A Chance Encounter (15 page)

“Claire, what’s going on here?”

The crowd erupted into delighted laughter.

Claire grinned. “We’re glad you asked that, Katie. Now, you just stand here while I go through this speech I prepared especially of you. From all of us. There isn’t one person in this room who can remember a time when you didn’t give us a smile, a cheerful word, a quick hug, or, most important, your wonderful touch when we needed it. When word spread about how you’d been harassed by telephone for three terrible weeks and our police department did little to try to apprehend the caller, we all felt guilty, Katie. You always gave without asking for anything in return. And before you open your mouth, we all know how you feel on that subject!”

Laughter filled the room.

Claire smiled. “We know you believe in something called the “cosmos” and “karma.” You never charged a penny for your services, not to touch an ailing pet or to touch us when we had an aching shoulder, a severe headache, or worse. You wouldn’t let anyone pay you for gas to take people shopping or on errands.” Her smile disappeared. “Well, Katie, we know you lost everything. And we want you to stay in Rio Conchos and build us another bookstore, a place where we can bring our pets—and ourselves, too.”

Katie shot a glance at Taylor who was leaning casually against the wall, his eyes burning with a fierce tenderness. She swallowed painfully. “I—I don’t understand, Claire. You’ve already given me a check for a lot of money.”

Claire patted her hand in motherly fashion. “Just stand here and listen for the next fifteen minutes, Katie, and you’ll see.”

The mayor of Rio Conchos, Ben McCord, who was also president of the bank where Katie took out her loan and the owner of a huge lumberyard, stood up. He was a rotund man, and he straightened his loosely fitting sports coat.

“Katie, as a private citizen of Rio Conchos,” he began in his best political stumping voice, “it’s my honor to donate the lumber for your new bookshop. As a businessman and president of the bank, I’ve decided to let your loan float until your store is built.” His joviality dissolved. “And as mayor of this fine California community, I apologize on behalf of our police department. Changes are being made to ensure that every citizen is equally protected under the law.”

Dick Martin, owner of the hardware store, stood up next. “Katie, we’d be honored if you’d take whatever items you need to hang those boards together with.” A round of laughter erupted. “Don Mayer? You own a construction outfit. What have you donated to help Katie get back on her feet?”

Stunned by the outpouring of generosity, Katie could only stand, gripping Claire’s hand. This wasn’t a dream! Each person who donated goods or services was earnest and sincere. By the time they were done, Katie was dazed.

“Now, all these fine people have donated the materials for your new bookstore, Katie,” Claire said. “But one thing is missing. A building lot!”

Everyone laughed.

“Taylor Grant?” Claire called.

Katie looked toward him as he slowly walked to the spot where she and Claire stood. He was wearing that same odd smile, and her heart beat a little harder to underscore the intensity of her emotions. Katie swallowed her tears as Taylor came to her side. He smiled and then looked over the hushed, expectant audience, picking up Katie’s hands in his.

“Normally, I’m not one who likes being in the spotlight,” he began awkwardly. His voice grew stronger as he continued. “Most of you know by now of the blunder I made. I did a story on Katie that more or less called her a fake. It started a messy chain of events that ended nearly taking her life.” Taylor looked down at her, his voice strained. “I’m the one who took away her bookstore and her world. I may never be able to replace what she lost, but I’d like to try to atone by donating the land for her next bookstore.” He cleared his throat. “How does a comer lot in the Rancho Santa Fe mall sounds to you, Katie?”

Surprise widened her eyes. “Rancho Santa Fe?” she squeaked. “But that’s the busiest mall in the county! And store space runs—”

“I just signed a two-year lease on behalf of the Unicorn Bookstore. The lot is located on the busiest comer in the mall.”

My God!
Katie opened her mouth and then shut it. How could Taylor have gotten that kind of money? He wasn’t rich! And then a wave of anxiety hit her. Had the crazy, wonderful idiot sold his car and his house or gone into hock up to his elbows to get that lease? She was vaguely aware of the crowd coming to its feet and applause thundering through the restaurant. She stared blankly up at Taylor, the questions implicit in her gaze. A boyish smile crossed his mouth, and he leaned over, lips near her ear.

“I sold some blue-chip stocks I was saving for a rainy day. Now, stop worrying, Katie. I didn’t sell my soul to the devil to get that lease for you. Okay?”

The stars hung huge and close, like small crystals suspended by some unseen hand in the black velvet of the heavens. Katie sighed as she stood on the back porch of Taylor’s home, a pale pink shawl across her shoulders. She turned when she heard his footsteps.

