Читать книгу Meet Me In Texas - Sandy Steen, Sandy Steen - Страница 8

THUNDERSTRUCK, DEL STARED FOR a second. “I don’t believe it. Wow, no wonder I didn’t recognize you. You’ve grown into a lovely young woman.”

“Thanks.” Allison smiled. “But you haven’t changed a bit. And you’re still in the rescue business, only this time it’s a dog.”

He shrugged. “Just in the right place at the right time. What about you? I assume you work here.”

“Yes, I’m—” She patted her breast pocket, then glanced down. “Oops, forgot my name badge. I’m a full-time veterinary technician.”

“That’s great. What a stroke of luck to run into you like this.”

“You’re telling me. I don’t usually work on Saturday nights, but I’m filling in for a coworker. Listen,” she said, “I was just on the phone to Dad when you came back into the lobby and the whole family is so excited to know you’re in town. Long enough for a visit, I hope.”

“Truth is, I’m going to be here for quite a while.”

“Really? On a case?”

He shook his head. “I’ve retired and am in the process of relocating and starting a whole new business right here in Crystal Creek.”

Her eyes widened. “No kidding! That’s wonderful! Why haven’t I heard about this? When did it happen? Did my mom and dad know about it?”

Del laughed at her enthusiasm. “As a matter of fact, Sam gave me directions to this clinic. But it was a short conversation and I didn’t have time to tell him I was moving to Crystal Creek. No one knows.”

“Except me.”

“You’re the first.”

Smiling, she propped her elbow on the counter. “Ah-h-h, former agent turned man of mystery.”

“Hardly,” he said. “This town just sort of stuck in my mind all these years and I thought it would be a great place to start over.”

She smiled. “Well, I’m glad I’m the first to know and the first to welcome you to our fair city. Again.”

“Thanks.”

“Mom and Dad will be thrilled.”

“How are they? Everything going well?”

“Great.” For the first time since she saw Del Rickman walk through the clinic doors, Allison’s spirits sagged slightly. At least, everything had been going well. For as long as they’d been together, she’d never felt anything but harmony between her parents, but recently she’d noticed a definite tension and it worried her. She kept her smile in place.

“And the rest of the family? How are they?”

“Just fine. My sister Sandy is attending the University of Texas and Hank is a typical teenager. I know they’ll want to see you.”

“I’d like that. Sam and Lynn and citizens like them are part of the reason I decided to live and work in Crystal Creek.”

“Since you’re starting a new business, Dad will want to introduce you to the Businessman’s Association and the Lions Club.”

“Well, I’m not quite ready to open my doors just yet.”

“Even so, he’ll want you to get to know people. Say,” her smile brightened. “Would you like to have dinner with the family tomorrow night?”

“Thanks for the invite, but Sam and Lynn may have other plans,” he hedged, even though the idea of a home-cooked meal among friends was definitely appealing.

“Sunday dinner is always the whole family at the table. Mom says we eat on the run the rest of the week, so she insists we all be together for the Sunday meal. Let me give them a call, but I already know the answer.”

Del watched as she walked to the phone and punched out a number. After a minute-long conversation she turned, gave him a thumbs-up and one of the most genuinely beautiful smiles he’d ever seen. The impact of it rolled over him like an unexpected tropical breeze after a long, cold winter. She had brilliant blue eyes but they dimmed in comparison to her smile. He had the feeling that when he closed his eyes tonight to sleep, that smile would be etched into his memory so clearly he would be able to recall every detail. There was something…he searched for the right word and had to settle for compelling…about her. Something that made him want to take her hand, tuck it safely into his and walk with her, talk with her. Just the two of them. He blinked, realizing his thoughts had taken a decidedly sensual turn. What was he thinking? This was little Allie, the girl he’d rescued.

Of course, she wasn’t little anymore. Even a fool could see she was a grown woman, and a damned attractive one. That smile of hers was enough to make a man dream about home and hearth. Get a grip, he told himself. If a great smile could affect him this way, he’d been alone far too long.

