WHEN I SEE YOUR FACE

by Laurie Paige

  Shannon shook her head. "I already have plans. Kate is going to have me over."

  "And she didn't include me? I'll have to speak to her about that. Come on, I'll walk you home, then I have to get back to work. Be back in a sec," he told his folks. He took Shannon's hand and led the way to her house.

  "I'm really sorry," she said as they crossed the bridge. "I upset your mother—"

  "My stepmother. And I don't give a damn how upset she gets."

  He was aware of the quick study Shannon directed his way. He didn't know if she could see it, but he smiled to show he wasn't angry with her.

  "You and she don't get along?"

  "We manage. My father loves her and she appears to make him happy. That's all that's important to me. Step up."

  They were on the porch. He reluctantly halted there, knowing he had to go do his duty to his guests.

  "Thanks for watching out for me. I appreciate it."

  "Right. Nothing like calling the cops on your relatives to make them feel welcome."

  He laughed, the day suddenly seeming much brighter than it had that morning. "I sleep much better knowing there's a cop next door. Of course, it's even better when she's in my bed, but—"

  Shannon's stifled gasp and reproving frown didn't do a thing to quell the hunger that surged through him.

  "How about dinner tomorrow night? You can help me entertain to make up for today," he suggested, liking that idea. "I'm not going to take no for an answer."

  She burst into laughter, surprising and enchanting him. "That gives me a lot of choice, but since I guess I owe you for today, I'll graciously accept."

  Unable to resist, he leaned over and kissed her tempting lips. "I wish we were alone."

  She kept her hands between them, lightly restraining him when he would have taken the kiss deeper. He sighed and backed off. "See you later."

  "Tomorrow," she corrected.

  "Yeah, tomorrow." He retraced his steps. Catherine was waiting for him at the door. "Your father has decided to lie down and rest," she informed him in chilly tones. "There's only one bed in the house. I put him on the sofa."

  Rory cursed silently at the glance she gave him. He'd forgotten about the bed. "I'll set up a bed in one of the guest rooms. I meant to do it yesterday but, uh, other things got in the way."

  He retreated to the guest room and proceeded to put the bed together. His stepmother followed. He returned to his room, stripped the sheets and carried the mattress, then the springs to the other bed.

  "The new set I ordered hasn't arrived yet," he explained, all at once enjoying the disapproval on Catherine's face. She looked as if she'd swallowed a sour gnat. He tried to restrain a smile.

  "You seem to be quite cozy with your neighbor," she prodded, trying to ferret information out of him.

  Okay, he could comply. He beamed an innocent smile at his stepmom, who was fourteen years older than his thirty-two years and twenty years younger than his father.

  "Shannon. Yes. She's my fiancée, although we haven't announced it yet. She wants to tell her family first. I suppose it's all right for you and Dad to know, though."

  "Fiancée?"

  He enjoyed the shock that spread across the carefully made-up but relatively unlined face. His stepmother was a good-looking woman. Her pants outfit was perfectly tailored to her model-thin frame and probably cost as much as his whole wardrobe. Or Shannon's.

  Warmth speared through him at the thought of Shannon as he fetched clean sheets and blankets and made up the bed. "Yes. We decided last night to make it official. You can be the very first to wish us well."

  Her face darkened. "I don't recall you mentioning this person previously. Have you thought about how it would be, living with a blind person?"

  The anger neared the boiling point. "No, but I've thought about how it would be living with Shannon."

  The look he gave her must have been convincing. She backed up a step. "I suppose you know what you're doing. Men always think they do," she said as a parting shot before going into the living room and telling his father the bed was ready.

  Rory suppressed the fury with an effort and headed for his truck. He had two surgeries that afternoon before he would be free, then he thought he would go for a long walk before facing dinner with his relatives.

  When he arrived at the office, he had a few minutes. Picking up the phone, he dialed Shannon's number. "Hi," he said when she answered. "I thought I'd better warn you. We got engaged last night. I had to confess all to my stepmother this morning. She suspected we were more than friends, so I satisfied her curiosity about you."

