When Morning Comes by Francis Ray Page A

felt the sinking, churning feeling in the pit of her stomach just as she always did when she and her mother had an argument. There was no way to win, and now she didn’t even have the paintings to hope.
    *   *   *
    Cade stared at Sabrina’s house but made no move to get out of his car. He wasn’t sure why he’d come. He knew she was manipulating him. Mrs. Ward was the only patient they had in common. He should be at his house eating whatever he’d ordered for that day. Try as he might, he couldn’t remember what he’d selected. That irritated him as well. Was he in that big of a rut?
    Opening the door, he climbed out of the car and closed the door to the Lamborghini, an extravagant status symbol that stayed in the garage more than on the road. The half-a-million-dollar sports car was another sign of his success that the people he wanted to impress would never see. He preferred driving his Jeep, but the foreign car mechanic said the Lamborghini needed to be driven more than once a month.
    Once on the porch, Cade rang the doorbell. Waited, rang again. When there was no answer after the fourth ring, he went around the side of the house and opened the side gate to the backyard. He smelled the smoke seconds before he saw the gray-black cloud billowing from a portable grill. A few feet away Sabrina stood by with a bag of charcoal in one hand and a can of lighter fluid in the other.
    He thought of the burns she’d suffered and rushed across the yard to her. He didn’t realize his heart was beating crazily in his chest until he reached her and started to speak. “Are-are you all right?”
    â€œYeah.” She tossed a glance at him then glared at the grill. “All the stupid thing is doing is smoking. I called Dad, but he forbade me from putting on more lighter fluid.”
    Cade’s heart thumped. He didn’t even want to imagine the consequences of such rash actions. His hands actually shook. His hands never shook. “Have you ever grilled before?”
    â€œOnce or twice,” she answered.
    Cade saw the grill was new. He didn’t know what to say. She’d gone to a lot of trouble to feed him. She wanted information, but he knew instinctually that wasn’t the only reason she wanted to be with him. He’d long ago developed an infallible BS meter. He’d had to. Using people was a way of life for some, but not for Sabrina.
    â€œI passed one of those old-fashioned drive-ins where the carhops wear roller skates on the way here. Why don’t we go get burgers?”
    She wrinkled her nose and took a step closer to the smoking grill. “I promised you a steak.”
    He already knew she was stubborn. It was interesting to learn she could be stubborn on his behalf. “No doubt you’ll badger me into having dinner with you again. We can have a steak then.”
    Her smile was quick. He smiled back before he could stop himself. She looked fresh and beautiful in a pretty floral sundress, her slim arms bare. “Another woman might take offense at such a gracious invitation, but since we’re friends I’ll let it go this time.”
    He resisted the urge to stroke one finger down her cheek. Her skin was probably as smooth and as soft as it looked. He slipped both hands into the pockets of his slacks. “I’ll meet you out front.”
    She caught his arm before he moved away. “You’ll do no such thing. I have to change out of this smoky dress. You can wait inside.”
    In typical Sabrina fashion she didn’t wait for him to comply, just went inside assuming he would follow. He did, closing the sliding glass door she’d left open. Like Sabrina, the room was bright and open with generous uses of yellow, the wood on the furniture white.
    â€œDo you want anything to drink?”
    â€œNo thanks. Go change.”
    She didn’t move. “The TV remote is in the large white glass bowl on the coffee