Page 108 of Winter Vows

Paul came on the line. “He’s fine,” he said before she could get a word out. “It’s just a little fever. It’s no big deal, so don’t go making a federal case out of it.”

“I want him home, Paul. I’m the doctor. I’ll be the judge of whether or not he’s seriously ill.”

“Kids get fevers. It’s nothing,” he insisted. “Does he have a cold? Is that it? Have you been taking him in and out of air-conditioning?”

“Tsk-tsk,” he chided. “You know I’m not going to answer something like that. Gotta run, Kelsey. Bobby wants some orange juice. I’ll be in touch.”

“Paul!” she shouted, but she could hear the click of his receiver being put back into place. “Dammit, Paul.” This time the words came out as a frustrated whisper.

Her gaze sought out Lizzy, then automatically shifted to Dylan. It didn’t seem to matter that she was furious at him for deceiving her about his own custody situation. She still looked to him for strength. How had that happened in such a short time? How did she know that despite everything, despite the angry accusations she had hurled at him, she could still trust him? With just a glance from her, he crossed the kitchen in three long strides. He pulled a chair up close beside her.

“Bobby’s sick?” he asked.

“Paul says it’s just a fever. Maybe he’s right. He’s probably right,” she said more emphatically. “But I hate not being there, not knowing for sure.”

“Of course you do,” Lizzy said. “But stop a minute. Bobby’s never had more than the sniffles. He’s the healthiest little boy I’ve ever seen. There’s no reason to imagine that this is anything more than that.”

“Maybe he’s overdue,” Kelsey whispered, wishing she shared Lizzy’s certainty. “Who knows where he’s been the past few days or what he’s been exposed to. He said he hurt all over.”

“Could be the flu, then,” Lizzy suggested, still maintaining a positive outlook. “It’ll be over and done with in a day or so.”

“Or it could be measles or chicken pox,” Kelsey retorted, her imagination whirling into overdrive. She was suddenly thinking like a panic-stricken mom, rather than a cool, rational doctor. “We don’t know. That’s the problem.”

Dylan gave a nod to Lizzy and Jeb, who vanished on cue. “Come here,” he said, reaching for her.

Kelsey instinctively gravitated into his embrace, the previous night’s argument forgotten. Dylan might not be able to cure whatever ailed Bobby, but she found comfort and reassurance in his touch. It was a reaction she didn’t care to examine too closely.

“You heard what Lizzy said,” he soothed. “Bobby’s as healthy as a kid can be. This is probably nothing.”

“But what if it’s not?” she whispered.

“Then Paul will get medical attention for him.” She backed away. “Why on earth would you think that? He’s not going to give up this game just to help Bobby, not until he gets what he wants from me.”

“Then he’ll make a demand. You’ll give him the pills. And we’ll get Bobby back. He won’t risk that little boy’s life. No father could do that, even if he’s not thinking clearly.”

“I wish I shared your faith,” she said.

“You married the man, Kelsey. He can’t be all bad. Wasn’t there a time when you trusted him, when you had faith he would do the right thing?”

She thought back to the early days of their courtship, when Paul had been tender and funny and attentive. He had actually taken time off from work once to nurse her through a bad cold. So, Dylan was probably right. The man she had fallen in love with wouldn’t let his son suffer.

“Thank you for reminding me of that,” she said at last. “It’s just that he changed so much after the pills.”

“You hang on to the fact that he was a decent guy when you met him, okay?” He cupped her cheek in his hand. “A few prayers wouldn’t hurt, either.”

“I’ve prayed so often the last few days, I’m sure God is sick of hearing from me.”

Dylan chuckled. “I don’t think it works that way. I think He expects us to check in regularly with updates in circumstances like this.”

Kelsey sighed and rested her forehead against Dylan’s chest. She could feel the steady beating of his heart. “I was so nasty to you last night. Can you forgive me? I know you’ve been doing your best on this case. I had no right to accuse you of doing anything less.”

Dylan sighed. “Yes, you did. The truth is I did come into this case with enough baggage to keep a shrink busy for a year. I never let it interfere, but it was there. And you had every right to know about it, to make a choice about whether you could trust me. I suppose I didn’t want you to know for fear you’d dump me right at the beginning when time was critical. I knew right then that I was all you had to count on and that I’m damned good at what I do. My ego got in the way.”

He tipped her chin up, then gazed directly into her eyes. “I’m with you a hundred percent on this, Kelsey. Okay?”

She nodded, unable to speak because she knew how terribly difficult it must be for him to side against a father who’d been cut off from his son, even under these extenuating circumstances.

“Dylan, will you talk to me about Shane?” She felt his muscles tense at the mention of his son’s name. “Please? I’d like to hear about him.”

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