“I am listening,” he swore softly.
She brushed his hands away and backed off. “This is exactly what I mean. You’re taking it for granted that I feel the same way you do.”
“You do,” he said with such confidence she wasn’t sure whether to give in or hit him.
“I do not,” she said with emphasis on each word, hoping they would penetrate that thick skull of his.
“Annie, you would not even consider going to bed with a man you didn’t love. You are considering going to bed with me, ergo you’re in love with me.”
“You must have flunked logic.”
“Actually, I did very well in it. I have a nice, tidy, scientific brain. I can reason things out with the best of them.”
“This has nothing to do with reason.”
“This what?”
“What we’re talking about.”
“You mean being in love?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, I never said that made any sense. I just said it was a fact, a conclusion to be drawn from all the evidence.”
“Go to hell.”
“Annie, you’re resorting to swearing again. Do you realize how often you do that when I’m winning an argument?”
“You are not winning this argument,” she shouted at the top of her lungs, all pretense of calm gone.
He smirked—quite calmly, damn him—and went back to the sink. “That’s what you think,” he murmured, sounding very pleased with himself.
Ann slammed the back door on her way out.
The whole world was spinning out of control. Ann tried once more to put her feet on the floor, but it rocked and her stomach lurched. The ache in her head was exceeded only by the pains in her joints. All of them, including the little tiny ones in her toes. She fell back against the pillows, wondering just how badly her very green complexion contrasted with the pale blue sheets. All in all, she felt like hell. She didn’t doubt for an instant that she probably looked ten times worse.
Glancing at the bedside clock, she groaned. David’s parent-teacher night at school was starting in exactly two hours. She’d come home from work early to make sure that dinner was finished and out of the way before it was time to leave. She’d never made it past the bedroom, where she’d come to change her clothes.
What on earth was she going to do? She had to be there. She’d promised and David took promises very seriously, especially since no one had ever kept them until she’d come along.
“Mom, are you getting ready?” he shouted as he raced into her bedroom. At the sight of her, he skidded to a halt, his enthusiasm wilting.
“You’re in bed,” he said, his voice quivering with dismay. She saw him bravely fighting tears and her heart constricted, even as her stomach lurched.
“I’ll be up in just a minute.”
“But you look all funny, like you’re really sick or something.”
She tried not to groan at the understatement. Dying was closer to the mark, but she refused to discourage him any further. He was already looking crushed.
“You go get Tracy to iron a shirt for you and I’ll be right in,” she said with far more spirit than she’d ever figured to muster.
With a last skeptical look, he ran out the door, only to be replaced moments later by Hank. Ignoring his concerned expression, she struggled to her feet and promptly felt another wave of nausea wash through her.
“Oh, God,” she moaned, bracing herself against the nightstand.
“Annie love, get back into bed.” Hank’s tone cajoled, the way it might an obstinate child.
“I can’t.” She did, however, compromise by sitting down on the edge. Just for a minute. Just until the room stopped spinning.
Hank strolled purposefully toward her, lifted a corner of the top sheet and pointed. “In!”
She resented the domineering tone, but arguing was beyond her. She simply shook her head.
He looked disgusted and sounded furious as he muttered something about her lousy temperament. “Hell, woman, you’re a doctor. You should know better.”
“I have a Ph.D. in psychology,” she pointed out with another burst of contrariness. “Not an M.D.”
“All the more reason for you to be using a little common sense. Even if going tonight doesn’t kill you, it will spread your germs through the entire population of the Keys. I doubt anyone, including David, would thank you for that.”
“But I can’t let him down,” she protested. She was wavering, though. What Hank said made perfect sense, but then Hank wasn’t a mother. “I don’t think anyone’s ever gone to a parent-teacher night for him before. Can’t you see how much it means?”
“Of course I can understand that. Put your head down, Annie,” he tempted.
She ran her fingers over the pillow. The percale material felt very cool, very comforting. Her skin was burning up. If only…
“I’ll go.” Hank’s announcement interrupted her mental debate.
She stared at him in openmouthed astonishment. “You?”
He grinned. “Yeah. What’s so weird about that? Can’t you picture me in those tiny little chairs?”
At the moment, she was having trouble picturing anything through the feverish haze of this blasted flu. Of all the times to pick up a bug. She never got sick. She was healthy as an ox. She ate oat bran and fresh vegetables and took her vitamins. Hank was the one who ought to be deathly ill.
“After all, if I’m going to be a part of this family, then it’s time I took on more of the responsibilities,” Hank was saying. Something in the comment alarmed her, but she couldn’t think clearly enough to pinpoint it. “I’m sure David won’t mind. How about it?”
“Go,” she murmured finally.
With great effort, she swung her leaden legs back onto the bed and fell back against the pillows. Hank settled her more comfortably, his touch gentle as he awkwardly tucked the sheet around her and plumped the pillows. He vanished at once, only to return in what seemed like seconds with a glass of juice and a pitcher of