“It’s all set,” Allison said after ending the conversation. “Very casual, lots of good food and conversation, and tons of laughter. You’re going to love it.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” he answered, and it was true. A meal with a real family. He needed that kind of connection.

“Me, too. If I’m not being too curious, you said ‘relocating’, so I assume you’re looking for a place to—”

At that moment one of the double doors opened and Dr. Tanner motioned for Del. “Why don’t you come on back,” the vet suggested.

Del glanced at Allison. “I’ll go with you,” she offered, and they walked into the treatment room. Inside, a young woman who introduced herself as Connie, another vet tech, was cleaning up. Lying on a stainless steel table and hooked up to an IV tube was the hapless stray. At the sight of Del, the dog’s tail thumped loudly against the table.

“Hey, there, sweetie,” Allison cooed as she stroked the dog’s head. “You’re being such a good girl. Yes, you are.”

“Well,” Tanner said, “the good news is, no broken bones, no infections. She’s got a coupla lacerations, but only one needed stitches. Those’ll have to come out in about a week. She’s gonna favor her right leg for a while and she’s got a nasty bruise on that hip, but I figure she’ll probably walk it off in a day or so. You know, another twenty-four hours under that woodpile and it mighta been a whole different story.”

“Is she anemic?” Allison asked Tanner.

“Slightly.” He looked at Del. “Anemia is pretty common in strays. That, and malnutrition. This one’s hardly more than skin and bones, but it won’t take long to put some meat back on her. A week or two of three squares a day and you won’t even recognize her. She’ll be in the pink.”

“She’s been spayed,” Allison said, gently running her hand over the dog’s abdomen.

“Yep. Best guess is that she’s about three years old.” Tanner petted the dog. “The biggest concern now is dehydration. As you can see, we’ve got her on an IV and probably need to keep her on it for several hours, but she can go home with you tonight.”

“Thanks, Doc, I appreciate everything you’ve done. Is there any way you can board her until I can find her owner or a good home?”

Mike Tanner raised an eyebrow. “You’re not gonna keep her?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, but I will make sure she’s taken care of.”

“Well, that’s fine, but unfortunately she can’t stay here. We’re affiliated with A&M’s school of medicine through a grant from a rich alumnus. Not for profit, and all that. Mostly teaching and experimental. We’re not really open to the public except for emergencies. We just don’t have the space or staff to board animals unless it’s a serious medical circumstance. I’d point you in the direction of the local animal shelter, but they’re sufferin’ from cutbacks in state funding. Only open three days a week. There’s a shelter in Fredericksburg, and of course there’s the Austin ASPCA. Might give them a call. You allergic to dog dander or something?”

“No, I just don’t have a home—I mean, I do, but…I’ve just moved here. Today, in fact. I own a house, but it’s empty until my furniture arrives day after tomorrow. I’m staying there, but the accommodations consist of an air mattress, a sleeping bag and an ice chest.”

Mike Tanner grinned. “Look at this dog. Does she strike you as the highfalutin type? Besides, if you’re gonna run an ad in the Lost and Found section of the newspaper, there’ll have to be a number to call, and we can’t do that here.”

Del looked at the dog, clean now, or at least as clean as the doctor could accomplish without giving her a bath. With the top layer of filth gone, he could see she was a mixed breed: part Lab, part Retriever with maybe a splash of German shepherd thrown in for good measure. The colors in her coat were swirled, splotched and splattered rather than blended together, giving the dog’s fur the bizarre appearance of a Jackson Pollock work on fur. Then he looked at the very place he’d been avoiding—her eyes. They weren’t pleading or soulful, just trusting. Del told himself not to be a sap. He was too busy, had too many irons in the fire to babysit a stray. Still…the animal had been on his property. Technically, it was his responsibility to see the dog settled.

“Judgin’ from where she’s been,” Tanner said, “I’d say a bare floor inside a warm house is a step up for her. You got heat, right?”

