Her Lifelong Dream (5 page)

The sun was shining, but it was not hot and the crowds
of spectators that lined the street were cheering her on. So
she ran. She ran as hard and as strong as she had ever run
before. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Terry
was behind her, his long, taut legs moving in a perfect,
uniform stride, gaining on her with every stroke. She
pumped her legs harder, trying to put some pavement between herself and the other runners.

Leedy's legs cooperated, at first. But soon, her breathing
was becoming more ragged. She ignored it and ran ahead,
pushing her legs to move still faster, if that was even possible. A small twinge of pain developed in her left knee
but by blowing short puffs of air out of her mouth, she was
able to keep going.

From time to time, she would grab a paper cup of water
from one of the spectators and gulp it down. But she realized that every time she did, it slowed her down. Soon a
nagging ache developed in her knee, which started to ra diate to her shin. She had also developed a persistent stabbing pain in her right side. She leaned into the stitch a bit
and kept on running.

Leedy knew her strength as a runner didn't lie in her
ability to run long distances, but in her ability to sprint
shorter distances quickly. A 1OK race was not her strong
suit, and now she could feel her strength ebbing away. But
she wanted to do well in the race, if only to prove to herself
she was capable of it.

She looked ahead of her, trying not to think about the
other runners slowly gaining ground behind her, when it
suddenly dawned on her that all the runners who had been
ahead of her were now nowhere to be seen. She was
surprised and happy when she realized she had somehow
managed to take the lead. This was certainly a new experience for her and she relished her victory. But her triumph
was short-lived, because a quick glance behind her told her
that Terry Foster was steadily catching up.

Leedy gritted her teeth and implored her legs to keep
moving. She could see the finish line less than a block
away, and she could hear the shouts of the spectators, but
she knew her exhausted body was faltering. Her lungs felt
as if they were going to burst, her knee was screaming in
pain, and the small stitch in her side had become excruciating.

"Coming through," said a cheerful voice from behind
her. Leedy felt a rush of wind as Terry ran past. She tried
to catch up with him and for a few harrowing seconds, she
thought she might be able to maintain her lead, but the ache
that coursed through her body was too strong. He strode
past her with a smooth ease and crossed the finish line only
seconds before her.

"Arrgghh!" Leedy groaned as she crossed the line and
collapsed on a grassy incline. Deanna soon followed behind
her, laughing and hooting in youthful glee.

"Wow!" she shouted, jumping up and down. "That was
great! Uncle Terry came in first and you came in second!
Women never beat men in these races! I thought you didn't
run fast!"

But Leedy was beyond conversation. She lay in the grass
panting as she waited for her knee to stop throbbing and
her heart to cease pounding and for the burning pain in her
chest to go away. Every breath was anguish. Plus, she was
certain she'd never be able to walk again.

Leedy knew she had committed the ultimate runner's sin
and she was annoyed with herself. She had broken her
stride, almost from the starting line.

"Need some help?" a voice from above called to her.
She squinted into the bright morning sunshine and saw
Terry leaning over her, holding out his hand. She grabbed
it and he hoisted her up.

"You need to work on your finish line technique," he
said, handing her a paper cup of water. "Here, drink this.
You look as if you could use it."

"Thanks," Leedy gasped as she took the water and
gulped it down.

"Great race," he said, his blue eyes dancing. Deanna followed behind him, jumping up and down with excitement.
Leedy noted that neither Terry not Deanna looked any the
worse for wear. In fact, they had barely broken a sweat. "I
think I may have overdone it," she said, pushing back her
wet, sticky hair. He handed her another paper cup of water
and watched her drain it.

"You'll be all right in a couple of minutes," he said, letting his hand slip softly onto the small of her back. Despite the fact that every muscle in her body was still
screaming in pain, the feel of Terry's strong hand touching
her sent ripples of pleasure coursing through her body,
along with needles of electricity all the way down to her
toes.

"Great race," Leedy repeated.

"You, too," Terry said. "You're quite an athlete." He
stood there, momentarily, looking into her eyes and smiling.

"Let's go, Uncle Terry," Deanna said. "You promised
we would go to brunch after the race. I'm starving!"

"Great idea," he said. "Perhaps Leedy would like to join
us?"

"Yes!" Deanna exclaimed. "Please come with us, Leedy!
We're going to go home first to grab showers, but we can
meet you there. We are going to the Northern Inn. They
have a wonderful buffet on the weekends."

"It will be fun," Terry coaxed. "Or, at least, more fun
than hyperventilating. Come on, Leedy. Come with us."

It was a tempting offer, but the pain in her knee screamed
in protest and she knew it was going to be another busy
day at Mr. Hobo's. "Thanks for the invitation," she said.
"But I can't. I have to work this afternoon."

"Oh ... darn," Deanna said with feeling.

"Maybe next time," Terry offered, still maddeningly
handsome.

"Yes, maybe. And thanks again," Leedy said. "But duty
calls." She handed Terry back the paper cup before she
limped away, trying vainly to exit with as much dignity as
she could muster.

Leedy spent an hour soaking in the bathtub, hoping the
hot water would soothe not only her aching body, but her
aching pride as well. Every muscle felt as though it had
been worked over by a prize fighter. Her knee was still
tender to the touch and the condition of her throbbing back
remained precarious. But her sore muscles were not the
only thing that was giving her remorse.

She was pleased she had placed so well in the race,
but ... Leedy had come to the difficult realization that her
actions over the past few days had been embarrassing, and
she was mortified. Her hasty exit from Terry Foster's office
and her overly competitive behavior at the race were childish, to say the least.

