The Perfect Couple

The truck slid to a halt in a shower of mud reflected in the outside light. Someone jumped out and ran up the steps to the porch.

Kara dropped the slice of pizza into the trash, reached for her keys, and headed for the door. When she looked up she was face-to-face with Tyler Corbett. He was waving a white slip of paper.

She unlocked the door.

He burst through, his boots thudding on the tile floor. “I thought you didn't answer the door at night.”

“I do when I can see who it is. What's wrong?” She followed him down the hall.

When he got to the place where light from her office illuminated the paper in his hand he stopped and whirled to face her. “This,” he said, waving the paper.

Kara stood her ground. “Well, if you'll hold it still, I'll take a look.”

“You don't have to look, Doctor,” he said, exaggerating her title. “You sent it to me.”

“I what?” Suddenly, she realized what he had to be holding. Except he couldn't be. Not yet. Susan had only put the monthly statements in the mail that evening.

“Whoa,” Kara said firmly. “That's impossible.”

“Oh? Then what's this?”

“Well, it looks like one of our bills but it can't be. The postal service isn't that good.”

“This didn't come in the mail,” Tyler said. “It was hand delivered.” He unfolded the bill and held it up in front of her face. “Look at the part on the bottom. If you wanted me to pay for the puppy's care up front, you should have said so when I was here, not fired off a new bill before I even had a chance to drive all the way home!”

Susan. Kara's shoulders sagged. Of course. Her sister knew how badly she needed to keep her accounts current and in a fit of efficiency, she'd changed Tyler Corbett's bill to reflect the latest charges and hand delivered it to him, rather than put it in the mail with the others.

“I'm really sorry,” Kara said. “She…we… shouldn't have done that.”

“Well, you're right about that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of crumpled money, thrusting it at her. “Here. Consider this a down payment. If there are more charges before the dog gets well, I'll pay whatever it costs. In spite of what you seem to think, I'm not a deadbeat.”

“This isn't necessary.” Cupping the bills in both hands so she wouldn't drop them, she realized she was trembling. “You can write me a check later. When everything's done.”

“No way, lady. I came here to pay up and I intend to do just that. Your brother-in-law works for me, remember? The last thing I need is to have my foreman think I'm dishonest.”

“I'm sorry. I'll see that Susan doesn't do anything like this again,” Kara promised, chagrined. Her voice grew more faint. “It wasn't fair.”

That sincerely apologetic attitude gave Tyler pause. The woman wasn't acting nearly as mercenary as he'd imagined she would. She hadn't even pocketed the money he'd shoved at her.

He had an attack of conscience. “I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to scare you.”

“You didn't,” she said.

“Then why are you shaking?”

Kara stood taller, her chin jutting out, and alibied, “I'm probably just hungry.”

“Didn't you eat that pizza?”

“I managed half a slice before you got here.”

“Well, no wonder you're shaky. Come on.” Without waiting for her consent, he ushered her into her office where the open pizza box rested in plain sight atop a file cabinet. He took the money from her hands, tossed it onto her desk and said, “You go wash up. I'll wait here.”

“That's not necessary,” Kara insisted. “I'm fine.”

“No, you're not. And it's my fault. First I made you work overtime, then I kept you from enjoying your dinner.” He scanned the office. “Got a microwave?”

“In the back. I use it to warm food for some of the animals.” The wary look on his face made her smile in spite of her unsteadiness. “It's perfectly clean if that's what you're worried about. Anyway, I prefer my pizza cold.”

“Good. Me, too. Go wash up while I find us some napkins.”

“Us?”

Tyler shot her a lopsided smile. “If you don't mind, I'll join you. I was so busy blowing my stack I forgot to eat. I've just realized I'm famished.”

Kara shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” Taking a deep, settling breath she left the room. There was no way she could tell anyone, especially not Tyler Corbett, why she'd been trembling. Hunger had nothing to do with it. When he'd burst in and shouted at her, her panicked response had been instinctive. Fresh fear had taken control. Alex's legacy of intimidation lived on.

After two years, she'd thought she was through being frightened. Tonight, when Tyler had confronted her, uncalled-for dread had returned as if it had never left.

Procrastinating, she splashed water on her face at the bathroom sink and stared into the mirror. “I'm going to be okay,” she said to the image. “I'm smart and capable and I can make it on my own. It doesn't matter what Alex thought. He can't hurt me anymore.”

And God loves you, she heard echoing in her head, in her heart. Kara nodded as she reached for a towel to dry her face. Remembering that she was a child of God was the most important part of her ongoing healing. It was His opinion that was important. No one else's counted.

“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.