Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) Read online

  “You’re definitely within your rights as her father, but you don’t want to come across as a tyrant. Go easy with her. I will see that she follows your rules.”

  “Thank you, Dahlia. I appreciate your support.”

  “Gail wants you and Reese to get closer, and I’m here to help that along.”

  “How are you getting along?” Norris asked. “We haven’t really talked since Martin’s.”

  Dahlia nodded. “I know. I’ve been—I’ve been thinking about things.”

  “And where are your thoughts?”

  “Right now, I’m thinking how glad I am to see you.” She closed her hands around his. Her heart swelled from the warmth in his touch and light in his eyes. “I’ve missed you a lot, but that’s the norm.”

  “I know. I’ve missed you, too. You know it’s not about . . .”

  “I know, Norris. You said a lot that night at Martin’s, and I’ve thought a lot about it.” Dahlia wondered if she’d be able to explain the battle she’d been waging since she realized she’d fallen in love with him. How her desire to give him the loving relationship he wanted wrestled with her desperate need to keep her heart safe from harm from a man so much like her ex-husband it would be foolish to believe he could be different. How could she explain it? “I know what you want from me, Norris, and I think I should tell you that—”

  The phone rang in the middle of her words.

  Norris gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “Let it ring.”

  “I can’t. It might be Reese.” Dahlia reached for the phone. Her father’s cell number appeared on the caller ID display.

  “Is it Reese?” Norris asked.

  “No,” she said, placing the phone to her ear. Norris sat back on the couch with his arms folded. “Hi, Daddy.”

  “Dahlia, baby, I know you have issues with your sister, but things are bad right now.”

  “What do you mean, bad?”

  Norris leaned forward, watching her intently.

  “Her blood pressure is extremely high and she’s gone into early labor. They’re giving her medicine to slow down contractions and lower her pressure, but they still might have to take the baby. She has six weeks to go. It’s too early, Dahlia, and she’s scared. She needs her big sister.”

  A knot formed in Dahlia’s throat. Tears slid down her cheek. Norris reached for her hand, the comforting squeeze like an embrace for her whole body. She drew a breath, gaining strength from his touch.

  “Will you come to Atlanta?” her father asked. “Yes, Daddy, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Norris retrieved the phone from her shaky hand. “Dahlia, what’s wrong?”

  “Leslie’s in the hospital. Her pressure is up and she’s having contractions.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I have to go to Atlanta.” She clasped her shaky hands. “I need to book a flight. Arrange a rental car.”

  “I’ll take care of that. Do you want me to come with you?”

  Yes! But she couldn’t say that. Norris’s presence would be a comfort, but it would also be a huge distraction. She had enough of her own questions without having to deal with those of her parents. “I think it might be best if I go alone,” she said.

  “I’m worried about you, Dahlia. You and your sister have issues and the pregnancy is upsetting to you. You shouldn’t go to Atlanta alone. Your folks are going to be too upset about your sister to concentrate on you.”

  “It’s okay, Norris. I can take care of myself.”

  “I know you can, but you don’t have to.” He closed his hands around her face. “I want to take care of you.”

  “I know.” The emotions in his eyes overwhelmed her. New tears slid down her cheeks. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me for that. It’s not a favor, Dahlia, it’s an honor.” His thumbs brushed away the warm streams. “I love you. Give me your hurt and I’ll take it away. Believe in me and what I feel for you. I promise you can, and you won’t ever regret it.”

  “Don’t believe anything he says, Dahlia!” Reese bounded into the living room. “Norris, you just couldn’t wait to . . .” Her eyes widened and words stopped. “Dahlia, what’s wrong?” Reese moved to the space next to Dahlia on the couch, glaring at Norris. “He hasn’t been feeding you lies about me, has he?”

  “No, Reese, he hasn’t,” Dahlia said, wiping her eyes. “You’re back early,” Norris said.

  “Yeah, I was too mortified to sit through the movie.” Reese rolled her eyes and turned to Dahlia. “If he didn’t say anything, why are you upset?”