  He smiled at the silence on the end of the line.

  "Are you insane?" she finally asked.

  "Crazy about you," he teased, the anger mysteriously gone as soon as he heard her voice. He could almost hear the wheels turning as she thought things through.

  "Did I leave earrings or something beside your bed and your stepmother found them?"

  "Something like that," he admitted ruefully, then added quickly, "She saw me kiss you goodbye."

  "Huh?"

  He smiled. She was definitely annoyed.

  "Because of a kiss, we had to become engaged?" she questioned in disbelief. "What is this – a throwback to the Victorian age?"

  "Yep. Believe me, with Catherine, it's the only way." He waited, giving her time to think it through in the straightforward manner that pleased him. A man could do worse than hook up with a woman like her. She had sense as well as courage.

  She sighed. "How long will this go on? Am I supposed to inform my family?"

  "Knowing my stepmother, that might be a good idea."

  "Okay. Let me know when we become disengaged."

  "Right."

  After they hung up, he thought about it. He wasn't sure there was a time limit on engagements, and if so, what came next? Warmth flowed through him as several suggestions came to mind.

  * * *

  Her new little cousin, Mandy, met Shannon at the door when she arrived with Jess. "I'm the VIP in my class," Mandy announced. "I got to lead when we marched all around the room to the music.

  "Wow, VIP," Shannon said, lifting the four-year-old and giving her a kiss. "You were probably the best one they ever had."

  "Yes," Mandy agreed happily.

  "Don't be braggy," Jeremy, her older brother, advised.

  Mandy cast him a complacent glance. "Okay." Shannon, as part of her family services tasks with the sheriff's department, had placed Mandy with Kate last June. Kate and Jess had married and then adopted the child. Under her new family's loving care, the orphan was blossoming.

  Kate greeted Shannon with a hug. "How's your sight?"

  "Still with me. I've been staring at stuff all day. I even tried to watch a soap this afternoon, but all I could see were flickers across the screen."

  "Hmm. Jess tells me you called the cops on your neighbor this morning."

  Shannon admitted she had. "His dad and stepmom, to be exact. I was so embarrassed."

  Kate's family thought that was hilarious. "Have you heard the mysterious truck out your way again?" Jess asked.

  "What mysterious truck?" Kate demanded.

  Jess explained about the stranger.

  Shannon assured her cousin it was nothing. "Just an overactive imagination on my part. There's probably a very innocent explanation for it all."

  "Ha!" was Kate's reaction. "Maybe you should stay over here for a while."

  "I'm fine. Really."

  "Rory's keeping an eye on her," Jess assured his wife.

  "Ohh, the heartthrob of the county," Kate teased.

  "Uh, I have some other news."

  Instant silence fell on the group.

  "Rory and I are engaged. Sort of." She couldn't help but laugh as the silence lengthened.

  "You and Rory?" Kate finally said, sounding like a frog with a sore throat.

  "Apparently his stepmother is kind of nosy and was asking about me – on account of my calling the cops, I s
uspect – anyway, he told her we were engaged. When he called to inform me of this fact, I told him I would go along with the story."

  "Maybe you really will marry." This from Kate.

  "Can I be your flower girl?" Mandy requested.

  "Well, well, well," Jess murmured.

  "I don't have to be in the wedding, do I?" Jeremy asked with an anxious expression.

  Shannon felt her face grow warm. Her family was taking this much too seriously, she feared. "I'm helping out a neighbor, that's all. Rory and I are just friends."

  And lovers, the part of her that was painfully truthful added. She held on to her smile with an effort and hoped Rory's evening was proving as difficult as hers.

  * * *

  Later that evening, after Jess had dropped her at home, Shannon heard a familiar step on the back porch.

  "It's Rory," he called out.

  She unlocked the door, her heart going into overdrive. "What is it?"

