Page 2 of Alone With You
“We arranged this months ago.” She swiped to her calendar to check the date. “We’ve been juggling our schedules. Two weeks, he told me, I’d have this place to myself. Dr. Springfield made no mention of a surly houseguest who never learned to knock on a—”
“Springfield?” He straightened up. The guy was six feet two, maybe three. “John Springfield?”
“Yes.”
“Why the hell would John bring you here?” The cowboy gave her a look-over rough enough to qualify as exfoliation. “He’s got a wife expecting his first child in a few weeks.”
“Yes?” The cowboy was angry, there was no faking the fierceness of his look, or the way he leaned those impressive shoulders into the room. “So?”
“You’d better start explaining, Red. John’s not the type to cheat, even with a woman who looks like you.”
A drop of water slid down her inner thigh and paused at the back of her knee. Did this guy really just jump to the conclusion that she was here for an extramarital affair? The implication was beyond ludicrous. Not just because she and John had been colleagues for years. Not just because John was head-over-heels in love with his wife. But because no one had ever accusedherof being a cheating lover before. It turned her mind upside down. How her ex-boyfriend would laugh his ribs sore if he’d heard this accusation.You’re as heartless as the tin man, he’d said as he’d dumped her.And just as bloodless and cold.
“You’re not denying it,” the stranger prompted.
“Oh, I deny it.” She set the lamp back on the bedside table, put her phone beside it, and shifted the towel for better coverage. “I’m Dr. Jennifer Vance, of Clark University. Dr. Springfield is a colleague of mine.” She eyed the intruder the way she eyed certain students who had difficulty keeping their gazes above her chest. “I’m here on a research project, with Dr. Springfield’s blessing.”
His pause lasted one thick moment. “John didn’t say anything to me about you.”
“Dr. Springfield said nothing to me about a surly houseguest, either. He has an arrangement with the university to rent out this cabin to researchers involved in the university’s projects.” She eyed him, from the form-fitting jeans, to the white T-shirt, cowboy boots, and unruly hair. “I still don’t know who you are.”
“Macallister,” he barked, his face twisting in annoyance. “Logan Macallister. And John wouldn’t invite someone down here without telling me first.”
“He’s been busy.” She squinted at him. “How well could you possibly know him, if you haven’t heard the news?”
It was a wonder his gaze didn’t burn the cotton towel, the only thing between her and complete nudity.
“I heard the news from a colleague yesterday,” she said, “when I couldn’t get through to John to remind him I’d be arriving. The baby Dr. Springfield’s wife was expecting made an early appearance.”
“What?”
“Several weeks premature, so I’m told. According to his secretary, John—Dr. Springfield—hasn’t left the hospital since.”
“Damn it.”
The cowboy turned and bolted out of the room.
***
It took Logan a dozen texts and four calls before John finally picked up his cell phone.
Logan came right to the point. “What the hell happened?”
“Hello to you, too.” John’s voice sounded like he was walking fast through a very long hall. “Hospitals and clinics must be different in South America, Logan, but here in Washington State cell phones aren’t allowed on the maternity ward—”
“Yeah, yeah, just—is Judy all right?”
“Yes, she’s fine, she’s resting.”
His gut knotted. “And the baby?”
“A girl.” John burst into a laugh of pure wonder. “Barely four-and-a-half pounds, though. It was touch-and-go for a while, but the doctors say she’s healthy and strong.”
Logan tipped the phone away from his mouth so John wouldn’t hear his exhale of relief. Sweat formed on his forehead as he tried to get a hold of himself. There was no reason to panic, no reason for this crushing sense of guilt and responsibility. At least not this time.
“That’s great news, John,” Logan said, swiveling the phone back into place, forcing his vital signs back to normal. “Now tell me everything.”
“What, you want all the gory details?”
