Married or Not? by Annette Broadrick

Why did her ex have to still be so attractive?

He made her motor run non-stop whenever he was around. Right now, she couldn’t afford to be tempted.

“Don’t worry about helping me,” she said. She could sense his reluctance. “I changed clothes earlier this evening.”

“All right. At least let me put you on the bed before I leave.”

Before she could protest, he picked her up as though she were weightless and sat her on the side of the bed.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Greg said.

She nodded. He continued to stand there. She closed her eyes. It would be so easy to forget what she’d gone through and accept the here and now…

Ian’s Ultimate Gamble by Brenda Jackson

“Mere friendship between us just won’t work.”

“You don’t think so?”

“No.” Ian’s voice was clipped and confident.

“And since things can never be like they were, we need closure to the relationship, a permanent end.”

Brooke knew that what he was saying was true, but hearing him say it hurt her deeply.

“So, how do you suggest we go about finding this closure?” she asked. “Do you want me to leave?”

He stared at her for a long moment before answering. “No. I don’t want you to leave. What I want, what I need, is to have you out of my system once and for all. I know of only one way to make that happen…”

Married or Not?

ANNETTE BROADRICK

Ian’s Ultimate Gamble

BRENDA JACKSON

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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MARRIED OR NOT?

by

Annette Broadrick

ANNETTE BROADRICK

believes in romance and the magic of life. Since 1984, Annette has shared her view of life and love with readers. In addition to being nominated by Romantic Times BOOKreviews as one of 1984’s Best New Authors, she has also won the following awards from Romantic Times BOOKreviews: a Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best in its Series; a WISH award; two Lifetime Achievement awards, one for Series Romance and one for Series Romantic Fantasy.

Dear Reader,

Families have an enormous influence on who we are and how we make our way in the world. I find the dynamics within a family interesting and often entertaining. Other times I grieve for all the lost opportunities that might have salvaged a relationship.

I hope you enjoy Married or Not? and find yourself rooting for each character in his or her struggle for love, happiness and peace.

Sincerely,

Annette Broadrick

One

If Sherri Masterson had had a crystal ball when she woke up that Friday morning in the middle of May, she would have turned off the alarm and stayed in bed. Instead, she followed her usual routine. She got up and showered at the apartment she shared with Joan Price, who was a schoolteacher. The automatic coffeemaker had her morning beverage waiting for her when she walked into the kitchen. She read the paper, nibbled on a piece of toast and drank her coffee before leaving for work.

Sherri loved her job as a technical writer. She worked in Austin, Texas, with a bunch of brilliant geeks who dreamed up new software for consumers. It was her job to translate computer-speak into plain, everyday language, so that a computer user would have no trouble understanding what the software had to offer and how to use it. She’d worked for New Ideas, Inc., for three years.

When she arrived at the office everyone she met was discussing plans for the weekend.

Her plans were the same every week: do her grocery shopping, take clothes to the dry cleaners and pick up last week’s and return home to wash a week’s accumulation of clothes, towels and bed linens.

Saturday was the big night of her week when she and her cat would curl up in front of the television and watch a movie rented from Netflix.

She looked forward to her weekends so that she could kick back and enjoy her time off. She wasn’t interested in dating, which she had trouble getting across to Joan, who was always trying to fix her up with someone: a fellow teacher, a friend of a friend, even one of the single coaches at her high school.

Sherri wanted none of it: the dating, the possibility of falling in love…again. Getting her heart broken…again. Been there. Done that. Barely survived the aftermath.

However, the point was, she had survived. It seemed to be Sherri’s lot in life to lose the people she loved and depended upon. She’d discovered that, despite the poet’s comment, it was better not to love at all than to love and lose.

Sherri had learned that life could be unspeakably cruel three weeks before her fourteenth birthday when she’d been told that the plane carrying her parents home from Greece had crashed.

She’d been staying with her aunt Melanie at the time, and was eager to see her parents again, looking forward to enjoying their photos and, of course, presents and souvenirs they had picked up for her.

She’d talked to her mom every day and lived vicariously through the descriptions of their travels. It had been the first vacation they’d taken on their own. Aunt Melanie had teased them about taking a second honeymoon since they hadn’t been able to go anywhere right after their wedding.

When her aunt told her about the crash, Sherri refused to believe that her parents were gone. She’d spoken to them earlier that day. They’d missed her as much as she missed them and finally the separation would be over.

The message must have been wrong. It had to be wrong.

But the crash was covered by all the news networks because the majority of the passengers were Americans and no one survived.

Sherri had little memory of attending the memorial service. Only vignettes of scenes had stayed with her. Her mother’s best friend holding her and crying while Sherri stood there, dry eyed. The display of photographs of her parents that her aunt had put together. Her dad’s boss telling her aunt that her father had substantial life insurance and a pension plan and that he didn’t want Melanie or Sherri to worry about finances.

As though money could begin to replace what she had lost.

She’d been so angry…at everyone: classes that had prevented her from going with her parents, the airline for allowing the plane to crash, and especially her mom and dad for dying and leaving her on her own. She had wished she’d been with them. At least they would all have been together.

Sherri had watched as her home, most of the furniture and furnishings and both cars were sold. She’d told her aunt she didn’t want anything from the house, but Melanie knew better and had saved many of the personal belongings that Sherri later came to treasure.

Sherri eventually worked through her grief, but at a price. She learned to keep people at a distance and to refuse offers of help, because depending on others who might leave her was too painful to contemplate. If she didn’t let anyone too close, she didn’t have to suffer the possibility of enduring another debilitating loss.

She had learned to survive whatever life threw at her without whining and to make tough choices, even if there was a price to pay. Her one attempt, after she’d become an adult, to allow herself to get close to someone had turned out to be a disaster.

Now Sherri concentrated on being an exceptional technical writer and was happy to forgo the painful pleasures of a relationship.

She was engrossed in finishing the technical manual she was working on—the one that had to be at the printer next week—when she heard that her boss, Brad Horton, had called a meeting for ten o’clock that morning.

Nobody seemed to know why. They generally had their meetings on Mondays. She looked at the manuscript with yearning. She was so close to finishing. With any luck the meeting would be short and she could spend the rest of the day finishing and polishing her work.

When she arrived in the conference room, there were fifteen other employees there. Why would Brad call a meeting for a few of them and not the entire work force? Was there some kind of rewards announcement he planned to make?

Sherri looked around the room. There were people from her department as well as from other sections of the company. Maybe all their hard work had paid off. Maybe Brad planned to give them midyear bonuses.

Yeah, right.

None of them had any idea why they were there and the room was buzzing when Brad strode into the room.

“Thank you for being here,” he began, his hands clasped behind his back. “As you know, we’ve been having difficulty meeting our quarterly sales projections. Management has spent considerable time and effort to come up with a solution and we have had to face the reality that the best thing for the company is to lay off some of our employees.”

A collective gasp swept the room. Sherri’s heart stopped before it began to race. Was he talking about her? She glanced around the table and saw that everyone was looking at him in various degrees of shock.

“I want you to know that none of this has anything to do with your performances,” he continued to say as her heart sank. “Each and every one of you is excellent at what you do. It’s just that we’re being forced to cut costs and unfortunately, this is the only way we can do it.”

She was horrified. And embarrassed. No matter how Brad phrased it, each of them was being fired.

Sherri struggled to come to grips with the whole idea. She had never been fired before. Sherri had always received praise for the work she did. Why would they choose to let her go? She understood the economics, but why was she one of the employees chosen to be laid off?

Her thoughts were bouncing around in her head and she broke out in a cold sweat. What was she going to do? How was she going to face Joan and tell her she’d lost her job? The reason Joan had asked Sherri to be her roommate was because the rent was too much for Joan by herself.

“To make the transition a little easier for each of you…” Brad continued. Sherri forced herself to listen. She had to concentrate. She couldn’t display her despair in front of everyone. “…you will each receive a check for two weeks’salary and any vacation leave you have coming.

“You’re talented people. Remember that. This is strictly a business decision.”

He looked around the room. “Any questions?”

No one spoke. Finally Sherri raised her hand.

“Yes, Sherri?”

“Uh, Brad, you know the manual I’ve been working on? I’ve been getting it ready for the printers next week. Do you want me to finish it before I leave?”

He shook his head. “I appreciate your offer, but no. We’ll have to deal with this without you.” He looked around the room. “Any others?”

No one said anything.

“In that case—” He reached into his coat’s breast pocket and pulled out a sheaf of envelopes. “When I call your name please pick up your check from me. There will be someone waiting at your desk to help you clear out your things.”

The ultimate humiliation. She would have to clean out her desk while someone looked over her shoulder to make certain she didn’t take something that wasn’t hers.

With all the dignity she could manage, Sherri walked to the head of the table when her name was called, took her check and returned to her desk. A smile was beyond her.

No one was talking. Those remaining with the company had their heads down, working. Had she been in their place, she would no doubt have done the same. She was now separated from them. They worked here. She didn’t.

Numbly she found a box and began to strip her desk of reference books and other odds and ends she’d accumulated over the past three years.

She was escorted out of the building and once in the parking lot, Sherri hurried to her car, at the moment the only escape and sanctuary she had. The inside of the car steamed with heat and she quickly rolled down the windows while she placed the box on the backseat. Inside the car, Sherri placed her hands on the steering wheel and stared blindly through the windshield.

What did I do wrong? I was rarely late and always called in. I didn’t take sick days like some of the others. Maybe I shouldn’t have skipped that meeting a few weeks ago in order to meet a printing deadline.

Panic surged through her. What about her part of the rent and utilities? She had money put away for emergencies, but nothing like this. She’d have no income to take care of bills.

The money left for her by her parents had enabled Sherri to pay for her college education and to buy herself a car. She’d been thankful not to have to worry about student loans and very grateful for their foresight.

What was she going to do? She had to get another job, but where?

She’d have to go through interviews, which she detested. She’d have to tell them she’d been laid off. Would that be a black mark against her?

Her eyes finally focused on a few people standing near their parked cars, discussing what had happened. She didn’t want to discuss what had happened with anyone. What she wanted to do was go back home and hide under the bed, or at least hide her head under her pillow.

Her life had been so carefully structured. She’d believed that working hard and honing her skills would protect her.

Tears trickled down her cheeks. She turned the car on and waited for the air conditioner to blow some cool air before raising the windows.

She couldn’t sit in the parking lot all day. She had no place else to go but home. Thank goodness school was still in session. She wouldn’t have to face Joan until later today.

Joan planned to spend most of her summer with three of her teacher friends traveling around Europe. They were leaving the latter part of June.

Sherri knew she was being cowardly, but she wished that this could have happened after Joan had left. She could have used the time to pull herself together and make some kind of plans.

She felt sick to her stomach. She had to get through this, somehow.

Sherri flipped the visor down and stared at herself in the mirror. “So. What do you intend to do now?”

