Evening Hours

“You’re wasting your time giving me one of your quelling glares. I’m immune. I’m changing your medication and I expect you to rest one hour or longer every day.” He glanced at Cutler, then Trevor. “I’m depending on you guys to see that she complies.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Mary said with force.

Trevor crossed to the bed, peered down at his wife and said, “Oh, yes, it is, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Cutler said, throwing his mother a grin. “You can count on me to do my part.”

Mary glared at all three before a slow smile softened her features. “All right. I’ll try it your way and see what happens.”

“Praise God,” Cutler muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Son, don’t drag the Lord into this.”

Though his mother’s tone was prim, Cutler heard the humor edging it. Confident that this crisis had passed, he walked over and kissed Mary on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you later. Meanwhile, behave yourself or else.”

Had he been in the audience the entire time?

Kaylee tried not to panic, but she couldn’t help it. Cutler McFarland was the last person she expected to see at this luncheon.

Thank God the show was almost over. If she had noticed him earlier, she would’ve been much more shaken.

She shouldn’t have been surprised that he was there, especially since a style show was part of the planned activities for the annual Medical Alliance luncheon. This was the first time men had been invited, which was no problem for her agency when it came to putting on the show, as she had almost as many male models as females. In fact, she’d been delighted with the change in plans, although it had been a challenge for both her and her staff.

The thought of Cutler McFarland sitting through a display of the latest fashions, however, seemed laughable given his relaxed attire, but Kaylee didn’t feel like laughing. In fact, she wished she was anywhere but about to step up to the podium in a matter of minutes. And of all days, she’d had to wear her brace, because when she’d awakened that morning her leg had refused to cooperate. She had thought about nursing her pride and wearing a long skirt in order to help camouflage her handicap, but in the end she hadn’t.

Her limp was part of her, and people could either accept her as she was or not. Most of the time that bravado worked.

But not today.

Seeing Cutler suddenly brought all her insecurities to the surface, making her sick to her stomach, which in turn made her furious with herself. What did she care what he or anyone else thought? Hadn’t she gotten over her concerns regarding other people’s reactions to her years ago? Why was she so bent out of shape wondering what this man would think?

“And now let’s welcome Miss Kaylee Benton.”

Kaylee froze.

“Hey, get the lead out, girl,” Sandy whispered from behind, swatting her on the rear.

Kaylee turned and faced her. “Why don’t you go instead?”

Sandy looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Is something going on I don’t know about?”

Kaylee shook herself mentally, then said, “Forget I said that. I’m fine.”

“If you’re sure,” Sandy responded in a tone that said she wasn’t at all sure.

After taking several deep breaths, Kaylee plastered a smile on her face and slowly made her way onstage, praying that she reached her destination without mishap.

She did, though when she reached the podium she clung to the sides until her knuckles almost cracked under the pressure.

“Let’s give this lady another round of applause,” the master of ceremonies added with a wide grin.

While they clapped and whistled, Kaylee looked into the audience. Her gaze landed on Cutler. For what seemed like an interminable length of time but was actually only seconds, their eyes met.

Then he turned his back and walked out.

Eight

Edgar felt her eyes on him long before she shared her thoughts.

“You’ve really been preoccupied lately,” Rebecca Goolsby said. “Have I done something to offend you?”

“Of course not, honey.”

He stared at the woman sitting across from him at the Starbucks coffee shop near the Galleria. They had been an “item” for a while now, and he was quite taken with her. She wasn’t beautiful; she really wasn’t even pretty.

Her face was too square and her eyes were too far apart. But she had a sweetness and grace about her that had captured his heart. And her smile—how could he forget that? He couldn’t. When Rebecca smiled, it lit up her face and everything around it, which reminded him of Kaylee. She was blessed with that same gift.

Rebecca was the first woman he’d cared about since his wife died, and that had been a lifetime ago, or so it seemed. Kaylee had always been enough.

He couldn’t say when that had changed or even if it had. His daughter and her needs would always come first. He’d made that promise the day of the accident. But apparently time had dulled the pain and hurt enough so that he could now move forward.

While a relationship with a woman hadn’t been on his mind, Rebecca had simply snuck in the back door of his heart without his knowing it.

He had met her at one of Drew’s parties. She worked for a brokerage firm with whom his boss had done business. When Drew introduced them they had clicked right away. She was easy to be with, didn’t make demands, didn’t push. Most of all, she didn’t seem to resent his devotion to Kaylee.

“Was my question out of line?”

He forced his attention back to Rebecca. “You know better than that.”

“Do I?”

Edgar smiled, then reached across the table, took her hand and squeezed it. “You can ask me anything you want.”

“Only, you reserve the right not to answer.” She tempered her bluntness with a smile. “Right?”

He smiled back. “Right. But not this time. I was thinking about Kaylee.”

“Aren’t you always?” she said without rancor.

His smile spread into a grin. “Not always. You have a tendency to interfere.”

“Good,” she said with obvious pleasure. “Somehow I sense you’re concerned. Has something happened I don’t know about?”

“Possibly.”

“Really?”

Edgar ran a hand over his thinning hair and squinted his eyes. “And it’s a good thing, too, though I’m making it sound the opposite.” He paused. “Or at least I think it is.”