A Chance Encounter (8 page)

“He was unable to accept your healing abilities?”

“Yes. And I couldn’t marry him if he couldn’t accept that.” Her voice showed her pain. “He called me an oddity. And he treated me as if I had leprosy or something.”

“Katie, you have to admit that you’re very different from most people.”

She gazed at him sadly. “But what you don’t understand is that there are hundreds of thousands of people all over the world who have the same abilities as I do. Only we don’t go around talking about it, because most people would be frightened. We aren’t a secret organization. We willingly share what we know when asked. Healers have been around since the dawn of time, Taylor. And I’m not much different from anyone else. I have a heart that feels, eyes that see. I’m human…only that. Nothing more, nothing less:”

He was shaken by the pain in her voice. “I’m beginning to understand why you shy away from publicity, Katie,” he admitted quietly. “Wes wasn’t the only one who called you an oddity, was he?”

Katie closed her eyes and shook her head. “No. From the time I was nine years old, I’ve learned—the hard way—to say nothing about my healing. And I can’t remember how many times I ran home from school to cry in my mother’s arms because the other children were afraid of me.” She opened her blue eyes, which were now awash with tears. “I’m a healer, just as you’re a writer. Do I condemn you because you have writing talent? Isn’t that an unexplained skill? Isn’t musical ability? Isn’t artistic talent? I only wish that healers could be as easily accepted as writers, musicians and artists. All we want to do is be of service to our fellow human beings.” Katie clasped her hands and bowed her head. “I want to fall in love with a man who will accept me as I am. I want children. I want what everyone wants—just a small portion of happiness….”

Taylor roused himself, trying to find words that would soothe her, but discovering none. “Look, Katie, don’t you think it’s time you—or someone like you—took a stand? Showed the world what you have to offer?”

She ran her fingers through her hair. “I’ve thought about that, Taylor. But you’ll find that most healers are modest, shy people who can’t take the glare of publicity.” She gave him a meaningful look.

“And I was a real barracuda, wasn’t I?” he muttered ruefully.

“Now you understand why I begged you not to print that story.” She shrugged. “And I was right, too. What has it gotten me besides threatening phone calls, people coming here to stare at me as if I were an exhibit on display, and harassment by reporters from trashy newspapers and magazines who want to exploit me?” Katie got up, pressing her fingers to her temples, willing away a headache. Maud returned just then, making it impossible to continue the conversation. Taylor grimaced and looked down at his notes. Perhaps, somehow, he could make amends.

“First things first,” Katie told Taylor as they entered her apartment. “I’m going to soak in a hot bath. I’m so exhausted!”

Taylor nodded, shutting the door. “Go ahead. I’ll rummage around in the refrigerator and get us something to eat.”

Katie hesitated at the bedroom door. “Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll make us dinner.”

“Okay.”

She gestured toward the spacious living room. “Kick off your shoes and make yourself comfortable. There’s wine in the refrigerator.”

“Sounds good. Want some?”

Katie laughed ruefully. “Tired as I am, one glass of wine would send me under the table. No thanks.”

She hadn’t meant to fall asleep in the bathtub filled with orange-scented crystals, but she had. The past few days had been hard on her emotionally, and at night her sleep had been punctuated by worry. She had greeted each new morning with bloodshot eyes. Now, immersed in the fragrant hot water, her eyes dropped closed and she relaxed completely. Katie heard a noise in the small bathroom, but opted to remain in that in-between state, desperately wanting to sleep. She felt strong, gentle hands sliding up her rib cage, settling beneath her arms and lifting her up…up and out of the lukewarm water. Her lashes opened drowsily. Taylor’s worried face danced before hers.

“Just relax, princess,” he murmured gruffly as he wrapped her in a fluffy pink towel. He dried her gently, then reached for her lavender silk robe.

“What happened?” Katie mumbled.

“Nothing. I got worried when you’d been in here forty-five minutes. You fell asleep in the tub, Katie.” Taylor smiled tenderly, ignoring her protest as he wrapped the robe around her soft, naked body and drew the belt tight around her waist, tying it awkwardly. “Come on, you’re going to bed.”

Her mind wasn’t functioning at all, and Katie groped to resist his arm as he led her into the darkened bedroom. “But—”

“Shh, you need sleep, Katie. You’re worn out. Now, come on, slip under the covers….”

Her heart pumped noisily in her breast as he lifted her off her feet and into his arms. She was aware of his provocative male scent, of his potent masculinity. She was safe, her heart whispered. Releasing a sigh, Katie slid her arms around Taylor’s neck, resting her head wearily against his shoulder.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

Taylor laid her on the bed, drawing the sheet over her. Moonlight gleamed through the latticework of drapes, giving the room a molten glow. “Go to sleep, princess,” he urged, leaning over her to caress her hair.

Her thick lashes rested against her cheeks as she snuggled into the downy pillow. “You’re a true knight,” she whispered, her voice trailing off into sleep.

