Valerie Hansen - The Perfect Couple

“I looked in on Road Kill while you were gone,” Tyler said. “He's asleep. I watched and he's breathing fine.”

“I know. I checked him just before you charged in.”

Tyler shrugged. “Yeah, well, I'm sorry about that. I'd had a pretty rough day. I had to throw away my favorite shirt and I'll probably have to give up my good jacket, too, thanks to the mess he made of it when I was trying to keep him warm.”

“You don't need to throw the clothes away. A little household hydrogen peroxide will get rid of those stains. I use it all the time.” She walked over to the file cabinet and picked up the flat, white pizza box, then returned to him and held it out. “Here. Help yourself. I could never eat all this anyway.”

“Are you positive? Now that I think about it, I feel kind of bad about inviting myself.”

“Nonsense. Somebody has to clean up the leftovers. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else.”

Tyler took one slice and laid it on a paper towel. “You mean you have a steady stream of clients pounding on your door at all hours, begging for food?”

“Not as a rule. I was thinking of my dogs at home. They love leftovers.” She placed the box on her desk and served herself.

“I'm taking food out of the mouths of your pets?”

“I won't tell if you don't. Besides, this has pepperoni on it. It doesn't agree with them.”

“Oh, I get it.” He started to smile. “Protect the dogs by feeding the spicy stuff to the testy client.”

“Something like that.” Circling the desk she plopped down in the leather chair and leaned back, pizza in hand. It was strange to be sharing an impromptu meal with a man again. The fact that they were alone in her office, the office that used to belong to Alex, made the encounter seem even more bizarre.

With that thought, Kara's appetite vanished. She laid the pizza aside on a paper towel and tried to suppress a shiver. Tyler Corbett wasn't acting at all intimidating. Yet she found herself nervous, as if an obscure threat lurked in the otherwise tranquil environment.

Thoughts of her late husband continued to intrude and refused to go away. Alex wouldn't have liked her eating at this desk. His desk. Alex wouldn't have approved of sharing a meal with a client, either, even if the person was also a friend. And he'd have been absolutely furious if she'd opened the door after hours and welcomed a man who'd once threatened a lawsuit. A man like the one casually perched on the edge of the desk across from her. Her mouth went dry in response to her mental rambling.

Tyler noticed Kara's psychological retreat. One minute she'd been fine. The next, she was looking at him as if he were an escaped criminal, ready to hold a knife at her throat. As far as he could tell he hadn't done anything to trigger that kind of reaction, except raise his voice when he'd arrived. Surely, that couldn't be what was bothering her now. She'd seemed normal enough, even friendly, once he'd apologized.

Tyler got to his feet and wiped his hands on a paper towel. “Well, I guess I should be going.” He expected Kara to observe polite custom and disagree before finally giving in when he insisted on leaving.

Instead, she stood and headed for the office door. “That's probably a good idea.”

Dumbfounded, he stared after her. “Who put the burr under your saddle?”

“No one.” Starting down the hall she called back, “I'll unlock the front for you.”

There was nothing more to say. Tyler grabbed his hat and coat and stomped out the glass door as soon as she'd jerked it open. He strode quickly to his truck. Kara Shepherd might be good with animals but she sure lacked the normal social graces where people were concerned. No wonder she'd stuck with that underhanded bum she'd married. They'd been perfect for each other.

Tyler jammed the truck in reverse and floored it. It didn't matter what that woman thought of him. After all, she was Shepherd's widow. The widow of the swindler who had cost him the health of his herd and nearly ruined everything he and Deanne had worked for.

He swung onto the highway. It would be just fine with him if he never had to deal with Dr. Kara Shepherd again, personally or professionally. And as soon as he got Road Kill bailed out, that was exactly how it was going to be.

Kara maintained her composure until Tyler was gone. Then she collapsed against the wall, hugging herself. What was it about her that brought out the worst in men? First her father. Then Alex. And now…

She wanted to weep, to wail, to wallow in self-pity. Blinking, she waited for the flood of tears that usually accompanied such poignant retrospection.

Nothing happened! No hysteria, no devastating gloom, not even one solitary tear.

Kara was astounded. She took a deep, slow breath. She was healing! The nightmare was finally coming to an end.

Overcome with a sense of God's presence she closed her eyes, lifted her hands in praise and accepted the gift with a whispered, “Oh, thank you, Father.”

The simple prayer didn't begin to express the soul-deep joy suddenly filling her heart. Peace flowed over her, enveloping her in the warmth of her Heavenly Father's abiding, miraculous love.

Kara wasn't in her office when Susan arrived the following morning. She tracked her down in the kennels and held out the handful of crumpled currency she'd found on the desk.

“What's all this?” Susan asked. “You moonlighting as a bank robber?”

“Nope. It's payment of a bill.”

“Really? Hey, that's great!”

“No, it isn't.” Kara scowled. “It came from Tyler Corbett.”

Susan looked around quickly. “He's here?”

“Not any more. But he was last night. And he was not particularly impressed by your efficiency.”

“Oops.” She made a penitent face. “I get the idea you're not crazy about it, either.”

“That's an understatement. Now he thinks I don't trust him to pay his debts.”

“Well, you don't, do you?”

Kara took a moment to mull over the question. If she judged by their past association she shouldn't trust the man at all. Yet for some crazy reason, she did.

“I believe he'll pay for the puppy's care,” she finally said. “As for what happened before, well, that was between him and Alex.”

“But, I thought…”

“Nothing is certain where Alex was concerned,” Kara said. “I know he did a lot of work for Corbett's ranch. But I don't know how accurate his record keeping was. That's why I dropped the idea to sue for the money after Alex died.”

“You think he may have overcharged the ranch?”

Kara shrugged. “I hope not. Unfortunately, we'll never know for sure.”

“But it is possible?” Susan was clearly disturbed by the thought.

“Oh, yes.”

“I never dreamed Alex was like that.”

Kara felt the urge to go on, to tell her sister everything. There was a great deal about Alex Shepherd that had remained hidden in the painful, private core of their supposedly perfect marriage. If she'd spoken out when Alex was living, maybe Susan could have offered some helpful advice. Now, however, the only benefit of confessing would be to know that someone else shared her suffering. Kara didn't want to lay that kind of burden on anyone.

She pressed her lips into a thin line. That wasn't completely true. She hadn't wanted advice or familial concern when Alex was alive. She still didn't. She'd purposely kept her misery to herself because she'd felt partly responsible for her bad marriage. Even now, that kind of thought kept nagging at the fringes of her consciousness, refusing to be banished.

Standing as tall as her five-foot-two-inch stature would allow, she said, “My husband is gone. I don't see any reason to discuss him, if you don't mind.” The statement came out sounding so harsh she softened it with a tender smile and added, “Hey. Come on, Susan. It's a beautiful day and we should be praising the Lord that we have our whole lives ahead of us. Let's not dwell in the past, okay?”