Just One Last Night Part 8

He stared at her, clearly taken aback. 'What was that for?'

'For caring.'

'About the moggy?'

'No, not just the cat,' she said softly.

Something told him not to push it at this stage. 'I'll get the food in. You find that number.'

When he called the veterinary surgery, which was situated some fifteen miles away in the nearest small market town, the receptionist was less than helpful, although she did eventually let him speak to one of the vets after Forde wouldn't take no for an answer. As luck would have it, the woman was young, newly qualified and enthusiastic, added to which Forde used his considerable charm along with offering to pay the call-out fee with his credit card over the telephone and any further costs with cash before she left the cottage.

But Melanie, listening to Forde's end of the exchange, was quite convinced it was the charm that had swung it when the vet said she would be with them within the hour.

Once she began to unpack the bags Forde had brought in she could hardly believe the amount of food he'd bought. A whole cooked ham, a small turkey, a tray of delicious looking canapes, a mulled-cranberry-and-apple-chutney-topped pork pie, cheese of all descriptions, jars of preserves, a Santa-topped Christmas cake and a box of chocolate cup cakes, mince pies, vegetables, nuts, fruit, and still the list went on.

'Forde, this would feed a family of four for a week,' she said weakly when the last bag was empty. 'There's only me. Whatever possessed you?'

'I must have known you'd have a visitor.' He smiled at her over the heaped breakfast bar as she began to stuff what she could in her fridge.

'A visitor?' She glanced at him, colour in her cheeks.

He nodded towards the sleeping cat.

'Oh, yes, of course, but she's hardly going to eat much,' she said fl.u.s.teredly. For a minute she'd thought... But no, he wouldn't invite himself to stay, not after the rules she'd made. If she wanted him to spend Christmas with her she would have to ask him. But did she want that? Or, more precisely, did she want what that would mean in the days after Christmas and beyond? Because one thing was for sure: she couldn't play fast and loose with his heart any more. She had to be sure. And she wasn't; she wasn't sure. Was she?

'You'd be surprised. She's going to have kittens to feed and she's got lost time to make up for.'

And as though on cue the cat woke up, stretching as she opened big amber eyes and then stood up amid the folds of the blanket. When Forde lifted her out of the laundry basket she didn't struggle but gave a small miaow. Melanie quickly warmed more milk and cut more chicken, and this time Forde set the little animal on its feet to eat. She cleared both saucers, stretched again and then walked over to her makeshift bed and jumped in, settling herself down by kneading the blanket how she wanted it. Then she looked at them.

Melanie knelt down beside her, stroking the brindled fur beneath which she could feel every bone. 'She's so beautiful,' she murmured softly, 'and so brave. She must have been desperate, knowing her babies are going to be born and she had no shelter, no food. It's a wonder she's survived this long.'

A steady, rhythmic vibration began under her fingers as the little cat began to purr; it made her want to cry. How could anyone treat this friendly little creature so cruelly? To throw her out in the winter when they must have known her chances of survival and those of the kittens was poor?

'But now she's found you,' Forde said quietly. 'And she knows she can trust you to look after her.'

Flooded by emotions as turbulent as the weather outside, Melanie looked up at him. She felt as though she were standing at the brink of something profound. 'Do you think I should keep her?'

He didn't prevaricate or throw the ball back in her court. 'Yes, I do. She needs someone to love her unconditionally.'

Melanie blinked back tears. 'But she's so fragile and thin. I can't see her surviving giving birth, Forde. And what of the kittens? If their mother's been starving, what shape will they be in when they're born?'

'Take it a moment by moment, hour by hour. She might surprise you. I think she's a tougher little cookie than she looks. Don't give up on her yet.'

'I'm not about to give up on her,' said Melanie, a trifle indignantly. 'That's the last thing I would do.'

'Good.' He smiled. 'In that case she has a fighting chance.'

