Priceless

3

Mack Carlton was as good as his word. It began to seem as if every time Beth went into Tony’s room in late afternoon, Mack was there. It was evident he’d become a quiet, comforting, dependable presence in Tony’s life, just as he’d promised he would. She began to feel the first faint hint of respect for him, despite her determination to keep her guard up.

Sometimes he sat quietly reading a book while the boy slept. Beth couldn’t help noticing that Mack’s taste ran to thrillers, rather than to the sports books she would have guessed. She even caught him totally absorbed by a recently released presidential biography. He rose another notch in her estimation that day. She tried to smother the reaction by reminding herself that she couldn’t weaken, not with Destiny Carlton scheming in the wings.

Sometimes Beth arrived to find Tony in a spirited argument with Mack over the best football players ever. Mack listened intently to whatever case Tony made, and even when he disagreed, he did it in a respectful way that seemed to make Tony sit a little taller in bed, pride shining in his eyes at being taken so seriously by a man he idolized.

On more than one occasion, they played one of the electronic games that Mack provided. When they were caught up in the competition, they barely spared Beth a glance. That gave her a chance to observe the two of them a bit more closely. To her amusement, it was evident that Mack was having as much fun as Tony and was every bit as determined to win, not giving the boy an inch out of pity.

There was something a little too appealing about Mack with his hair mussed, his collar open, his expression totally focused as he concentrated on that little screen with such intensity.

To Beth’s surprise Mack was also sensitive to Tony’s level of exhaustion and his shifts in mood. Mack seemed to know just when to encourage a nap and just when to initiate some distracting activity. And he always left shortly after Tony’s mother arrived, clearly attuned to Maria Vitale’s need to spend time alone with her son.

The first time Beth saw Mack in the hallway outside Tony’s room consoling an obviously shaken Maria, she caught herself looking for evidence of the kind of chemistry that Destiny Carlton had been talking about over dinner. If her reaction had involved anyone other than Mack, she might have labeled it a ridiculous twinge of jealousy, but with Mack that would be absurd. There was absolutely nothing between her and the ex-football star. Her interest was purely clinical, a chance to study how the male-female-chemistry thing worked.

After all, Mack was a virile man with a reputation for appreciating beautiful women. Maria was a gorgeous woman with a flawless olive complexion, a lush body and flowing waves of black hair. Only the exhaustion that was clearly visible in and around her eyes marred her beauty. For some men, Beth thought, that evidence of vulnerability would make her seem even more attractive. Beth couldn’t help wondering if Mack was one of those men.

But despite her intense curiosity, Beth never saw the slightest sign that Mack was interested in the single mom. Even his attempts to comfort her were verbal, not physical. And rather than any hint of a growing closeness between the two, more often than not, he left mother and son together and sought Beth out when he left Tony’s room.

In little more than a week, Beth had come to count on him dropping by far more than she should. While he’d shown no evidence of being attracted to her, he was giving her more attention than she’d expected from him.

Now, at the rap on her office door near the research lab, Beth glanced at the clock and saw that it was just past six. That was when Mack usually stopped in.

“Yes?” she said, fighting the little flash of heat that licked through her as she anticipated seeing him for a few minutes.

Her office door cracked open and, as expected, Mack peered around the edge. “Busy?”

Just this once she should tell him yes. That would be the smart thing to do. These brief little visits were beginning to feel too right, as if her day would be somehow incomplete without them.

“I have a few minutes,” she said instead, telling herself that there was nothing wrong with indulging herself in the company of a sexy man in the privacy of her office. It didn’t mean a thing. It just proved she was a woman, something she tended to forget when she was caught up in the whirlwind of her job.

“Long enough to go for coffee?” he asked, his expression hopeful. “I could really use a jolt of caffeine. It’s been a long day, and I still have a dinner thing at eight.”

This was something new. Beth wasn’t sure what to make of the invitation. In her office, on her turf, she felt confident and in control of the situation. Even in a setting as thoroughly unromantic as the hospital cafeteria, with Mack buying her coffee she had a feeling that the balance of power between them would somehow shift.

Mack grinned at her hesitation. “I’m asking you to go for coffee, Doc. I swear I won’t try to seduce you behind the vending machines.”

“I was just thinking about everything I have to do before I can get out of here tonight,” she fibbed.

Mack’s grin spread. “If you’re going to make a long night of it, then you need the coffee as much as I do.”