The image in the mirror, with its dark-brown hair, green eyes and pasty white skin stared back blankly.

“Try not to panic. You can do this.”

She flipped the mirror up and eased the car forward. As she pulled out of the parking lot, Sherri thought of one positive…at least her car was paid for. That was one less worry. It was a few years old but she took good care of it. She only prayed nothing major broke down until she had a steady income once again.

She glanced back for a moment before getting on the access road of the freeway. Happiness was not looking in your rearview mirror to see the building where you no longer worked.

Sherri followed the access road until she could merge with traffic on the highway. She glanced at the car clock, amazed to discover it wasn’t even noon yet. Had it only been a few hours ago that she’d been home sipping coffee and reading the paper?

She shook her head. There was definitely a time warp going on. Nothing seemed real to her.

Once on the highway, Sherri headed for home. Traffic flowed smoothly at this time of day, which was a blessing. She had to force herself to focus on her driving.

After a few miles of traveling at seventy, she realized that, once again, luck was against her. Brake lights showed up ahead of her and she began to slow down. There must be an accident up ahead.

Out of habit, she glanced in her rearview mirror and froze.

A tractor-trailer rig had suddenly appeared at the top of the rise behind her and was bearing down on her.

Couldn’t he see all the red brake lights ahead of him? Couldn’t he see that she had come to a complete stop?

Time slowed down for her as she watched him attempt to slow down his rig. She could hear his brakes screaming as he moved inexorably toward her.

Sherri felt a certain calm fall upon her as she waited for him to hit her. Maybe this was the way her life would end. At that moment, she really didn’t care.

The last thing she remembered was the sound of screeching metal as the rig plowed into her car.

Sherri roused at some point, wondering where she was. She felt as though she were floating. She vaguely heard voices that didn’t seem to have anything to do with her. Excited voices. She lazily wondered what they were excited about.

A voice near her head yelled. “This one’s trapped in her car. We’ve gotta get her out of here. Now!”

“Is she alive?”

“Can’t tell. I can see her, but can’t reach her.

She wondered who they were talking about.

Loud sounds echoed around her, which was irritating. How rude. Couldn’t they see she was trying to rest?

She faded away, the voices in the distance, until she felt a hand at her throat.

“There’s a pulse. Let’s get her out of there.”

The seat shifted. Why was she under the dash? Compact cars were too small to be playing games.

Then more hands touched her, moving her.

She screamed and blacked out once again.

Two

Greg Hogan was returning to the police station when dispatch called him to come in. As a homicide detective, he spent as little time at the station as possible. As it happened, though, today he needed to run some information through the station’s computer. He was investigating the murder of a young photographer, and evidence he had gathered pointed to a person who knew his victim well enough to have invited him into his home. He had a couple of suspects in mind. Now he had to follow up on some leads in order to get the necessary evidence for an arrest.

He wondered why he’d been called in. Maybe he’d irritated the captain. If so, it would only be the third time this week. The captain didn’t like Greg’s attitude toward work. He wasn’t a team player. He was a maverick. The problem was, Greg solved homicides and the captain had trouble arguing with his success.

Not that Greg’s success ever stopped the captain from griping at him. Greg had grown so used to it that he’d long ago tuned him out, figuring that while the captain was going after Greg, he was leaving the others under his command alone.

Last week Pete Carter had pointed out how altruistic Greg was, protecting the other men from the captain. Pete was a sergeant on the force and had been around longer than any of them. Greg promptly suggested that since all the men were better off with him taking the brunt of the tongue-lashings, they owed him a beer. And darned if they hadn’t taken him out one night and wouldn’t let him pay for anything.

Greg smiled at the memory.

He pulled into his parking space at the station and got out of his car. The parking space was one of the perks he’d received with his promotion to lieutenant a few months ago, despite the prickly relationship he had with the captain.

Life was good.

As soon as Greg walked inside, he knew something was wrong. There were more men standing around in the bull pen than usual. And all of them looked grim. Greg put his hands on his hips.

“What’s going on?”

Pete walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Greg, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”

Greg looked around the room and frowned. “What happened? Did one of the guys get hurt? Who?”

“No. It’s Sherri.”

“Sherri? What about her?”

“She was in a multicar accident this morning. They airlifted her to the hospital…alive when they got her to the hospital, but I heard she was in critical condition.”

Greg was thankful there was a chair nearby. His knees shook so hard he sank into the chair before his reaction became apparent to everyone. He clenched his jaw.

“I figured that since the two of you had some history together that you’d want to know,” Pete went on, sounding sympathetic.

Greg shook his head, feeling dazed. He pushed his hand through his hair and forced himself to look at Pete. “They’re sure it was her?”

“Yeah. A semi jackknifed when he tried to stop on the freeway and he plowed into her. She was in the last car of a string of them that were stopped due to an earlier accident. Six vehicles were in the smash-up and there were serious injuries in several of the cars, but she caught the brunt of it.”

Greg closed his eyes. Sherri? Near death? Couldn’t be.

“What hospital?” he finally asked.

Pete told him.

“Thanks for letting me know,” Greg said, and left.

He drove to the hospital on autopilot. He parked near the emergency entrance and strode across the parking lot. Inside, the place teemed with people; doctors and nurses moved among patients with various injuries. It looked like a war zone, with some of the injured on stretchers and others in chairs. The Emergency Medical Technicians from the various ambulances outside were working on those victims not as severely injured as the ones they’d brought in.

He quickly checked each stretcher and when he didn’t see her, went over to the nurses’ station.

“I’m looking for one of the accident victims who were airlifted to this hospital. Sherri Masterson Hogan.”

The harried nurse said, “Sir, you can see that we’re overwhelmed with all the injuries here and—”

“Just tell me where they took her and I’ll be out of here.”

She hurried past him, shaking her head.

He turned around and faced the noise and confusion around him. He knew he wouldn’t get any answers here.

Greg continued down the hallway, ignoring signs that read Do Not Enter and shoving doors open, looking into each cubicle for signs of her. A member of the hospital staff stopped him. Greg checked his name tag, which read Dr. Luke Davis, and figured he was one of the doctors on duty.

“Sir, I must ask you to return to the waiting area. Someone will help you as soon as possible.”

Greg said as clearly as he could with his jaws clenched, “Dr. Davis. I’m looking for Sherri Masterson Hogan, who was in that six-car smash-up. I’m told she was airlifted here and I intend to find her.”

The doctor nodded. “I see. Are you a family member?”

“I’m her husband.”

What difference did it make, anyway? He was determined to see her, regardless of their relationship.

“Hold on. I’ll see what I can find out for you,” Dr. Davis said, striding down the hallway, the tails of his medical coat flapping around him.

Greg paced back and forth, dodging carts, beds and medical personnel until the doctor returned.

“She’s in surgery.”

“What are her injuries?”

Dr. Davis shook his head. “You’ll need to speak to the surgeon about that.”

“Where can I find him when he gets out of surgery?”

“You can wait for him upstairs, in Intensive Care. He’ll look for family members when he finishes.”

Greg swallowed. “I want to see her as soon as possible.”

“The surgeon will discuss that with you.”

Greg nodded, turned on his heel and headed toward the bank of elevators.

“Good luck,” Dr. Davis said behind him.

Greg rode the elevator to the next floor where the ICU was located. It was quiet on the ICU floor, which was a relief from the pandemonium downstairs. He pushed through double swinging doors and found the nurses’ station.

“Sir,” one of the nurses said, “you can’t come in here.”

“I’m waiting for Sherri Masterson Hogan to come out of surgery.”

She looked down at the desk and riffled through some files. She read some of the files before saying, “We have a Sherri Masterson who has been recently admitted.”

So she’d taken back her maiden name. Why wasn’t he surprised?

“Are you family?”

He’d already lied once. “Her husband.”

She nodded. “Good. We need to get more information on her.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay.”

She went down a list, asking questions. He knew her age, birthdate, even her blood type, but he had no idea where she lived these days, so he rattled off his own address.

After answering the rest of the questions, Greg wandered down the hallway to the ICU waiting room with the nurse’s promise that the doctor would be out to speak with him as soon as he was out of surgery.

Greg hated sitting around, but he had no intention of leaving the hospital until he knew more about Sherri’s injuries.

He wondered why he cared. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her in almost two years. Eighteen months, six days, to be precise.

She’d asked him not to contact her once everything had ended, and he’d determinedly followed her instructions. He’d almost convinced himself she was part of his past. He was so over her. Then what was he doing here? Why had he panicked at the thought that she could die?

For one thing, she was much too young, six years younger than his thirty-two years.

Just because she wanted no part of me didn’t mean she deserved to die.

The last six months they were together had been filled with so much tension that it had become a third party in their marriage. She’d withdrawn into herself. When he asked what was wrong, she told him that he was too secretive about his past and his background. She said she didn’t really know him at all.

Okay, so he wasn’t the most talkative person in the world…especially about his feelings. He’d never been good about opening himself up and sharing his innermost thoughts and emotions with anyone.

When they’d first married, she had asked him all kinds of questions…about his childhood, his family, why he’d chosen to be a cop. He never liked talking about his childhood or his family and admittedly he was less than forthcoming. As far as he was concerned, all of that was in the past and had no bearing on who he was today. He’d just had trouble explaining that to Sherri’s satisfaction. He’d finally stopped trying.

He shouldn’t have been all that surprised the day he got home to find every last trace of her presence in his apartment gone. She’d left the key to his place on the counter with a note telling him that she was getting a divorce and to contact her attorney—she also left the attorney’s business card—if he had any questions.

Hell yes, he’d had questions! How could she just move out like that? She’d kept asking him to talk to her about stupid things, but that was no reason just to walk out on him. He’d loved her and she’d thrown his love back in his face. Why else would she have hired an attorney before she’d even bothered to tell him she wanted a divorce?

He’d been furious with her. He’d waited three days to calm down enough to call her attorney, who had told him that since they’d acquired no property of significance during the three years of their marriage, Sherri wanted to keep what was hers and let him keep what was his.

He hadn’t argued because he knew there would be no point. She’d obviously made up her mind and his opinion didn’t matter.

He’d tried to be what she’d wanted in a husband, but he hadn’t really known what she expected a husband to be. He’d been alone for most of his twenty-seven years before they’d met. Of course there had been adjustments to sharing a place with her. However, he’d loved her and showed his love in every way he knew how, but his love hadn’t been enough. He knew, was absolutely convinced, that she’d loved him in the beginning. There was no way she could have faked her response to him. His off-duty hours had been spent in bed with her, making love to her, holding her, listening to her while she talked about her childhood and her family.

She’d had it tough and he’d told her that he would always be there for her, that he would never abandon her, or leave her to deal with life on her own.

And yet…

After a while she’d stopped talking to him as much and he figured that was because she’d told him everything about her past. She would ask him about his work, but once he was home he didn’t want to talk about his job. He just wanted to be with her.