“No, but I’ve got a working fireplace and plenty of firewood in the back of my truck. Weatherman said it would only drop to around forty degrees tonight, so I should be fine.”

“That’ll work.”

“But she’ll have to eat and I don’t have any dog food.”

“Got some in the back I’ll give you,” Tanner offered.

“And we’ve got a plastic bowl in the storeroom you can use for water,” Allison added.

Del was embarrassed that he sounded like a wimp, but the truth was, he hated to admit that he didn’t know the first thing about taking care of a dog.

“Once she’s hydrated, she’ll do fine,” Tanner insisted.

But would he, Del wondered? He just wasn’t used to sharing his space with anyone or anything. “What if she gets sick or her wound starts to bleed?”

The vet shrugged his shoulders. “That’s really not likely, but we’ll send along some antibacterial wipes and a bandage just in case. I’d like to see her again in a week to remove the stitches, and if you haven’t found the owner or a regular vet by then, we probably need to.”

Allison and the dog looked up at Del. “What could one night hurt? Essentially you’d be serving as a foster parent until she can be adopted,” she said, one hand slowly stroking the dog’s head. “And tomorrow I’ll see what we can do about finding who she belongs to, okay?”

“I couldn’t ask you to—”

“You didn’t. I offered.”

“Well,” Del sighed. “I guess if my place is good enough for me, it’ll have to be good enough for her.”

“There you go,” Tanner said. “All settled.” He gave the dog a gentle pat, shook Del’s hand then disappeared through a door marked “Lab” at the far end of the treatment room.

Del stared after him, wondering why he’d let himself be talked into leaving with the dog when that had not been his intention. He glanced at Allison and found her smiling. “Two against one, no fair.”

She nodded toward the dog. “Three.”

“Yeah. Looks like I’ve been outvoted.”

“You’ll do fine. Just call on all those survival skills you learned in the FBI.”

“I’m not sure they apply to dogs.”

Allison smiled. “My money’s on you.”

Del sighed again, knowing when he was well and truly beaten. “Okay, what time do I come back for her?”

“Ten o’clock. That’s when my shift ends.”

“Then I guess there’s nothing left to do but pay the bill.”

Allison crooked her finger and said, “Follow me.”

“What have I gotten myself into?” he mumbled.

The dog thumped her tail against the table, and Del glanced down at her. “Yeah, like you weren’t in on it from the start.” Then he followed Allison out to the front desk.

“All right.” She placed the statement on the counter then explained all the charges. “If you’ll just fill out the top of the form with your name, address, etc., we’ll be done.”

Del had no idea if the amount at the bottom of the statement was reasonable or not, but he simply did as she instructed, then returned the form and handed her his credit card.

She turned away, looked back at him. “2318 Roanoke? You bought the old Loftin place.”

“You know the house?”

“I used to know the family that lived there,” she said as she processed the transaction. “There you go, Mr. Rickman.” She handed his credit card and receipt back to him.

“I wish you’d call me Del.”

She looked straight into his eyes. “I would love to call you Del.”

“And in exchange I promise not to call you Allie.”

“Deal.” She stuck out her hand, and Del shook it.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you shortly after ten,” he said.

Del headed out, still wondering how he’d gotten himself a pet when that had been the last thing on his mind an hour ago. He was no closer to an answer three hours later when he found himself walking out of the clinic again. This time with a dog in hand.

WHAT AN ASTONISHING DAY, Allison thought as she drove home after her shift. No, more like fateful, she decided. She’d wanted to meet Del Rickman again ever since he’d rescued her, and to have him simply walk into the clinic as he had tonight was nothing short of fateful. While a part of her was eager to talk to her parents and share everything that had transpired, another part wanted to savor the events, keep them to herself. To be honest, she didn’t want to share him with anyone, even her family. A ridiculous notion, she realized, because in a small town like Crystal Creek, news spread like poison ivy at a summer camp. Before noon tomorrow, Del Rickman would be the talk of the town. Besides, he was a friend of the family, and he had already spoken to her father. Still, she didn’t say anything as she walked into the house. Her mother was at the kitchen sink and her father was seated at the table. She decided to wait for them to broach the subject, and she didn’t have to wait long.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hi, Dad.”