“You’re right,” she said, telling herself that any other reply would make her seem churlish and ungrateful. After all, this man was coming here almost daily to bolster the spirits of one of her patients. The least she could do in return was share a cup of coffee with him. “I’ll buy.”

Her offer seemed to amuse him, but he stood aside as she brushed past him, then he closed her office door behind them.

As they walked through the hospital corridors, Beth noticed the stares of the nurses, which were accompanied by more than a few whispers. This, she realized, was what she’d feared about being seen with Mack. She needed to command respect among the staff, not be the subject of speculative gossip.

“Doesn’t that sort of thing get old?” she asked as they passed another cluster of gaping females.

“What?” Mack asked blankly.

“The women staring at you, speculating about you, looking you over as if you were a piece of meat.”

He shrugged. “I don’t really notice it anymore.”

Beth couldn’t decide if that was ego talking or a weird kind of humility. In fact, she was beginning to think there were a lot of fascinating contradictions in Mack Carlton. Worse, she was beginning to want to unravel them.

He studied her with a penetrating look. “I’m sorry if it bothers you. It didn’t occur to me that you being seen with me around here might stir up talk. Would you rather go somewhere else?”

She shook her head. “No, the cafeteria’s fine. I don’t have time for anything else.”

As they approached the line, he regarded her with concern. “Have you eaten?”

“No, but I’ll grab something later or take a sandwich back to my office.”

He glanced at the board of specials. “Come on. They have meat loaf. How can you pass that up?”

Beth chuckled. “I’ve had it before. Trust me, it is not like anything you ever had at home.”

“Ah, then no to the meat loaf.” He glanced along the display of prepared foods. “The salads look fresh.” Before she could decline, he reached for two and put them on a tray, then added two bowls of soup. “Crackers?”

Giving up the fight, Beth nodded. “Sure, but I thought you were going to dinner at eight.”

“I am. Rubber chicken and a lot of schmoozing. I’ll be lucky to get a couple of bites. Believe me, this is a lot more appetizing, and the company is a thousand percent better.”

Beth tried not to feel flattered by the compliment, but it warmed her just the same. No wonder Mack had women falling at his feet. His charm was instinctive and natural, not the phony kind of lines she would have expected him to utter. He was slipping right past her natural wariness.

When he’d added apple pie and two cups of coffee to the tray as well, he brushed off her offer to buy and paid the cashier himself, then led the way to a table in a far corner of the room where there were fewer people around.

Once they were seated, Beth regarded him with curiosity. “Do you always get your own way?”

He seemed genuinely surprised by the question. “No, why?”

“You just steamrolled right over me back there,” she said.

“I figured you were trying to be a lady.”

She studied him with a narrowed gaze. “Meaning?” she asked, expecting some totally chauvinistic remark that would permit her to dislike him again.

“When it comes to food, my experience is that most women would rather starve than admit to a man that they’re hungry. They seem to think we’ll worry that they’re about to start putting on weight. Personally I like a woman with a healthy appetite and a little meat on her bones.”

Beth bit back her impulse to point out that she had neither. She should have known Mack wouldn’t be so reticent.

He gave her a thorough once-over, then added, “You could use a few more pounds, Doc. People might take you more seriously if you didn’t look as if a strong wind could blow you away.”

“The people who count seem to take me fairly seriously already,” she said.

“But it’s important to get lots of vitamins and minerals from food, right?” he said, placing her food in front of her. “Munching on a couple of vitamin caplets and drinking an energy shake does not constitute a healthy diet.”

Beth almost choked on her first spoonful of soup. How the heck did he know what she usually ate? “What have you been doing? Lurking outside my office door at mealtime?”

“Nope. No need to. The industrial-size vitamin bottle’s in plain view on your desk and the trash is littered with empty shake cans. If you ask me, that’s a sure way to end up sick.”

“What made you an expert on nutrition?” she asked irritably, because he was right and she didn’t want to admit it.

“Destiny pretty much drilled the basics into us, but anything she missed, I got from the team doctors when I was playing football,” he explained. “Food is fuel. Without the right fuel, the body isn’t going to run properly, not for long, anyway.”

She gave him a wry look. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You should,” Mack said, his expression serious. “Tony and a lot of other kids are counting on you, Doc. You won’t be able to help them if you get sick yourself.”

“Point accepted,” Beth said, deliberately taking a bite of salad to prove she’d gotten the message.

They ate in silence for several minutes, then Mack asked, “How’s Tony doing? Any change?”

