Dancing in the Moonlight - Harlequin.com

174 DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT
After he slipped the crutches in the back, he climbed
in and then headed down the driveway.
They were almost to the road when she reached a
hand out and touched his arm. The spontaneous
gesture surprised him enough that he almost didn’t
stop in time to miss a minivan heading up the road to
the Cold Creek. The traffic was much heavier than
normal in that direction, and he could only hope she
didn’t notice.
“Is something wrong?”
He stared. “Why do you ask?”
She shrugged. “Your eyes. They seem distracted and
you’re not your usual annoyingly cheerful self.”
He thought of the terrible task of telling Bertie her
husband was gone, of the sense of failure that sat cold
and bitter in his gut. Not wanting to put a damper on the
evening, he opened his mouth to offer some polite lie
but the words tangled in his throat.
The urge to confide in her was too overwhelming
to resist. “I lost a patient today. Will Cranwinkle.
Heart attack.”
She touched his arm again. “Oh, Jake. I’m so sorry.”
“I rode the ambulance to Idaho Falls with him, trying
to shock him but we could never get a rhythm.”
Her eyes were dark with compassion and he wanted
to drown in them. “The last thing you probably feel like
doing is socializing tonight. I don’t mind if you take me
home. We can do this another time.”
He shook his head. “You’re not getting out of this that
easily. We’re going. This is exactly where I need to be.”
“What about where you want to be?”