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CHAPTER NINE
“GOOD morning, Mr. Hill,” Darby greeted the thin man lying in his hospital bed, a grumpy expression on his wrinkled face.
“It would be a good Tuesday morning if you’d tell me I can go home.”
“Let me see how that leg is doing, then we’ll talk.”
Talk. As she and Blake hadn’t done. The drive home last night had been almost unbearable.
Oh, they’d made occasional small talk, but that had been the extent of their conversation.
What had they done?
Better yet, what were they going to do?
How was she supposed to greet him this morning? As her business partner, or as the man she’d made love to repeatedly on Saturday evening and again on Sunday morning?
For Blake, sex was sex. She knew that. Knew that she had to pretend what had happened between them was no big deal because otherwise she’d lose him forever.
Only she wasn’t sure she could.
Too much had happened over the weekend.
Too many old wounds opened. Too many questions raised. Too many new emotions that felt too right.
“Does that look mean I’m not going home?” Mr. Hill asked, pulling Darby back to the present.
“I’m afraid not,” she admitted, replacing the wet dressing on his leg ulcer. “At least not for several more days. The good news is that your leg is healing, slowly but surely.”
“I can’t heal at home?”
Home.
Longing pierced her heart. Home is where the heart is. So where was home? Knoxville? Armadillo Lake?
“No, I’m sorry, you can’t.”
She spent a few more minutes talking to him, then left his hospital room. She’d barely taken two steps into the hallway when Blake came out of a patient’s room.
Shock at seeing her registered in his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here this early.”
Obviously. Did that mean he’d purposely arrived early, in hopes of not bumping into her? Or was she being paranoid?
“After leaving the office on Friday I figured there’s a lot to catch up.” Why did her explanation feel stilted?
“Me, too.” He glanced away, ran his fingers through his dark hair. “How’s your mother?”
“Stronger this morning, according to her doctor. Apparently she’s in as big a rush to go home as Mr. Hill.”
“Glad to hear she’s improving.” Not meeting her eyes, he nodded. “Guess I’ll see you at the office.”
He turned and walked away.
Darby bit the inside of her cheek. After his pretending to love her all weekend, his can’t-get-away-fast-enough attitude contrasted starkly.
It hurt.
Hurt that she suspected she’d forever lost the easy camaraderie she and Blake had always shared.