“So.” Sam Russell grinned. “What did you think about seeing Del Rickman after all this time?”

“Your father has talked about nothing but Del all night.” Lynn McKinney Russell came over and gave Allison a hug. “That cold front must have moved in. Your ears are like icicles.”

“Are they?” Allison touched her ears. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather when he called looking for a vet,” Sam said. “How’d it go? Did the dog make it all right?”

“Everything went fine, and—”

“Did he tell you what he’s doing in Crystal Creek?” Sam asked. “Is he on a case?”

“He’s retired from the FBI.”

Lynn looked surprised. “Really? Somehow I imagined he wouldn’t retire until age forced him to. He wasn’t wounded or anything, was he?”

“I don’t think so,” Allison said. “He told me he decided to do something else with his life.”

“And why not?” Sam announced, as if that was the best idea he’d heard in ages. “He’s still a young man. He could probably make a ton of money working in the private sector doing security. Is that what he’s planning?”

“I don’t know, Dad. All I can tell you is that whatever he’s going to do, he’ll be doing it right here in Crystal Creek.”

“You’re joking.”

Allison crossed three fingers over her heart then held them up. “Scout’s honor.”

“Well, that’s just about the most exciting thing to happen around this old town in months,” Sam said.

Sandy Russell had been leaning against the doorway to the kitchen for the last minute or so. “The FBI guy? The one that saved Allison?”

“The very same,” Sam replied.

“Cool,” she commented, then turned and left the room.

“And,” Allison went on, “he bought that two-story house over on Roanoke. You know, Mom, the one Rudy Loftin and her family used to own, but his furniture and belongings won’t arrive until Monday, so he’s camping out in the empty house.”

Lynn turned to her husband. “Maybe you should have invited him to stay here when you spoke to him earlier.”

“Honey, I would have if I’d known, but everything happened so fast. He had the injured dog and—” Sam looked at Allison. “What was wrong with the dog, anyway?”

“Mike Tanner had to suture a gash, but she was mostly suffering from malnutrition and dehydration.”

Lynn sighed. “I feel terrible thinking about him over there with no heat, all by himself.”

“He’s got a fireplace and company.” Allison grinned. “Although he wasn’t particularly thrilled about taking the dog.”

“Don’t tell me he doesn’t like dogs,” Sam said.

“Who doesn’t like dogs?” Hank, youngest of the Russell children, sauntered into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit on the kitchen table.

“You should be in bed, young man,” his mother pointed out.

“Chill, Mom. It’s Saturday. Scary Movie 3 is coming on cable and Dad said I could watch it.”

“Oh, sorry. I forgot. Tired, I guess.”

“Who’s the jerk that doesn’t like dogs? Must be some kinda freak.”

“Hank,” his mother cautioned, “if you’re going to walk into the middle of a conversation, at least listen for a minute before you start asking questions.”

“Okay, but who’s—”

“No one,” Allison said. “I was just talking about Del Rickman taking in a stray dog, that’s all.”

Hank shrugged and left the room.

“I’m afraid Dr. Mike and I double-teamed Del to take the dog, at least until we can find the owner or a good home,” Allison told her parents.

Lynn, who was filling the coffeemaker for the following morning, glanced over at her. “I’m sure you didn’t talk him into anything he didn’t really want to do. If I remember correctly, Del Rickman knew his own mind well enough not to be bulldozed by anyone.”

“He didn’t give you any indication what he plans to do here?” Sam asked. “I mean, the man may have retired, but surely he’s got plans to do…something?”

“No specifics, but you can ask him when he comes to dinner tomorrow night.”

Lynn finished filling the filter basket and set the timer. “Well, I for one would be the last person to question Del Rickman about anything. He saved our daughter’s life, and as far as I’m concerned, that makes him a friend for life. You don’t give friends the third degree.”

