* * * * *
Finn watched as two EMTs lifted the stretcher with Mr. Shore on it into the back of the ambulance. His daughter followed with Scott in her arms. He still breathed heavily from the strenuous exercise he’d had in the past hour as he and twenty other members of his crew had pushed and harried the medical vehicle through the rapidly mounting snow. He’d agreed on the phone with both the dispatcher and the ambulance driver to meet the vehicle at the closest open ramp at 55th street.
They’d followed the ambulance in several pickup trucks, stopping to push the ambulance through the snow whenever it got stuck. After a grueling journey Finn and his crew finally got the ambulance to a point that was within a quarter mile of Toni Angstrom’s Oldsmobile—close enough for the EMTs to walk to retrieve Mr. Shore and also in a place that the driver could turn the vehicle around.
Finn turned when he felt a hand on his back.
“Jeez, your shirt is damp. And it’s not from the snow, is it?”
He studied Esa’s pale, drawn features through the snow that fell heavily between them. He’d been grateful as hell to hear her confident voice earlier, and not just because she was a doctor who undoubtedly could handle the distraught mother better than he could.
He’d been happy as hell because it’d been her. Period. He’d missed her like crazy over the past two weeks. And his desire to see her again hadn’t faded like it should have if she was just some passing affair. It had grown until it became an annoying ache in his gut that wouldn’t be quieted no matter what he did.
Despite his stupidity on Halloween, tonight the truth had struck him full force as he’d watched her handle the hysterical mother and wailing child like a pro. The idea of her being a physician seemed just as natural and right as the idea of her being a libertine publisher of a singles’ magazine had always seemed somehow wrong.
He burned with curiosity. Why the hell had she lied to him?
“It’s sweat,” he answered Esa’s question after a moment. “The ambulance got stuck five times.”
She sighed shakily. “At least Mr. Shore is better off in that ambulance than in his daughter’s car. Although I have to admit, he looked a heck of a lot better by the time the EMTs came for him. His color was improving and he was breathing more easily. Maybe it wasn’t a bad heart attack. The aspirin seemed to help. I just hope the damage to his heart isn’t extensive.”
She bit her lip in obvious concern as she watched the EMT close the ambulance doors. “Scott’s fever went down a little bit with the acetaminophen, as well,” she added. He was taking liquid and resting quietly by the time the EMTs came.
“They were lucky to have a doctor there.”
Her eyes leapt up to his face. The moment stretched taut as they stared at each other.
“Why?” he whispered hoarsely. “Why the hell did you lie to me?”
She shook her head and glanced away. “You thought I was someone else from the beginning. You saw what you wanted. You wanted me to be some kind of frivolous, casual fling. So I—”
“Gave me what you thought I wanted, like a good little actress?”
Her chin went up defensively. Her brandy-colored eyes flashed fire behind her glasses. “I gave you what you did want. Don’t tell me you’re going to deny it now.”
“I don’t deny that I wanted you but I would have appreciated not being lied to.”
As soon as the heated wo
rds left his mouth, however, Finn wondered. Was he being as dishonest as Esa had been? Could he truthfully say that he’d been interested in anything more than a night of hot sex with a gorgeous woman that night at One Life? Would it really have mattered if she was the publisher of a singles’ magazine, a waitress, a lawyer or a doctor? He immediately knew the answer to that.
Hell no. He’d wanted Esa. He’d wanted her naked, warm and willing in his bed. Maybe it’d been easier to propose sex on the spot believing she was a player but it didn’t change the fact that he would have been wild to have her even if she were studying to become a nun.
He frowned when someone called out his name.
“I have to go. The ambulance needs an escort back to the ramp,” he said.
Her face fell. “Oh, of course.”
He dug in his jeans pocket and extracted his keys. He grabbed her chilled hand and wrapped it around them.
“The snow is letting up some. With some luck I’ll be back in a little over an hour. These are the keys to the trailer. There’s a bathroom there and a portable heater next to the desk. You’ll be more comfortable there than in your car. Will you wait for me until I get back?” he asked intently.
Something hitched in his chest cavity when he saw the uncertainty on Esa’s pretty face. “I made a mistake, Esa. Don’t run again. There’s nowhere to go this time.”
She laughed softly when she glanced back and saw what looked like a massive parking lot instead of an interstate.
“Okay, I’ll wait. I promise.”