Taylor watched her sink into the arms of slumber. She was so small she seemed little more than a child in the huge bed. And she looked even more beautiful in sleep, if that were possible. With her lips slightly parted, a slender hand curled near her head, moonlight cascading over her quiet form, she was like an ethereal dream…. Shaking his head, Taylor wondered if he had fallen under a magical spell. He had experienced feelings and emotions that he’d thought were long dead and buried. Were Katie’s simplicity and honesty the keys to a rebirth of sorts—another chance at life for Taylor Grant? Bending down, he placed a light kiss on her cheek.

“Good night, princess. See you in the morning.”

For the rest of the evening the phone rang incessantly until finally, in frustration, Taylor took it off the hook. The reporters would not let up. Had they been calling this relentlessly since his article came out? Grimly, he paced the length of the silent living room ruthlessly examining his own behavior, but refusing to look too closely at his personal feelings for Katie. Sitting at the Queen Anne desk in the corner, he tried to make sense out of his notes. At eleven, Taylor decided to go to bed.

Finding a blanket and pillow in the bedroom closet, he left the door ajar—in case Katie woke up feeling disoriented, and needed him. He remembered how she’d insisted he take the bed—and smiled. She’d been too exhausted to think of that tonight, no doubt. As he made his bed on the small bamboo settee, he had a vivid image of how beautiful she had looked asleep in the bathtub. Having knocked several times, he’d gotten worried. He’d opened the door. The sight of Katie, dark hair piled atop her head and curled by the steam, had sent an ache of longing through him. Her flesh was pink from the hot water, and she looked incredibly tranquil. Her body was firm and supple, breasts small but nicely formed. He had brushed such thoughts away and, concerned, had lifted her out of the water and into his arms. Her flesh was slippery and yielding beneath his grip as she collapsed against him, fighting to awaken…

Taking a deep breath now, Taylor undressed in the bathroom. He showered quickly and slipped into blue drawstring pajama bottoms. He wore no top, and his broad chest caught the moonlight as he walked softly into Katie’s bedroom. A feeling of intense yearning passed over him. Lord, how he wanted to lie down and gather Katie’s small form against him. Just to sleep with her in his arms…Taylor banished the idea, berating himself as he walked quietly back out into the living room. He wanted Katie—all of her. Body, heart, soul and mind. And he knew this was no light matter. She couldn’t ever be a one-night stand. Would never allow herself to be. She was a woman who needed a permanent and lasting relationship…. Grimacing, he lowered himself onto the small settee, letting it creak in protest under his two-hundred-some-odd pounds.

‘Tough,” Taylor muttered to the piece of furniture, “you’re just going to have to take it on the chin.”

He drew the sheet to his waist and punched the pillow into a softer form that was more comfortable. A wry smile lingered on his lips. Right now he could be in that room with Katie in his arms. He knew she would come to him. He had seen the longing in her gaze. He closed his eyes.
Give her time, Taylor.
Time. She’s a butterfly, arid until you’re able to offer her something more…. Yet he was hungry for the feel, the touch, the fragrance, the sight of her. He was happiest when he was near her. Mentally he reran the day’s events. Katie…Katie…Lord, she was so exquisitely vulnerable…and then sleep stole the last of his lingering thoughts. Thoughts that blazed with emotion he ached to share with only her. And he knew Katie would treat his feelings with the greatest of care. Treasure…she was a salve to his badly scarred heart, and he longed to possess her body and soul…forever.

Dark, marauding shapes stained her ordinarily brilliant dreams. Katie tossed and turned in her bed, the pale blue sheet twisted beneath her. Her heart picked up a dreaded beat, panic licking through every nerve in her body. She watched in terror as a large, shadowy shape congealed into the form of a man. An arm was raised and a rock hurled through the front window of her bookstore. Glass shattered and splintered like a shimmer of rainbow fragments and Katie screamed, retreating to the back of the store. Her panic turned to hysteria as she saw a bottle with a flaming rag in the top. The bottle exploded into a wall of flame as it skidded across the purple carpet of the bookshop. And then, as she crouched, arms thrown across her face, she cried out for help.

“Katie? Katie, wake up!”

She moaned, caught in the throes of the nightmare. The sinister shape of the man walking through the flames, grinning at her. Coming for her…trying to wrench free of the hand that held her shoulder, Katie jerked awake.

“Katie? Easy, take it easy.”

A sob tore from her throat as she looked up into Taylor’s shadowed face. With a strangled sound she realized, finally, that this wasn’t her assailant.
Taylor!
It was Taylor. She threw her arms around him, burying her head beneath his jaw.

“Taylor,” she cried out, her voice muffled.

Worried, he held her, rocked her in his arms. She was trembling. “Just a bad dream, princess,” he soothed, kissing her tangled hair. “Nothing more. You’re all right. You’re safe.”

She allowed his voice to drive away the terror coursing through her, the vision of the grinning arsonist slowly dissolving. Only when Taylor eased her away and began drying her cheeks did Katie realize she was crying.

