Rescue My Heart by Jean Joachim Page A

“Baxter’s looking good.”
    “ I’ve been able to take
him out some.”
    “ Getting used to that
cast?”
    “ Guess so.”
    “ His’ll
be off before you know it.” Hack’s gaze traveled over Rory. She
wore a long, clingy red sweater that showed off her alluring
breasts, and black leggings. His eyes
followed the shape of her butt and legs, perfectly outlined by the
skintight pants. His groin twitched. She’s
almost naked! He wanted to touch her
everywhere, but cleared his throat and forced his eyes to the
computer screen instead.
    When they broke for lunch, Hack
stretched his long limbs and moved around the apartment, stopping
in front of a book shelf. He noticed a brass figure of a pug and
picked it up.
    “ I got that from a Secret
Santa thing at the church across the street.”
    “ Oh?” He lifted his
eyebrows.
    “ Yeah, Shirley and Hal
talked me into it.”
    “ Did they?”
    “ It was my Christmas
present last year.”
    “ The only one? What about
your mother?”
    “ She doesn’t have a whole
lot of money. The postage alone is beyond her budget.”
    Nothing?
I can’t imagine getting nothing from my family. Hack’s chest tightened. Emotion caught in his throat when he
pictured the mound of gifts he’d received from family and friends
then compared it to this one, small figurine for
Rory.
    “ Don’t you have any
siblings?”
    “ We stopped exchanging
gifts a long time ago.”
    Rory plucked the statuette from his
large hands and held it close to her. She stroked the cold metal.
“We had to list one hobby on the little Secret Santa form. I listed
pugs. So the nice Santa person gave me this. I love it. I named him
‘Hugs’.”
    Moved by
her words, he draped an arm around her shoulders. She rested her
head on him for a moment then pulled away. She fits.
    “ I’m okay. Stuff doesn’t
mean much to me. This does because it showed that the stranger
listened, went out of her way to get something perfect for me.
That’s kinda rare.”
    “ What makes you think it’s
a her?”
    “ Women are more thoughtful
that way.”
    “ I disagree! Men are
plenty thoughtful. Most of the guys I know turn inside out trying
to find the perfect present for their girlfriends.”
    “ Huh. Never had that.” She
shrugged and replaced the gift on the shelf.
    Yes, you
have. But you don’t know it. “Do you send
something to your mom?”
    “ I do. Nothing big. I
can’t afford anything big. But she’d get real sad if she didn’t get
a few things from me. Mostly, I crochet my presents. I love to make
afghans. I do it while I watch TV. I stock up on yarn at
sales.”
    “ What did you give as your
Secret Santa gift?”
    “ A small, crocheted
afghan. My Secret Santa person was a shut-in who watched a lot of
television.”
    Is she
going to be alone this Christmas? My sentence will be up. No excuse
to come here. Damn. After eating his fill,
Hack raved about Rory’s casserole, and then they spent two hours
working. He returned to the clinic to catch up with a few patients
and do some paperwork for a few hours before meeting his dad. He
tried not to think about Rory and Felicia, but couldn’t help it.
Still, he went round and round, with no solution in
sight.
    The Yale Club, near Grand
Central Station, was a grand old building. Townhouse size,
unimposing and understated, it was barely recognizable, except that
Hack had been there many times before with his dad. There was a
lovely dining room.
    The men sat back with their
gin-and-tonics as Montgomery Roberts, or “Monty” as his friends and
family called him, wrote out their order for appetizers on the
check. The waitress smiled and left to get their
nibbles.
    “ Well, son, how’s it
going?” Monty sipped his drink.
    “ Okay, Dad.”
    “ You still paying off that
outrageous bitch who took you to court.”
    “ She’s not an outrageous
bitch.” His father cocked an eyebrow. “Doing her too,
eh?”
    Hack could feel the blood rise in his
neck. He’d never discussed