Blind Promises by Diana Palmer

laughing, his voice deep and amused,
     
    the sound of it like silver bells in the darkness. “And you’re sacrificing yourself to tend me, no doubt.”
    “Of course,” she returned, joining in the game. “Think of all the other people in the world I could inflict myself on!”
    He seemed about to say something, then thought better of it. He finished his coffee in one swallow. “I wish I could see you,” he said surprisingly. “I wonder if you really are as plain as you like to pretend.”
    She thought about the scar on her cheek and lifted her eyes to his broad, hard face. “Yes,” she said softly. “l am.”
    His mouth broke into a smile. “Beauty is only skin deep, they say, miss.”
    “Yes, sir,” she sighed, “but ugly goes all the way to the bone, doesn’t it?”
    He laughed loudly, and the sound was infectious. She laughed with him, wondering at the easy comradeship of their developing relationship. He was like another man, and she felt herself changing. Despite her neat nurse’s uniform, which seemed to be drawing its share of curious stares, the woman inside it was being drawn inexplicably closer to the big blond man across from her.
    They passed a wreck on the way back to the beach house. Dana paled as she watched ambulance attendants drag an unconscious form from the tangle of metal and glass, but she didn’t make a big thing of it. The rest of the way back she talked about the scenery and described houses and beach property to him. But inside she was reliving every minute of the wreck that had killed her mother.
    That night it was inevitable that the nightmare would come. She saw the truck coming toward her, felt the
     
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    Blind Promises
     
    Diana Palmer
     
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    impact, saw the unearthly position of her mother’s body….
    Someone was shaking her roughly; a deep voice was cursing as her eyes flew open. She shook her head, breathing raggedly, and found Gannon and Lorraine standing by the bed. Gannon was wearing a dark robe over his pajamas, and Lorraine was clutching a delicate pink negligee around her, her face troubled.
    “We heard you scream, dear. Are you all right?” Lorraine asked, concerned.
    Dana sat up, trying to calm her wild heartbeat. Her eyes were full of tears, and she felt sick all over. “It was just…just a nightmare, I’m sorry I disturbed you both.”
    “It’s all right,” Lorraine said. “We were worried. Will you be…?”
    “I’ll sit with her for a moment,” Gannon said curtly, ramming his hands into his pockets. “Would you have the maid fix some coffee and bring it up?”
    “I’ll do it myself,” Lorraine said, turning. “I could use a cup, too. Back in a minute.”
    “You don’t have to stay with me….” Dana said tautly.
    He felt his way to the chair by the bed and sank into it. His blond hair was tousled, his face was grim, his blind eyes bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept at all. His pajama top and robe had fallen open over a mat of blond hair that seemed to cover his broad chest, and he looked impossibly masculine in her bedroom. He made her nervous.
    Oddly enough, he seemed to be concerned about her. He looked toward her, his eyes troubled. “I won’t leave you, Dana,” he said quietly, and the sound of her given name on his lips disturbed and flattered her.
     
    She pushed back her long hair with a ragged sigh and dabbed at the tears with a comer of the sheet. “I should get up,” she murmured, tossing back the covers to reach for her robe at the foot of the bed. It was blue terrycloth, and old, but it made her feel more secure with a man in the room-even a sightless one.
    “Self-conscious?” he asked gently. “You aren’t used to men seeing you in your nightclothes, are you? Not that I can see….” he growled. “Are you all right? What happened?”
    “I had a nightmare, that’s all,” she said, and the mattress sprung up as she got to her feet and tied the robe securely.
    He stood up at the same time, colliding with