A Marriage Takes Two Read Free

looked like a sprite.
    She also looked desirable. He shook his head. This was Carrie, his buddy. Thank heavens she’d never known how he had felt. That would have multiplied his guilt tenfold when Marilyn announced her pregnancy.
    He couldn’t tell Carrie he’d once loved and wanted to marry her. He wasn’t even sure they could be friends. His ex-wife taught him there was no place in his life for love. His hands clenched and he pushed aside Marilyn’s ugly accusations.
    The moment he entered the room, Carrie struggled to sit up. “I’m all right. I wasn’t sleeping. Who needs...I’ll be right there.”
    “Whoa,” he said. “You’re not at the hospital. Are you always this beat?”
    She blinked and then smiled. “Comes from working two jobs. Three thirteen hour shifts at WPH and three at Children’s. Nights.”
    “So you said. Explain.”
    “Mom needs special care. She’s in a wheelchair and has a full-time aide.”
    Carrie would do anything for her only parent, he thought. Mrs. Graham had worked two jobs to see Carrie had the same things as her friends.
    “Sorry to hear that. She was always so active.”
    Tears glistened in Carrie’s green eyes. “She hates being an invalid.”
    He sat beside her. “So what can I do to help?”
    She looked everywhere but at him. Her heart beat double time. Could she say what she’d come to ask?
    When his fingers brushed her shoulder, warmth and comfort seeped into her pores. She resisted the urge to snuggle and turned so she could see his face. Frown lines wrinkled his forehead. His blue eyes held questions and an illusive quality. That hidden emotion puzzled her. She had to keep this matter uncomplicated by desire and unrealistic expectations.
    “Is your son all right?”
    “For the moment. I’m sure in time he’ll adjust.”
    “Won’t he go back to his mother?”
    “She relinquished custody. Her new husband has a problem with raising another man’s son.”
    “How unfeeling. Does Chad know?”
    “Marilyn said she told him he would be staying here, but I don’t think he believed her. He doesn’t even accept her marriage.”
    His gaze captured hers and she saw pain that raised in her a wish to soothe. That wasn’t why she’d come, but if he agreed to her proposition, she would find a way to help him and his son.
    “I’m glad you came,” he said. “It’s been too long since we’ve talked.”
    “Six years.”
    “I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed you until I opened the door and saw you. Remember those nights when we hashed cases and treatments?”
    How could she forget? “Sure do.” Did he still have the same enthusiasm for solving medical problems? Hers had vanished. Work had become duty and routine. “Why did you leave the city?”
    “I thought...It doesn’t matter.”
    Why not, she wondered. Had he closed down after the divorce the way he had the night Marilyn accused them of things that never happened. She remembered what he’d said after Marilyn stormed away.
    “I’m married,” he had said. “Sure we’ve been friends for years, but Marilyn and the baby come first.”
    “I understand.” She had smiled and with her head held high, had walked away. At least she’d never told him she loved him.
    Tears blurred her vision. She forced the harsh memories away. “Did you come here to hide?”
    “Hardly. I left a lucrative and hectic practice to hold my marriage together. I thought Marilyn would appreciate the sacrifice of money for more time with each other.”
    “And you’re angry that she didn’t?”
    “Not particularly.” He looked away.
    “So why did you stay?”
    “For the challenge. People here need me.” He cleared his throat. “Ready to tell me why you came?”
    She took a deep breath. Her throat felt tight. “I need a husband. Will you marry me?”
    “What?” His eyes focused on her abdomen. He would kill the jerk. What lowlife would leave the woman who carried his child to bear the burden alone?  “Who is he?