“You’ve probably seen for yourself that he’s getting weaker every day. We’re doing everything we can to build him back up so we can try another round of chemo, but nothing’s working,” she admitted, her frustration evident in her voice. “Maybe you could work some of your nutritional magic with him. He’s not eating.”

“I’m on it,” he said at once. “Anything he can’t have?”

“No.”

“And I won’t be breaking any rules by carting in takeout?”

“I’ll save you from the food police around here, if you can just get him to eat,” Beth promised.

“Consider it done. I think I have a pretty good idea what might tempt a twelve-year-old kid to eat. And I can always give him the same spiel I gave you about the body needing fuel.”

“Thanks,” Beth said sincerely. “These days he’s much more likely to listen to you than me.”

“It’s a guy thing.” Mack grinned. “Of course, I might have to insist that you stop by to split a pizza with us or maybe some tacos. Kids learn best by example.”

Beth chuckled despite herself. “Still trying to fatten me up?”

“Just a little.”

“It seems to me the women I usually see on your arm are all model thin.”

Mack’s expression darkened a bit. “Don’t believe everything you see in the paper, Doc.”

“Are you saying the pictures lie? How can that be?”

“Put an ambitious female and a sleazy photographer in the same room and all it takes is the click of a shutter to create a false impression,” he said with an unmistakable touch of bitterness.

Before Beth could comment, he waved off the topic. “Let’s not talk about that. Anything on the search for a bone marrow donor?”

Beth wasn’t sure what to make of the quick change in subject, but she accepted that Mack didn’t intend to say another word about the women in his life. Instead, she tried to answer his question about Tony honestly. “He’s on the list, but we haven’t been pushing because he’s not a good candidate right now.”

“Anything I can do?” Mack asked.

“Just keep coming to see him. It’s the only time I ever hear him laugh,” she said quietly.

Mack studied her intently. “What about you, Doc? How are you doing? This is getting to you, isn’t it? I mean even more than it was before. You’re scared, aren’t you?”

Beth struggled with the emotions she tried to keep tamped down so they wouldn’t overwhelm her. Mack had a way of bringing them right back to the surface, of forcing her to confront them.

“Terrified,” she admitted finally.

Mack reached for her hand. “You know, even doctors are allowed to have feelings.”

“No, we’re not,” she said, jerking her hand away from the comfort it would be far too easy to accept. “We have to stay focused and objective.”

“Why?”

“It’s the only way we can do our jobs.”

“Without falling apart, you mean?”

She nodded, her throat tight. Now she was the one who was uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken. “Can we talk about something else, please? I can’t do this, not tonight.”

Mack sat back in his chair. “Sure. We can talk about whatever you like.” He grinned. “Want to talk about football?”

She relaxed at the teasing note in his voice. “It would have to be a brief conversation, unless you intend to do all the talking.”

“You know us jocks. We can go on and on about sports at the drop of a hat,” he taunted. “But I’ll spare you. How about politics? Any opinions?”

“I saw in the paper that your brother finally announced he’s running for city council in Alexandria.”

Mack’s expression darkened a bit. “Yep, Richard’s fulfilling the legacy our father left for him.”

Beth heard the edgy note in his voice and studied him curiously. “You don’t seem pleased by that.”

“If it were what my brother really wanted, I’d be all for it, but the truth is Richard has spent his whole life living up to these expectations that were drilled into him when we were boys. Running Carlton Industries is one thing. That’s the family legacy and he loves it. He was clearly destined for it. But politics? I’m not convinced it’s what he wants. He’ll do it, though, out of a sense of duty to a man who’s been gone for more than twenty years, and he’ll do it well.”

“Have you told him how you feel?”

He gave her a rueful look. “Nah. You don’t tell Richard anything. He’s the one who tells the rest of us what to do.”

“Do you resent that?”

“Good grief, no. If he hadn’t taken the pressure off the rest of us years ago, I’d probably be behind some desk at Carlton Industries pushing a pencil. I’d not only be totally miserable, but I’d probably bring down the company.”

“Singlehandedly?” Beth asked skeptically.

“No, I imagine Ben, our younger brother, would be even worse at it than me.”

“I think I read somewhere that he’s an artist. Is that right?”

Mack’s eyes twinkled with knowing amusement. “Checking us out, Doc?”

“No, it’s just hard to avoid the mention of the Carlton name in the local media. Even your reportedly reclusive younger brother’s name pops up from time to time.”

“If you say so.”

“Why would I bother checking you out?” Beth inquired irritably.

“Some women think we’re pretty fascinating men,” Mack responded with a straight face.

