The thought of getting away from the dreary county hospital and having his own practice was exciting enough, but Lauren was the bonus that Lady Luck had given him.
Kat was becoming a nuisance. Mallory had to keep finding pretexts to avoid seeing her. When she would press him, he would say, "Darling, I'm crazy about you ... of course I want to marry you, but right now, I ..." and he would go into a litany of excuses.
It was Lauren who suggested that the two of them spend a weekend at the family lodge at Big Sur. Mallory was elated. Everything is coming up roses, he thought. I'm going to own the whole damned world!
The lodge was spread across pine-covered hills, an enormous structure built of wood and tile and stone, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It had a master bedroom, eight guest bedrooms, a spacious living room with a stone fireplace, an indoor swimming pool, and a large hot tub. Everything smelled of old money.
When they walked in, Lauren turned to Mallory and said, "I let the servants go for the weekend."
Mallory grinned. "Good thinking." He put his arms around Lauren and said softly, "I'm wild about you."
"Show me," Lauren said.
They spent the day in bed, and Lauren was almost as insatiable as Kat.
"You're wearing me out!" Mallory laughed.
"Good. I don't want you to be able to make love to anyone else." She sat up in bed. "There is no one else, is there, Ken?"
"Absolutely not," Mallory said sincerely. "There's no one in the world for me but you. I'm in love with you, Lauren." Now was the time to take the plunge, to wrap his whole future up in one neat package. It would be one thing to be a successful doctor in private practice. It would be something else to be Alex Harrison's son-in-law. "I want to marry you."
He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
"Oh, yes, darling," Lauren said. "Yes."
At the apartment, Kat was frantically trying to reach Mallory. She telephoned the hospital.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Hunter, Dr. Mallory is not on call, and doesn't answer his page."
"Didn't he leave word where he could be reached?"
"We have no record of it."
Kat replaced the receiver and turned to Paige. "Something's happened to him, I know it. He would have called me by now."
"Kat, there could be a hundred reasons why you haven't heard from him. Perhaps he had to go out of town suddenly, or . . ."
"You're right. I'm sure there's some good excuse."
Kat looked at the phone and willed it to ring.
When Mallory returned to San Francisco, he telephoned Kat at the hospital.
"Dr. Hunter is off duty," the receptionist told him.
''Thank you.'' Mallory called the apartment. Kat was there.
"Hi, baby!"
"Ken! Where have you been? I've been worried about you. I tried everywhere to reach—"
"I had a family emergency," he said smoothly. "I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to call you. I had to go out of town. May I come over?"
"You know you may. I'm so glad you're all right. I—"
"Half an hour.'' He replaced the receiver and thought happily, The time has come, the walrus said, to speak of many things. Kat, baby, it was great fun, but it was just one of those things.
When Mallory arrived at the apartment, Kat threw her arms around him. "I've missed you!" She could not tell him how desperately worried she had been. Men hated that kind of thing. She stood back. "Darling, you look absolutely exhausted."
Mallory sighed. "I've been up for the last twenty-four hours." That part is true, he thought.
Kat hugged him. "Poor baby. Can I fix something for you?"
"No, I'm fine. All I really need is a good night's sleep. Let's sit down, Kat. We have to have a talk." He sat on the couch next to her.
"Is anything wrong?" Kat asked.
Mallory took a deep breath. "Kat, I've been thinking a lot about us lately."
She smiled. "So have I. I have news for you. I—
"No, wait. Let me finish. Kat, I think we're rushing into things too fast. I ... I think I proposed too hastily."
She paled. "What . . . what are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I think we should postpone everything."
She felt as though the room were closing in on her. She was finding it difficult to breathe. "Ken, we can't postpone anything. I'm having your baby."
Chapter Thirty
Paige got home at midnight, drained. It had been exhausting day. There had been no time for lunch, and dinner had consisted of a sandwich between operations. She fell into her bed and was asleep instantly. She was awakened by the ringing of the telephone. Groggily, Paige reached for the instrument and automatically glanced at the bedside clock. It was three in the morning. "H'lo?"
"Dr. Taylor? I'm sorry to disturb you, but one of your patients is insisting on seeing you right away."
Paige's throat was so dry she could hardly talk. "I'm off duty," she mumbled. "Can't you get someone . . .?"
"He won't talk to anyone else. He says he needs you."
"Who is it?"
"John Cronin."
Paige sat up straighter. "What's happened?"
"I don't know. He refuses to speak with anyone but you."
"All right," Paige said wearily. "I'm on my way."
Thirty minutes later, Paige arrived at the hospital. She went directly to John Cronin's room. He was lying in bed, awake. Tubes were protruding from his nostrils and his arms.
"Thanks for coming." His voice was weak and hoarse.
Paige sat down in a chair next to the bed. She smiled. "That's all right, John. I had nothing to do, anyway, but sleep. What can I do for you that no one else here at this great big hospital couldn't have done?"