The ringing of the doorbell ended further conversation. The vet turned out to be a big, buxom woman with rosy cheeks and large hands, but she was gentleness itself with her small patient. The cat submitted to her ministrations with surprising docility and when she had finished examining her, the vet shook her head. 'I'd be surprised if she's more than a year or so old. She's little more than a kitten herself. That's not good for a number of reasons. She might find it difficult giving birth and in her state she hasn't got any physical strength to fall back on. Being so malnourished I don't know if she would be able to produce a good quality of milk for the kittens, should she or them survive the birth. But-' she looked at them both '-she's a dear little cat, isn't she?'

'What can you do to help in the short term?' Forde asked quietly. 'We want to give her every chance.'

'The main thing she needs is rest and food and food and rest. Have you got a litter tray so she doesn't need to go outside? It's important to keep her warm.'

Forde shook his head. 'But I can get one.'

'Not at this time of night. Follow me back to the surgery and I'll give you one of ours, along with a food made specially for pregnant females and feeding mothers. I'll give her a vitamin injection now and once she's a little stronger she'll need various vaccinations for cat flu and other diseases. I don't want to tax her system by doing that now, and as long as you keep her confined to the house for the time being she won't come into contact with other felines who might be carrying diseases. I think she's due very soon, although it's difficult to tell in a case like this. If she does begin and you're worried for any reason, call me. I'll give you my mobile number.'

She smiled. 'Having done that we can almost guarantee she'll start as I sit down for my Christmas lunch.'

'That's very good of you,' said Melanie.

'This is an exceptional case,' the young woman said quietly. 'I hate to think what she's been through in the last weeks. Now, let her eat and drink little and often in the next twenty-four hours and try to get as much down her as she wants. But I have to warn you-' again she glanced at them both '-the odds are stacked against her giving birth to live kittens. I can give you vitamin drops to put in her food but I'm afraid it might well be too little too late.'

Melanie nodded. 'Nevertheless, we want to try.'

'Good. Fuss her, talk to her and give her plenty of TLC. You won't read that in any veterinary journal but in my opinion it works wonders with animals that have been ill treated. They understand far more than we give them credit for.'

The vet gave them a few more instructions and then she and Forde left, leaving Melanie with Tabitha, as she had decided to call the pretty little animal. She found she was on tenterhooks all the time Forde was gone. Forde had carried the basket into the sitting room for her before he departed, setting it on the thick rug in front of the fire, and after a little more food Tabitha had gone soundly asleep. Melanie tried to watch TV but her whole attention was fixed on the sleeping feline.

The vet had run through the signs to look for when the cat started labour and what to expect, and Melanie found herself praying the whole time nothing would happen before Forde got back. He'd know what to do; he always did.

The relief she felt when she heard him call to her when he let himself in with the key she'd given him was overwhelming. She flew out into the hall, her words tumbling over themselves as she said, 'Did you get everything? Should we try and give her some of the special food right now? Where should we put the litter tray? Do you think she'll let us know when she needs to use it?' She stopped to draw breath.

Forde regarded her with amused eyes. 'Yes, yes, litter tray by the basket and maybe.'

He looked big and dark and impossibly attractive in her tiny hall, and s.e.xy. Incredibly s.e.xy. Before she knew what she was saying, she blurted, 'Will you stay here tonight, in case something happens?'

He smiled a sweet smile. 'I didn't intend to leave you by yourself, Nell. Now, we'll get our patient organised with some more food and then we'll eat ourselves, OK? Ham and eggs, something quick and easy. Have you got a spare duvet I can use tonight and perhaps a pillow for the sofa?'

'You'll never sleep on my sofas.' His long frame was double their length. 'I can stay down here with her.'

'You need your sleep.' He glanced at the swell of her stomach under the soft Angora sweater-dress she was wearing. 'And I'll be fine. Now, let's see how she likes this food compared to the chicken.'

The food smelt quite disgusting when they opened the tin, the odour of fish overpowering, but Tabitha finished a saucerful without seemingly pausing for breath.

'Cat caviar,' commented Forde drily. 'It should be too, considering the price. Remind me to come out of property developing and into cat food.'

Melanie smiled. It was scarily good having him here. And not just because of Tabitha.