  “Her sister has been hospitalized,” Norris answered. “I need to go Atlanta,” Dahlia explained. “I hope you understand.”

  Reese nodded. “Absolutely. I’m so sorry to hear that, Dahlia. I hope everything will be okay. I’ll call Diana. I’m sure her folks won’t mind me staying over until you’re back.”

  “That won’t be necessary,” Norris said. “You’ll be staying with me until Dahlia returns.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  “Yes, you will! And it’s not up for discussion. You have a room at my place, and you will be using it. Now go upstairs and get your things.” He held up his finger. “And do it without saying another word.”

  Reese shot off the couch and stomped up the stairs. Dahlia slowly turned to him. “What happened to gentler?”

  “I’m being firm. I have to take this stand.”

  “All right, Norris. I want you two to get closer while I’m away. Just be careful.”

  “You be careful.” His finger glided against her cheek, stirring the butterflies that grew restless in her stomach whenever he touched her or fixed those gray eyes on hers. “I’ll be thinking about you the whole time you’re gone.”

  Dahlia nodded. “Me, too,” she murmured.

  “I’m glad to hear that, but here’s a little something that might help along the way.” He leaned forward, claiming her lips. Their mouths moved in concert, softly, tenderly. “Call me if you need anything at all, or even if you don’t, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I’ll stay down here and make your arrangements. You go up and pack.”

  “Thank you, Norris.”

  “Stop thanking me. Go on, I’ll take care of everything.”

  Dahlia believed he would take care of everything. And maybe, just maybe, that included her heart.

  Chapter 17

  Dahlia stepped off the elevator. The pungent scent of alcohol and disinfectant made trying to forget she was in a hospital impossible. Not that she could forget even if she wanted to, with personnel in scrubs of every color of the rainbow scurrying here and there, with hip-clipped pagers and stethoscope necklaces enhancing their medical look.

  After two and a half years away from the city, returning had its difficulties. Dahlia had never wanted to come back after that horrible winter day. Her attempt to surprise Jonah with an early return from Denburg had yielded a shocking and unexpected surprise that ended her marriage and destroyed life as she knew it. She’d always thought herself lucky to have a husband so understanding about her spending three to four days a week in another state, but she wasn’t lucky, just blind.

  Familiar laughter caught Dahlia’s attention. She looked up to find her ex-husband in cheery conversation with a pretty nurse with dark brown micro-braids and deep dimples. Jonah brushed his hand against the nurse’s cheek and whispered something in her ear. Dahlia shook her head, surprised, yet, not. Too good-looking not to notice, Jonah had a way of demanding attention, even when you didn’t want to give it to him. Always perfectly groomed and stylishly dressed, Jonah Baron, of the Baron Bourbon dynasty, used his winning smile, athletic body, and excess charm with the finesse of a snake charmer. You didn’t know you were under his spell until it was too late. Maybe she could save this unsuspecting nurse before she became the newest casualty of Baron magic.

  “Dahlia.”

  Her mother’s distraught voice stopped Dahlia’s approach toward her ex. She turned to see her m
other’s face stained with tears, and her father, holding tight to her mother, looking older than she’d ever seen him. Her heart dropped to her stomach. Tears blurred her vision and thoughts she didn’t want to think filled her head.

  “What—what is it?” Dahlia asked, managing to speak through the knot in her throat.

  “Her blood pressure, the contractions. There was a se—seizure,” Wilson said, clutching tight to Nona’s hand as the woman sobbed uncontrollably.

  Warm tears raced down Dahlia’s cheeks. “She’s not . . .”

  “I don’t know. They rushed us out of the room.” Wilson walked his distraught wife to the waiting area.

  Dahlia sat beside her mother and took her other hand. “Try not to worry, Mama. Leslie’s strong, and she’s strong-willed. She’s going to make it.”

  Nona snatched her hand away. “And it would be no thanks to you,” she hissed.

  “Nona, don’t do this,” Wilson said.

  “Why not? You know it’s true. She stopped talking to her sister. Even when Leslie first had problems, she didn’t bother to come see her.”

