she’d found him holding the tree topper. A face filled with compassion and understanding.
But how could she understand? How could anyone understand what he was going through? Rosalie, the woman who had been both mother and father to him for most of his life, was gone, and nothing or no one could ever fill the void left behind.
He rubbed his tired, burning eyes with his forefinger and thumb. Would this wretched, aching loneliness ever go away?
Then it dawned on him that last night had been one of the few times he’d missed Rosalie since Dora had come to live with them. He’d been so busy forcing himself not to think about Dora as more than Penny’s babysitter and straining to keep his distance from his enticing employee that he hadn’t had time to think much about his dead sister. Or was he just getting used to her being gone?
Keeping the visions of Dora at bay hadn’t been easy. At the most inopportune moments, she’d pop into his head: Dora bustling about the kitchen, laughing brightly, gossiping over coffee with Millie, or patiently talking to Penny. But mostly, he recalled how she looked and felt in his arms in the tree lot: clinging tightly to his neck, her warm lips pressed to his, responding as no woman had ever responded to him before.
Then the vision would be shattered by her words. We can’t let this happen again . Deep down, he knew she was right. If they let the relationship, or whatever label could be put on what was happening between them, develop into something more, he could well lose the one person whom Penny had begun opening up to since the accident. But even worse, he could lose Dora. That thought seared through his heart like a hot knife, causing as much pain as the memories of Rosalie. Yet he had to keep Dora at arm’s length for Penny’s sake.
He groaned and combed his fingers through his hair while frustration ate at him with its hungry jaws.
The door to the shack flew open. His foreman, Jake, stuck his head in. “One of the framers just fell off the scaffolding. I think his leg’s broken. Better call 911.”
Tony placed the call, then, grabbing his hard hat, dashed out the door.
Dora finished making Tony’s bed, then sat on it and ran her fingers over the pillow where his head had lain the night before. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. Each time she got near Tony or touched something that reminded her of him, her insides turned as soft as the honey confections she’d eaten in Heaven. At the same time, her skin tingled pleasurably with a strange heat, and her heartbeat raced uncontrollably.
If she were a true mortal, she would have thought she had contracted some illness. Since angels were immune to Earthly afflictions, that couldn’t be it. If not an illness, then there was only one other explanation, one she really didn’t want to even consider, but consider it she must.
Love .
If that were the case, then she was in major trouble. Calvin would have her wings, her halo, and her hide. She’d be assigned the very worst job in the cosmos, coloring the thunderclouds for eternity.
Woof !
Jack came bounding into the room, his hair in terrible disarray. He jumped on the bed and began licking Dora’s face. With her hands raised to ward him off, she tried to push him away. “Jack! Get down. You know you’re not supposed to be on the furniture. Down, Jack!”
But the dog ignored her and put his paws on either shoulder, pushing her backward into the bedding, and continued to lick her face. Finally, she turned onto her stomach and slipped off the bed. She glared down at Jack.
“Look, I know you miss Penny, but I don’t have time to play with you.” She pointed at the floor and in her most commanding voice said, “Get down, now!”
Jack bounded to the floor, his hair still in wild disarray. He barked again, then trotted from the room.
One thing Jack’s unannounced arrival had done was to remove her thoughts from her boss, but now that Jack was
But how could she understand? How could anyone understand what he was going through? Rosalie, the woman who had been both mother and father to him for most of his life, was gone, and nothing or no one could ever fill the void left behind.
He rubbed his tired, burning eyes with his forefinger and thumb. Would this wretched, aching loneliness ever go away?
Then it dawned on him that last night had been one of the few times he’d missed Rosalie since Dora had come to live with them. He’d been so busy forcing himself not to think about Dora as more than Penny’s babysitter and straining to keep his distance from his enticing employee that he hadn’t had time to think much about his dead sister. Or was he just getting used to her being gone?
Keeping the visions of Dora at bay hadn’t been easy. At the most inopportune moments, she’d pop into his head: Dora bustling about the kitchen, laughing brightly, gossiping over coffee with Millie, or patiently talking to Penny. But mostly, he recalled how she looked and felt in his arms in the tree lot: clinging tightly to his neck, her warm lips pressed to his, responding as no woman had ever responded to him before.
Then the vision would be shattered by her words. We can’t let this happen again . Deep down, he knew she was right. If they let the relationship, or whatever label could be put on what was happening between them, develop into something more, he could well lose the one person whom Penny had begun opening up to since the accident. But even worse, he could lose Dora. That thought seared through his heart like a hot knife, causing as much pain as the memories of Rosalie. Yet he had to keep Dora at arm’s length for Penny’s sake.
He groaned and combed his fingers through his hair while frustration ate at him with its hungry jaws.
The door to the shack flew open. His foreman, Jake, stuck his head in. “One of the framers just fell off the scaffolding. I think his leg’s broken. Better call 911.”
Tony placed the call, then, grabbing his hard hat, dashed out the door.
Dora finished making Tony’s bed, then sat on it and ran her fingers over the pillow where his head had lain the night before. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. Each time she got near Tony or touched something that reminded her of him, her insides turned as soft as the honey confections she’d eaten in Heaven. At the same time, her skin tingled pleasurably with a strange heat, and her heartbeat raced uncontrollably.
If she were a true mortal, she would have thought she had contracted some illness. Since angels were immune to Earthly afflictions, that couldn’t be it. If not an illness, then there was only one other explanation, one she really didn’t want to even consider, but consider it she must.
Love .
If that were the case, then she was in major trouble. Calvin would have her wings, her halo, and her hide. She’d be assigned the very worst job in the cosmos, coloring the thunderclouds for eternity.
Woof !
Jack came bounding into the room, his hair in terrible disarray. He jumped on the bed and began licking Dora’s face. With her hands raised to ward him off, she tried to push him away. “Jack! Get down. You know you’re not supposed to be on the furniture. Down, Jack!”
But the dog ignored her and put his paws on either shoulder, pushing her backward into the bedding, and continued to lick her face. Finally, she turned onto her stomach and slipped off the bed. She glared down at Jack.
“Look, I know you miss Penny, but I don’t have time to play with you.” She pointed at the floor and in her most commanding voice said, “Get down, now!”
Jack bounded to the floor, his hair still in wild disarray. He barked again, then trotted from the room.
One thing Jack’s unannounced arrival had done was to remove her thoughts from her boss, but now that Jack was
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