He’d always worked long hours during an investigation, but she’d known that. He might have rushed her into marriage a little fast, but he had been afraid he would lose her if he settled for a long engagement. He’d lost her anyway.

Well, he’d come to terms with the divorce. There wasn’t much else he could do. He’d tried to console himself that cops had a higher rate of failed relationships than almost any other profession. Somehow, that hadn’t helped him get over the pain of losing her.

And now she was seriously injured. Regardless of the circumstances, he could not leave the hospital without knowing how she was.

Greg waited three more hours before a weary doctor wearing scrubs appeared in the doorway. “Mr. Masterson?”

“Um, no. Greg Hogan. Sherri uses her maiden name.” He had trouble talking around the knot in his throat. He finally managed to ask, “How is she?”

The doctor rubbed the back of his neck. “There was some internal bleeding and we had to remove her spleen. She’s in stable condition. I think she’s going to get through this with no problem. The airbag saved her life but there was some bruising. Her right arm is broken as well as her right leg, so she’ll be slowed down for a while, but otherwise, I think she’s in good shape, considering what she went through.”

Greg’s relief at the news caused him to choke up. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, trying to gain control over his emotions.

“May I see her?” he finally managed to ask.

“She’s in recovery at the moment. Once they move her to ICU one of the nurses will come get you.”

“Thank you.” Greg held out his hand and the surgeon shook it before leaving the room.

Broken bones. Those would heal. The trauma caused by the surgery would also need time to heal. She was going to be okay. He fought the constriction in his throat. He was tired, that’s all.

He glanced at his watch. It was after six and he still hadn’t followed up on the investigation he was conducting. The team needed answers quickly. Law-enforcement personnel knew that the first forty-eight hours after a crime was committed were the most critical for gathering evidence. He needed to get back on this one before any more time was lost.

He approached the nurse who had taken down the information on Sherri. “May I help you?” she asked.

“Do you have any idea when Sherri Masterson will be out of recovery?”

“Not really.” She shook her head. “They’ll keep her in recovery until her vitals stabilize.”

When would that be? Soon, he hoped. He really needed to see her.

“I have to get back to work right now, but I’ll definitely be back later tonight.”

The nurse nodded and Greg headed for the elevators. He’d started to shake once the doctor had left. Reaction and relief that her injuries were no longer life-threatening and that she’d made it through surgery all right had gotten to him.

There was nothing he could do for her at this point, a feeling he’d often had when they were together. That didn’t mean that he could just walk away from her now.

Three

Greg returned to the hospital a little after midnight. Another shift was at the nurses’ station.

He’d managed to get some work done on his latest investigation before he’d gone to find Sherri’s car. What he’d seen had sickened him and caused him to wonder how she had survived.

“I’m Sherri Masterson’s husband, Greg Hogan,” he said quietly. “I haven’t been able to see her since her surgery. Would it be possible to see her now?”

An older nurse came around the counter. “Follow me. Please don’t stay long.”

“Has she been awake at all since coming to the ICU?”

“For a few minutes when they brought her to her room. She’s being given something for pain and is pretty groggy.”

Greg hadn’t known what to expect when he walked into her room. He hadn’t seen her in almost two years, but nothing could have prepared him for the shock of seeing her lying there so still.

He wouldn’t have recognized her. Her face was swollen, with cuts and bruises that no doubt occurred when her airbag inflated.

The hospital staff had her hooked up to machines and a bag of liquid. One machine monitored her heart, another kept track of her blood pressure and pulse and he knew the drip contained saline solution to keep her hydrated.

She was so pale that if it hadn’t been for the steady beat of the machine, he would have thought she was dead.

He’d forgotten how small she was because she had loomed so large in his memory.

Her thick lashes lay on her cheeks hiding her amazingly green eyes. She looked peaceful lying with her arms beside her. Her dark hair framed her face and he realized she’d cut it. Now it feathered around her head. Her poor face was battered and she had a black eye but all of that would go away with time and rest.

He stepped closer to the bed and placed her limp hand in his.

“What have you done to yourself, Sherri?” he whispered.

“What were you doing out on the highway in the middle of the day? Had you gotten sick at work and gone home early?”

She stirred and her lashes fluttered, but her eyes stayed closed.

The nurse returned to the room. “You’ll need to leave now. I’m sure she’ll be more awake in the morning.”

The next morning Greg was at the hospital by seven o’clock. He found Sherri sleeping. One of the nurses came in.

“How’s she doing?” he asked, his voice low.

“Remarkably well, considering. She roused a few times in the night while we were checking on her but went back to sleep. Rest is the best thing for her. “

Sherri heard people talking nearby. She wished they would go away and let her sleep. The alarm hadn’t gone off yet to remind her to get up. They continued to talk and Sherri could have sworn she recognized one of the voices: a deep voice that had always made her heart race.

“Greg?” she whispered. Surely not. Why would he—

“I’m right here, Sherri,” he replied, picking up her hand and bringing it to his lips.

She was probably dreaming, but why would she dream of him?

Finally, she opened her eyes and stared at him. “Greg?” she whispered in wonder. “Is it you?” She remembered now that she was in the hospital. What was he doing there?

He nodded and flashed a brief smile at her. “How are you feeling?” He sat in the chair next to her bed.

She looked at her hand still nestled in his. “Very strange. I think I’m actually dreaming this conversation.”

“No, I’m really here. I’ve been worried about you.”

“I must be in worse shape than I thought if you’re here,” she said roughly, her mouth dry.

Without hesitation he reached over and handed her a bottle of water with a plastic straw in it.

She sipped on the water, trying to bring her brain into some kind of focus.

He brushed her hair off her forehead. “You cut your hair.”

“Yes. It’s easier to keep this way.”

Neither one of them spoke after that. Sherri couldn’t come up with a coherent thought or question.

“Do you remember the accident?” he finally asked.

“No. I guess I got a little banged up.”

“Some internal injuries and a broken arm and leg would bear that out.”

“The doctor said he had to remove my spleen and sew up some tears inside.” She paused before saying, “No more gymnastics for me, I guess.” He didn’t smile, which didn’t surprise her. It was a lame joke.

“My guess is that the seat belt did its job and saved your life but caused damage of its own.”

She had trouble keeping her eyes off him. Greg Hogan was there in the hospital to see her. They’d had no contact in years and yet, now he was here.

“This is too weird. Why are you here?”

“I told you.”

“How did you hear about the accident?”

“At the station. That was one heck of a pile-up and several units were out there. Someone radioed in that your car had been sandwiched between an eighteen-wheeler and an SUV.” He nodded toward the nearby table. “They brought your purse back to the station when they recognized you and gave it to me. I left it here when I checked on you last night.”

She closed her eyes for a moment. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m having trouble concentrating on anything. I feel like I’m floating.”

“It’s the meds they’re giving you. You’re going to be fine, you know.”

“That’s good,” she murmured.

Greg watched her go back to sleep and smiled. He’d turned over his cases to some of the other detectives and asked for time off. He wanted to be here in case she needed him. She had no family since her aunt had died and he didn’t want her to be alone.

Of course he knew he had no business being there. She’d made it more than clear when she left him that she no longer wanted him around her. He picked up on the fact that she was less than thrilled to see him there, honestly puzzled, and he couldn’t explain to her what he couldn’t explain to himself.

He just knew that he had to be there. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. Now he waited until she woke up again.

The next time Sherri opened her eyes and saw him, she frowned. “You’re still here.”

He nodded.

“I don’t understand. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”

“I took some time off.”

“You said you talked to some of the men who were at the scene of the accident. Did they say how badly my car was damaged?”

“There’s not much left of it, I’m afraid. It’s a miracle you survived. When I saw it, I didn’t know how you could have come out of it alive.”

“It can’t be repaired?” she asked wistfully.

“’Fraid not.” He rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. “I’m sorry. I know how much you loved that little car.”

Tears welled into her eyes. “I’m being silly to cry over a stupid car. It’s just that it was my very first car and I bought it brand-new.”

“I spoke to your roommate a little while ago while you were asleep. She didn’t know you’d been in an accident until late last night. When she called the hospital this morning to find out how you were, the nurse forwarded the call to your room. I guess the hospital will only give out information to family members.”

“You’re not family.” Tears continued to slide down her cheeks.

“But the hospital doesn’t know that. I told them I was your husband.”

She started to sit up and then grabbed her tummy and winced.

“Easy. You’ve just had major surgery.”

“Why would you lie like that?”

“Like I said,” he began patiently. “The hospital won’t give out information on a patient except to family members. I needed to know how you were doing so I told them we were married. I had this same conversation with Joan. She’d never heard of me.” He cocked his head and looked at her, his brows raised.

“I never told her your name. All she knows is that I’m divorced.”

“I think she was surprised to find me here.”

Sherri almost smiled. “I’m sure she was.” More tears flowed. “I didn’t get a chance to tell her.”

“Tell her what?”

“About what happened. I lost my job yesterday.”

“So that’s why you were on the highway at that time of day.”

She sighed. “It was definitely a Black Friday for me.”

She kept wiping away her tears. He took a tissue and wiped her cheeks.

“The important thing is that you’re alive. You can always get another car and another job.”

She glanced down at her body. “Right. With my arm and leg in casts, I have a hunch a prospective employer would not be impressed.”

“You don’t need to find a job next week, you know. You’re going to need time to rest and recuperate.”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. I’m obligated to pay half the bills for our apartment. Joan depends on me just as I depend on her.”

“Joan wondered how you’d be able to climb the stairs to your apartment, which I think is a fair question. You can’t handle crutches until your arm heals and that would be at least six weeks.”

“Oh, no! I hadn’t gotten around to thinking about that.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe all of this happened in one day.”

“Did you get a severance check?”

She nodded toward her purse. “I hope it’s still in there.”

“May I look?” he asked, reaching for it.

She closed her eyes. “I suppose. I don’t seem to have any secrets from you.”

He saw the crumpled envelope just inside the purse. He handed it to her. “Is this it?”

She opened her eyes and looked first at the envelope and then at him. “With one arm in a sling and the other hooked up to a drip, I can’t even take it.”

“I’ll put it in the bank for you if you like. I’ll need a deposit slip.”

“Also in my purse.”

He found her checkbook and without looking at the balance, tore off a deposit slip and put it back in her purse.

When he looked back at her she was staring at him. She didn’t say anything, just looked at him. After a lengthy silence, he finally asked, “What?”

“I still don’t understand why you’re here.”

“I care about you.”

She sounded frustrated when she replied, “I don’t understand why.”

He smiled. “I’ve gotta admit, it surprised me, too.”

Her eyes drooped.

“Get some sleep. I’ll come back later.”

“You don’t have to. I’m okay.”

“Yes, I know. Just humor me, okay?”