  “Mama, . . . .”

  “No. She kept asking for you in that room before she started shaking so uncontro—She wanted her sister, and you were nowhere to be found. You gave up on her.”

  Dahlia drew a breath, trying mightily not to respond with the anger growing inside her. “Mama, I know you’re upset, but this is not my fault, and I refuse to take the blame for it. I’m here now, and I do care. Why is it you refuse to recognize what Leslie did to me? Why I have reason to be upset with her?”

  “There is never a good reason to be upset with your sister. All you have is family, and you turned your back on yours.”

  “What did she do to me? What are you doing to me now?” Dahlia shot up, desperate to get away from her mother before she said the wrong thing. Her tone was already a lot louder than she knew it should be. “I have to get out of here.”

  Dahlia rushed out of the waiting area and encountered that blasted laughter again. She stomped over to the nurses’ station and grabbed Jonah by the arm. “Excuse him,” she said to the nurse, who didn’t look at all happy with the interruption.

  “Dahlia?” Jonah jerked his arm away when she dragged him into a waiting area down the hall. “What are you doing?”

  “The question is what the hell are you doing! My sister is near death in a hospital room having—God help her—your baby, and you’re hitting on some nurse.”

  “I’m here, aren’t I? I have tons of paperwork on my desk, but I’m at this hospital.”

  “Tasting the dish of the day.”

  “Dahlia.” Jonah chuckled. “Are you jealous, baby?” His eyes roamed over her body, and approval brightened his dark brown eyes. “You’re looking really good.”

  “Too bad you’ll never know just how good I feel now.”

  He frowned. “Why did you pull me in here?”

  “Mostly, to give you a piece of my mind. When I walked in on you and Leslie in our bed, . . . . . .urt more than I thought there was pain in the world to feel. You were my life and Leslie my best friend and my sister, and you two betrayed me.”

  “We’ve had this discussion. One very long discussion.”

  “Yes, we have, but I see it didn’t stick with you. Can you commit to any woman?”

  “I don’t have to.” He smiled. “There’s enough of me to go around. I can’t allow any woman to be selfish and keep me all to herself, but you were special enough to be Mrs. Baron. I loved you as much as I can love any woman. That makes you a cut above the rest. And, damn, woman, you are looking mighty fine.”

  Jonah brushed his thumb and forefinger against his perfectly trimmed goatee and smiled his winning Baron smile. Dahlia hated his guts, but couldn’t deny his attractiveness. Not that Jonah would let anyone do that.

  “You’re still hot for me, aren’t you, Dahlia?” he said.

  Anger rose up in Dahlia from Jonah’s gall. “I’m feeling some heat, all right,” she said.

  He beckoned her with his finger. “Why don’t you come on over and give the Baron some of that brown sugar.”

  “Oh, I have something for the Baron.” She walked over and slapped him so hard she swore she saw sparks from the contact. “How’s that fire for you, Baron?”

  Jonah rubbed his face. An impression of her handprint appeared on his smooth-shaven, chestnut brown cheek. “Damn it, woman, have you lost your mind?”

  “Not at all.” Dahlia rubbed her burning hand against her thigh. “In fact, my thinking has never been clearer. If you don’t want a matching look for your right cheek, I suggest you be quiet and let me talk now.”

  Rubbing his cheek, Jonah backed to a chair and sat.

  “I was so in love with you, I didn’t see all your faults. There you were, this attractive man from a successful family with a bright future ahead of him, and you wanted to be with me. Back then I thought you were a prize. Booby prize is more like it. My sister is near death having your baby, and you’re grinning in some nurse’s face and trying to hit on me. There was a time I believed Leslie deserved whatever she got for what she did to me, but nobody deserves the devastation being involved with you leaves behind.”

  “You’re just full of compliments and good will today.”

  “The truth hurts, Jonah. And truth is what I had to

  face when our marriage ended. I took a good look at

  myself and saw the need for change. I made the changes

  and am all the better for them. It wasn’t easy, but neces

  sary. You could use a few changes in your life, too. You’re a heel, Jonah, but you can better yourself and at least try to be a good example of manhood for your child.”