Sam walked over to his wife. “You’re absolutely right, darlin’. And to be honest, by the time church services let out tomorrow, the grapevine will be humming with speculation, anyway, regardless of the truth.”

Lynn gritted her teeth. “Those tacky women and their gossip. They just love setting their tongues to wagging over any stranger that comes into town.”

“He’s hardly a stranger,” Allison said, noting the snippy tone in her mother’s voice. Lynn might not like gossip, but she was usually a tolerant, good-natured woman inclined to live and let live. The sharp tone was another indication of the stress Allison had noticed in her over the last several days.

Sam turned to his daughter. “Not to us, but you know how people talk. If past history is any indication, the grapevine will have you secretly engaged to Del, with you arranging some kind of clandestine meeting using your family as a ruse. Well,” he said when his wife raised an eyebrow, “that’s just about how crazy some of those old busy-bodies can get.”

Allison smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. “You’re hopelessly straitlaced, Dad, but I love you just the way you are. There’s nothing wrong with me inviting Del to have dinner with the entire family. We owe him a lot. I owe him a lot. I’m thrilled he’s in town to stay and I don’t give a da—”

“Allison,” Lynn cautioned.

“…darn what the grapevine spreads.”

“I agree,” Lynn said, “but you know a lie can do a lot of damage, and basically, people believe what they want to believe.”

“Let them. Del Rickman is the first interesting person to hit this town in years, and I have no intention of walking on eggshells around him because some old biddy might think the worst. He’s intelligent, obviously ambitious and very good-looking.”

Lynn and Sam exchanged glances. “Is he?” Lynn asked.

“Oh, yeah. Most definitely. But more than looks, he’s…” Allison slowly smiled. “Intriguing. I like the way he makes eye contact when he talks to you, and the way he looked at that scruffy, hurt dog when he knew there was no way he was going to get out of the clinic without him. So if the gossips want to link us, you won’t hear me complain.” She looked at the curious expressions on her parents’ faces. “Relax, you two. I’m not going to run off to Mexico with the first intriguing man I’ve met in ages. It’s just nice to have someone new around to change the dynamic of things. I’m looking forward to getting to know our agent turned entrepreneur better, and I hope he’s wildly successful, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Sure.”

Allison leaned over and kissed each of them on the cheek. “Good night, Mom. ’Night, Dad.”

Sam and Lynn watch her disappear up the stairs.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Sam said when his daughter was out of sight. “What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Are you kidding? About our daughter showing some real interest in a man. And one old enough to be her—”

“Father? Hardly, Sam.”

“Well, old enough to be her uncle.”

“I think that she’s a healthy young woman and all that that implies. Why shouldn’t she be happy to have the opportunity to be around an intelligent man with more to talk about than hot cars and cattle prices like the boys around here? You heard her. It’s not like she plans to seduce him. Besides, you know how single-minded she is.”

“Single-minded. Is that a euphemism for stubborn as a Missouri mule?”

“One and the same,” Lynn said.

“I always thought her strong will was a good thing when she was pushing herself through school, then vet technician classes. Right up until—”

“She started applying it to us, right?”

Sam sighed. “She was never the same after the kidnapping.”

“Nobody would be after something like that. I certainly wasn’t.”

“Of course not. It affected all of us. And on top of everything else, you had to go through labor and delivery without me. No, I just meant Allison changed so drastically. Not that it wasn’t for the good, but I have to admit I never expected the level of determination we’ve seen. She knows what she wants and won’t settle for anything less. Obstacles are only minor problems to be overcome as far as Allison is concerned. She just doesn’t think there’s any barrier she can’t breach, and I worry that sooner or later she’ll come up against one that’s too strong even for her. I know I sound like a paranoid father, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up with a broken heart one day, and it’ll more than likely be over a man.”

“Let’s hope not.” But as Lynn spoke, a slight shiver ran through her.