Her eyes closed and he waited for her to say something, but she didn’t. She’d fallen asleep.

He stroked her hand as he studied her. He was glad to see she had a little more color in her face.

Greg stroked her cheek and whispered, “Take care of yourself, little one,” and walked out of the room.

Four

Two days later Sherri woke up in a panic. She’d been having a nightmare, or perhaps her subconscious had chosen to relive some of her worst moments. She looked around her room and saw that she was alone.

She realized she was holding her breath and let it out with a whoosh, her relief overwhelming. The nightmare had probably been the result of knowing that she was being released from the hospital today. Somehow she would have to navigate the stairs to her second-story apartment. Once there, she would be something of a captive until her leg cast came off.

At the moment, getting to her apartment wasn’t her worst problem. How could she look for work like this? No one in his or her right mind would hire her. She wasn’t even sure she could work full-time right away. She’d been in good shape, relatively speaking, but she was a long way from getting over the wreck. Her little car was gone. Her insurance would only pay a percentage of her hospital bills, which were going to be astronomical. For that matter, she might not have any insurance. Had it been canceled the day she was laid off? She hoped it had been in effect until midnight of that day. She’d paid her part of the insurance premiums for the entire month and, as if all of that wasn’t enough to deal with, she also had Greg to contend with.

He’d come by to see her for both of the past two days. She didn’t want him here. She’d hoped never to see him again. Why? Because she still turned to mush whenever she was around him. That was the reason she had asked him to leave her alone after the divorce. She could deal with the hurt and the pain of the divorce as long as it was a distant memory. As soon as she saw him she was instantly reminded of how much in love she’d been with him, and how much he’d hurt her.

One of the things she found attractive about him when they’d first met was that he was a man of action and didn’t talk much. Clams were chattier, she was sure. She hadn’t understood then that without open communication between them, their marriage could not succeed.

Granted, she didn’t expect him to talk about his work. She understood that. Eventually, they didn’t talk at all. She couldn’t live that way. He knew her entire life history. She knew little about his background or past. She understood that there were people who hated to talk about themselves, but Greg had carried his reticence to an extreme.

What had ended the marriage as far as she was concerned was that she’d discovered he’d lied to her. Flat-out lied. The other things had been tough enough to deal with, but when she’d found out the truth about him and that he had hidden it from her for their entire marriage, she knew she could no longer live with him.

And yet… He’d heard about her accident and had come to see her. Okay. She could understand that a little. I mean, they had known each other intimately at one time. She supposed he could have been concerned about her.

However, she was at a loss to figure out why he came each day to see her. It was ridiculous. They had little to talk about. She certainly had no intention of getting involved in his life again.

Each time he’d left she’d politely told him not to come back. He came anyway.

Well, if he showed up today she’d give up the polite part and tell him to leave her alone. If he didn’t show up, she’d be gone. As far as she knew, he didn’t know where she lived—No. Wait. He’d said something about her living on the second floor. He couldn’t know that if he hadn’t been by there.

Well, when she saw him, she intended to set him straight. She did not want him in her life in any way. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. She hoped that the meeting would happen later rather than sooner. She needed to get her strength back before facing him. Otherwise, she might end up throwing herself into his arms crying, “Save me! Save me!”

Not her style at all, but then whenever she was around Greg, she had trouble thinking coherently.

The aide came in with her breakfast. “The doctor wants to check to see how you are this morning. He’s making rounds now, so it shouldn’t be too long.” She set the tray on the rolling table. “Enjoy.”

Sherri looked at the tray. Enjoy. Right. Clear liquids. No coffee. She had to be on a special diet until everything damaged inside her healed. She’d have to give Joan a list of the things she could eat and have her bring them home. It would be good to get home and let Lucifer, her cat, love her. Or rather push his head into her hand to love him. He was company, all the company she needed.

She began to eat, resigned to the diet for now.

Greg pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. Sherri was being dismissed today and he already knew she wasn’t going to like what he’d done.

Too bad. Like it or not, she would have to accept that this was the way things would be for the foreseeable future.

Greg saw her doctor as soon as he stepped off the elevator. Dr. Hudson stood at the nurses’ station, going over a chart with one of the nurses.

Greg waited until the two were finished and walked over. “Good morning, Dr. Hudson. I understand Sherri is being moved today,” he said as he approached the doctor.

“Yes. I was just in there. She’s doing well, considering, but will still need plenty of rest. The bones should knit back together with no problem. My only concern would be that she might start hemorrhaging. I wouldn’t leave her alone for the next several days.”

“No problem.”

Greg nodded, his mind racing. He walked to the open door of Sherri’s room and knocked on the jamb. When she glanced up, he walked inside, his hands in his pockets.

She scowled. “What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that you don’t need to keep checking on me. I’m fine.”

“Ah. You must be feeling better.”

“I am. In fact, I’m going home today.”

“Good for you.”

“So you don’t need to worry about me.”

“Okay.”

“I’m waiting for the nurse to come help me dress. So if you’ll excuse me…”

“Want me to help? I’m right here and it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve helped you to dress…or undress.”

Her sigh was filled with frustration. “No, Greg. I do not need your help to dress or undress. Thank you for coming but—”

“But don’t let the door hit me in the—”

“Goodbye, Greg.”

He shrugged and walked out of the room. Hoo-boy. His powers of persuasion better kick in really fast or he was going to be in bigger trouble than he already was.

He’d finally had to face his real motive in helping her. The fact that she had no family was part of the reason, but the hard fact was that he was in still in love with her. He was supposed to be completely over her by now. Instead, he hadn’t wanted to leave her side since the accident. Once he realized that his feelings for her had never changed, he knew that he would provide whatever she needed to heal, whether or not she was comfortable with his help.

After signing her release papers, Sherri was placed in a wheelchair and taken to the lobby. When she looked outside, she didn’t see her cab. Well, it should be here soon.

“You can leave me here by the door while I wait for my taxi,” she said to the nurse.

The woman looked at her as though she’d lost her mind. “I don’t think so,” the nurse replied. As the automatic doors opened for them, the nurse continued, “You aren’t going home in a taxi, honey. Your husband is taking you home.”

The doors closed behind them as Sherri whipped her head around. She saw Greg, leaning against a black sports car parked at the front entrance, his arms folded over his chest, his ankles crossed. At the moment he was in profile, gazing across the parking lot.

Panic set in. “He’s not my husband!”

The nurse chuckled. “Well, that’s good to know. Then can I have him? Whoever he is, he’s here to take you home, according to your discharge papers.” She continued to push Sherri’s chair toward Greg.

Greg saw them and straightened. He wore wrap-around sunglasses and still had on the dazzling white T-shirt and snug-fitting jeans he’d worn earlier. He’d finished off his haute couture ensemble with sneakers that might have been white in a far-distant past.

“What are you doing here?” she said.

“I am here to whisk you away in my chariot, milady,” he said with a bow.

“That really isn’t necessary,” she said, looking over her shoulder at the nurse, intending to ask the woman to take her back to the lobby. The only problem was that the nurse was staring at Greg with a dazed grin on her face.

Sherri quickly ran through her options and realized that she had been outmaneuvered. She rubbed her forehead where an ache began to throb. “Great,” she muttered, and said nothing more while Greg and the man-hungry nurse helped her into his car.

Once inside, she stared straight ahead pretending he wasn’t there, which was a little difficult to do when he leaned over and carefully fastened her seat belt. “I know you’re glad to be out of the hospital. No one can sleep well with all the activity going on.”

She didn’t reply. There was no way she could interact with him and keep her distance, and it was essential that she remain distant.

They’d been driving for about ten minutes when she broke her silence. “Wait!”

“For what?”

“This isn’t the way to my apartment.”

“I know.”

“What are you doing, kidnapping me?”

“Nothing so dramatic. I thought you might like to go to Barton Springs and enjoy the sunshine.”

“Greg, it’s a hundred degrees today.”

“We’ll park in the shade.”

The pounding in her head intensified.

He found shade and pulled beneath one of the huge live oak trees. He left the engine and air conditioning running while he removed his seat belt and turned to her.

“I know I’m the very last person you want in your life, now or at any other time. I get that. I just want to give you a chance to look over your options.”

She sighed. “They’re extremely limited.”

“Not necessarily.” He paused, cleared his throat and finally continued. “Please hear me out before you say anything. Okay?”

She just looked at him.

“I spoke to Joan a couple of days ago about your situation. We agreed that you can’t stay at the apartment. With no elevator you would be trapped up there. It isn’t safe and it could be quite dangerous.”

She lowered her head, not wanting to look at him. “Then why didn’t Joan tell me herself? I’ve talked to her every day.”

“I asked her to let me talk to you about everything.”

“You mean there’s more?” she asked, wishing her voice didn’t sound as though she were on the edge of hysteria.

“Yeah. There is. Joan will be leaving in a few weeks—”

“I know that! She’s been planning this trip for two years!”

“Yes, well, then you probably don’t want her to cancel the trip,” he replied smoothly.

“Of course I don’t. I don’t need her to look after me.”

“That isn’t the point. Without your paying half the bills on the apartment, she’ll need the money she set aside for her holiday to pay all of them.”

Sherri slumped in her seat and closed her eyes.

“My suggestion was that she get another roommate, which she has done.”

Her eyes flew open. “You did what? Are you out of your mind? I no longer have a job. I no longer have a car. And, thanks to you, I don’t even have a place to live? Gee, thanks, Greg. You’ve certainly made my day. Maybe you’d better drop me off at the Salvation Army. I understand they look after the homeless with no jobs.”

She hadn’t realized how loud she’d gotten until she stopped. Her voice still rang around them. She took several deep breaths. I can get through this. Somehow, some way, I can do this. I’ve got friends. I’ve got…what, exactly? A broken arm and leg and I’m presently recovering from surgery. Oh, yeah. I’m in really great shape.

After a silence that stretched between them for several minutes, he asked, “Are you through?”

Oh, how she’d love to brain him over the head with her cast. With her luck, she’d probably break her arm again.

“Yes,” she muttered, looking out the side window so he wouldn’t see the tears that filled her eyes.

“What I think would work out best for you is to stay with me until, quite literally, you get back on your feet.”

She whipped her head around to stare at him so fast she’d probably added whiplash to her other injuries.

Horrified by the suggestion, she could only stare at him. So many thoughts raced through her mind that her head was spinning. The whole world had gone mad. Or at least her tiny part of it. Didn’t he know it would be impossible for her to live with him again? Was he so insensitive to her feelings that he didn’t understand how painful being around him would be for her?

She settled on one major objection that she’d already heard him explain about her apartment. “You live in a second-story apartment, too.”

“I’ve moved.”

“When? Yesterday?”

She saw his lips twitch. She was glad somebody was enjoying this nightmare.

“About three months ago.”

