She didn’t add that she’d stayed months after her contract was up because she hadn’t been ready to say goodbye. Knew she’d never be ready. Until she was forced to be.
She slid Drew’s artwork aside to make room for his breakfast. He picked the raisins out one at a time and shoved them in his mouth. “He can’t see now! I ate his eyes!”
A smile touched Trent’s face as he watched Drew dig into his breakfast, but when he turned to Dani, his expression cooled.
“So, why didn’t you tell Chase? Frankly, I think that’s pretty lame.”
She gulped her coffee to swallow the burning ache in her chest that was anger and remorse combined. Who was he to judge her without knowing Chase’s attitude? Without knowing she’d had to protect her baby? Without knowing how hard it had been to leave the man she’d fallen crazy in love with?
“Listen, I—”
The kitchen door swung open and the man in question walked in, which immediately sent her pulse hammering at the thought of what lay ahead of them. Telling Drew, and what his reaction would be when he learned Chase was his daddy. What demands Chase might or might not make in being a part of his son’s life. How it all could be balanced without Drew getting hurt.
Chase filled the doorway, sweat glistening on his tanned arms and face, spikes of dark hair sticking to his neck. A faded gray T-shirt damply clung to his broad chest, his running shorts exposing his strong calves and thighs. His brows rose as he paused in mid-stride, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.
“What is this, a sunrise party? Not used to seeing anyone in here this early.”
She tore her gaze from his sexy body to focus on wiping Drew’s chin. “Andrew needed food more than he needed sleep. Guess we’re not on West Africa time yet.”
Chase grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and took a big swig as he leaned his hip against the counter, his attention fixed on Drew. Dani found herself staring as he swallowed. As his tongue licked droplets of water from his lips.
Quickly, she glanced away and swallowed hard herself. Why couldn’t she just concentrate on the serious issues that lay between them, instead of wanting to grab him and sip that water from his lips herself?
Toughening up was clearly essential, and she braved another look at him, sternly reminding herself they’d been apart way longer than they’d been together. His demeanor seemed relaxed, but she could sense the undercurrent of tension in the set of his shoulders, the tightness in his jaw. Obviously, he felt as anxious about their upcoming revelation to Drew as she did.
Trent stood. “Think I’ll get in a catnap before the clinic opens.”
“Don’t worry about getting to the clinic at nine. I can’t take how cranky you get when you’re tired,” Chase said.
“Better than being cranky all the time, like you,” Trent said, slapping Chase on the back. “See you all later.”
The kitchen seemed to become suffocatingly small as Chase stepped so close to Dani that his shoulder brushed hers. His expression told her clearly that it was showtime, and her pulse rocketed.
Why did she feel so petrified? At least a thousand times since he’d been born, she’d thought about how or if or when she’d tell Drew about his daddy. He was still practically a baby after all. Like she’d said last night, he probably wouldn’t think anything of it.
But as she looked at her little boy, the words stuck in her throat. She turned to Chase, and he seemed to sense all the crazy emotions whirling through her. The intensity on his face relaxed, his deep brown eyes softened, and he slipped his arm around her shoulders.
“I promise you it will be okay,” he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “No. Way better than okay. So stop worrying.”
She nodded. No point in telling him she’d been worrying since before Drew had been born, and couldn’t just turn it off now. But deep inside she somehow knew that, even though he hadn’t wanted a child, Chase would never say and do the hurtful things her own father had.
Chase released her shoulders and pulled two stools on either side of Drew’s before propping himself on one and gesturing to Dani to sit on the other. She sank onto the stool and hoped her smile covered up how her stomach churned and her heart pounded.
She wiped the last of his breakfast from Drew’s hands and face and slid his bowl aside. “Drew, you know Mommy brought you to Africa so I could work with children here. But I brought you here for another reason, too.”
Okay, so that was a total lie, and the twist of Chase’s lips showed her he was still ticked about not knowing about Drew. But she was going with it anyway, darn it.
“And that reason is … because …” She gulped and struggled with the next words. “Dr. Chase here is, um …”
She was making a complete mess of this. Drew looked at her quizzically and she cleared her throat, trying to unstick the words that seemed lodged in there.
Chase made an impatient sound and leaned forward. “What your mom is trying to say is that I’m really happy to finally meet you and be with you because—”
The door to the kitchen swung wide and Spud strode in with hurricane force. “A truck plowed down two kids walking to school. One’s pretty beat up. I have them in pre-op now.”
Chase straightened and briefly looked conflicted before becoming all business. He stood, downed the last of his water and looked at Drew, then focused on Dani, his expression hardened with frustration. “We’ll talk later.”
Spud turned to her. “Ruth is on her way to take care of Andrew,” he said. “I’ll show you the facility and the clinic schedule after he’s settled in.”
“I want to help with the injured children as soon as she gets here,” Dani said. She wasn’t about to let the drama with Chase interfere with her reason for being here in the first place, and caring for sick and injured children was a big part of that reason.
Spud inclined his head and left. Chase paused a moment next to Drew and seemed to hesitate before crouching down next to him.
Dani’s heart pinched as she saw the usually decisive expression on Chase’s face replaced by a peculiar mix of uncertainty, determination and worry.
“Later today, how about you and your mom and I go look for those lizards?”
“‘K.” Drew beamed at Chase before grabbing his crayons to scribble on his Spiderman artwork.
Chase strode to the door, stopping to give Dani a look that brooked no argument. “Plan on a little trek this afternoon.”
WITH DREW HAPPILY playing under the watchful eye of a gentle local woman, Ruth, Dani hurried to the prep room Spud directed her to.
The room, only about fifteen feet by twenty or so, echoed with the whimpers of a child. The harsh, fluorescent light seemed to bounce off the white cinder-block walls, magnifying the horror of one child’s injuries.
Chase was leaning over the boy as he lay on a gurney, speaking soothingly in some language she’d never heard as he focused on the child’s leg. She’d almost forgotten how Chase simply radiated strength, calm, and utter competence when caring for his patients. The boy nodded and hiccupped as he took deep breaths, an expression of trust on his face despite the fear and pain etched there.
Dani looked at the boy’s leg and nearly showed her reaction to his injury, but caught herself just in time. Jaggedly broken, the child’s femur protruded through the flesh of his thigh. Gravel and twigs and who-knew-what were embedded in the swollen wound. His lower leg was badly scraped and lacerated and full of road