his chair, his expression
reflective and solemn. "Her parents were dead. She and an older boy were fostered at the same time to a
wealthy woman.
99
DIANA PALMER
They spent years together, but he and Maggie
weren't close,
so I made all the wedding arrangements and paid for her gown and the rings, everything." His eyes dark ened with remembered pain. "I still felt
uncomfortable about having secrets
between us, though, so the night be fore
the wedding, I told her what I did for a living. She put the rings on the
coffee table, got her stuff, and left town
that same night. She married two months later...a man twice her age."
She knew about his
ex-fiancee, but not how much he'd cared about the woman. The expression in his
eyes told her that the pain hadn't gone away. "Didn't she send you a letter, or phone you
after she'd had time to think it over?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Until I ran into
her in Houston a week ago, I had no idea
where she was. Her adoptive mother
died just after we broke up. Tough break."
Her heart stopped in her chest.
"You...saw her...in Houston?"
He nodded, oblivious
to the shock in her eyes. "As luck would have it, she's a new junior
partner in an investment firm I use, and widowed."
He stared at her
until she looked up, and he wasn't smil ing. "You're in a precarious situation,
and we've been thrown together in a rather unconventional way. We're friends, but you don't
have to live with what I do."
All her hopes and
dreams and wild expectations crum bled to dust in her mind. Friends. Good
friends. Of course they were! He was teaching her martial arts, he was help ing her to survive a
potential attack by a ruthless drug lord. That didn't mean he wanted her to
share his life. Quite the opposite, it seemed now.
100
MERCENARY'S WOMAN
DIANA PALMER
101
"If a woman
cared enough, surely she could give it a chance?" she asked, terrified
that her anguish might show.
Apparently it didn't.
He leaned back in his chair with a long sigh, reflective and moody, "No.
She said she wanted a career, anyway," he replied. "It suited her
to have her own money and be independent."
"My parents
never shared their paychecks, or anything else," she said carelessly. She finished
her cone and glanced at Stevie. "Stevie, we'd better go, sweetheart."
He came running,
smiling as he leaned against her and looked across at Eb, who was still brooding.
"Can we take Mama a cone?"
"Of course we
can," Sally said gently. She dug out two dollars. "Here. Get her a cup of
that fat-free Dutch choc olate, okay? And make sure it has a lid."
"Okay!"
He ran off with his
grubstake, feeling very adult. Sally watched him, smiling.
"I could have done that," Eb commented.
"Yes, you
could, but it wouldn't help teach him re sponsibility. Six isn't too young to start
learning independence. He's going to be a fine man," she added, her voice softer as she watched him.
He didn't comment. He
was feeling claustrophobic and he didn't know why. He got up and dealt with the
used napkins. By the time he was finished, Stevie came back carrying a small white sack with Jessica's
treat inside.
There wasn't much
conversation on the way back to the Johnson house, and even then it was
completely imper sonal. Sally realized that it must have hurt Eb to recall how abruptly his
fiancee had rejected him. She might have loved him, but the constant danger of his
profession must
have been more than she could handle.
Now that he was retired from
the danger, it might not be such an obstacle.
That was a
depressing thought. His ex-fiancee was a widow and he was in a secure profession, and
they'd re cently
seen each other. It was enough to get Sally out of the truck with Stevie and off into the
house with only a quick thank-you and a forced smile.
Eb, driving away down
the road, felt a vague regret for the loss of the rapport he and Sally had seemed to share. He couldn't understand what had made her so distant
this afternoon.
Eb had already
contacted a man
reflective and solemn. "Her parents were dead. She and an older boy were fostered at the same time to a
wealthy woman.
99
DIANA PALMER
They spent years together, but he and Maggie
weren't close,
so I made all the wedding arrangements and paid for her gown and the rings, everything." His eyes dark ened with remembered pain. "I still felt
uncomfortable about having secrets
between us, though, so the night be fore
the wedding, I told her what I did for a living. She put the rings on the
coffee table, got her stuff, and left town
that same night. She married two months later...a man twice her age."
She knew about his
ex-fiancee, but not how much he'd cared about the woman. The expression in his
eyes told her that the pain hadn't gone away. "Didn't she send you a letter, or phone you
after she'd had time to think it over?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Until I ran into
her in Houston a week ago, I had no idea
where she was. Her adoptive mother
died just after we broke up. Tough break."
Her heart stopped in her chest.
"You...saw her...in Houston?"
He nodded, oblivious
to the shock in her eyes. "As luck would have it, she's a new junior
partner in an investment firm I use, and widowed."
He stared at her
until she looked up, and he wasn't smil ing. "You're in a precarious situation,
and we've been thrown together in a rather unconventional way. We're friends, but you don't
have to live with what I do."
All her hopes and
dreams and wild expectations crum bled to dust in her mind. Friends. Good
friends. Of course they were! He was teaching her martial arts, he was help ing her to survive a
potential attack by a ruthless drug lord. That didn't mean he wanted her to
share his life. Quite the opposite, it seemed now.
100
MERCENARY'S WOMAN
DIANA PALMER
101
"If a woman
cared enough, surely she could give it a chance?" she asked, terrified
that her anguish might show.
Apparently it didn't.
He leaned back in his chair with a long sigh, reflective and moody, "No.
She said she wanted a career, anyway," he replied. "It suited her
to have her own money and be independent."
"My parents
never shared their paychecks, or anything else," she said carelessly. She finished
her cone and glanced at Stevie. "Stevie, we'd better go, sweetheart."
He came running,
smiling as he leaned against her and looked across at Eb, who was still brooding.
"Can we take Mama a cone?"
"Of course we
can," Sally said gently. She dug out two dollars. "Here. Get her a cup of
that fat-free Dutch choc olate, okay? And make sure it has a lid."
"Okay!"
He ran off with his
grubstake, feeling very adult. Sally watched him, smiling.
"I could have done that," Eb commented.
"Yes, you
could, but it wouldn't help teach him re sponsibility. Six isn't too young to start
learning independence. He's going to be a fine man," she added, her voice softer as she watched him.
He didn't comment. He
was feeling claustrophobic and he didn't know why. He got up and dealt with the
used napkins. By the time he was finished, Stevie came back carrying a small white sack with Jessica's
treat inside.
There wasn't much
conversation on the way back to the Johnson house, and even then it was
completely imper sonal. Sally realized that it must have hurt Eb to recall how abruptly his
fiancee had rejected him. She might have loved him, but the constant danger of his
profession must
have been more than she could handle.
Now that he was retired from
the danger, it might not be such an obstacle.
That was a
depressing thought. His ex-fiancee was a widow and he was in a secure profession, and
they'd re cently
seen each other. It was enough to get Sally out of the truck with Stevie and off into the
house with only a quick thank-you and a forced smile.
Eb, driving away down
the road, felt a vague regret for the loss of the rapport he and Sally had seemed to share. He couldn't understand what had made her so distant
this afternoon.
Eb had already
contacted a man
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