The Nearness of You

Chapter 12

Livy followed Declan out of the study in time to see the front door close behind him. He had given her a lot to think about. She once again noticed a movement across from her and looked over to see Hadley standing in the doorway of the living room

"Hadley? I didn't know you were here?"

Hadley gave her a tight smile as she took in Livy's appearance, and her eyes were not as friendly as the usually were. "I had car problems and Nelson offered me a lift."

Livy tightened her robe as Hadley's eyes swept over her once more. "Do you generally see him off in your dressing gown?" she teased, but her voice lacked its normal friendliness. "Not that I can blame you, Nelson was right, he does clean up well." Her head nodded towards the door that Declan had just left through.

"Usually he's gone before I even get up," Livy said honestly. She hadn't missed Hadley's double meaning and it didn't bother her in the least if Hadley took her innocent statement to mean something different then it really did. In fact, it was just the opposite, she liked the thought that someone might think that she and Declan were a couple.

Hadley looked over Livy's shoulder and Livy turned to see Nelson watching them from the doorway of the dining room. "I'm nowhere close to being ready and I would hate to delay you both," she hinted with a smile.

Nelson looked as if he was about to object but Hadley cut him off before he could. "We have that meeting with Landon, I would hate for us to be late." She eyed Nelson who looked momentarily confused before he smiled.

"You're right, I had forgotten it in my concern for Livy." He walked over to Livy, placing both hands on her shoulders in much the same way that Declan had, but other than a vague pressure she felt nothing, unlike the heat she had felt from Declan's touch.

"You're sure you'll be alright to make it into the office?" he asked with concern.

"She's made it there every morning before this," Hadley drawled.

Livy watched as Nelson's smile became tight, but he still waited for Livy to respond.

"I'm fine, Declan makes sure that I have a car to take me where ever I need to go." She wasn't sure why she said it, but she felt Nelson's hands tighten on her shoulders in response.

"I still don't trust him, if you need help Livy, I'll help you."

"I'm fine Nelson and I'll be in the office at my regular time."

Nelson continued to stare at her for a moment longer then nodded. "We'll see you in a bit." He dropped a quick kiss on her lips, but if he was hoping it would me more than a little peck he was disappointed, and if he had tried to force the kiss into something more she would have pushed him away.

There would be no more kissing Nelson.

She saw them to the door then shut it, her mind replaying the kiss that Declan had given her in the dining room. There was no way Nelson's kiss could compare to Declan's. She wandered to the end of the hall and into the kitchen with all of her thoughts centered on Declan's earlier confession of wanting her.

If she hadn't of been so deep in thought she might have heard the screaming baby long before she saw it.

Raoul was standing in the middle of the kitchen, a pot boiling on the stove behind him while he cradled a screaming toddler in his arms. The small girl was red, sweaty, and crying, and it was obvious that she was sick. Raoul didn't notice her entrance and neither did the beautiful blond woman he was arguing with. They were almost screaming at each other in Spanish so Livy had no clue what they were arguing about.

When the baby saw her, she reached her arms towards Livy and her natural instinct kicked in as she also reached for her, taking her quickly before Raoul had realized what had happened.

She was beautiful, she had a mass of dark curly hair and big brown eyes. The child was burning up and Livy carried her over to the counter sitting her on it while she wet a towel to lay on her head in an attempt to cool her down. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do or not, but it had always made her feel better as a child. Both Raoul and the woman's arguing ceased immediately and the tension in the room grew as they watched her. Livy guessed that woman was the child's mother but she wasn't positive because the woman made no attempt to take the child away from Livy.

"What's going on Raoul?" Livy asked as she picked up the child once more, holding her close. The child gave a few sneezes and a chest rattling cough and then settled down on her shoulder.

"This is my sister, Rosa. Rosa this is Miss Livy, Mr. Declan's friend."

Rosa didn't say anything as she watched Livy warily.

The woman looked sick herself. She was unbelievably skinny and her hair and face looked as if it hadn't been washed in a while. She would have been beautiful if she had spent a little more time on her appearance, maybe she and the baby needed money.

"If it's money, I can ask Declan-"

"No, it's not money, Mr. Declan doesn't need to know about this," Raoul said reaching for the baby. Livy forced herself to hand the baby back to Raoul, and it took all that she had to look away as the child reached for her again.

"This is Maria." Raoul introduced the baby, who had started to cry again. The little sound broke Livy's heart.

"Is there anything I can do? Can I take the baby to the Doctor?"

"I'll drive Rosa and Maria there after I take you to work," Raoul assured her as he adjusted the towel.

"Take her now please, I'll find my own way to work." She reached for the little girl's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Are you sure-"

"Yes, Miss Livy, I'll take care of everything. If we need anything else I will let Mr. Declan know, I promise."

The woman hissed something nasty in Spanish and spit, and Livy couldn't help but look at her in shock.

"Please, leave everything to me Miss Livy."

Livy nodded, looking once more at the baby before letting Raoul push her out of the kitchen. "Please take the baby to the Doctor, now Raoul."

"I will, we'll be gone in five minutes, I promise." He nodded his assurance as he pushed her out the door.

Livy didn't fight him, and she slowly made her way up the stairs to prepare for the day.

It was odd that he didn't want her to tell Declan. The woman's response to Declan's name was also odd. She couldn't help but wonder if Raoul and his sister were in some kind of trouble. It was obvious that Raoul hadn't wanted Declan to know that his sister had visited the house.

Maybe Declan had tried to help in the past and hadn't been successful. Maybe he had banned the woman from the house to try to help Raoul keep her away.

Looking at the clock as she entered her room, she realized she was going to be late if she didn't hurry. Telling herself that she had done all that she could to help, she went through her morning routine, letting her mind wandered back to Declan.

She was looking forward to their date that evening. Maybe Declan would kiss her again.