The Heart of Grace. Linda Goodnight

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      The stabbing pain sliced through her heart again. What had she done? Why had he stopped loving her?

      Drew stirred then and turned his head, emitting a gentle snore that made her smile. Light from the door illuminated his face. His cheeks were sunken and he was much thinner than normal. Beneath his naturally dark skin existed an unnatural pallor. Pinch lines of pain encircled his supple mouth. She longed to soothe them away with her fingertips.

      He needed a shave, too, but then Drew had always gone for the scruffy whiskered look. She’d gone for it as well, head over heels.

      Her eyes lingered for a moment on his face. Her beautiful, rugged, dangerous Drew. So deep and mysterious, so brilliant and creative and loving. He had many wonderful traits.

      Her thoughts wandered back to the first time they’d met. After paying an enormous price for a group of his stunning photographs, she’d been thrilled for the opportunity to meet the man who could portray children with enough beauty and sensitivity to make her cry. She’d pictured an equally sensitive artist with a gentle and unassuming demeanor.

      What she’d met was a wild man with a cocky attitude, dark hair tied back with a leather strip, the tiny fish resting in the hollow of his darkly tanned throat. Dressed in tattered jeans, a denim jacket hanging casually from wide, muscular shoulders, the startling photographer had slowly removed his shades and devoured her with wolf eyes. It had been love at first sight.

      Three whirlwind weeks later, over the furious protests of her parents, they’d married.

      Her parents had been wrong. Drew was wrong. Now she was the only one left who believed in their marriage.

      Deep in his sleep-drenched subconscious, Drew smelled Larissa’s perfume. Sweet and expensive, just like the wearer. Pleasure washed through him, stronger than the throbbing, incessant pain in his body. Larissa.

      Coming slowly out of his latest fifteen-minute nap, he hoped he hadn’t been dreaming. He wanted to see her, to hold her. All of the agony of the last few days would disappear as soon as he held her.

      Opening his eyes to slits, he saw with relief that she was, indeed, in the room. For a satisfying moment, he looked his fill, unnoticed. She stood at his bedside deep in thought, her attention focused on the wires and tubes dangling around him. She looked stricken, frightened, and he longed to take her in his arms and tell her everything was okay. A fierce protectiveness came over him, laughable because he was too weak to stand up, much less protect anyone.

      His Larissa. Classy. Vulnerable. Gorgeous.

      He wished for his camera.

      Where was his camera anyway? He touched his chest, feeling for the pockets in his vest before realization crept in and he remembered where he was. He also remembered the other thing. He couldn’t hold Larissa ever again.

      The throbbing in his head reached a crescendo. She would have been so much better off if he’d made her a widow.

      As if sensing his wakefulness, Larissa slowly turned, her gorgeous violet eyes liquid with unshed tears. Drew’s guts clenched with the need to comfort her. He bit down on the sides of his tongue to hold back the words. Divorce was the right decision, regardless of his physical condition. Maybe because of it, too.

      Mustering every bit of courage, he ground out the words, “What are you doing here?”

      His hand lay limp across his chest. She reached for it, and her soft, silky fingers soothed more than any medicine. In a minute, he’d pull away, but right now, he just couldn’t let go.

      “I’ve come to take you home,” she said.

      He squeezed his eyes shut against the torment her words brought. Home. He didn’t have a home.

      Through clenched teeth, he said, “We’re getting a divorce. I’m not coming home.”

      “I don’t want a divorce, Drew, and you’re in no condition at this point to pursue it.”

      He hardened his heart and his voice, saying as coldly as possible, “It’s happening. Get used to it.”

      Her shimmering tears spilled over then and nearly killed him. Against his own will, he reclaimed her hand.

      “Hey, don’t do that. I’m not worth crying over.”

      Face sad, she leaned in and laid her head on his chest. He was sure his heart would explode.

      “My ribs,” he said, using the injury as an excuse, although her touch made him better instead of worse.

      She jerked upright, all concern and contrition. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry. I didn’t think. Should I call the nurse?”

      Her hands fluttered above him, afraid to touch but needing to comfort. A born nurturer, Larissa’s sweet concern was getting to him fast.

      Before he became a blubbering idiot, he said, “I don’t need a nurse. I need you to leave.” He dragged in a painful breath. “Go home to Tulsa and forget me.”

      “I can’t. I won’t.”

      “Sure you will. Marry some great guy and be happy.”

      “I married a great guy, and I was happy.”

      He turned his face away. If he looked into those suffering eyes much longer, he’d be lost.

      “I’m not leaving, Drew,” she said gently. “And there really isn’t anything you can do about that.”

      He squelched the grudging admiration for his smart wife. In his pitiful condition, he couldn’t do much physically, but he knew how to make her miserable enough to leave. Oh yeah. He knew how to make other people miserable. That seemed to be his specialty. He squeezed down hard on the metal fish in his opposite hand.

      Inside, he whispered, God, if you care about her, make her go away.

      Not that he believed, but Larissa did. And if God was a good God, He’d know Drew was the worst possible choice of husbands for a wealthy socialite whose daddy was a squeaky-clean politician. She was a sweet, loving Christian who had too much to lose by staying hooked up with the likes of him.

      But how could he make her go away without being cruel? Her inability to accept the inevitable was exactly why he’d planned to never see her again.

      “We’ll talk about this later,” she said, her voice soft and shaky in the quiet. “Tell me about the accident.”

      “Accidents are not intentional.”

      “You know what I mean. What happened over there?”

      He noticed how smoothly she’d sidestepped his demand that she leave him alone. All right then. He’d talk, tell her what she needed to know, and then try again to make her see reason. Right now, his head hurt too much to formulate a battle plan against a smart cookie like Larissa.

      He related most of what he could remember, omitting that last horrible experience of flying away from the jeep. He hadn’t asked but figured he knew what happened to the rest of the convoy. Not knowing was the better option at this point. He wasn’t СКАЧАТЬ