Chapter Eighty-Nine

When Angela, Leah and Trapper walked in the front door of Angela’s house, she wasted no time in sending everyone to bed. “I suggest we all sleep on everything that was said or learned tonight. I’ve rearranged your schedule, Leah, to end your days earlier, and I’ve removed everything from Sunday, so we’ll have some down time tomorrow.” She nodded at Trapper. “Doctor’s orders.”

“I wish you had talked to me before you did that,” said Leah. “Who said I needed more time in the evenings?”

“Your doctor.”

“Trapper?” she said, pointing. “He’s not my doctor.”

“He’s the only doctor around who’s qualified to speak on your behalf. Now, there’s no point in arguing. It’s done. Go to bed.” Angela leaned in for a cheek and a kiss aimed at Leah’s ear, then shooed her and Trapper away, disappearing into her bedroom.

Leah gave Trapper an irritated glare as she headed toward their bedroom.

He closed the door behind him and watched her go into the bathroom. Slipping off his jacket, he tossed it on the bed, then began to loosen his bow tie, occasionally glancing toward the bathroom where he could she her shadow moving across the floor and walls. When she stepped out, her dress was on a hanger, and she was barefooted in a robe.

Unfastening his cuff links, he continued to watch her as he put them away. She had just turned back toward the bathroom when he stopped her. “Leah.” Pausing with a jerk, she turned back around slowly, cocked her head and raised her eyebrows. Trapper sat down on the side of the bed. “If you want to know something, just ask.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“I thought we were at the point that we could ask each other anything.” She crossed her arms and looked away. “All right. I’ll make it easy for you. What is it about my divorce from Melanie that bothers you?”

Straightening, she looked at him, and then cast her eyes down. He asked. Did that change anything? After a few moments of awkward silence, she looked back up at him. “You said vows for better or worse. Why didn’t you fight for your marriage?”

Trapper picked his jacket up off the bed and headed for the closet, smiling as he passed her. “What makes you think I didn’t?”

“Because you’re still such good friends with Melanie.”

“We do have two children between us.” Leah heard the rattle of coat hangers from the closet and waited for him to come back out. He stepped out in his underwear. “We tried on our own for awhile, but every time I got called to the hospital, she became angrier,” he said as he picked up his robe that had been thrown over a chair and pulled it on. “Everywhere we went together, people knew her as Mrs. McIntyre. Then we tried marriage counseling. When she finally had me served with divorce papers, I told her I didn’t want a divorce, so we had to go to court, and of course, the court granted her a divorce.”

“And that was it?” asked Leah, sitting on the side of the bed.

Trapper snorted as he sat next to her. “What else is there? Melanie wanted her own identity, and she didn’t feel she could have one married to me.”

“I can understand that. That’s why I go by Haverty instead of Lewis.”

He moved his arm around her and pulled her into him. “What are you worried about?”

Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes, and then feeling her mouth go dry, she licked her lips. “We’re frequently at each other’s throats, Trapper. I’ve begun to think that, at some point, you’re going to be done with it all.” Trapper’s mouth dropped open. Looking down at her hands, she said quietly, “I’d rather it end peacefully if it’s going to end.”

“Who said anything about this ending?” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “We both have a stubborn streak that runs deep, but we’ve already begun to figure that out. And you don’t have the same problem Melanie had. You’re already well known on your own merit. In fact, there are times when I’m the odd man out.” Moving his hand to the back of her neck, he brought her close enough to feel her breath on his face, and when his lips found hers, he felt her shiver as she relaxed into him. “I don’t want this to end,” he said without leaving her lips, and as he kissed her again, he took her down to the bed where they stayed in each other’s arms the rest of the night.

***

“Is it too soft?” asked Trapper.

Leah poked it. “Not by much, but you’ll have to do better.”

“I’m working on it. What else do we need while we wait?”

Leah looked around. “Your nuts. Where are they?”

He rolled his eyes. “There right there in front of you.”

“Geez. How did I miss those? Why don’t we check it now and see if it’s firm?” He turned to show her, and she poked it again. “Perfect. Oooo. That’s hot,” she said, smiling. “Put it in.”

“Let’s get this on top of it,” said Trapper.

“It’s too hard. You do it.”

With a practiced hand, Trapper said, “Here’s how you do it. You have to go down the sides first.” After another minute, he asked, “Is that enough?”

