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Tom stared at her, a dull red flush rising up his neck as he self-consciously ran his fingers over the brim of his hat. After a long moment, he finally nodded and left.
Long after he was gone, Dana stared at the back door.
“Are you going to be all right?” Zach asked finally. “Is he going to come after you?”
“Tom? Of course not.”
“I’ll follow you home to make sure he isn’t waiting for you there.”
“That isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is.” Zach smiled. “For my peace of mind, if not yours. I need a good night’s sleep.”
“What about Katie?”
In answer, he went back to the child’s bedroom, wrapped her up in a blanket, grabbed her pillow and carried her out to his SUV. In moments he had her snuggled up in her car seat with her dolly and extra blankets. “She won’t even know she left home,” he whispered. “If she does wake up, I’ll just read a few dozen books until we both fall asleep.”
Dana started for her truck, then turned back to look at him. Moonlight glimmered through her hair and turned her eyes dark and mysterious. He wondered if she’d ever realized just how pretty she was. “Thanks, Zach.”
“No problem.”
But it was. As he followed her down the mile of highway and additional mile of private lane leading up to her house, he tried to quiet the memories that kept coming back. Dana befriending him, the new kid in school. Teasing him, drawing him into her circle of friends. Kissing him in the moonlight.
He’d never forgotten her. Never should have returned. Because once again he would have to leave, and it would take forever for his heart to heal a second time.
* * * *
TOM SHOWED UP AT THE clinic at ten-thirty in the morning, with his eyes bloodshot and the walking-on-eggshells gait of a man who’d had too much to drink the night before. Dana had never seen him with a hangover, and it saddened her.
“I’m sorry about all of this, Tom. I really am.”
“Things were going real well until Zach showed up.”
“No—you and I are just friends like we’ve always been, and always will be, I hope. He hasn’t changed anything.”
“At least give me some credit. I’m not blind.”
“Look, I’m not dating him, either. I’ve got too much to handle right now to even think of a steady relationship with anyone.”
“So what happens when he leaves?”
“Life will go on as it did before.”
“But—”
“No, Tom. Be honest—can you say you truly love me? That you’re filled with incredible passion when you see me walk into a room? Does your heart race?”
Dull red rose up his neck. “I do care about you.”
“But not like when you fell in love with Anna. Remember?”
“And that didn’t last. I never should’ve married her.”
At the bitterness in his voice and the bleak look in his eyes, Dana’s heart twisted. “You need someone who’ll love you with all her heart, Tom,” she said quietly. “That person isn’t me.”
“But we get along,” he protested. “You aren’t the romantic, flighty type, and neither am I. Just think what we could do with the Rocking H and my spread combined. We’d be an amazing team.”
“The next time you court someone, you might want to leave that approach at home,” she teased gently. “Telling a woman she isn’t the appealing, romantic type and offering her a business deal won’t win you many points. That’s just a suggestion.”
