Taylor had raised him. That was a lot to ask of any man.

“Kylie?” Seth reached over to take her hand, and kept his voice low so as not to wake Ben. “Do you think you could find a babysitter for some night this week?”

Her heart betrayed her by racing erratically in her chest. “I don’t know, but I can try.”

“I’m working days all week,” Seth said. “So any night is open.”

“Sure.” She glanced over her shoulder at Ben, making sure he was still sleeping. “We should probably talk.”

“Talking is fine.” He gently squeezed her hand. “But I was thinking about doing more than just talking.”

She bit her lip and tried to smile as he pulled into the driveway. Somehow she wasn’t sure there would be any more togetherness once they talked.

Because once Seth realized she was looking for something permanent, like a future, she suspected he might choose to walk away.

Seth mulled over his weekend with Kylie and Ben as he worked on Monday. All in all, despite the fact that Kylie hadn’t come knocking on his door like he’d hoped, he thought the outing had been a huge success.