“Good for you.” She gazed out over the park. She could hear splashing from a nearby pool and saw people sitting in the shade. What she wanted to do was to get out of the car and walk away. And she couldn’t.

She was well and truly trapped by her own circumstances.

“Not really.”

“The move didn’t work out the way you hoped?”

“My great-grandmother died a few months ago and left me her home.”

“Oh, no! Millie’s dead?”

“Well, she was in her nineties, after all. She didn’t suffer. She just didn’t wake up one morning.”

“Oh, Greg. I am so sorry. You were so close to her.”

“Yeah, I know.” He waited a couple of beats and said, “Here’s what I would like to do, if you’ll allow it. As you know, there’s plenty of room for you and me to stay in the same house and never see each other. Once your casts are gone you can get back some of your muscle strength using the pool.

“Your doctor said that it would be a while before you’d be able to get along on your own. It makes more sense for you to stay at my place until you’re mobile. You’ll be comfortable there and I’ll be available if you need help.”

She knew she would need help. She still had trouble dressing, and getting a shower would be a major ordeal. But there was no way she would accept that kind of help from Greg.

Sherri shook her head. “It’s kind of you to offer, Greg, and quite generous considering the history between us. Sharing a place, no matter the size, would be tantamount to living together again and I can’t do that.” She looked away and repeated softly, “I really can’t do that.”

“Then where do you want me to take you?”

She rubbed her forehead where her headache had intensified. “I don’t have any idea, but I need to lie down somewhere. I can stay at your place until I figure out what I’m going to do, I suppose.” She’d be living a nightmare until she was able to find a place to rent. She had enough savings to pay for all the deposits and the first and last month’s rent if she was very careful. After that, she’d be without resources.

“Of course,” he said, pulling out of the parking space. “I know you’ve been through a terrible ordeal and this is far from being a perfect option, but it was the only one I could come up with for now.”

“Having you come back into my life when I’m in this condition hasn’t helped, believe me,” she said, rubbing her forehead.

She saw his jaw clench, but she was too exhausted to care if she’d been too blunt. Her emotions had been all over the place since she had seen him standing beside his car today and had discovered that he wasn’t going to be out of her life. At the time, she’d thought she could hold out another few hours. Not days or possibly weeks.

“Nice wheels. Did they come with the house?”

“The house came with a tidy sum from a trust fund.”

“It must be nice having money,” she muttered bitterly.

“Not necessarily,” he said in response.

They rode the rest of the way in silence. She recognized the neighborhood and thought about the times they’d visited Millie when they were married. She’d thought Millie was the only family Greg had. In fact, he’d told her Millie was his only family and she had been able to relate to being raised without parents.

Once Sherri had left Greg, she’d missed seeing the elderly lady. It would be strange to be in her house when she wasn’t there.

“Is Lorraine still there?”

“No. After Millie died, she said she wanted to retire. She’d looked after Millie for many years and Millie left her enough to live on in comfort.”

They pulled into a long driveway that ended at a three-car garage behind the large home.

Greg walked around and opened her door. She hadn’t thought about how she would get into the house because, frankly, too many other things were going on in her head.

He reached inside the car and effortlessly picked her up. There was nothing for her to do except put her arms around his neck. She was at the end of her stamina. All she could do was lie against his chest and close her eyes.

Millie’s place was so beautiful with its colorful flower beds and shrubs. Once inside the gate between the high privacy hedges, the view opened up to reveal a pristine lawn spotted with large trees and an Olympic-size pool.

“Millie always enjoyed her pool,” she murmured to herself. She closed her eyes again.

“She kept herself in great shape. Probably why she lived as long as she did.”

A wide expanse of floor-length windows and French doors looked out over the vista. As Greg stepped up onto the redbrick terrace, a woman opened one of the doors.

“Ah, Hannah,” Greg said, smiling. “Thank you for opening the door.” He looked at Sherri. “This is Sherri. Sherri, Hannah.”

So he was married. He could have mentioned that when she was going on and on about their living together. He must have found her quite amusing.

He could have told her at some point. It made no difference to their relationship, or rather lack of relationship. Sherri was glad to know that he’d found someone else. She didn’t know why she was so surprised. He was handsome, well-educated and now could give any woman whatever she wanted.

Being this close to him was so disturbing. He wore the same aftershave, the one that had haunted her for months after she’d left.

Greg carried her through the wide hallway toward the front of the house. A wide, curving staircase went up to the second floor. Before they reached the stairs, Greg stopped in front of a closed door.

He gathered her closer, if possible, and opened the door. This had been Millie’s room. She remembered it well. Millie’s light perfume still lingered. A motorized wheelchair was near the bed. She wondered if Millie had needed it during her last few months. If so, Sherri knew Millie would have hated to be confined to a chair.

He carefully placed her on the bed and stepped back. “I’ll be right back.”

She closed her eyes and was drifting in a sea of pain when she felt something move on the bed. Her eyes popped open and she gasped. Two cats had jumped on the bed and were daintily stepping up to her.

“Where did you two come from?” she asked them in astonishment.

Greg said from the doorway, “When Joan mentioned that you had planned to take care of both cats while she was gone, I volunteered to keep them here, since she didn’t want to split them up.”

He handed her a glass of water and two capsules. She recognized the pain meds from the hospital.

“How did you know I was taking these?”

He shrugged. “I got a list of your medications from the doctor.”

Sherri swallowed the capsules, chased them with the water and lay down again. She was grateful that these were fast acting.

After a moment of silence, Greg said, “I forgot to ask Joan their names.”

“This is Lucifer,” she replied. Lucifer reached her side and butted his head against her hand, purring all the while.

“So is this one Satan?” he asked with a teasing glint in his eye, a look she’d always loved.

“No. Angel.” She glanced at Angel. He had lifted his back leg and was now engrossed in cleaning himself.

She scratched Lucifer’s ears and under his chin until he settled in next to her, his front legs across her chest. Sherri looked up at Greg. “You hate cats.”

He stood watching her from the foot of the four-poster bed, his hands in his back pockets. “Yep.” He smiled. “Looks like he’s missed you.”

“Why would you accept the care and feeding of animals you don’t like?”

He stood there and looked at her, as though he could see her soul and understood all her emotions. Which was impossible.

“Good question,” he finally replied thoughtfully. “So far, I haven’t found a sensible answer.” He turned away and headed for the door. “Get some rest,” he said over his shoulder, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

When Sherri opened her eyes sometime later the room was in deep shadow. She noticed that the sun was beyond the treetops. She must have slept all day. She looked around her and saw the two cats still on the bed and sound asleep.

Lucifer enjoyed stretching out on his back as far as his long legs would go. Angel preferred sleeping in a ball. One was on either side of her.

A small lamp came on near the door and Sherri saw Hannah standing in the doorway.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but you didn’t eat anything at lunch and Greg said you need to eat something. May I help you into the chair?”

Sherri pushed herself up on her elbows. Hannah looked Swedish, with beautiful skin and flaxen hair. She was tall, almost as tall as Greg. They made a nice-looking couple.

“Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”

After they maneuvered her into the chair, Sherri pushed a button and it moved silently across the room. Hannah opened a door. “This is your bathroom. Will you need help?”

Not in this lifetime.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

She managed to get inside and closed the door. The room was about the size of her bedroom in the apartment. There was a free-standing shower and a large tub with jets. A long counter and mirror stretched across the width of the room.

Sherri had never been inside this particular bathroom. She found a washcloth and filled the sink with water. She bathed herself as well as she could. Somehow she would have to learn to help herself into the shower once her dressing came off. When the nurse changed it that morning, she had used a smaller dressing, saying that the incision looked healthy and was healing. There was a built-in seat inside the shower, plus shampoos, conditioners and creams. The place could have been a five-star hotel.

After struggling to get her clothes off, she wet a washcloth and washed herself with soapy water.

Sherri was drying off when she heard a tap on the door.

“Yes?”

Hannah said, “I’ve laid out your clothes for you. Greg will check in on you in about forty-five minutes.”

Sherri finished drying herself and opened the door. She looked at the clothes laid out for her. They were new. She moved to the closet and opened the door. The walk-in closet had all of her clothes and several new things that still had tags on them.

She spun her chair around and crossed the room to the dresser. When she opened the drawers, she discovered all of her things were here…plus several new items.

He’d certainly been confident that she would fall in with his plans. Why not? He’d made certain that she had no place to go except here. She hated to admit that he’d been right about everything. She really couldn’t have taken care of herself. What she had trouble understanding was why he’d do this for her. He’d put himself out to see that she had everything she needed, including Lucifer. Which was another thing. He’d once mentioned that he was allergic to cats. She’d been disappointed because she’d always loved them and once she settled into her apartment she had found the kittens. Thank goodness Joan had wanted one, too.

Now here they were, content to be nearby. It was difficult to be upset with him; he’d done so much for her at a time when she’d desperately needed help.

She took underwear out of the drawer and with a great deal of effort managed to get the pants over her cast. She was already exhausted. Hannah had laid out a simple pullover dress that was new. Sherri slipped it over her head. She pulled the sling over her shoulder and slipped her arm into it.

She was as ready as she would ever be. She saw no reason to wait for Greg. With new determination to be nicer to him, Sherri left the room.

Five

Out in the hallway, Sherri went back the way she and Greg had come into the house. She stopped at the French doors and admired the view. Greg had been given a truly wonderful gift. She knew he must miss Millie very much. Sherri wished she’d stayed in touch with her. As the minutes passed, she began to relax. It was difficult to believe that such a pastoral place existed only a few miles from downtown.

She was startled when Greg spoke behind her.

“Ah, there you are. Enjoying the view, I see.”

She turned and faced him. “Thank you for all that you’ve done, Greg. I’m sorry that I’ve been so rude to you. It’s just that—” She couldn’t find the words to continue.

“I know. You’d made a clean break, and I was the last person you wanted in your life.”

She nodded, looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

“Understood,” he replied tersely. “I know how difficult all of this is for you. I just want you to know that you have a place to stay here for as long as you want it.”

She gave a quick shake of her head. “Don’t you think having me here is unfair to Hannah?”

He looked puzzled. “Why should it be? One more person in the house isn’t going to make much difference to her.”

She almost rolled her eyes at his obtuseness. “In my opinion, having your wife looking after your ex-wife is asking a lot of her.”

He made no effort to hide his amusement. “It certainly would be…if she were my wife. But then, she’d be a bigamist and I might have to arrest her.” He turned her chair and they went to a small dining area not far from the kitchen. It was a cozy area with a bay window that brought the beauty of the lawn into the home.

“Hannah is happily married to Sven and I’m happy to have both of them living here. Actually, they live in the garage apartment, but that’s close enough.” He looked past her, flashing his heart-stopping smile. “Looks delicious, Hannah, as usual.”

Sherri glanced around and saw the tray Hannah carried. Behind her, a large blond man carried two wineglasses and a bottle of wine.