  He laughed, his derisive laughter making Dahlia wonder why she had tried to reason with him in the first place.

  “Good thing your thoughts of me don’t matter, Dahlia. I like myself, and I have no plans of changing me. Of course I’ll take care of the baby, but I never promised Leslie anything.”

  “It wouldn’t matter if you did. You promised to keep only unto me, and we saw how well you kept that promise. I guess you said ‘I do’ with your fingers crossed.”

  Jonah’s mouth twisted into an annoyed frown. “You left me, remember?”

  “I never had you, Jonah. I found that out the hard way. Were you ever faithful to me?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a straightforward question. Were you ever faithful?”

  “New York is a big city. So, yeah, I saw other girls when we were together. But when I was with you, I was with you.”

  “Out of sight, out of mind, right? Keep going.”

  “When we first got married, I was golden. For the first three years, there was no one else. It was all about you.”

  “Am I supposed to be excited about that?” Dahlia closed her eyes for a long moment, calming her growing anger at Jonah’s nerve. “What changed? What made you start cheating again?”

  “You. Me. We were moving in different directions. When we got married, I was happy, but once we finished grad school and moved to Atlanta, your days grew longer, as did my hours alone, and I had to find something to keep myself occupied. You weren’t there. You were always in Denburg.”

  “Don’t you dare give me that!” Dahlia sucked in a breath. “My clientele was in Denburg. I had to get established. Did I not ask you over and over again if you were okay with my long hours? If you wanted me home more? You always said, ‘No, babe, it’s fine. I support your dream. I know how important this is to you.’ So don’t you dare make your philandering my fault! I guess that’s why you insisted on living in Atlanta and not moving to Denburg. You’ve never been faithful to me, and you cheated because you wanted to. Be man enough to say so!”

  “Fine. You’re right, I did. I got sloppy. You were in the dark for years, and then just blew my game completely.”

  Dahlia frowned. “Yeah. I came home. And my life changed forever.”

 
“That was your choice. You wanted a divorce, so I obliged you.”

  “I also wanted a baby, but you couldn’t make that happen.”

  “I made it happen for Leslie.”

  “Yes, and this baby will connect you to my sister forever, but I hope with all my might she’ll see you for the loser you are and drop-kick your rotten ass out of her life.”

  “I take it you don’t want to be friends.”

  “With friends like you?”

  Jonah shrugged. “Your loss. Is there a guy?”

  Dahlia’s thoughts went to Norris. How she wished she’d taken him up on his offer to come along with her. She really needed one of his hugs right now. She met Jonah’s gaze, but said nothing. She wouldn’t discuss her personal life with him.

  “Is that a no?” he asked.

  “That’s a none of your business.”

  He nodded and smiled. “It’s a no.”

  “I’ve said all I need to say to you, Jonah, and heard all I need to hear. Try to act like you give a damn and go check on Leslie and your baby.”

  Dahlia left the waiting room and rode the elevator to the chapel. She lit a candle and sat in a middle pew. Words of prayer filled her head and softly spilled from her lips. She prayed for her sister and the safety of her little niece or nephew who may have already entered this world, for Norris and Reese to grow closer with their time together, and finally strength for her family and herself to deal with all the things they had coming their way, all the time wondering if she were crazy for coming back here.

  * * *

  “It was crazy to make her come back here.” Norris looked in the direction of Reese’s bedroom, where she’d been unpacking her things for the past two hours, as he spoke with his sister on the phone. “I know she’s angry, Julia, but I’d rather her yell at me than give me the silent treatment.”

  “Norris, I’d be giving you the silent treatment, too. I used to think you were up with the times,” Julia said.

  “I’ve heard this speech from Dahlia. You don’t have to give it to me again.”

  “Oh, so you talked to Dahlia. How is she?”

  “She’s been better. Right after we talked she learned her six-and-a-half-months pregnant sister was hospitalized.”