“What was that?” Sam asked. “Did you just get one of your feelings?”

“Sam—”

“I saw you shiver. Was it about Allison?”

As a rule, Lynn wasn’t one to keep secrets, especially from her husband, but over the years she had discovered that sharing her gift for precognitive feelings wasn’t always a good idea. The darned things scared her enough. There was no reason to alarm the people she loved unnecessarily.

“No,” she told her husband.

“You sure?”

“You know; I do get a real honest-to-God, plain old ordinary shiver once in a while,” she shot back. “It’s not always necessary to start looking up to see if the sky is falling.”

“Okay, okay.” Sam raised both hands as if in surrender. “I admit I get a little paranoid when I see you shiver.”

Lynn sighed, knowing her sarcasm had been uncalled for. “I know, and I love you for it.”

He slipped an arm around her waist, and kissed her on the cheek. “You look tired, and I noticed you had another one of those headaches today. Are you feeling all right?”

“Oh, I’m no more tired than usual.”

“You had your yearly gynecological checkup not long ago, didn’t you?”

“Three weeks.”

“And everything was fine?”

“Why shouldn’t it be?”

“No reason, I just wanted to be sure you weren’t having any problems.” He winked and gave her a slight nudge in the ribs. “We’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Of all the times for him to tease her about growing older, Lynn thought. “Speak for yourself,” she said, trying to match his light mood even though it was miles away from how she felt.

“Well, before they come to take us to the senior home, what do you say we wobble upstairs to our bed and pretend we’re twenty again?”

Lynn reveled in the physical side of her marriage and it pained her now to deliberately avoid intimacy, but she knew she couldn’t make love to Sam without revealing everything that was on her mind, and she wasn’t ready to do that.

“Hank is still up,” she said, avoiding eye contact.

“He’s thirteen. He knows to go straight to bed after the movie.”

“I know, but I have to get some craft materials together. I’m taking over Maggie Langley’s Sunday school class tomorrow.”

“I see.” There was no mistaking the disappointment in his voice.

Lynn hated not being up front with him, but she had no choice.

“All right, then,” he said after a long pause. “Good night.”

“Good night, sweetheart.”

She actually heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Sam turn the corner at the top of the stairs and head toward their bedroom. He was right; she’d had one of her “feelings,” as he liked to call them, and it had concerned Allison. As she’d watched the stepdaughter she had come to love as her own disappear up the stairs, apprehension had grown in the pit of Lynn’s stomach until it was a knot. She’d experienced an almost overpowering urge to race up the stairs to Allison’s room and tell her to be careful, but she had no idea of what. Yet the warning hovered at the edge of her mind. Not for the first time, she wished she had never inherited some of her Grandpa Hank’s “shine,” which seemed to come to her as brief premonitions. Then again, a little of it might be very helpful at the moment.

Crossing the kitchen to a small table by the back door, Lynn opened a shoe box filled with the craft items she’d already collected. Another fib she’d told her husband. For a woman who prided herself on honesty, she’d been telling lies and half truths for days, but she had good reason. Or at least she thought she did. Now, however, the guilt over not sharing news of her pregnancy with Sam was threatening to overwhelm her.

Pregnant. At her age.

Not that she was over the hill, but she would be forty in three months. Forty and pregnant. That was something totally unexpected, and under normal circumstances might even be joyful. But there had been a problem with her blood test. The doctor had used words like questionable results and abnormalities.

That had caused her enough concern, but when she heard him say, “It’s possible we may be dealing with Down’s syndrome,” she had felt real fear.

She’d wanted to rush home to Sam, cry in his arms and have him comfort her. She’d wanted that desperately until she realized that she would simply be transferring her fears to him and the children. It was bad enough that she had to go through three weeks of anxiety until she could have the test to confirm or rule out Down’s syndrome. But it would have been unfair to burden the rest of her family with the nerve-jangling wait. Her husband, her children—the people she loved most and who loved her—would suffer needlessly. So she’d kept her own counsel, but it was beginning to take a toll on her, and she wasn’t sure she could hold out another week until the test. But she had to. Until she knew the results of that test, she had decided to keep the news of her pregnancy to herself. Meanwhile, she’d gone over the options in her mind. Over and over them. It had been a shock to learn she was pregnant, but the news that her baby might be born with a handicap that could range from mild to severe had shaken her—to the point she considered terminating the pregnancy.