“Sven,” Greg said, “this is Sherri. She’ll be staying here until she literally gets back on her feet. Sherri…Sven.”

Sven’s smile dazzled her with its brilliance. Unfortunately for her, she seemed to be immune to all men but Greg.

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Sven is one of the best landscapers in the area. He has a thriving business, including a nursery not far from here. He takes care of this place, but refuses to take money for it.” Greg smiled at Sven. “Not a good way to run a business, you know.”

Sven shrugged. “It’s only fair. You don’t accept our rent payments.”

“I definitely get the best of that deal.”

While the two men talked, Hannah quickly placed the food on the table, lit the candles and refilled the water glasses.

Sherri looked at her food and sighed.

“Something wrong?”

“I see that I’m on a soft-food diet. I suppose this is better than clear liquids.”

“The doctor said to keep you on a soft diet for another week. If you have no problems, you could have normal meals again. Believe me, once you taste Hannah’s cooking you’ll know it was worth waiting for.”

She looked at his plate. Mmm. Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and what appeared to be fresh green beans. She almost whimpered with longing. Oh well. She picked up her soup spoon and began to eat. Actually, the food was delicious, much better than the hospital’s food.

The room was so quiet she could hear the soft tick of a clock somewhere in the house. She needed to get away from Greg for her own emotional preservation. Right now, though, she intended to enjoy her meal and being in Millie’s home once again.

Once she finished her meal, she said, “This was so good. My compliments to the chef.”

Greg grinned. “My secret weapon to coax you into continuing to stay here.”

She looked at him and he met her gaze. “I don’t understand any of this, Greg. Yes, we used to be married. It didn’t work. We’ve both moved on. Why in the world would you decide to take over my life like this?”

“Is that what it looks like to you?”

“That’s what it is. I’m pretty much confined to this chair until my bones heal.” She paused and said, “Did this chair belong to Millie?”

Greg nodded. “She fell last year and broke her hip.”

“I can see her now, zipping around the place. She was really something.”

“Yes, she was. I miss her a great deal.”

“So, why am I here?” She came back to her question. “And don’t answer a question with a question, okay?”

“I was hoping that we could use this time together as a chance to deal with some of the issues that caused the divorce.”

She frowned. “You’re looking for closure.”

He nodded slowly. “Something like that. You moved out without any warning. You gave me no chance to deal with whatever was bothering you.”

“Why don’t we leave it at this—I left you because I discovered that I didn’t really know you at all. What I did learn while we were married was that we were too different. We wanted different things in our lives. The longer I stayed, the more painful it was going to be to leave you. I also knew that if I talked to you about leaving, you would convince me to stay.”

“I would have liked the chance to know what in the hell I did to make you leave like that and refuse to communicate with me except through your lawyer.”

“Do you remember how we met and how quickly we came together?”

His lips quirked. “Oh, yeah. I remember it well.” His gaze was so heated Sherri felt scorched.

“Granted we had a great sex life, but—”

“Better than great, Sherri. Much better.”

“Okay. However, we didn’t take time to get to know each other out of bed. You wanted to spend our hours together in bed rather than talk to me.”

“And your point is?”

She shook her head. “This discussion is pointless and I’m tired. You’ve been a wonderful support since the accident and I do appreciate it, but this isn’t going to change anything between us, Greg. Being around you is upsetting, which is why I didn’t want to talk to you once I left.”

“You make me sound like an ogre.”

“You’re not.” She looked around the room. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. I’m really tired. I think I’ll go back to my room.”

Greg sighed and then stood while she backed away from the table, turned and rolled away.

He followed her to her room. “You’re going to need some help getting ready for bed.”

As tired as she was, she knew he was right. “Perhaps Hannah could—”

“She and Sven are off-duty. There’s no reason to have her come back when I’m here to help you.”

She looked at him and thought about changing clothes in front of him. That would be all it would take to get them into bed together, surgery or not, broken bones or not. Why did he have to be so attractive? He made her motor run nonstop whenever he was around. Right now, she couldn’t afford to be tempted.

“Don’t worry about it. I changed my clothes without help earlier this evening.”

“All right. At least let me put you on the bed before I leave.”

She rolled to her dresser and found one of her sleep shirts before going to the bed. She held up her arms.

He picked her up as though she were weightless and sat her on the side of the bed.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Greg said.

She nodded. He continued to stand there. She closed her eyes and looked down at her hands. She was on the verge of tears and she didn’t want him to know. She was so vulnerable right now in so many ways. It would be so easy to forget what she’d gone through in their marriage and accept the here and now.

She’d tried to make a clean break but fate was against her. She heard Greg leave the room and quietly close the door behind him.

Greg poured himself another glass of wine and wandered out to the back terrace.

He’d always loved Millie. She had been agile, both mentally and physically, all of her life until her fall. He’d spent as much of his childhood as possible in this home. His brother had refused to come for more than a couple of days at a time, saying there was nothing to do here. Kyle had found it boring and had preferred to spend his summers in Connecticut with his friends.

Millie was the reason he’d moved to Austin directly after graduating from the Police Academy. He had visited her as often as he could. She was the family he’d never had, she and Sherri.

There was no way he could get Millie back but he was going to do everything in his power to have a second chance with Sherri. He loved her too much not to try, and tonight he’d realized that she wasn’t indifferent to him.

That offered him a sliver of hope.

Six

Five years earlier

Greg Hogan saw the flashing lights from police cars and an ambulance before he turned into the restaurant’s parking lot. The yellow police tape already encircled the area behind the place and forensics was there gathering evidence.

A man had been murdered and it was Greg’s job to find his killer.

He pulled up alongside one of the police cars and walked over to the area.

“What have you got on the guy?” he asked one of the men, pulling a notebook out of his pocket.

“White male, forty-two years old, Kenneth Allred, according to one of his driver’s licenses.”

“What does the other one say?”

“He had four—Kenneth Allred, Fred Conway, Ken Crosley and Jerry Allen.”

“Maybe his prints will be on file somewhere.”

“We have an approximate time of death, based on a witness’s statement.”

Greg looked around the parking lot. “Has he been questioned yet?”

“She. She told us a little but she was so shaken that we placed her in a squad car with one of our men. We got the call forty-five minutes ago and were here in ten. One of the officers on patrol answered the call. The woman had gone back inside the restaurant and told the manager, who called it in.”

“Did she see the murder?”

“She said she saw two men running to a car from behind the restaurant as she was getting into her car. Their car left and she backed out of her parking space and glanced behind the building. That’s when she saw the victim.” The policeman nodded toward the floodlights at the back of the building. “She was able to see that he was covered in blood. That’s when she ran back inside.”

“I’ll talk to her…see if she can describe the men. I wonder if they saw her? Whatever else we do, we need to keep her name out of the papers in case they saw her and go looking for her.”

Greg spent the next half hour studying the crime scene, discussing the findings with the forensic team and studying the body. When he was through, he walked over to the police car where the witness sat in the front seat, staring out the windshield. He nodded to the uniformed officer who immediately got out of the car. Greg slid inside and looked at the witness.

The first thing he noticed was how small she was. She had thick, dark hair that tumbled around her shoulders.

“Ms. Masterson?” he said softly.

As though she were in a daze, she slowly turned to look at him.

“Yes?”

He held his hand out to her. “I’m Detective Greg Hogan.” She hesitantly offered her hand to him. He wasn’t surprised to find it cold. “Would you like to go inside and have a cup of coffee?”

Her husky voice intrigued him. She looked like a teenager and yet sounded like a seductive woman. “All right.”

He walked around the car and helped her out. She was shaking. Scenes like these were rough on civilians.

The manager had closed the restaurant. When he saw Greg at the door, he came over and let them inside.

“Hi. I’m Randy Kramer,” he said, offering his hand to Greg.

Greg shook his hand and replied, “Detective Greg Hogan, Homicide. Could we have some coffee, please?”

“Certainly. I’ve been sending coffee out to the men since they arrived.”

Greg led her to one of the booths. After she slid in, he sat opposite her.

Under the lights, he could see that her eyes were green and she had the longest lashes he’d ever seen.

“I have some questions for you. I know you’ve already talked to one of the policemen. I just have some follow-up questions for you if that’s okay.”

Randy placed two mugs of coffee in front of them. The woman immediately wrapped her fingers around the steaming cup.

Finally, she nodded at him.

“Okay. Let’s start with your name and address.”

“Sherri Masterson. The address is 2610 Mockingbird Lane.”

“Are you employed?”

“I’m finishing my last semester at the university. I help out on weekends at a pet store whenever I can.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

Greg concentrated on getting all of this on paper, but it was tough. He was having such a strong reaction to the woman…girl…that he was embarrassed. He had never met a woman who affected him so suddenly. Maybe he’d been working too many hours or hadn’t been with a woman for too long, but something was going on that was interfering with his concentration.

He cleared his throat. “Let’s go back a few hours and describe what you were doing.”

“They needed me to fill in this afternoon at the pet store for an employee who’d gone home sick. After my eleven o’clock class I went in and worked the rest of the day. A friend called me and asked me to go out. We met and had dinner.”

“Was he with you when you left?”

“No. He’d parked in front. He watched as I crossed the parking lot and waved when I reached my car.”

“Did he see the two men?”

She swallowed. “I don’t know.”

“Okay. So you got in your car. Then what?”

“I dropped my keys and they fell beneath the car. I had to reach under the car a little to get them. When I stood, I saw those two men running to a car parked in back.”

“Did you happen to notice the make or model of the car?”

She was already shaking her head before he finished the question. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about cars. It was either dark blue or black.” She closed her eyes for a moment. Then she looked at him. “I think it had four doors.”

“Texas plates?”

“I didn’t notice. Seeing two men hurrying to a car didn’t set off any alarms for me. I figured they were late for something.”

“Okay. Then what happened?”

“When they backed out, their headlights blinded me. I couldn’t make out anything at all. Then they gunned the car and sped away.”

“What did you do then?”

“I got into my car and pulled out, preparing to drive away. When I glanced around to make sure there were no other cars, I happened to see—” she swallowed again “—this, uh, this man and he was, uh, he was sprawled near the back door of the restaurant. The way he lay, and the sight of so much blood, made me think he was dead.”

“So you came inside?”

“Yes. I told the manager, who called 911.”

Greg leaned back in the booth and Sherri lifted her cup to her mouth, using both hands. She swallowed some coffee and carefully put the cup down.

“I know this is difficult for you.” He looked at his notes deliberately so he wouldn’t see the vulnerability in her eyes. It was all he could do not to move to the other side of the booth and put his arm around her for comfort. “Did you hear anyone say anything?”

“No.”

“Were you in your car or still standing beside it when their lights blinded you?”

“I was standing beside it.”

Which meant that they would be able to identify her. Great. Just great.

“Okay. I’d appreciate it if you could describe these men to me…whatever you can remember. Were they tall or short, thin or heavy, move with a limp, anything like that?”

