you?”
She nodded, sighing, knowing this was a bad idea.
“Don’t tell me you intend to do it here.” Holden glanced down at his cup. “Judging
by their coffee, I’d say that would be a bad decision.” He sucked in a breath. “We
could, uh, go to my place.”
“That orgy den you keep in San Antonio? Not on your life.”
He gave his head a quick shake. “You do have an expressive way with words. But I wasn’t
talking about the apartment. I need to stick close to home tonight. So I was referring
to the house on the Double Crown.”
“The mansion where you grew up, you mean.”
He nodded. “I, uh, don’t take women there. As a rule. In fact, you’d be the first.
Since high school, at least.”
She lifted her brows. “Am I supposed to feel flattered?”
“You’re supposed to feel reassured. If I meant to add you to my, uh, babe buffet menu,
I’d certainly be trying to get you back to the orgy den, wouldn’t I?”
“I’m really too tired to follow your logic.”
“So come to the house. We’ll get something to eat and relax for a little while. The
mayhem will be waiting for us when we get back, I promise.”
“Unfortunately,” she said, “I’m also too tired to put up much of a fight. So, sure,
why not?”
“Great. And, uh, thanks for the tip.” He sent her a wink. “About you being too tired
to put up much of a fight, that is.” He made a wolfish face, and she felt herself
smile.
It was a small enough thing. But it meant something to her just then. She hadn’t imagined
anything could have made her smile tonight. Children—there was nothing she loved more.
Yet today she’d seen one snatched from his home and another forced into the world
too soon. And she couldn’t be certain either of them would survive.
They took both cars, which was the only logicalthing to do. Either one of them could be called away at any moment. At any rate, a
half hour later, Lucinda stood outside the huge, stately house, two miles from Ryan’s.
It was still vivid white. Every window still had a balcony. And the two-story front
porch still had columns that reached from bottom to top.
The place hadn’t changed since that night so long ago. It was as if not a day had
passed. And just as then, it didn’t look as if anyone else was around.
“Come on, it’s not as imposing as it looks.”
She didn’t remind him that she’d been here before.
Holden took her arm and led her up the steps, across the porch, past its pillars,
and through the double front doors. The inside was just as impressive as before, though
not quite the same. The furnishings had changed and the color schemes were lighter
now.
Holden just kept tugging her along as she swung her head trying to take it all in.
Finally he was moving outside again, through glass doors onto a redwood patio that
spread wide and enveloped a kidney-shaped pool.
“Now this is better.”
“I’m hardly dressed for lounging poolside,” she said, looking down at her clothes.
“Lucky for you there’s no dress code.” He was moving past the pool, following the
deck around the corner of the house to where it narrowed.
She took a breath, blew it out again. A porch swing sat on the more modest back porch,
and a gentle breeze blew here. “Better?” he asked.
She faced him as she turned to take a seat on the swing. “How did you know?”
He shrugged. “You seem to have a conscience.Stands to reason it would bother you to hang out in the lap of luxury while your patients
can’t even afford their prenatal vitamins. And I don’t want you all tense and guilty.
I want you to relax.”
He took a seat beside her and gave the swing a push with his feet. Lucinda leaned
back against the plush cushions, her aching head pillowed by softness. In the distance,
lush green hills and occasional clusters of woods unrolled as far as the eye could
see. Dark shapes dotted the nighttime landscape here and there. And
She nodded, sighing, knowing this was a bad idea.
“Don’t tell me you intend to do it here.” Holden glanced down at his cup. “Judging
by their coffee, I’d say that would be a bad decision.” He sucked in a breath. “We
could, uh, go to my place.”
“That orgy den you keep in San Antonio? Not on your life.”
He gave his head a quick shake. “You do have an expressive way with words. But I wasn’t
talking about the apartment. I need to stick close to home tonight. So I was referring
to the house on the Double Crown.”
“The mansion where you grew up, you mean.”
He nodded. “I, uh, don’t take women there. As a rule. In fact, you’d be the first.
Since high school, at least.”
She lifted her brows. “Am I supposed to feel flattered?”
“You’re supposed to feel reassured. If I meant to add you to my, uh, babe buffet menu,
I’d certainly be trying to get you back to the orgy den, wouldn’t I?”
“I’m really too tired to follow your logic.”
“So come to the house. We’ll get something to eat and relax for a little while. The
mayhem will be waiting for us when we get back, I promise.”
“Unfortunately,” she said, “I’m also too tired to put up much of a fight. So, sure,
why not?”
“Great. And, uh, thanks for the tip.” He sent her a wink. “About you being too tired
to put up much of a fight, that is.” He made a wolfish face, and she felt herself
smile.
It was a small enough thing. But it meant something to her just then. She hadn’t imagined
anything could have made her smile tonight. Children—there was nothing she loved more.
Yet today she’d seen one snatched from his home and another forced into the world
too soon. And she couldn’t be certain either of them would survive.
They took both cars, which was the only logicalthing to do. Either one of them could be called away at any moment. At any rate, a
half hour later, Lucinda stood outside the huge, stately house, two miles from Ryan’s.
It was still vivid white. Every window still had a balcony. And the two-story front
porch still had columns that reached from bottom to top.
The place hadn’t changed since that night so long ago. It was as if not a day had
passed. And just as then, it didn’t look as if anyone else was around.
“Come on, it’s not as imposing as it looks.”
She didn’t remind him that she’d been here before.
Holden took her arm and led her up the steps, across the porch, past its pillars,
and through the double front doors. The inside was just as impressive as before, though
not quite the same. The furnishings had changed and the color schemes were lighter
now.
Holden just kept tugging her along as she swung her head trying to take it all in.
Finally he was moving outside again, through glass doors onto a redwood patio that
spread wide and enveloped a kidney-shaped pool.
“Now this is better.”
“I’m hardly dressed for lounging poolside,” she said, looking down at her clothes.
“Lucky for you there’s no dress code.” He was moving past the pool, following the
deck around the corner of the house to where it narrowed.
She took a breath, blew it out again. A porch swing sat on the more modest back porch,
and a gentle breeze blew here. “Better?” he asked.
She faced him as she turned to take a seat on the swing. “How did you know?”
He shrugged. “You seem to have a conscience.Stands to reason it would bother you to hang out in the lap of luxury while your patients
can’t even afford their prenatal vitamins. And I don’t want you all tense and guilty.
I want you to relax.”
He took a seat beside her and gave the swing a push with his feet. Lucinda leaned
back against the plush cushions, her aching head pillowed by softness. In the distance,
lush green hills and occasional clusters of woods unrolled as far as the eye could
see. Dark shapes dotted the nighttime landscape here and there. And
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