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“I know—” she broke in, standing on tiptoe to brush his lips. “Dan needs you. While you talk to him, I’ll go watch a movie with the others.”
His hands tightened in her hair, his eyes blazing with a new light. “I’ll join you as soon as I can,” he promised, giving her another drugging kiss that left them both trembling before she left the room.
The film was halfway over when Cord eventually found his seat next to Ashley at the back of the auditorium. Reaching for her hand, he gripped it tightly.
“Did you get hold of him?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
Alarmed by his clipped tone, she looked at him in the near darkness. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
Cord stared at her. “Yes. He doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“Not even to you?”’ She frowned.
He shook his head. “That’s what is so puzzling.” Sheila had something to do with it, but Ashley didn’t want to be the one to bring his stepmother’s name into the conversation, not tonight of all nights.
Ashley and Cord had just reached a new understanding. She couldn’t bear for anything to rob them of the pleasure of this special time together. Too soon they’d be back at the house, their privacy almost nonexistent with Sheila living there.
“Didn’t he say anything to help you understand his motives?”
“Only that he feels it’s time to move on.”
“But that’s absurd!” Ashley cried softly. “He’s too valuable to lose and too old to start a new career.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more. Something bizarre has happened or he wouldn’t just quit. I asked him to meet me tomorrow, but he refused and said he’d have his desk cleaned out first thing in the morning.”
Ashley clutched his hand harder. This was a new contingency neither of them had counted on. “Then you’re going to have to do something about it tonight.”
She felt him stiffen. “I’m not leaving you,” he said like an avowal.
“You won’t have to if we go over to his house together.”
“No, Ashley,” he muttered emphatically. “It’s late. You need your rest. I don’t want you dragged into this, especially not this close to your due date.”
“I’m not a fragile piece of glass, Cord. Whatever my origins, I must have come from sturdy stock because I feel fine, and I can handle this. What affects you, affects me.”
“Lord— It’s been too long since I heard you say that to me. Do you have any idea how much I love you?” His voice throbbed with a new intensity of emotion. “I wanted tonight to be special for us.”
She thrilled to those words. So did I, darling. So did I.
Kissing the back of his hand, she whispered, “We have the rest of our lives to talk and show each other how we feel. But there’s something we have to do first. Emily must be in agony. She trusts you. In fact I know she thinks the world of you, Cord. I have an idea we can work on him through her.”
“If anyone can get to her, you can, my love. She took to you the first time she met you at the company picnic.”
Cord spoke the truth. She and Emily connected from day one. “Then let’s not waste another second. While you get permission for us to leave the hospital, I’ll go back to the room and freshen up.”
“You’re sure you want to do this?”
She was touched by his concern, but this was one time when someone else’s needs came first.
“Cord? Forget me. Please. Time is of the essence here. If Dan is really upset, he might be planning to leave town after he clears out his desk. You know he’s the quiet type who suffers instead of getting things out in the open. It would be just like him to disappear somewhere to lick his wounds, whatever they are. You can’t let that happen without a fight.”
In the obscure light his eyes kindled with new fire. “You’re right. You’re also astute, which is one of the many things I admire and love about you.”
“And you’re a caring man,” she returned the compliment. “It’s one of your sterling qualities. But be honest, darling. If it weren’t for me, you’d be over at Dan’s house right now.”
In a surprise move, Cord rose from the seat and half pulled her up with him. His reaction sent the adrenaline surging through her nervous system. As soon as they’d cleared the auditorium doors, he forced her around to face him. His dark brows had furrowed ominously.
