Blind Promises by Diana Palmer Page B

an accent.
    “The pleasure is all mine,” he corrected. “Am I in time for dinner? Great, I’m starved.”
    “What brings you down here?” Lorraine asked.
    “Gannon. He’s in the study, as usual, I take it?” he continued, ramming his hands into the pockets of his gray suit. He sighed. “We’ve got a strike on our hands, and it’s all my fault.”
    “Is it, or is Gannon just blaming you?” Lorraine murmured with a tiny smile.
    He chuckled. “Know him pretty well, don’t you? No, I suppose if he’d been in my shoes, he’d have averted it That’s true enough.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t in a position to promise too much until I could talk to Gannon.”
    “Can you iron it out?”
    “That’s what he had me fly down here to find out. Two of the union people wanted to come with me, but Gannon wouldn’t allow it: He didn’t want them to see him…like this.”
    “If only he weren’t so sensitive about it,” his stepmother sighed.
    “Amen.” He turned to Dana. “Making any progress?”
    She laughed. “Not too much, but at least I’ve coaxed him out of the house a few times.”
    “It’s just that we can’t mention his blindness,” Lorraine added. “He won’t even listen when the doctor discusses the reason for it.”
    “Maybe he wants to be blind: Have you ever thought Of that?” Dirk asked soberly. “No, hear me out,” he continued, when the older woman would have inter-
     
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    Blind Promises
     
    Diana Palmer
     
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    rupted. “You know how hard he was pushing himself before the accident And there was Layn hanging on to him like a leech, dragging him around the world with her…. He was going twenty-three out of every twenty-four hours, and it was telling on him. Maybe his body did it to him to save itself.”
    “Layn,” Lorraine said bitterly. “Where is she now, do you know?”
    “Hanging around with a rich sheikh, I hear,” Dirk said coldly. “Where I hope she stays. You do realize that if Gannon regained his sight, she’d be back here like a shot?”
    “Surely he wouldn’t take her back,” the elderly woman said.
    Dirk laughed. “Are you kidding? You’ve seen Layn; what sighted man could resist her?”
    Lorraine sighed wearily. “I suppose you’re right.”
    Dana was sitting quietly, listening. Layn must have been the woman who had walked out on nun when he was blinded. According to what they were saying, he must have cared for her very much. She stared into her plate. Against a woman like that, what chance would a plain woman have with a man like Gannon van der Vere? She blinked. Why should she have such an odd thought? She didn’t care about him, so what did it matter about the woman from his past?
    She became aware suddenly that Dirk was watching her, but when she looked up, he grinned.
    “Deep in thought, Miss Steele?” he asked. “How in the world did Gannon manage to find such an attractive nurse? This is a pretty dull place.”
    She flushed at the unexpected compliment. She’d thought the scar down her cheek would detract from what slight beauty she possessed, but Dirk hadn’t
     
    seemed to notice it. “You’re very kind,” she mur-. mured, “but I love it here.”
    “Dana isn’t like Layn, my dear,” Lorraine said with a gentle smile. “She’s managed to get your brother out of the house, out of his shell. He’s even allowing me to have a small party next month for his birthday—just intimate friends, you understand, but isn’t it a big step in the right direction?”
    Dirk chuckled. “Yes, indeed. Miss Steele must be a miracle worker of sorts,” he added, winking at her. “Well, let me go and face the dragon. Then perhaps we can sit down to a peaceful meal.”
    He wandered off toward the study. The door opened and closed, and there was a loud discussion behind it.
    Lorraine laughed softly as Dana’s head lifted curiously.
    “Nothing to worry about, Dana,” she said. “They argue constantly, especially when it comes to company