“There you are.”

Katie smiled as he halted behind her and drew her to him, wrapping his arms around her, holding her close. “I just can’t believe today, Taylor. It’s like a dream.”

“One that came true for a fairy-tale princess who believes in miracles.” He inhaled the lilac scent of her skin, finding the nape of her neck, kissing her gently.

“I’m so tired, and yet I’m so excited and humbled and grateful and—”

“Loved.”

She closed her eyes, relaxing completely in his embrace. “I never knew how much until today,” she admitted softly. And then Katie stared up at his dark, shadowy face. A fierce need welled up within her.

“I’ve come to the conclusion you’re a butterfly reincarnated into human form, Katie Riordan,” Taylor whispered huskily. “How can I keep a butterfly captive when I know it should fly free?”

Katie heard the underlying worry in his tone and turned in his arms. “You don’t know?”

His eyes were dark, and he shook his head, bleakness in his voice. “No…. I wish I did.”

She stretched up on tiptoe, pressing her lips to his mouth. “It’s easy. If the butterfly comes back to you, then it’s yours to keep.” She molded herself to him, feeling him tense. “I’ve come home, Taylor. You’re my home, my freedom….” And she kissed him as though she would never kiss him again.

He shuddered, then embraced Katie, hardly daring to believe what he had heard. He pressed his face against hers. “We’ve come through so much in such a short time, Katie. But I feel as though I’ve known you forever.” His arms tightened around her, and he savored her lilting laugh.

“I believe in reincarnation,” she confided, holding him tightly, kissing him along the hard line of his jaw. “The moment you came to help me pick up my books, I thought, where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you all my life.” She sighed, content as never before. “You’ve helped me through so much, Taylor.”

He arched a brow. “I? Helped you?”

Katie nodded soberly. “Did Mary Ann tell you that you never helped anyone? That all you could do was destroy and tear things apart?”

Taylor nodded. Gently he lifted her in his arms and carried her inside the house and to his bedroom. It was a sparse room in dire need of a woman’s touch. “That was pretty much it,” he admitted, setting Katie on the bed and lying down beside her.

“Don’t ever believe that again, Taylor. Without you, I couldn’t have survived this, and I know it.” Katie shrugged. “You’re right. I am like a butterfly. No one is more aware of my strengths and weaknesses than I. I can’t handle a lot of stress. You can. I don’t know how to defend myself.” She sat up, holding his bandaged hand between hers. “Some people were put on this earth to help. Others to do different jobs. All of us are important. You’ve been my strength, my beautiful dark knight with the heart of a unicorn. You’ve sustained me. I’d ha’ve fallen apart after the fire if you hadn’t been there.” Her left hand grew hot, and she smiled tenderly at Taylor, who had an odd look on his face.

“This is all I do well, darling. It’s one form of healing. You’ve healed me in other ways.”

Taylor felt the frantic tingling sensation move across his badly blistered palm, which was swathed in gauze. This was his Katie. “You’ve healed my heart, too, princess.”

She leaned over, and her mouth met his. Glorying in the strength of his returning ardor, she whispered, “I love you.”

“Enough to marry me?”

“Yes.”

“And have kids—who I’m sure will be real hellions, because I was one myself?”

She smiled against his mouth, running her tongue delicately across his lower lip, feeling Taylor tense. His good hand slid up her rib cage to caress her breast. “Yes,” Katie breathed, lifting her hands and framing his face. “I want a hundred of them.”

“My income won’t cover that many. Will you settle on one or two little unicorns instead?”

With a soft laugh, Katie slid down beside him, her eyes lustrous with love for him. “Knowing a Scorpio’s capacity for passion, we’ll end up with half a dozen.”

Taylor grinned, easing her back on the bed, thinking how incredibly beautiful she looked in her loose, cotton dress, splashed with a rainbow of colors. He tunneled his fingers through her thick, soft hair, marveling at its silky curls, a grin hovering on his face. “Scorpios are just very loving,” he corrected, nibbling at her earlobe and then trailing a path of kisses down her slender neck. “And I’m going to enjoy every flight of the unicorn with you, my lovely princess…forever.”

Two
USA TODAY
bestselling authors in one book!

Two deadly missions have these men in uniformputting their lives and their hearts on the line forservice, duty and love.

Look for
COURSE OF ACTION
next month,
featuring
Out of Harm’s Way
by Lindsay McKenna and
Any Time, Any Place
by Merline Lovelace.

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