She clasped her hands and was silent for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not being very helpful, but I didn’t see their faces. I really didn’t pay much attention to them.”

“But you did see them run. Long strides? Short strides? Athletic? Or laboring?”

“Oh. Well, I would say they were both agile. They practically sprinted. They were both tall, at least to me, but then everyone is tall to me.”

“Can you guess a height?”

“Mmm. Maybe five ten, five eleven. How tall are you?”

He was startled by her question. “Six one.”

“I guessed six feet, so I think I’m fairly accurate on their heights.”

“Would you please give me the name of your friend, just in case he may have seen them?”

“Sure.” She gave Greg the name and phone number.

“All right. If you don’t mind coming to the station in the morning I’d like to show you some mug shots as well as get your written statement. I don’t think it will take long.”

“Okay.”

They stood and he escorted her to her car. “I’d like to follow you home, if you don’t mind. I’m somewhat concerned that the men you saw may start looking for you. Let’s keep you as safe as possible.”

“I’m all for that.”

He walked her to her car, noting that the ambulance and the uniforms were gone. Only the yellow tape remained.

Greg waited until Sherri pulled out and headed toward the street and then he pulled in behind her. Once they reached her apartment building, he watched her until she disappeared inside, giving him a little wave as she did.

He needed to get his notes into the computer and get to work.

Sherri hurried into her apartment, closed and locked the door and turned on every light in the place. Then she went into the bathroom and threw up. After she washed her face and rinsed out her mouth, she went into her minuscule kitchen and got out a small carton of yogurt.

She turned out the living room/dining room/kitchen light and went to her bedroom. She glanced at her watch. It was eleven o’clock. She felt as though she’d been up all night. She sat on the side of her bed and finished her yogurt. Then she went in and took a long, warm shower.

When she finally crawled into bed and turned out the light her mind returned to the dead man. She shivered. She hadn’t gone near him but she had seen what he looked like from her car.

Sherri wished she could remember more about those men. They had definitely got a good look at her. Would they think she could identify them? She sincerely hoped not.

When Sherri drifted off to sleep she didn’t dream about the murder. Instead she dreamed about Detective Greg Hogan of Homicide.

In her dream something or someone was chasing her. She was in a panic because she couldn’t get away. Next, Greg Hogan was there. She ran into his arms, knowing she’d be safe. He held her so close she could hear and feel his heart beating. In the next scene she was watching him slowly take off his clothes…baring his broad shoulders and muscled chest, slowly unfastening his pants and sliding them down. She was mesmerized by his male beauty. He held out his hand and she took it, only then aware that she was nude.

He held her close and began to kiss her, which kindled flames of longing in her. He laid her on a wide bed and continued to kiss her as his hand stroked her body. She returned his kisses, feverishly wanting him to make love to her.

Sherri looked into his eyes as he moved away slightly and settled between her legs. Yes! This was what she wanted! She—

She woke up with a start. What in the world? She’d been dreaming about that detective. She sat up in bed and clutched her head. The dream had been so real.

How embarrassing. She had to go to the police station this morning to look at photos and to write out her statement. How was she going to be able to face him after having had such an erotic dream about him? How strange. Why would she have dreamed such a dream? She’d barely noticed him last night.

Liar. You were scared but not so scared that you missed his strong features, his sensuous mouth and his gentleness with you.

She went into the bathroom and took her shower, adjusting the water to be cooler than normal.

Seven

“Hey, Hogan, you’ve got a visitor.”

Greg looked up from the file he was working on and saw Sherri Masterson standing just inside the bull pen area of the station, looking a little lost. He stood, once again irritated by his body’s instant reaction to her.

Today she wore some kind of flowery dress. Greg forced himself to concentrate on why she was here while he strode over to where she waited.

Greg stuck out his hand, “Mornin’, Ms. Masterson. Thank you for coming in. I know last night was very traumatic for you. Did you sleep well?”

His innocent question caused her to turn a fascinating red and she looked away from him. Now what was that about? Had she spent the night with her boyfriend? He didn’t know why, but that thought bothered him.

“Mmm, yes, I slept all right…and please call me Sherri.”

“Sure. And I’m Greg.” He took her elbow and felt her stiffen. He immediately stepped away. “I’ve set up one of the rooms for us so we can have some privacy.”

And she blushed again. What was her problem? He tried not to come across as intimidating, but she was definitely nervous around him.

He cleared his throat. “Would you like some coffee?”

She smiled. “Is it as bad as I’ve heard police station coffee generally is?”

He grinned. “Naw. We just want people to think that. Otherwise, we’d take most of Starbucks’ business away.”

She chuckled and he relaxed a little. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as he’d feared. His biggest concern was that she might be picking up his strong attraction to her. He was a professional and he didn’t want anything to get in the way of obtaining this woman’s help in solving a murder.

“Yes, thank you. I’ll take some coffee.”

He opened a door and motioned to the table. “Have a seat and I’ll be right back.”

He closed the door behind him and took a big breath. He was being absolutely ridiculous. Maybe he should get his partner to do the interview. No, that wouldn’t work because he would somehow have to explain why he couldn’t do it.

He poured two mugs of coffee and headed back to the interview room.

“Here you are,” he said, setting one of the mugs in front of her and sitting down across the table. “I’d like you to write out your statement for me. If anything came to mind since we spoke, please let me know.”

She sipped her coffee. “Okay.”

He watched her write. She was a lefty. When she finally looked up, she caught him staring at her. He quickly blinked and smiled.

“Finished?”

“I think so. I can’t think of anything else.”

She handed him the paper and he put it aside. He opened a file and pulled out a photograph. “Have you ever seen this man before?”

Sherri took the picture and studied it. This wasn’t a mug shot. The man was smiling into the camera, his arms around two small children.

She looked up. “You know, I think he may have been in the restaurant last night.”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t swear to it, but his smile reminds me of a man we passed as the hostess led us to a table. In fact, my friend teased me about it.” She looked back down. “I didn’t pay all that much attention to him, though. He left before we did. Is he important to this case?”

“He’s the victim in this case.”

“Oh, no!” She sounded horrified. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I spoke with his family this morning and they gave me this photograph.”

“Are these his children?”

“One is. The other one is his nephew. We wanted to see if he’d been in the restaurant that night. His wife said he had a meeting to go to, although he didn’t say where.”

“I’m so sorry for his family.”

“Was he alone when you saw him?”

She thought about his question before finally saying, “He was when we passed him. After that I had my back to him. All I know was that he wasn’t there when we passed that table on the way out.”

“We interviewed several people, including your friend, who were at the restaurant last night. You seem to be the only person who actually saw the two men run from behind the restaurant.”

She shivered.

He moved his hand so that it rested on hers. “They have no idea who you are. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

She looked at his hand. He noted that his hand swallowed hers. She didn’t pull away so he left it there. She looked back at him. “But they saw me very clearly. They saw my car.”

“Unless they have someone in their pocket who can run a DMV check on you, they won’t bother you.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Next, I’d like you to look at some of these mug shots to see if you recognize anyone. We’re still investigating his possible contacts and hoping you see someone here that you recognize.”

He opened the book and she blinked. “That’s a lot of people. And I never saw their faces.”

“There may be something that might trigger a memory…a tilt of a head, the shape of a jaw, that sort of thing. I’ll leave you to look and will be back a little later.”

He checked on her from time to time, but in the end she didn’t recognize anyone.

“I’m so sorry. I know I’m not being much help,” she said.

“Actually, you are. We know these guys weren’t involved.”

“We can hope. I should have been more aware.”

Greg looked at his watch. “It’s almost lunchtime. Would you care to go get something to eat? That is, if you don’t have other plans.”

She stood and stretched, causing her top to ride up and bare her midriff. Greg looked away but he was too late to stop his reaction to the sight. He had a sudden desire to kiss her right there.

“Actually, lunch sounds good. I sort of skipped breakfast this morning.”

“Great.” He opened the door and ushered her out of the room.

He drove them to one of the cafés where he generally ate lunch. It was a little hole-in-the-wall place that served the best hamburgers in town.

Once inside and seated, Sherri looked around the room in wonder. “I never knew this place was here.”

He grinned. “Another top secret among law-enforcement guys. They’re open all the time and there have been times when it was the only place where we could get something to eat.”

“Do they have trouble with people dealing drugs late at night? I’ve heard that the places that stay open all night tend to attract them.”

“No. They’ve made it clear to the people who come in that the place is frequented by off-duty as well as on-duty cops. Seems to work.”

Once they gave their order, Greg leaned on his folded arms and asked, “Tell me a little about yourself.”

She looked at him in surprise, obviously startled by the question. “Didn’t you get all that information from me last night?”

He grinned. “This isn’t about the case, Sherri. I’ve tried my darnedest to hide the fact that I’m attracted to you but I can’t seem to be detached where you’re concerned. This is just for my own information.”

Her cheeks flamed. “Oh.”

He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “Of course, it may be all one-sided, so if you’d rather not—”

“Uh, no. It isn’t at all one-sided.”

He settled back in the booth with a grin and said, “Good. Let’s hear it.”

“My life is very ordinary. I’ve been in school most of my life, it seems. Right now I’m taking a course in computer software and technical writing.”

“How about family?”

She shook her head. “No family. Parents died when I was fourteen. The aunt who took over caring for me died of cancer last year.”

“You’ve had some tough breaks.”

“Since I can’t do anything about the past, I do my best to look forward to the future.”

Their food arrived and they concentrated on their meal. Once they finished, Sherri looked at him and said, “Your turn.”

He looked at her quizzically for a moment and then nodded. “What do you want to know?”

“How old you are…are you married…what about family? Those things. Oh, and why you decided to go into law enforcement.”

“Are you sure you aren’t writing my biography?”

“Depends on how interesting it might be.”

“Oh. In that case, you’ll be bored right away, so I’m safe.”

He paused. He didn’t like talking about himself. Hated it, in fact. However, if he wanted to spend time with Sherri…which he definitely did…he’d better give her some idea of who he was.

“Let’s see. I’m twenty-seven years old, never been married, got a degree and immediately went into the Police Academy.”

“Did you go to college here in Austin?”

Okay, no hedging. “Actually I, uh, no, I didn’t. I graduated from Harvard.”

Her eyebrows went up. “Really?”

“Yep.”

“Are you originally from the East Coast?”

“I have to admit I’m not a native Texan, but I got here as soon as I could.”

She laughed, which was what he wanted. “Have you traveled much during those twenty-seven years?”

“Some,” he replied.

“What made you come to Texas?”

“Because my great-grandmother lives here.”

“So what made you want to be a detective?”

“You know, there are times when I’ve wondered about that, myself. I guess I like the idea of being on the side of the good guys. I like challenges, solving puzzles, that sort of thing.” He glanced at his watch and said, “Which reminds me that I need to get back to work.”