  "Nothing. This," he corrected.

  She received the briefest of warnings as his hands closed on her shoulders. Then his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that was gentle but hinted at passion kept on a tight leash.

  "Don't," she said reprovingly when she could speak. Fatigue pounded through her, causing a headache.

  "I had to come over and tell my fiancée good-night," he explained. "What did you tell your family about us?"

  "The truth."

  "As in?"

  "That we were pretending to be engaged because of something to do with your stepmother."

  He groaned, then rested his forehead against hers and chuckled. "Must you be so perversely honest? Kate called and told me she would have Jess break every bone in my body if you ended up hurt."

  Shannon was at a loss for words. "They worry about me," she finally said.

  "What about me?" he demanded softly, nuzzling along her temple. "What about my heart?"

  Before she could think of a reply, he gave her a hug, then left after reminding her to lock the door. She went to bed, but it was a long time before the churning inside settled enough for her to sleep.

  In her dreams someone kept asking what it all meant.

  "Nothing," she told the invisible person over and over. "We're not in love. I'm being a good neighbor, that's all."

  * * *

  Chapter 12

  « ^ »

  The phone started ringing at nine the next morning. Shannon discovered the news of her and Rory's engagement was in the local paper. After the fifth call, she dialed his office and asked to speak to him.

  "Hi, darling," he said, as chirpy as a robin with its first worm of the day, when he came on the line.

  "Don't you 'darling' me," she snapped.

  "Ah, you've heard about the news in the paper."

  "Yes. Did you—"

  "No, I didn't. I suspect my dear stepmother was the culprit."

  "Why?" Shannon asked, totally perplexed. "Why would she do something like that?"

  "To put me in an awkward position. She didn't believe the engagement story. I thought I was very convincing."

  Shannon huffed in exasperation. "If your story was some kind of misguided attempt to protect my reputation, I would prefer to be consulted before any more acts of gallantry."

  "Right," he agreed easily. "I've got a patient waiting. See you tonight. Wear that black outfit. It's a knockout."

  Shannon hung up, not sure whether to be annoyed or resigned at the turn of events. Resigned, she decided. She would have to continue the engagement farce now that he had started them down that slippery slope, at least until his relatives left.

  For a moment, she considered what it might be like to really be engaged to him.

  If he loved her. If she loved him.

  Her heart skidded out of control, echoing off the walls of her chest like the rabid beat of a mad drummer.

  Funny how you could know a person all your life, but not really know them. Rory was a wonderful person – kind, humorous, exciting…

  Yes, it would be easy, very easy, to fall for her handsome neighbor.

  Suddenly despondent, she put on the dark glasses, dressed warmly and ventured outside, needing air and space around her. When she looked at the nearest peaks, she noticed how blue the sky was that highlighted them—

  Blue!

  She leaned on the rail fence while excitement danced through her. She could see color! Eagerly she scanned the sky. The color stayed, only a spot in the center of her vision, true, but still…

  She should call Rory and tell him … no, he was busy, she remembered. But today was Saturday. He would be home by noon. She would tell him then.

  Returning to the house, she went around peering at things – the pictures on the walls, the clock on the mantel, the print in the sofa cushions. Her gaze fell on the department store catalog. With hands that trembled, she picked it up and stared at the cover.

  Taking it with her, she went to her bedroom and retrieved her prescription glasses. The printing went from fuzzy to sharp. The flesh tones, the red outfit the model was wearing, all became clear when she held the catalog within a foot of her nose and gazed directly at the cover, although the edges stayed dark and fuzzy.

  She had tunnel vision, she realized. Which was much better than no vision at all.

  Breathing jerkily, she put one hand over her right eye. The vision in the injured eye was dim, but she could still see. With the left eye covered, the images were clear and in color and only a little fuzzy around the edges.

  Her eyes were continuing to improve, both of them. Rory had been right! The miracle was just beginning. She hugged herself and wished he were there. She needed him … no!

