Seasons Under Heaven by Beverly LaHaye, Terri Blackstock Page B

okay?”
    “Right,” she said. She thought of telling him that he couldn’t go to the prom, couldn’t date a girl ever , not until he was married. But that seemed a little radical. “I can’t believe you got it at school.”
    “Well, didn’t you have sex classes when you were in school?”
    She tried to think back twenty-five years. It seemed like three eternities ago. “Seems like we saw a movie called Splendor in the Grass , about a girl who got pregnant. But I think that was about the extent of it.” She got up and stepped over the clothes on her way out of the room. The telephone rang, and before she could make it to the stairs, Annie cried, “Mom, for you!”
    She went to the door of Annie’s room. “Who is it, Annie?”
    “Some guy,” Annie said, holding her hand over the receiver. “I’m like, ‘Can I tell her who’s calling?’ and he’s like, ‘Her favorite patient,’ so I go, ‘Oh, the rottweiler?’ and he’s like, ‘Are you calling me a dog?’ Real big flirt, whoever he is, Mom.”
    “Glad you could hold your own with him,” Cathy muttered. She made it down the stairs and answered the extension in the living room. “Hello?”
    “Cathy, hey, it’s me. John. I meant that my cat is your favorite patient, and I am not a flirt.”
    She managed to laugh. “Sorry. I didn’t know you could hear that.”
    “Forgiven. Just wanted to see what time you wanted me to pick you up tonight.”
    She frowned. Tonight? Had she forgotten? Her hesitation spoke volumes, and he moaned. “You said you’d let me take you out to dinner tonight, finally. Come on, Cathy, you aren’t backin’ out now, are you? I’ve been chasin’ you for weeks, and it’s ruinin’ my self-esteem.”
    “John, it’s just that I’m kind of having a bad day.”
    “Cathy, you promised.”
    “I know I did, but—”
    “Come on, we’ll have fun, you’ll see. You deserve a break today.”
    She thought of the McDonald’s jingle, and wondered if that’s where he planned to take her. John, who brought his Himalayan cat in periodically, was an attractive man. She supposed she should be flattered that he was interested. And if truth be known, she did need some adult companionship. As she held the phone to her ear, she reached up and pulled her hair out of its ponytail. “Well, okay. I guess I can get away.”
    “Can you work up a little bit more enthusiasm?”
    She smiled. “I told you. Bad day.”
    “Then gimme a chance to turn it around.”
    There was something charming about his deep cowboy drawl, she thought. She tousled her hair and wondered how long it would take for her to get ready. Too long, but she supposed it would be worth it. “Okay, pick me up at seven.”
    “Will do. Don’t back out, okay? I’ve heard all the stories. Grandmothers dyin’, workin’ late, dog havin’ puppies…”
    She grinned and doubted that was true.
    After she had cooked supper for the kids, she started to go upstairs and get ready for her date.
    “See you later, Mom! I’m outa here,” Rick called up.
    She went halfway back down the stairs and looked over the rail. “Where are you going?”
    “To work,” he said. Rick worked weekdays bagging groceries at the local Kroger, when he wasn’t helping at the animal clinic.
    “You didn’t tell me you had to work.”
    “It wasn’t on the schedule. I had to trade with somebody so I’d have prom night off.”
    “Oh.” She came the rest of the way down. “Well, okay, I’m going out, so I guess Annie can stay with Mark.”
    “No!” From upstairs, she heard her daughter protesting. Annie came bouncing down the stairs. “Mom, I’ve got a date tonight!”
    “A date? On Tuesday night? You’re not allowed to date on weeknights.”
    “But Mom, I’m fifteen, and Dad lets me go.”
    She didn’t want to talk about Jerry. “You’re never with him on weeknights. We have rules in this house, Annie.”
    “Mom, I asked you last week if I could go to the school’s baseball game