In Search Of Her Own. Carole Page Gift

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СКАЧАТЬ car He returned the wave with a good-natured smile, then turned and walked quickly to his automobile. Victoria fastened her seat belt and turned the key in the ignition, but nothing happened. She tried again, and again, but there was only a dull click-click-click.

      She heard a tap on her window and glanced over to see the stranger. “Release the hood and I’ll check it for you,” he told her.

      A minute later he returned to her. “The water level in your battery’s down. The terminals are corroded. You’ll need a new battery.”

      “Oh, great.” She sighed. “I’ll have to call the auto club.”

      He leaned into the open window, his face close to her own. “I wish I had some jumper cables,” he said with an earnestness that touched her. “I’ll be glad to drive you to a gas station where you can make your call.”

      She stiffened. “No, thank you. I—I really couldn’t impose.”

      “Please, I insist. It goes against my gentlemanly instincts to leave a lady stranded in this downpour. I’d really like to help.” When she still looked doubtful, he offered a reassuring smile “I know what they say about riding in cars with strangers, but I assure you I’m harmless.”

      Victoria weighed her options, and finally offered a noncommittal, “Thank you. I’d appreciate a ride.” She picked up her purse and followed the man to a sleek, metallic-red foreign sports car.

      As he drove toward the business district of the city, he glanced over at her and said, “I suppose this would be a good time to introduce ourselves. I’m Phillip Anders.”

      She smiled “I’m Victoria Carlin.”

      “I’m glad to meet you, Victoria. Actually, I remember seeing you at the cemetery before.”

      “Yes. I remember seeing you, too. It was Easter Sunday “

      He flashed an ironic smile. “There has to be a better meeting place than Rest Haven.”

      Victoria laughed faintly. She wasn’t quite sure how to take this unpredictable man, Phillip Anders. One moment he seemed brooding and introspective, the next he was making droll jokes and offering the most disarming smile.

      They drove to a nearby filling station where Victoria made her call “It’ll be at least an hour or more before the tow truck can come,” she told Phillip when she returned to his car.

      “All right,” he said. “I’m in no hurry. Before I take you back to your car, let’s stop by the little coffee shop next door.”

      “Oh, no,” she protested. “You don’t have to wait with me.”

      “I never leave a lady in distress.” Laugh lines appeared around his eyes. “Like I said, I want to make sure you aren’t stranded in this miserable weather.”

      In the Dew Drop Inn, a waitress showed them to a corner booth just off the kitchen. Several yellowed western prints decorated the mauve walls and an antique coatrack stood nearby. Phillip hung up their coats, then they sat down and ordered coffee. “Hot and black,” he told the teenage waitress with backcombed, tangerine hair

      Victoria shivered involuntarily “I didn’t realize how cold I was.”

      “It shouldn’t be this cold in May. We’ve had enough winter.”

      She nodded. “That’s how I feel. It seems as if winter has lasted for years,”

      “It has,” he murmured thoughtfully. “And there’s no end in sight.”

      “I have a feeling you’re not talking about the weather now.”

      “No.” He paused. “Tell me, Miss Carlin—or is it Mrs.?”

      She felt her face flush slightly “Miss.”

      “Then that’s not your husband’s grave?”

      “No. My mother’s.”

      “I noticed two headstones.”

      “My father died six years ago.”

      “I’m sorry. I know how hard it is. I lost both my parents when I was young.”

      “And now your wife,” she said softly

      He nodded, a tendon tightening along his jawhne. “It’s been nearly a year. You’d think it would get easier.”

      “She was so young. Do you mind my asking? Was it an accident?”

      “Cancer. She never gave up. Bravest woman I ever knew.”

      They were both silent for several moments, sipping their coffee. Finally, in a lighter tone, he asked, “Just what is it you do, Miss Carlin—other than frequent cemeteries, that is?”

      “I’m an instructor at the university. Contemporary American literature. I’m finishing my third year of teaching.”

      “Oh. one of those studious types—your nose always in a book?”

      Victoria unconsciously lifted her hand to the back of her neck. “I suppose you could say that. I’m working on the thesis for my doctorate.”

      “I’m impressed,” said Phillip. “My remark about studious types wasn’t meant as an insult. I admire intelligent women. It’s just that you don’t look like any of the teachers I had in school—you know, the old-maid schoolmarms with their hair in a bun and spectacles halfway down their noses.”

      Victoria forced a laugh. “In just which century did you attend school, Mr. Anders?”

      He accepted her mild rebuff. “All right, I’m exaggerating. But you look like you’d be more at home on the tennis courts or horseback riding in the country.”

      Victoria sipped her coffee, then said, “I’ve never played tennis or been on a horse. I’ve spent most of my life in libraries and classrooms “

      “Even when you were a child?”

      “Yes. My parents were both professors at the university and, for as long as I can remember, they stressed the importance of education. They naturally expected me to become a teacher, too.”

      “Doesn’t sound like you had much fun.”

      “Fun wasn’t one of my priorities.” Victoria realized immediately how smug she sounded, so she added, “Learning was fun for me.”

      “Well, for me it was just plain hard work. I got through law school by the skin of my teeth.”

      “Then you’re a lawyer?”

      “Not anymore,” he replied “I passed my bar exams and set up practice as an attorney, but after a couple of years of sitting in a stuffy office, neck-high in paperwork, I decided I’d had it. I closed up shop and began working as a private investigator.”

      “Really? How exciting,” said Victoria.

      “To СКАЧАТЬ