They ate their own meal at the dining-room table. Melanie was glad she'd cleared it of paperwork a few days before and put a festive centrepiece of holly with bright red berries in pride of place. That, along with her small, fragrant Christmas tree decorated with baubles and tinsel in the sitting room and the cards dotted about, gave the impression she'd made some effort. In truth, she'd never felt less like celebrating Christmas. Or it had been that way until she had heard Forde's voice.

Melanie had insisted on having Tabitha's basket where they could see her while they ate, and after they'd finished the meal she carried their decaf coffee and the chocolate cup cakes Forde had bought through to the sitting room, while Forde brought Tabitha. The little cat looked out serenely from the basket as Forde set it in front of the fire again, apparently quite happy with all the coming and going.

The cup cakes were heavenly. Melanie ate three, one after another, and then looked at Forde aghast. 'I'm going to be as big as a house before this baby's born. Now the sickness has gone all I think about is food. I no sooner eat breakfast than I'm thinking about lunch and then dinner, and Christmas doesn't help with all the extra temptations of cake and plum pudding and chocolate.'

'Nell, you could never look anything but gorgeous to me.' He lifted her small chin, licking a smear of chocolate icing from the corner of her mouth before kissing her as though no one else in the world existed. Her lips, as soft and warm as mulled wine, moved against his and she kissed him back, her hands sliding up to his shoulders and tangling in his hair.

He caught the moan that fluttered in her throat with his breath, his kiss deepening still more and his tongue beginning an insistent probing that brought every nerve in her body to singing life. Before she knew what he was doing he had moved and lifted her so she was sitting on his lap. Now his mouth moved from her lips to trail a burning path to her throat and down into the V of her cleavage.

Melanie gasped and he lifted her head to look into her flushed face. 'I want you,' he murmured softly, 'all the time. At my desk when I'm working, in the car, at home when I'm eating a meal or taking a shower. There's not a minute of a day when I'm not thinking about you. You're in my blood, do you know that? For life. A sweet addiction that's impossible to fight.'

'Do you want to fight it?' she asked faintly, his silvery eyes mesmerising.

His mouth twisted in a bittersweet smile. 'There have been times when I've thought the pain would be easier if I did, but, no, I don't.'

This time she kissed him and his body throbbed with the contact. His hands ran over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the soft wool beneath his fingers moulding to the rounded globes and her nipples hard and engorged. She didn't object when he tugged her dress upwards, helping him by lifting her arms as he pulled it over her head. Her lacy bra showed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were fuller and her cleavage deeper, the firm mound of her belly making his breath catch in his throat. Her body was changing, to accommodate his son or daughter. The surge of possessive love expanded his chest and made it difficult to breathe.

'Forde?'

'You're so beautiful, Nell,' he whispered, his eyes brilliant with unshed tears. 'So beautiful.'

They undressed each other slowly and completely, touching and tasting as they did so until they were both naked and trembling with desire. Then she climbed on top of him on the sofa where they were lying, sitting astride him as she lowered herself onto the proud rod of his erection.

Her body was warm, unbelievably soft and welcoming as it accepted him, and as she began to move he struggled to keep control so she was fulfilled along with him. He could see the pleasure in her face and it was almost more erotic than he could bear, his body shaking as his muscles clenched against the release it was aching for.

He felt her climax and went with her, their sanity shattering into pure sensation and then reforming in the aftermath of drugged pa.s.sion. It was a few moments after she had snuggled against him before either of them could speak. 'Wow,' murmured Forde huskily. 'Tell me this isn't a dream and I'm going to wake up in a minute back at the house.'

'It's real.' She shivered as she spoke and he reached for the throw hanging over the back of the sofa, wrapping it round them as she settled her head on his chest. Within moments she was fast asleep, just the odd spit and crackle from the fire disturbing the pine-scented stillness. He glanced at the basket. The cat was sleeping too amid the folds of the blanket, its small striped body barely moving with each breath.

I owe you, Forde told it silently. And now you've got me this far I'm not leaving.

The room was all dancing shadows, the flickering flames of the fire and the lights on Melanie's Christmas tree creating a soothing, womblike feeling. Outside the wind continued to moan and howl, and now sleet was hurling itself against the windows with a ferocity that made the room even warmer and cosier in comparison to the storm outside.