“No, I need more.”

“Alright, how about now?” he asked.

“That should just about do it. Now we’ll just squeeze…”

Trapper grinned. “Oh yeah. This is the best part.”

“And there it goes oozing down the side.”

“Careful,” said Trapper. “You’ll get your fingers sticky. Now see, I told you you’d get sticky.”

“Well, I had to catch it before it dripped down too far,” she said, licking her finger.

Opening her hand, she said, “I need your nuts.” He gave her a handful. “You know, it would be better if these were warm.”

“We don’t have time. Angela will be here any minute.”

“I hope so. It’s already starting to droop. I’ll put some whipped cream on it.”

Trapper lifted it with both hands. “Let’s move over here where there’s room for all three of us.”

They got everything in place just before Angela walked in the door. “Hey, you two. I was just…oh my, that looks…um…huge. I don’t know if I can handle that alone.”

“You don’t have to handle it alone,” said Leah. “Come over here with us.”

Angela sat down in front of it, running her finger up the side. “Mm. Yummy. But what’s the occasion?”

Smiling at each other first, Trapper and Leah both turned to Angela wearing wide grins. “We’re celebrating. We think we won the committee over today,” said Trapper as he handed out spoons. They each dug into what Leah referred to as the Double Devil; the largest, most decadent fudge brownie sundae Angela had ever seen.

***

Trapper and Leah had already gotten their tickets for their flight home and had checked in at the gate. Now, they were waiting to board, and since they were flying first class, they would be some of the first to go. Trapper excused himself to speak with a doctor from St. Louis. “Dr. Rose,” said Trapper, offering his hand.

“Dr. McIntyre, I must say, your presentation to the committee seemed to be received very well. How’d you do?”

“We were notified yesterday morning that we had won something, but we won’t find out how much until next week. A letter will be sent to the hospital administrator.”

“Hm. That’s rather disappointing. I wasn’t notified of anything.”

“I wouldn’t give up just yet. They may yet be notifying others since they haven’t decided who gets what.”

“You know if you do start the microvascular education program, I’d be interested in sending some of my surgeons.”

“Just give me a call,” said Trapper with a wide smile. “If we get what we asked for, that will be one of the first things we start. It just happens to be the easiest.”

Leah kept her eyes on Trapper. She needed to speak with Angela alone, and was afraid she might not have the chance before they were called for boarding. “Angela, I need you to do something for me,” she said as she passed an envelope to her.

“What’s this?”

“I need you to get this to Trapper if something happens to me.”

Angela sat bolt upright with her brows furrowed fearfully. “Like what?”

Exhaling a quiet chuckle, Leah smiled. “Don’t get upset. I’ve changed my trust where if I die or become incapacitated, Trapper gets everything. I just don’t want it to come from Albert. He’ll be…all business. I want him to hear it from me, so to speak. And there are instructions about some things I want him to make sure happen; like the children’s wing at the hospital.” She bit her lip, knowing she was about to open a can of worms and hoping they would be called for boarding so she wouldn’t have to explain anything. “And if something suspicious happens, it will give Trapper a place to start looking.”

Angela sprang to her feet and glared down at Leah. “What?” The tone and volume of that one word turned every head in the waiting area, including Trapper’s.

“Excuse me, Dr. Rose. I need to see what that’s about.” Patting Dr. Rose on the shoulder, he hurried back to where they had been waiting together. “What’s going on?”

Looking up pleadingly at Angela, Leah slightly shook her head. “Nothing, Trapper. Girl talk. You wouldn’t understand,” she explained without taking her eyes away from Angela’s.

“First call for boarding Flight 201 to St. Louis; all first class passengers.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Leah stood and gathered the items she was carrying on board. “Angela, I’ll call you when we get back to San Francisco, though it might be tomorrow.”

“You’d better or I’ll be calling you.” She leaned in and gave Leah a hug and kiss, and then gave Trapper a bear hug to which he responded with a quick kiss on her lips. “I have to say I’m very proud of you both. You represented yourselves well, and I think most everyone enjoyed meeting you except for maybe the few who were your real competition. Let me know how much you get.”

“We will,” said Trapper with a wide smile, ushering Leah through the gate. “And thank you for the help and the hospitality.”