Hard Love (Wild Hearts, Contemporary Romance Book 3)

by Nancy Adams

  Katie Lou sat there in silence for a moment, just watching him as he drove. He glanced at her a couple of times, and suddenly she realized that he was getting nervous.

  “Well,” she said, “I can tell you that it hasn't scared me off. I'm pretty sure it's not the worst story I'm going to hear, as a counselor, and in all honesty, I just can't help but think what a wonderful man you must be to have borne this kind of stress. There's a lot of guys who would've bolted, put her in an institution and let someone else worry about it. You didn't do that, and I guess we could say that raises you a couple notches in my eyes.” She smiled at him.

  Rob drove in silence for a second or two, and then he reached over and took her hand into his. When she didn't resist, he pulled it close and kissed it gently.

  “Since the moment I met you,” he said, “I've known you are an amazing woman. There was just something about you, something that said you wouldn't give up, you wouldn't quit, and since I pushed myself to get out of that wheelchair and back on my feet, those are qualities that I value and admire. I saw them in you from the first day you walked into my clinic, and I see them to this day.” He grinned at her. “We still got about fifteen minutes before we get to the restaurant. Any more questions?”

  “Yeah,” she said, “I've got one. How do you really feel about taking me to this dance? And remember, you have to tell the truth.”

  Rob laughed out loud, then turned to her with a smile. “I asked your sister out because she was making it pretty plain she wanted me to, and I didn't want her to think I hadn't noticed. The truth is, though, I've had it bad for you since that first day. Anna keeps shoving that down my throat, and I finally had to admit it to myself. This dance—I guess you could say it was really just an excuse to ask you out. I was going to take Kylie, and I'm sure we would've had a good time, but the truth is that I would've spent most of it wishing I was with you.”

  “And you won't be a little embarrassed, that your date is using a walker to get around?”

  “Not even a little bit,” he said. “I'll be dancing with the most beautiful girl there, and every man around is going to be jealous. It wouldn't matter to me if you couldn't dance at all, but I think we've established that we make a pretty fair dance couple. Don't you think so?”

  “I do, Sir, indeed I do.” Katie Lou smiled brightly, and Rob kissed her fingers again. He could sense that she shivered when he did so, and it made him smile, as well.

  “Okay,” he said. “I think it's my turn. My question is this. Are you going to be embarrassed to be seen dancing with your physical therapist?”

  Katie Lou smiled again. “Not even a little bit,” she said, quoting him. “What I know is that I'll be dancing with the most handsome man there, so every other woman in the place is going to be jealous, too.”

  They both laughed, and Rob drove on to the restaurant. He parked the car near the front door, then went around to open Katie's door for her. He opened the trunk and let her get her walker out, and then took her arm as they entered.

  The hostess seated them at a corner table, which gave them a convenient place to park the walker. She took their drink orders, and a regular waitress stepped up to take their dinner orders. They both decided on a steak and shrimp platter, and enjoyed their dinner very much. They played a few more rounds of “twenty questions,” and were beginning to know quite a bit about each other by the time they finished. Rob had learned that Katie Lou had once dreamed of being an Olympic gymnast, even though she hated gym class, and Katie Lou found out that Rob had once had a crush on the older girl who helped take care of his mother for a while after the accident. Rob blushed as he told her about that one.

  And then dinner was over, and it was time to go on to the country club dance. Once again, Rob took her arm as they left the restaurant, and they got back into the car for the ride across town and into the countryside.

  “It's so pretty out here,” Katie Lou said, watching the scenery go by. They were in an area that had been built up into a subdivision for wealthier residents. There were beautiful homes scattered around the countryside, and she enjoyed looking at them.

  “Yes, it is,” Rob said. “There was a time when I thought I'd like to have a house out here, but I basically grew up in the one we live in now. It'd be kind of hard to leave it behind.”

  “Oh, I can understand,” Katie replied. “I wonder sometimes what it would be like to have a place of my own, but at the same time, I love living at home. I like knowing that my mom and dad are right there, and I think I'd be lonely if I had my own place, right now.”

  “Well, it's nice to have a home, and there's something to be said for being able to live at home, especially while you're getting started in your own practice. It'll save some money, that's for sure.”

  “With the settlement I got from Darren, money isn't something I'm gonna be too worried about for a while. I could afford my own place, that's not the point. It's just nice, being at home, being with my family. Someday, when I get married, of course, things will change.”

  “True. If I ever find that right girl, it's possible that I might think about a different house. For right now, though, the one I've got suits me, Anna and Linda pretty well.”

  Katie Lou smiled at him. “The right girl wouldn't expect you to move out of the house you love. She'd move right into it with you, and make sure it was still the home you always knew it was.”

  Rob smiled back, and then he was turning the car into the country club driveway. It was a long, winding road, lined with overhanging trees. He saw that Katie was smiling as she looked at the scenery.

  He parked outside the clubhouse, and once again he took her arm as they entered. There was a ramp, because several of the members were elderly and in wheelchairs, so Katie pushed the walker up it as Rob walked at her side. The door opened as they approached, and a butler in uniform held it open for them.

  “Dr. Christopher,” the butler said. “It's good to see you, Sir.”

  “Thank you, George,” Rob said. The butler bowed as they passed.

  “I thought you didn't really come out here? Isn't that what you said?” Katie Lou asked him.

  “I don't,” he replied. “George's mother is one of my patients; she fell and broke her hip recently, and her doctor felt that a little bit of PT would be good for her. He brings her to all of her appointments.”

  “Oh.” Katie looked a little sheepish, and Rob grinned.

  “I've been out here for a few little events, but nothing exciting. This dance, I probably wouldn't even have been coming if I hadn't used it as an excuse to ask Kylie out, but now that she backed out and you agreed to come, I'm pretty excited about it. In my business, of course, it never hurts to be seen hobnobbing with the rich and powerful in the area. And if I can make them jealous with the beautiful girl I bring, so much the better.”

  They claimed a table for two, and sat down to wait for one of the waiters to take a drink order. Rob surprised Katie Lou when he ordered a soft drink, but she didn't let it show, and ordered one for herself, as well.

  “You don't drink?” Katie asked him.

  “Very rarely,” he said. “An occasional glass of wine, once in a very great while I might have a beer, and champagne if I'm at an event that justifies it. I think that's happened twice.”

  One of the event organizers got up, then, and thanked everyone for their attendance and support. A few moments later, the band began to play. This particular event had gone for classical music, so there was a string band with the addition of a grand piano. They sat out the first number, but when the second began, Rob stood and held out a hand to Katie Lou.

  “My dear lady,” he said solemnly. “May I have the honor of this dance?”

  Katie Lou smiled nervously, took his hand and let him help her up from her chair. Holding onto his arm, she walked somewhat gracefully out onto the dance floor, and then his arms were around her and they were lost in the world of the music.

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  NANCY ADAMS is an Amazon bestselling author of contemporary romance. She's currently single and dreams of one day meeting her prince charming and starting a family. She loves people and loves life. A real "people-person" who sometimes can't stand the noise. During those times, she curls up, shuts the door, and drifts into beautiful fantasy and welcomes all along for the ride. She expresses how she feels and what she wants to feel through her writing, and she doesn't know what she'd do without it. The mere fact that she is able to share her gift with the rest of the world is simply a bonus, and one that brings her nothing but pure joy!

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