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“Daddy,” Shannon murmured. She lifted her arms so that he picked her up into his arms and settled back on the sofa. He gave Jillian an apologetic glance, clearly regretting the way their evening had come to an abrupt end.
It certainly wasn't his fault.
Shifting Shannon to one side, he reached out and gently squeezed her hand. “I'll call you,” he said in a low voice.
She nodded and rose to her feet. She tried to smile as she crossed the room and headed outside, leaving him alone with Shannon. She stood for a moment, feeling bereft. Which was silly. It really wasn't that late for her to walk home alone. Yet she also knew that if Alec had been with her, he would have kissed her goodnight.
Her walk home was uneventful. Yet she felt unsettled. Why, she wasn't sure. When she entered her house, the cheerful daisies made her smile. And that's when she realized what was bothering her.
She'd wanted to stay, to help take care of Shannon. But that possibility had not seemed to enter Alec’s mind. It was almost as if he wanted to keep their personal romantic relationship separate from his daughter.
* * *
Alec sat beside his daughter,staring down at her sleeping face. After she'd gotten sick one more time, she'd finally fallen into a restless sleep. He’d cleaned up the mess, gaining a new appreciation for what his parents had gone through with having six kids.
Total madness, he silently admitted. And while he loved his siblings, he had no idea how his parents had managed.
He hated knowing he'd forgotten his responsibilities of being a father. He'd assumed Shannon would be fine with his sister and her cousin Bethany.
Selfishly, he hadn’t wanted his evening with Jillian to end. At least, not like this. Their walk on the lakeshore, their romantic dinner together hadn’t been enough. He’d wanted to walk her home.
To kiss her goodnight.
Should he have asked her to stay? No, Jillian wouldn't want to come down with whatever bug Shannon had caught. And he would never take advantage of Jillian by making her sit with his sick daughter all night.
Besides, Jillian had to work the next day, as he did. Although now that he thought about it, he might need to call off work, staying home to take care of Shannon. Unless she was feeling better. And if Megan wouldn't mind staying. Either way, it wasn't Jillian’s role to be a surrogate parent to his daughter.
Yet, as he listened to Shannon’s even breathing, he stared at the ceiling and thought about how nice it would have been to have Jillian there for emotional support.
Spending the time together, as if they were a family.
* * *
The next day,Jillian heard from Alec just as she was about to leave the house for her shift at the hospital. She had switched a while ago to work the evening shift, which she now regretted as Friday nights we're typically insanely busy.
“Hi, Alec.” She was glad he'd called as promised. “How is Shannon?”
“Better. She hasn't thrown up in almost five hours.” Alex sounded tired—she imagined he hadn't gotten much sleep. “If she keeps down the chicken soup and toast I've given her for lunch, I may still make it to work.”
“Kids tend to bounce back after illnesses much faster than adults,” she agreed. “If she can keep food down, she’ll be fine.”
“I'm really sorry, Jillian,” Alec said in an apologetic tone. “I feel awful our night ended so abruptly.”
“Hey, it's not as if you planned for Shannon to get sick. I understand. Besides, I'm the one who forgot to thank you for dinner.” She smiled, even though he couldn’t see her. “I had a lovely time.”
He sighed. “You're being awfully nice, but I do appreciate you understanding. The other reason I called is because Rafe has gotten a break in the case. I wanted you to know ahead of time that things might be crazy for a while.”
She was touched that he'd cared enough to let her know about his busy schedule. “I hear you.” She really wanted to know more but swallowed the questions formulating in her mind. He would call with an arrest as he'd promised, she couldn't ask for anything more. Susan, the nurse whose son was on the Barclay Park football team, looked as if she couldn't take much more. As tense as the atmosphere was in the emergency department, she hoped Alec and Rafe would find the guilty person soon.
“I was wondering if you we're busy this weekend. We're having a family barbecue at my parents’ house on Saturday afternoon. If you're not working, we would love to have you join us.”
She caught her breath at his invitation, knowing that if she agreed to go, there would be no hiding their relationship. As if Andrea had already seen them together already, she silently admitted. But this was Alec’s way of including her in the warm embrace of his family. She'd met the Monroes once before. A second date would seal her status as Alec's girlfriend. What she ready for that?
“Thanks, I'd love to.” The words popped out of her mouth before she could call them back.
“Great.” Relief was evident in his tone. “I'll be in touch later with the details.”
“Sounds good.” She disconnected from the call, realizing she'd just taken a gigantic step toward admitting to the rest of the world how much she cared about Alec. Doubt fluttered in her stomach, but she pushed the butterflies away with determination.