They slipped out of the booth and he took her hand as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Uh-oh, Hogan, better slow down.

He paid for their lunch and they went outside. “I’ve got to admit, I’d rather run and play.”

She glanced up at him and stole his breath away. He’d never been so strongly attracted to anyone. What was going on with him, anyway?

They drove back to the station in silence. Once there, he walked her to her car. He opened the door and said, “I’d like to see you again, Sherri.”

Her green eyes sparkled. “I’d like that.”

“Okay, how about next Friday? We can grab a bite to eat, maybe catch a movie if you’d like.” And he would do his best not to seduce her. Unless, of course, she wanted him to.

“That sounds like fun.”

He leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss. Anyway, it was supposed to be chaste, but when she responded so beautifully he might have lingered a little longer than he had intended. He straightened and placed his hands behind his back. At least he hadn’t grabbed her.

She got into her car. “Friday, then.”

“Around seven.”

“See you.”

He watched her drive away and already felt the loss of her company. Oh, brother, he had it bad. He’d known her less than twenty-four hours and he didn’t want to let her out of his sight. Ever.

Eight

Sherri really didn’t need the car on her way home. She could have floated there.

Greg Hogan had kissed her! He was practically a stranger and he wasn’t one to talk about himself much, so she really didn’t know much about him. Common sense told her that she needed to get to know him better before feeling so swept away by him.

She’d never responded to anyone the way she had to Greg. Of course, it could be a result of her dream. She certainly felt she knew him much better than she actually did. She got hot just remembering the dream.

What should she do? She’d said yes to seeing him again, but was that wise? She thought about it for a while until she came to a conclusion: she had no idea. All she knew was that she didn’t intend to cancel their date.

He’d graduated from Harvard? He’d chosen police work for a career? Greg Hogan was definitely a complex man…and so very fascinating, as well.

Once home, she forced herself to think about the homework she needed to finish before Monday. She was scheduled to work at the pet store this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. Her plans had been to study after dinner last night, but her study schedule had been abandoned while she dealt with the horror of what she’d seen.

Once she got home, she immediately focused on her schoolwork. All week she could enjoy the anticipation of knowing that she would see Greg next Friday.

She began to hum as she opened one of her books.

He tapped on her apartment door the next Friday at seven o’clock. Sherri hurried to let him inside. She’d had a crisis when it came to deciding what to wear. She didn’t want to dress too sexily in case he got the wrong idea about her. However, she did want to look attractive.

She was a little short on date clothes. She spent her time on campus hanging out with other students and had never worried about what she looked like.

Tonight she did.

She opened the door and her knees went weak. He grinned at her. She fought to regain some composure. “Please come inside.”

He wore a sports jacket over a pair of khakis. The jacket looked custom-made and he looked delectable. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and dramatically cry, “Take me, take me. I’m all yours!”

He stepped inside her apartment and looked around. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”

She looked at it more objectively and said, “Goodwill stuff, mostly.”

“Did you do the refinishing on this table?” He rubbed his thumb along the surface. She was rather proud of that one.

“I’ve refinished and reupholstered most of the furniture I own.”

He turned and looked at her. “You’re quite talented.”

She swallowed. “Thanks.” Seen through his eyes, the place must look like a typical college girl’s room, with the big colorful posters and some watercolors she’d painted once for a class. He was very much a sophisticated man about town, while she felt awkward and flustered.

He glanced at his watch and said, “Ready to go?”

Without a word she picked up her purse and turned to the door.

“How long have you lived here?” he asked, helping her into his car.

“Since I was a freshman. I preferred to get a smaller place that I could afford rather than have a roommate.”

Sherri finally began to relax with Greg during dinner. He entertained her with various stories, all amusing, about work and his coworkers, but she idly noted that he didn’t talk about himself at all.

They did compare their favorite movies and musicians and laughed about how diverse their tastes were. He liked thrillers and war movies while she preferred something light, like romantic comedies. However, the movie they decided to see was one she’d heard a lot about, and she was more than willing to see it with him.

“Just don’t be surprised if I suddenly hide my face in your shoulder.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll put my arm around you so you’ll know you’re safe.”

Her dream popped up in her head and she recalled that she had run to him in her dream and felt safe in his arms. She felt she could trust this man who was more stranger than friend. It seemed almost as though she’d known him from somewhere long ago—a past life or something—and they had found each other again.

Sherri didn’t dare say any of that to him; he’d think she was crazy. At the moment she couldn’t swear that she wasn’t a little insane to think they might have known each other before now.

They got popcorn and drinks and went inside the theatre. Sherri noticed that Greg caught every female’s eye from little girls to octogenarians. She could certainly relate.

The movie was excellent, a thriller with one of her favorite actors in it. Greg had placed his arm around her when the movie started.

Once the movie was over, they left the theatre hand in hand and strolled back to his car.

“Would you like to stop somewhere for coffee?” he asked.

Okay. She’d been practicing and hoped she sounded casual when she answered, “Why don’t we go to my place? I’ll make coffee and I’ve got some bakery cookies if you want something more than coffee.”

“I’m not going to touch that one,” he replied wryly.

She laughed.

They pulled up in front of her apartment building and climbed the stairs to the second story. Greg was teasing her about staying in shape because of the climb when he came to an abrupt stop and grabbed her wrist.

She looked at him in alarm. “What?”

He nodded toward her door. She hadn’t noticed that the door of her apartment was slightly ajar until he pointed it out. She froze. He put his finger to his lips and pulled her behind him.

She had no idea when he’d pulled a pistol. She didn’t even know he carried one but there was one in his hand now.

“Stay here,” he said next to her ear.

She nodded.

He moved closer and listened. After several moments he pushed the door open and waited.

Nothing happened.

Greg found the light switch just inside the door and flipped it on. She peered around the door and gasped.

“I told you to stay back there,” he said gruffly. “I need to check out the rest of the place.”

She nodded mutely, her fist to her mouth.

Someone had come in and destroyed her apartment. There was no other word to describe it. Every piece of furniture had been broken or ripped apart. Curtains hung in shreds, dishes were smashed and when she followed Greg into her bedroom, she saw that her closet had been emptied and her clothes ripped into pieces. She didn’t need to check her drawers because they were broken and on the floor, their contents cut up.

Her bed had fared no better. Mattress stuffing littered the bed and floor, along with the remains of her pillows and linens.

Without a word Sherri stepped around Greg, who had put his gun away, and stepped inside her bathroom.

“Be careful,” he said from behind her. “Shattered glass and pieces of the mirror are on the floor.”

She didn’t want to see any more. Sherri turned away and saw Greg using his cell phone.

“Get the forensic team over here now.” He rattled off her address and hung up before looking at her. “We’ll wait outside until they get here. I don’t want to contaminate the scene.”

Sherri looked around her. She felt violated. Someone had broken into her apartment and deliberately and systematically destroyed it. She had nothing left: no clothes, no place to sleep, nothing. The whole apartment had been defiled. She wrapped her arms around her waist and shivered.

Greg touched her shoulder. “They’ll be here in a few minutes. Let’s get some air.”

Only then did Sherri notice the heavy scent of cologne from the broken bottles in the bathroom. Once out in the hallway he pulled her close to his side and continued to hold her as they walked outside and back to his car.

He opened her door and waited for her to slide inside the car before he carefully closed it and walked around to the other side.

The man who had taken her to dinner and a movie was gone. In his place was a frowning, tough and formidable cop.

Greg got into the car and turned toward her. “I would say that someone left you a very strong message.”

She returned his gaze, her eyes dry. “I think I got that. It looks like every Friday is the thirteenth to me.”

“Do you have any idea who might have done this? A former boyfriend, a jealous female?”

“I have no former boyfriend and if anyone is jealous of me, that’s news to me. “

He took her hand and she saw a flash of the Greg with whom she’d spent the evening. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this.”

She looked down at their clasped hands. “Me, too. It really is a bit much. Everything I own is destroyed as though a fire had swept through. Nothing is salvageable. The only clothes I have at the moment are what I’m wearing.”

“I know. We’ll deal with that a little later.”

A couple of cruisers arrived and Greg got out of his car. He walked over and spoke to the driver of one of them. Two others got out of the second car and joined him. She recognized one of them whom she’d seen last week investigating the murder.

She shivered. What if— No, she didn’t want to go there.

After several minutes the two men and a woman followed Greg back into the apartment building.

How did whoever had done this know she’d be gone this evening? Was she being watched? She glanced around the parking lot and quickly locked the doors.

Greg returned shortly and she unobtrusively unlocked the doors.

He got into the car and started the engine. Once out of the parking lot he headed away from the university area.

“Where are we going?”

“I’m taking you home with me,” he said softly. “You’ll be safe there, I promise you that. You can use my other bedroom until we get all of this settled.”

She had no intention of arguing with him. “There is one thing,” she finally said.

“Yes?”

“I need to stop at a store and get a few things.”

“We can do that.” He changed lanes and signaled to turn left. After a few miles, he turned into the parking lot of a large store that stayed open late.

There were few cars around. Not too many shoppers at close to midnight on a Friday night.

Greg parked across from the entrance and stopped.

“Thank you. I won’t be long.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m coming with you.”

“Oh, that isn’t—”

“Yes, it is. We’re going to be joined at the hip until this thing is put to rest.”

“You think it has something to do with the murder,” she stated, suddenly feeling exhausted.

“That’s one of the theories I’m working on. We hope to find some prints in that mess. If not, we’ll continue to follow other leads. I don’t want to take any chances where you’re concerned. The men you saw could very well believe that you saw them and reported it.”

“So they’ve been watching me?”

He nodded. “Has anything unusual happened to you this week? Besides your apartment being destroyed, I mean.”

“Well, I don’t know how unusual it is, but I’ve gotten several hang-up calls. Probably wrong numbers.”

“Or checking if you’re home.”

She stared at him in surprise. “I suppose.”

“My guess is that they’re trying to scare you.”

“They have definitely done that.”

He groaned. “And I’ve made it worse by showing an interest in you. They think you’re giving me additional information.”

“That’s a logical assumption.”

“But we both know that isn’t the reason I asked you out.”

She bit her bottom lip. She refused to cry in front of him, but it was tough because he was being nice to her. It had been easier to hide her emotions when he was in his cop mode.

“Let’s go shopping,” he said, opening his door. She got out and met him in front of his car.

“From now on, you wait until I open your door.”

“I’ve been opening my own doors for years. I’m sure I can handle it.”

“So if a car happened to pull up beside you as you were getting out of the car, and a couple of men grabbed you and threw you into the back of their car…or van…you could cope with that?”

“Are you trying to scare me?”

“If it makes you a little less independent for a while.”

“I’ve never been the damsel-in-distress type.”

He took her elbow and guided her across toward the front of the store. “We’ll have to do something about that.”

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