Holding Melanie close, he shut his eyes.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

A DISTANT vibration brought Melanie out of a satisfying dream. She opened sleepy eyes to find she was lying with her cheek on Forde's hairy chest and with her body snuggled into his side like a little animal burying itself into the source of its comfort, his heartbeat still echoing in her head. She didn't let herself think for a few moments, relishing the feel and smell of him and the fact that he was here, with her. The baby moved, the flutterings the strongest yet, as though it knew its father was close.

And then she smiled to herself at such fanciful imaginings.

She raised her head carefully to look at Tabitha, aware she and Forde must have slept for an hour or more, but the cat was still sound asleep. The vet had said the best medicine for her was food and rest; if only they could make sure she had a few days of both before she delivered her kittens they might all make it, along with their mother. Please, please, G.o.d, let this be a happy ending, she prayed silently. I want a happy ending for once. She's only a little cat-don't take her before her life has really begun. And the kittens, let them live to grow and play and feel the sun on their fur in the summer. Please.

Forde had said Tabitha knew she could trust them to look after her, that she needed someone to love her unconditionally. She knew now why his words had struck such a chord in her. It was how Forde was with her; from the day they had met he had put her needs before his, in the bedroom and out of it, and his love had been unlimited and without reservation.

She drew in a shuddering breath, her mind clearer than it had been for months.

After Matthew had died her guilt and remorse had turned her mind and heart inwards. She'd been so wrapped up in her own culpability and self-condemnation, so convinced she was a jinx and that Forde would be better off without her, that she hadn't considered she might be wrong. She'd been too self-centred. Wrapped up in her own grief, she hadn't taken on board he was suffering too, not really, not as she should have. She had learnt a lot about herself over the last weeks with Miriam, and some of it had been hard to take.

But Forde didn't see her as she saw herself. He loved her. Utterly. Absolutely. As he'd told her to love Tabitha-unconditionally. When she had left him he had told her he would never let her go, that she could divorce him, flee to the other side of the world, refuse to see or talk to him, but he would never give up trying to make her see sense and come back to him. It had panicked her then, terrified her even. But now ...

She raised her head and stared at his sleeping face.

Now she was humbly and eternally grateful. Her hand went to the swell of her belly wherein their child lay. And she could never walk away from her baby and its father. How could she have considered such a possibility even for a moment? But deep inside she'd always known she wouldn't have the strength to give her baby up. That had been what had really frightened her once she'd known she was pregnant, because then she had still believed she was a curse on those she loved.

And now? a little voice outside herself asked insistently. What did she believe now? Because if she went back to Forde it had to be with all her body, soul and spirit. She'd asked for a happy ending for Tabitha but she had to believe in one for herself. Believe she could trust Forde implicitly, give him that little part of herself she had always kept back. Could she do that?

She heard a scratching sound and raised her head again. Tabitha was awake and turning round and round in the basket and Melanie could have sworn there was a faintly worried expression on the cat's delicate face. Tabitha gave a little cry that was more of a yowl than a miaow, and then jumped out of the basket and disappeared behind the other sofa.

Oh, no. Melanie sat bolt upright and in so doing woke Forde, who mumbled dazedly, 'What the... Nell?'

'I think Tabitha's going to have her kittens.' Even to herself her voice sounded thick with fear. 'It's too soon, Forde. I wanted her to have some days of good food and rest. What are we going to do?'

Forde sat up, swinging his feet onto the carpet and raking back his hair. 'Where is she?' he asked, eyeing the empty basket.

'Behind the other sofa. The vet said she might hide.'

He stood up naked as the day he was born and walked across the room, peering over the back of the sofa. d.a.m.n it, Nell was right. The cat was behaving exactly as the vet had warned it might. They had all been hoping they could have a few days of feeding her up but it looked as if time had run out.

He turned, gathering up Melanie's scattered clothes along with his own. 'We can do very little now except keep an eye on her. The rest is up to Tabitha. I'll move the basket behind the sofa if that's where she wants to be. Get dressed and go and make us a hot drink. This could take a while.'

