Leona Karr - Hero In Disguise

David allowed himself a weak smile. “Ya.”

“Good. Now, out of my kitchen, both of you. Dinner in half an hour.”

David and Melissa exchanged smiles as Inga banished them from her kitchen.

When David came downstairs, he was surprised to see Melissa already seated at the dining room table. She had changed into a simple pink dress revealing her tanned arms and shoulders, and her raven-dark hair glistened in the soft light from an overhead chandelier. She looked lovely. Pleasure sluiced through him and his evening took a brighter turn as he looked at her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said quickly, taking a chair opposite her.

“You didn’t. I was trying to get the boys settled in the kitchen, and Inga ordered me out.” Melissa laughed.

“Inga insisted they eat with her and Hans tonight. She put Hans at the table between them, so I guess everything’s under control.”

“We can always hope,” he said dryly, and then quickly changed the subject. He wasn’t ready to spoil the evening so soon. The subject of the dog could wait a while, but there was no “question” in his mind about it—the dog had to go.

“How is the writing coming?” he asked politely.

As they talked for a few minutes about her current assignment, she realized what a polished dinner companion he was. He kept the conversation moving, asking questions and listening to her answers with a soft smile on his face.

As he leaned toward her, his slightly damp hair was burnished by the light’s glow into shades of golden brown. He wore tailored brown slacks and an expensive chambray shirt open at the neck.

“I decided to go freelance because I felt called to write my women’s book,” she told him as she reached for a crystal water glass and took a sip.

“‘Called’?” He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “That’s an interesting word.”

“Yes, I believe that there is a divine pattern in our lives. If we will only let go and let God, surprising things will happen. Haven’t you ever felt that a coincidence is not that at all?”

Inga’s entrance with a loaded tray saved him from getting into any discussion of her naive beliefs. As he looked at her, Melissa’s eyes were sparkling with such sincerity, he didn’t have the heart to argue that it was up to an individual to make things happen in his or her life, not some far-off deity.

As expected, the meal was delicious, perfectly prepared, and the beautiful dining room with its richly paneled walls lent a kind of magic to the whole evening. Melissa had trouble believing that she was sitting there in the company of a handsome and entertaining host who took all this elegance for granted. She hid a secret smile as she imagined him sitting at her marred Formica table on chairs that were losing their stuffing.

Once in a while she could hear Eric’s and Richie’s childish voices in the kitchen, and, although she missed them, she was grateful for the reprieve from their less-than-polished eating habits.

By the time they had finished their deep-dish apple pie and their after-dinner coffee, they had grown more comfortable in each other’s presence. Once again the idea came to David to ask Melissa to be his companion for the fund-raiser. He knew she’d be a perfect companion for the evening. Undoubtedly it would be a different experience for her, with all the handshaking and back-slapping, but she would charm them with her lovely eyes and sweet smile. And if tonight was any test, for a change he would finally enjoy himself at one of these political affairs.

He wondered why he suddenly felt more self-conscious asking her to go with him than he would have approaching a formidable dignitary. “I would like to ask a favor of you, Melissa.”

Melissa waited, wondering why he suddenly seemed ill at ease. This private time together had gone well, hadn’t it? Had she missed something? Was he going to ask her and the boys to move out of the house?

“Please, feel free to say no. There’s an important political fund-raiser next weekend. It’s a reception, banquet, and a national dinner speaker. I have to go.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m expected to take someone with me. I was wondering—hoping, really, that you might consider going as my dinner partner. The food will be lousy, I can promise you that, but you might find the political circus entertaining.”

She had to smile at his not very persuasive presentation. “It sounds interesting, but I wouldn’t be comfortable at that kind of thing. Sorry.”

“As a writer, I would have thought you’d be open to new experiences.” Her flat refusal didn’t surprise him but he wasn’t about to accept it without an argument.

“My life is already full of new experiences,” she countered. Sitting here in this elegant dining room with him was one of them. She pretended interest in her coffee as she took another sip. She knew it wasn’t the challenge of spending an evening with Denver’s rich and influential that was making her say no. It was the idea of going out with the esteemed David Ardell as his date that brought an instant refusal. He moved in elite social circles. The society pages were filled with the kind of women and social events that were a part of his life. She didn’t belong in that kind of society whirl, now or ever.

“Thank you for the invitation.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.” He could tell from the finality in her tone that further discussion was pointless. “All right, then, I guess we’d better move on to the problem at hand. The dog.”

She met his eyes. “Yes, let’s talk about the dog. I want to explain what happened.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Please do. Never in my life have I seen a more disreputable creature. It is really beyond me why you would allow the boys to have anything to do with it.”

“I really didn’t have much choice. The boys were playing in the backyard, and I was keeping an eye on them through the window. Inga set out a plate of sandwiches and some drinks on the patio table, and I intended to join them as soon as I finished what I was working on. The next time I looked out, I saw Eric and Richie on the grass with this dog, feeding him their sandwiches.” She drew in a deep breath. “Apparently he came to the gate, whined and wanted in. You can guess the rest. The poor thing was starved.”

“Why not feed him and then call Animal Control?”

“How could I? Before I knew it, the boys were pouring love on the stray as if they’d found something to make their lives less bleak. I told them the dog was the scruffiest-looking thing I’d ever seen, and they started calling him Scruffy. I think they identify with him because they’ve been hungry and alone. I just couldn’t take the dog away from them.”

“Well, I can,” David said firmly. He’d never had a dog. Never wanted one. His mother had said they were nothing but nuisances and he agreed. “No dogs.”

“We could keep him in the backyard and utility room. With a bath and trim, he might even look presentable,” she argued.

“Be sensible about this, Melissa,” he said as gently as his irritation would allow. “We’ve got two children to place, and so far, the investigator hasn’t come up with any relative who might take them. As long as the children are here, there’ll be no dog.”

She looked at him with a stubborn set to her chin. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll go with you to the fund-raiser if you’ll let the boys keep the dog.”

He wanted to laugh. The idea that he would even be open to such an absurd bargain was ridiculous, and he couldn’t believe that he didn’t flatly reject the offer. “What kind of a deal is that?”

“A good one, don’t you think? You get what you want, and the boys get what they want.”