She’d desperately wanted other children after Hank was born, but when two miscarriages followed, it didn’t seem to be in the cards. And now…

Be careful what you wish for, Lynn thought. And because more children had been her fondest wish, terminating the pregnancy, no matter how the tests turned out, didn’t feel right to her. If the time came to make a decision, Sam’s opinion would count for a lot, but she couldn’t see him choosing that option. Meanwhile, carrying this secret around was eating away at her like acid.

Lynn put her hand on her stomach. “Dear Lord,” she whispered, “please let my baby be healthy. And give me strength to make it one more week.”

TWO HOURS AFTER she’d heard Lynn come upstairs to bed, Allison lay in the dark, wide-awake, her mind so filled with thoughts of Del she couldn’t possibly sleep. She wasn’t given to dramatics, but if she had to describe what had happened the moment he came through the doors of the clinic, she would say that it was like having viewed the world ever so slightly tilted, only to have it righted in a heartbeat. It sounded hokey, but there it was. Suddenly she felt as if everything was in the right place; everything fit. And she was infused with a kind of energy she’d never experienced. Not a frenzied kind of energy, but a powerful, steady flow of warmth, vitality and a thrilling sense of well-being.

She sat up in bed.

And balance.

That was it. Balance. Ever since the kidnapping and the journey of self-discovery that followed, she had moved forward, eager to embrace life. And while she knew in her heart she was moving toward her goals, she had never felt steady, balanced. But the instant she looked up and saw Del, that feeling disappeared. She hadn’t realized it until this very moment, but for the first time in years she felt as if she was standing on bedrock. Call it Kismet, Fate, serendipity or whatever, but all her instincts told her Del Rickman’s return wasn’t a coincidence. Not for her, at least. They had a connection. He had altered the course of her life all those years ago, and his influence had been almost as strong as her parents’. Not that she thought of him as a parental figure. Certainly not after meeting him face to face again. She hadn’t exaggerated one bit when she’d told her folks he was the most interesting man she’d met in ages. As far as she was concerned, Del Rickman was a man in a town full of boys.

And she was definitely attracted to him.

She couldn’t honestly say the attraction wasn’t all tangled up with hero worship. After all, she’d thought of him as a hero all these years. But this didn’t feel like hero worship. It felt like real male-female attraction—the kind that made your heart beat faster. And it was totally unexpected.

It wasn’t as if she’d been impatiently waiting for one man to come along and sweep her off her feet. Far from it. She’d started dating like most normal teenagers and gone through the crushes and going-steady phases. She’d had a year-long relationship her last year of high school and a semi-serious one her second year of college. But neither relationship had made her think of marriage and a lifelong commitment, particularly since so much of her time and energy had been devoted to her studies. In the last few months she’d chosen to limit her social life to going out with groups of friends because it was simply more fun than going on dates. She’d never doubted that one day she would find a terrific guy and fall in love, but she’d never gone looking for him, either.

And then Del had walked through the clinic door. There had been a moment, before he knew who she was, when she sensed that his interest in her was most definitely not platonic. For a few seconds he’d looked at her the way a man looked at a woman he wanted to kiss. A woman he wanted to touch and take to bed.

Not that Allison was looking for sex, or not looking for that matter. She wasn’t a prude or a virgin, but she was selective. Until today the temptation for a sexual relationship had been weak at best, but that could change. She was hardly planning to seduce Del, although, she mused, the thought did have an undeniable appeal. What she did plan to do was just be herself, a confident, intelligent woman open to life’s possibilities, and get to know him a whole lot better.