'It's too soon,' Melanie said again, her old fears and doubts resurfacing in a flood.

Forde reached out a hand and stroked her cheek for a moment. 'Stop panicking. Tabitha will pick up on it. Animals are incredibly sensitive that way. Bring some warm milk and food in for her when you get our drinks, OK? Now get dressed, there's a good girl.'

Once in the kitchen Melanie realised the icy sleet had turned into snow while she and Forde had been sleeping and already it was a couple of inches thick. The swirling flakes were fat and feathery and the sky was laden. If the storm continued in its present form she doubted if the vet would be able to get through to them if they needed her.

She stood for a moment, eyes wide and her top lip clamped in her teeth before telling herself to get on with what she had to do. Tabitha would be all right. Anything else wasn't an option. And the kittens would be fine too. They had to be.

Tabitha drank the milk they slid in to her in her hiding place but wouldn't touch the food, and as the yowls increased in volume Melanie had to force herself to sit still and not pace the room. Forde went out to fetch more logs and coal at one point and when he returned, Melanie said simply, 'I know,' in answer to the look on his face regarding the weather.

Forde had resorted to lying on the floor and peering under the sofa by the time the first kitten was born some three hours later. Tabitha had ignored the basket at the side of her but she dealt expertly with the tiny thing, biting off the birth sac and beginning to lick it all over with her abrasive tongue. When Forde saw it squirm he experienced a profound relief, more for Melanie than the cat.

Another kitten was born fairly quickly, and as they watched Tabitha begin the same procedure with this one as she had with the first Melanie whispered, 'Look at that, Forde. She's going to be a brilliant mother. And the kittens are alive and well.'

He looked at her where she lay at the side of him on the carpet. He'd been about to warn her that it was early days yet, that a hundred and one things could go wrong. There were more kittens to be born and they might not be as lucky as the first two, and Tabitha herself might be too exhausted to survive much more of this. But then he looked into her deep brown eyes and something in them checked his words. Instead he put his hand on hers.

There followed a wait that seemed endless to Melanie and Forde. They hardly dared move from their vigil but then a third kitten made its appearance and once again Tabitha went into action. This time, though, once the kitten was cleaned up to its mother's satisfaction, Tabitha picked up the tiny creature and jumped into the laundry basket where she deposited the squirming little sc.r.a.p before fetching the other two, one by one, to the place she deemed as safe. She then made short work of the food and fresh milk Forde had slid under the sofa next to the basket and joined her kittens after using the litter tray.

'Do you think that's it? There were just the three?' Melanie found she had a crick in her neck and was utterly exhausted. She was also more elated than words could have described.

'Looks like it.' Forde was trying not to reveal how relieved he was that things had gone so well. Tabitha seemed to have taken the whole process in her stride despite her poor state of health and the kittens had wriggled to their mother's teats like homing pigeons. He also blessed the fact that Mother Nature had seen fit to give the little cat just three kittens to cope with. They stood a far better chance than if it had been a large litter. They hadn't been able to see clearly what the kittens looked like, their view had been restricted, but the fact that the little animals were sleek and damp from their mother's ministrations meant they really didn't look like cats at all.

'What do we do now?' Melanie sat up and stretched her aching neck. 'I don't like the thought of leaving her alone.'

'Looks like Tabitha's ready for a well-earned rest.' Forde stood up and pulled her to her feet. 'You get off to bed and I'll sleep with one eye open down here.'

Melanie looked at her husband. This had to come from her. She knew that. 'Or you could carry the basket upstairs and put it near the radiator in the bedroom so we could be on hand if she needs us? We could take some milk and food up with us and put it near the basket in case she's hungry in the night.'

Forde looked at her, a look with a deep searching question colouring it.

'I-I don't want to sleep alone for one more night,' she whispered. 'I was wrong about so many things, Forde. I knew that deep down, I guess, but seeing Miriam allowed everything to be brought into the light of day, all the doubts and fears. I-I want us to be together, not just for Christmas but for the rest of our lives and-'