“I’m not one of them.”

“So you only tolerate me hanging around for Tony’s sake?”

“Yes,” she said.

His skeptical gaze caught hers and held until she flushed under the intensity. Only when he was apparently satisfied that he’d rattled her and proved his point did he finally glance away.

Relieved to be out from under that disconcerting gaze, Beth drew in a shaky breath. No man had ever unnerved her the way Mack Carlton did. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why that was. Sure, he had the kind of body that would look great on a beefcake calendar. Sure, he even showed evidence of being kind and sensitive, two traits she admired in a man. He had a killer smile, an agile brain and a charming personality. With all of that added together, the question shouldn’t have been why he unnerved her, but why she hadn’t thrown herself straight into his arms.

That she could answer. Mack Carlton was a rich, ex-jock playboy, who didn’t take anything seriously. His affairs were played out publicly, and she was a very private woman with a reputation to protect. So even if that glimmer of heat she thought she saw in his eyes from time to time was real, even if these brief hospital encounters implied a certain fascination on his part, she couldn’t allow any of it to lead anywhere—assuming he even wanted to pursue it himself beyond the occasional cup of coffee or idle conversation at the end of the day.

Too bad, she thought, barely containing a sigh. Because something told her that Mack had the kind of moves that could make a woman not only forget every last bit of common sense she possessed, but could send her right up into flames.

* * *

A couple of days after his fascinating cafeteria dinner with Beth, Mack was sitting in the hospital waiting room while the doctors examined Tony when he looked up to see Richard striding toward him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, standing to give his brother a hug. He glanced pointedly around the empty room. “No prospective voters in here to impress.”

“Very funny. Actually I was in the neighborhood, and Destiny told me you might be here,” Richard said. “What’s going on? What are you doing hanging out in a hospital waiting room?”

Mack shrugged. “There’s a sick kid I’ve been coming to see,” he said as if it were no big deal.

Richard studied him intently. “You’re here every day from what I hear. You getting too emotionally involved with this boy?”

“This isn’t about me,” Mack said defensively. “The boy doesn’t have a dad to hang out with. He likes football. The least I can do is come by for an hour or so.”

“I admire you for taking an interest, but is it really all about the kid?”

Mack stared at him, instantly suspicious. “What exactly did Destiny say to you?”

Richard’s serious expression finally cracked. A grin spread across his face. “She mentioned that the boy’s doctor is a very pretty woman with a brilliant scientific mind. Which hooked you, bro? Her body or her mind?”

“I am not hooked on anybody,” Mack retorted defensively. “That’s ridiculous. Next time you talk to her, tell Destiny to mind her own damn business.”

“Ha,” Richard said. “What are the odds of that ever happening?”

Mack scowled at his brother. “So the real reason you dropped by is to gloat. You think I’m about to get reeled smack into the middle of one of Destiny’s schemes.”

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Richard agreed unrepentantly. “If so, I want to be around to witness every second of your downfall.”

“Destiny claims she doesn’t even know Beth Browning,” Mack said. “Beth said the same thing.”

“Ever heard of the little white lie?” Richard asked. “What kind of manipulator would our aunt be if she didn’t make liberal use of whatever tactic serves her purposes? She wasn’t entirely honest with me or Melanie, either. She sucked us both right in and never suffered a moment’s remorse because of it.”

“Well, there’s nothing like that going on here,” Mack insisted. “I’m not the doc’s type. She’s not my type, either. If Destiny really is behind all of this, she got it wrong this time.”

“We’ll see,” Richard said. “Any chance the doctor will be by anytime soon? I’d like to get a good look at her. Melanie will have questions.”

“Too bad. I’m pretty sure Dr. Browning is at a medical conference on the other side of the universe today,” Mack said just in time to see the very woman in question strolling their way. He sighed heavily. “On the other hand, she could be back.”

Richard’s eyes widened with appreciation and he let out a very soft whistle. “Not your type, huh? Maybe you should get your eyes checked.”

Mack took another look at Beth and tried to see what his brother saw. She was pretty enough in a natural, wholesome way, but compared to the beauties he usually dated, she was fairly unimpressive. Her hair was straight and cut in a severe, simple style that clearly required little fuss. Her simple, tailored clothes did nothing to flatter a figure he’d already assessed as too thin. Her low-heeled shoes, a necessity for a woman on the run all day long, did nothing to enhance her legs. Mack was really, really partial to women in strappy spike heels that made their legs look endless. He simply didn’t get whatever it was Richard obviously saw.