She sank deeper into the hot water, trying to forget the
past two days. She was usually such a levelheaded personbut ever since her first meeting with Terry Foster, she had
been acting like a blockhead. She was tongue-tied and awk ward whenever he was anywhere near. What on earth had
gotten into her?

The only conclusion she could come to was that, for
reasons that couldn't be explained, the loan officer ignited
a side of her that no one else had ever seen. A side that
was electrifying, but not altogether rational.

Leedy lay in the tub and let her mind wander. She
thought about the way Terry's strong, muscular legs moved
when he ran and the way his hand had felt against her back.
She closed her eyes, and let the warmth of the bath envelope her. "Okay," she told herself out loud. "So, he's handsome. So what? Brian was handsome too, remember? So
he makes your heart go pitty-pat. You're a big girl. You
can handle this. But don't forget, he's a bit arrogant.
And . . ." She couldn't think of anything else, so the sentence remained unfinished.

She searched for a theory that would somehow define
why she had allowed this man to so quickly and effectively
upset her apple cart. A theory that would explain the unsettling effect he had on her life. Terry was a mystery to
be pondered, a problem to be solved, and she was determined to put him in his proper place, at least mentally. "So
what if he's handsome?" she asked again. "He's trouble ...
and I should stay as far away from him as I can." She made
the statement out loud with as much feeling as she could
gather, but it still somehow lacked conviction.

Leedy sighed and stepped out of the tub, reaching for a
towel. The soft, fluffy terry cloth felt good as she patted
herself dry. She lingered on the special places of her flawless body. Places where the nubby fabric felt delicious rubbing against her skin. She closed her eyes again and wondered what it would feel like to be held in Terry's
strong arms.

"Stop it!" she said out loud. She was annoyed with the
way she had so quickly forgotten her decision to steer clear
of this man. This man who had turned down her application
for the small business loan she needed to open her restaurant.

Leedy finished drying off and set about with the task of
putting herself together enough to go to work. It was her
weekend to work the "turn around" shift, which meant the
dinner rush on Friday night and then the day shift on Saturday. It made for a long, grueling experience, especially
since Parents' Night really meant Parents' Weekend. But
she didn't mind working. The long hours would keep her
mind off her recent disappointments ... and off Terry Foster.

She dressed in the black tuxedo (which luckily was holding up well, considering there were no all-night, one-hour
dry cleaners) and a fresh, starched white blouse. She applied her make-up and blew dry her long, straight hair until
it was soft and glossy again. She pulled it back into a ponytail and fastened it with a beautiful silver hairclip she
had bought at an antique store. She looked in the mirror
and felt hesitantly pleased by what she saw. Her skin was
peaches and cream and her chestnut brown eyes were bright
and clear. She looked decidedly good, all things considered.

By the time she arrived at Mr. Hobo's an hour later,
Leedy was feeling like her old self again. Well, almost. Her
first stop was in the kitchen, which had fallen woefully
behind in setting up for the soon-to-arrive lunch crowd. She
spent an hour chopping vegetables for the salads. Then she prepared more Chocolate Ecstasy cakes, which had been
selling like the proverbial hotcakes since Friday.

It was well into the afternoon before she was finally able
to head into the dining room. She ran the sweeper around
the tables, poured coffee for customers, and took care of
one hundred little disasters that came up along the way.
Leedy liked it when Mr. Hobo's was busy. It was then that
she was in her true domain. Crowds of hungry diners and
a chaotic kitchen didn't ruffle her feathers. In fact she loved
it when the heat was on and she ran Mr. Hobo's as if she
had been doing it for ten years instead of six months.

She was restocking the supplies at the coffee station, her
head buried deep inside the cabinet, when she heard a voice
from above. "Excuse me. I'm looking for Leedy Collins." She
jumped, startled, and banged her head painfully on the inside
of the cabinet. She looked up, rubbing the bump that had
quickly popped up, to see Terry Foster standing over her.

"Oh," she gasped. "Mr. Foster. I didn't hear you."

"I'm sorry if I snuck up behind you," he said, helping
her to her feet.

"It's okay," she said, trying to compose herself.

"Did you hurt your head?"

"No," she said, her ears ringing. "I'm fine."

"Have you recovered from the race?"

"Yes. And you?"

"Yes," he said with an amused, easy smile. He was
dressed in pressed khakis and a soft denim shirt. He looked
as though he had just stepped out of a page from a magazine. "I'm all done gloating, thank you. I'm here because
we never finished our meeting yesterday. I had some free
time this afternoon. I was hoping you would have a few
minutes to discuss your loan application."

"Oh?" Leedy said, her ears perking up at the mention of
the word loan.

"Have you had lunch?" he asked.

"No. Not yet."

He was standing close enough for her to smell the clean
aroma of his soap and aftershave. It was a wonderful
aroma. "You shouldn't skip lunch," he said. "Especially
after running the race you ran this morning."

"Thanks for the tip."

"Can you take a break?" he asked. There was a sensuous
quality to his voice that made all of Leedy's resolutions
from that morning a faraway memory.

"I can't leave the restaurant," she said. "But ... um ...
we can eat lunch here ... if you don't mind, that is."

"This is a restaurant, isn't it?" he noted. "A very nice
restaurant."

"Yes, it is," she said. "Give me a few minutes to check
on things and I'll meet you in the back dining room. It's
quieter there."

"I'll see you in a few minutes."

She went to the kitchen and spoke with the chef. The
lunch rush was over and dinner was still hours away, and
everything seemed to be running smoothly, for now. She
was headed back to the dining room when she spotted Brittany coming into the kitchen.

"Can you cover for me for about a half-hour?" Leedy
asked. She didn't want any interruptions during her meeting
with Terry.