Out of the Shadows. Loree Lough

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СКАЧАТЬ I’m right behind you.”

      They walked side by side to the elevator. “Hot date?” Tara asked, pressing the down button.

      He pictured Patrice, with her mop of auburn curls, doe eyes, sweet smile…. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

      The car whooshed them to the garage level. “Well, don’t burn yourself.” She patted his hand. “’Cause those babies are miracle workers.”

      He resisted the impulse to pocket both hands. “You have one of those baby-carrying gizmos?”

      “An infant seat, you mean?”

      Nodding, he said, “Yeah. Infant seat. You have one in your car?”

      “As a matter of fact, I have two of them. One for each of the kids. What kind of mother would I be if I—” She stopped talking mid-sentence and narrowed one eye. “Why?”

      Wade pretended he hadn’t heard the suspicion in her voice. Truth was, he had no earthly idea why he’d asked the question. “Just wondering, is all.”

      “Boy-oh-boy,” she said, giggling, “I’d give anything to meet the woman who has Dr. Nevermarry thinkin’ about baby seats!” She hopped out of the elevator.

      And she was still giggling when the doors hissed shut.

      Patrice stood in front of the foyer mirror and adjusted the earrings dangling from her lobes. “You sure you’ll be okay for a couple of hours?”

      “Sure I’m sure.” Gus fiddled with the controls of his wheelchair. “I’m okay while you’re at work all day, aren’t I?”

      Hands on her hips, she faced him. “Yes, Dad, but Molly is here with you while I’m at work.”

      “Yeah, well, I’d go hoarse trying to convince you I don’t need her.”

      “Save the tough-guy routine for somebody who’ll fall for it,” she teased. “Molly, for instance.” She winked. “I know you like having her around.”

      He shrugged. “She’s okay.”

      “Okay? Who else would let you beat them at board games the way she does!”

      Gus grinned. “You make a good point.” He sniffed the air. “You smell pretty.”

      “It’s the perfume you gave me last Christmas.” She leaned closer. “He said casual. I didn’t go overboard, did I?”

      Gus inspected her outfit: black flats, blue jeans, a pale pink turtleneck. “So who’s ‘he’ and where’s ‘he’ taking you?”

      She went back to fussing with her hair. “To a Mexican restaurant, somewhere here in Ellicott City.”

      “And where’d you meet him?”

      “His name is Wade Cameron, and I met him at the hospital.” She paused, wishing she didn’t have to say it. “He’s a cardiologist.”

      “Oh-h-h, no-o-o,” Gus groaned. “Not another doctor!” He shook his head. “Every time you get involved with one of those pompous know-it-alls, you get your teeth kicked in. When are you gonna learn, Treecie?”

      Patrice couldn’t very well argue with him. But she didn’t have to agree with him, either. “It’s a meal, Dad.” Besides, she added silently, it’s going to be different this time. This time I’m not going to fall crazy in love on the first date. “So please, when he gets here, be nice?”

      Gus raised both eyebrows and feigned innocence. “I’m always nice.”

      “True.” Bending, she kissed his cheek. “So be extra nice, then, for me, okay?”

      “Well, I’ll—” The doorbell rang, interrupting his promise.

      Patrice took a deep breath, then opened the door. Earlier, Wade had looked incredible in his lab coat and stethoscope. He looked even better now in khaki trousers and a fisherman’s knit sweater.

      “Hey,” he said, smiling. “How goes it?”

      “It goes pretty well. Come in. I’d like you to meet my father.” Patrice watched carefully, studying his reaction to the man in the wheelchair. If she’d learned this trick years ago, she might have spared herself a heartache…or two. “Dad, this is—”

      “Wade Cameron,” he broke in, grasping Gus’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. McKenzie.”

      “Good to meet you, too,” Gus said. “Treecie, here, tells me you’re a cardiologist.”

      He shrugged as if to say “no big deal,” then glanced around. “Nice place.”

      “Awright, enough with the pleasantries,” Gus said. “Get on out of here, you two.”

      Wade chuckled and Patrice smiled. “Honestly, Dad, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you had a hot date planned for tonight.”

      “Matter of fact, I do have a hot date—with the television set.”

      “Well,” Wade said, “are you ready, Patrice?”

      She grabbed her jacket from the hall tree, hung it over her forearm. “I’ll have my cell phone on,” she said, patting her purse, “in case—”

      “I won’t need you. There’s a boxing match on cable.” He winked. “That oughta keep me out of trouble for a couple of hours.”

      She kissed his other cheek. “All right, but if you get hungry—”

      “Are you kidding? You fed me enough supper to last till tomorrow night!” He laughed. “Now get a move on, or I’ll miss the first round.”

      “We won’t be long,” Wade told Gus.

      “Take your time…please.” And snickering over his shoulder, he rolled into the family room.

      “He’s quite a guy,” Wade said as she locked up.

      She nodded. “Did you have any trouble finding the place?”

      “Nah. I was a volunteer firefighter during my senior year in high school.” He opened the car door for her. “Got to know the area pretty well.”

      She slid onto the passenger seat. “So doing good deeds and saving lives has always been in your blood?”

      He slammed the door, hard. Routine? she wondered. Or in response to what she’d asked? Something told her it was the latter. But why would the question bother him?

      “How long has your dad been in the wheelchair?” he asked, revving the motor.

      She sighed. It was his turn, it seemed, to ask hard-to-answer questions. “Long time.”

      “Accident?”

      Nodding, she whispered, “Yes.”

      “Automobile? СКАЧАТЬ