  No, she merely wanted to share the news with him.

  Regaining her composure, she went to her office. She picked up a page of notes, studied it, then turned the computer on. Smiling, filled with eager anticipation, she got to work.

  * * *

  Shannon put the finishing touches on her makeup. Her insides felt like a quivering bowl of tapioca as she put on eye shadow and blush and lipstick. When Rory knocked, then called out her name upon entering, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

  "Coming," she called, grabbing her purse. She joined him in the kitchen.

  "Hey, pretty lady," he said, appreciation in his voice.

  She stopped before him and stared. Reaching up, she touched his handsome face and ran her fingertips over the strong planes and bone structure.

  He held still, his eyes – his blue eyes – on her face, their expression solemn and slightly puzzled.

  She traced a line over each dark eyebrow. "Your eyes are blue," she said in a near whisper. "Your hair is black. So are your eyelashes. You have a tiny scar here, just under your jaw."

  "You can see that?" he asked quietly.

  "Better, but not perfectly. Tunnel vision, but with color," she explained.

  His smile flashed. His teeth were white and even, contrasting brilliantly with his tanned face. Her heart clenched as she acknowledged how very handsome her pretend fiancé actually was.

  The next thing she knew, he'd caught her around the waist and lifted her off her feet. He swung her around and around until she was dizzy and laughing and wonderfully happy. Then, while the world continued to spin, he kissed her laughter into silence and the happiness spiraled into a glow that lit her from the inside out.

  His lips were warm and supple on hers. The kiss was tender as well as passionate. It lasted a long time.

  "We have to go," he finally said.

  If he loved her. If she loved him.

  The words swirled through her mind, and she wished they could stay here, alone, and not have to deal with the world at this moment. Subdued, she reached for her coat.

  He held the down jacket for her, zipped it, then handed her the matching mittens. Tucking her hand into his arm, he guided her over the bridge to his house.

  "I thought you said our reservation was at seven," his stepmother greeted them impatiently.
/>   "It is," Rory replied evenly. "We have plenty of time."

  As the woman walked past her, Shannon glimpsed her face. Catherine had large eyes – dark brown, perhaps – and short, blond-highlighted hair. She was slender and very beautiful in a sophisticated way that Shannon could never hope to match. She seemed to hold a grudge against Rory.

  On the hour-long drive, Rory and she rode in the back seat of his father's car while his stepmom drove and his father took the passenger side. Once at the restaurant, Shannon tried to relax, but found herself increasingly nervous around his family.

  Catherine kept up a stream of social chatter about the changes in the town over the years. "Perhaps it'll get some good restaurants now that the resort is completed," she said, "and people won't have to drive all the way down to the interstate highway to get a decent meal."

  "I've always liked the café in town," Shannon said, compelled to defend her home turf.

  There was the tiniest pause, then Rory laid his hand over hers. "Me, too. It offers a variety of vegetables that you don't get in fancy places like this. A person soon tires of baked potatoes and salads."

  Catherine shuddered delicately. "I recall the time Richard took me there. They had prepared dried beans and cooked greens with globs of bacon fat in them."

  That effectively killed the topic of discussion. When a small combo set up and started playing some slow, dreamy numbers, the stepmother stood.

  "I'd like to dance," she said, her eyes going from her husband to Rory.

  Shannon was decidedly uncomfortable with the woman's manner, which was very demanding. She carefully kept a neutral expression when Rory stood.

  He clasped her arm. Shannon shot him a startled glance when he urged her to her feet. "Come on, Dad," he said with mock forbearance. "The ladies want to dance. We can shuffle them around the floor to the slow tunes."

  In a moment, Shannon was snuggled against Rory on the crowded dance floor.

  "Ahh," he murmured, as if he found this deeply satisfying. "I missed you last night."

  She thought of his arms, of the way he'd kissed and caressed her, of the excitement of his lovemaking.