“Wake up, sweet.” He stroked her cheek.
Still nothing.
“Hallie!” Kit raised his voice, patting her cheek with rapid but gentle little slaps. “Wake up!”
Her head moved from side to side.
“Oh hell! Hallie, come on, wake up!” Kit shook her shoulders.
Her lips moved but he couldn’t make out the words. He rubbed her cheeks, hard. “What? I can’t hear you.”
With her eyes still closed, Hallie whispered, “I’m a pig.”
She thinks she’s a pig?What have I done? He uttered a vile curse and Hallie came around. She opened her eyes and blinked up at him.
“Do I still have my feet?” she asked.
Her feet?Kit leaned closer to examine her dazed eyes. He watched her expression clear and knew the moment she was fully conscious.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You fainted,” he answered, trying to see how much she remembered. He wondered about that pig business. Did she think she was soiled because their kiss exploded into touches more intimate? Good Lord, how was he going to explain? And what about her feet? Kit looked at them. He didn’t see anything wrong.
“Can you wiggle your toes?” he asked.
“Of course. Why?”
Kit sighed. “You asked me if you still had your feet.”
Hallie frowned for a second and then giggled. It was infectious, and he was relieved...vastly relieved. He smiled, too, he couldn’t help himself. Those childlike dimples did strange things to the pit of his stomach.
“I was confused,” she explained. “You see I thought I was a pig—”
“Wait! Hold it right there. You are not a pig, Hallie. I need to explain some things to you.” He couldn’t look at her innocent face when he explained that what happened wasn’t her fault. “There are some things, some feelings, we can’t control. What happened was a...reaction. I’m older and more experienced. You did nothing wrong. I shouldn’t have let myself go like that.”
Hallie’s joyful face fell. She looked so disappointed, so abandoned. He felt like hell.
She looked down at her fidgeting fingers. “I guess you didn’t really mean it?” she quietly asked.
How was he supposed to answer that? What did he mean by what he had done?
“You don’t have to feel obligated to us. I can take care of the kids. I don’t need any help, really. I understand how you must have felt sorry for me and promised something that you can’t do. Don’t worry, I understand. You’re a busy man—”
“What are you talking about?”
“You promised to help, to take care of us. Earlier, before the...” Hallie colored slightly, “the little kiss.”
Little kiss?Any more little kisses like that and his blood would evaporate. Then her words registered. She jumped at his bark of laughter. She thought he was abandoning them. She didn’t feel soiled. Her eyes narrowed at his laughter, and he wanted to explain but he needed a moment to stop laughing.
“I don’t think it’s funny, Kit!”
“Don’t get all riled up. I meant what I said about helping you. That wasn’t what I was talking about.”
“It wasn’t?”
“No, Hallie-girl. I’ll do anything I can for you and the children. Your father left some documents naming a guardian.”
“Who?”