“I—I’m sorry,” she gulped and looked over at the night-stand. The clock told her it was two in the morning.

“Shh, nothing to apologize for.” Taylor studied her with a frightening intensity. Katie’s eyes were wide with shock, her pupils huge and black. In the moonlight, her skin looked taut and pale. “That was some dream….”

Katie wrapped her arms protectively around herself. “I usually have such lovely dreams, Taylor. Sometimes there’s tension, but—never nightmares like this,” she quavered. “It was so real….”

He caressed her hair, wanting to soothe her. “Tell me about it.”

“I dreamed I was in my bookstore. A rock came through the window. Next came a bottle with a flaming rag. I ran to the back of the store as it exploded into flames.” She took in an unsteady breath, risking a glance at him. “It was the man who calls me on the phone, Taylor. He came through a wall of flames to get me. He had an evil smile. Oh, Taylor. Am I losing my mind?”

Taking her into his arms, Taylor held her tightly. “Listen to me. The last couple of days have put one hell of a strain on you. That nightmare was nothing more than a reflection of your fear.”

Stubbornly, Katie shook her head, needing Taylor’s warmth. “No.”

“What?”

She shut her eyes tightly. “Sometimes I get premonitions,” she blurted. “I had one the night before my parents died. I called and told them not to come.” Her voice grew bleak. “They didn’t listen….”

With an effort, Taylor kept his thoughts to himself. Katie was worn out. She needed time away from all this, time in which to pull herself together. He pushed her gently toward the center of the bed. “Okay, princess. Move over.”

Katie was too shaken to realize what Taylor was doing until he slipped into her bed beside her. He pulled her into his arms.

“Now,” he told her, his voice low and husky, “I want you to close your eyes and go back to sleep. You won’t have any more nightmares, Katie. I’ll keep them away.”

Battered by the emotions slowly ebbing within her, Katie acquiesced. She turned to Taylor, her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder, her small hand caught in the dark mat of hair on his chest. He was her knight. He would protect her. Gratitude overwhelmed her, and she closed her eyes.

“I’m so tired,” she whispered, her words slurred with exhaustion.

“I know you are, Katie. Sleep…. I’ll be here if you need me. I promise.”

Taylor lay awake for a long time. Katie’s first scream had pulled him bolt upright on the creaky settee. Her second scream had sent him stumbling through the living room. He had thought she was being attacked by an in truder. He stared up at the gauzy drapes suspended over the bed; the moonlight cast a muted radiance about the room. He found Katie wrapped in a tangle of sheets, her face frozen in fear. It was then he realized she was only having a nightmare.

Disturbed now by her nearness, Taylor tried to concentrate on anything but her pliant form pressed against him. Her breasts were soft and so was her breathing. She was fast asleep. Absently, Taylor caressed her shoulder, savoring the feel of the silk robe against her flesh. The lilac scent that was so much a part of Katie surrounded him, and an ache grew in his lower body. Shutting his eyes tightly, Taylor fought back his burgeoning need. He should have tucked her in and gone back to the living room. But his need for her was too strong; he couldn’t make himself leave her. Taylor Grant, he thought bitterly, was always in control of everything in his life. Including his sex drive—which had now, inexplicably, gone out of control. Not to mention his heart…

Katie. It was Katie’s fault. She was a witch. No, it was his own fault. For opening himself to her—for responding to her honesty, her delicious warmth…Taylor wrestled with himself for nearly an hour, trying to forget Katie was nestled in the crook of his arm, that she trusted him. Hell, she’d be better off in a cage with a hungry tiger. It was only with supreme effort that Taylor finally placed a check on his starving need to make love to the woman who slept softly against him….

Now, instead, he searched his mind for ways to ease the pressures that were closing in on her, disturbing her sleep. He ran their conversations back through his mind, gathering the facts. Finally, at four in the morning, he had settled on a plan. Satisfied, Taylor’s lids drooped, and he turned on his side, drawing his princess deep into his embrace and sleeping soundly for the first time in days.

Katie was awakened by the muted sound of someone whistling. She wrinkled her nose, stretched and felt the sunlight pouring through the windows behind her bed. Happiness, emanating from some unknown source, surged through her as she opened her eyes to drink in the radiance of the sun. And then her expression clouded with memories of the night before. Her premonition…and then Taylor had come in and held her…

Katie sat up quickly, her hair in a tangled disarray around her face. Taylor had slept in her bed last night! A whirl of disparate emotions danced through her, and she tried to assimilate them all.

“Good morning.”

Pleasure reverberated through Katie as she looked up. Taylor leaned casually against the open door, and he took her breath away. He was clean-shaven, his gray eyes clear with an unspoken warmth, and a smile lingered on his well-shaped mouth. A quiver of desire darted through her. Had something happened last night—something she couldn’t recall? Was that why he seemed so intimate this morning? She lifted her fingers to her brow, trying to will her memory of last night back into her drowsy mind.

Taylor straightened, frowning. “Do you have a headache, Katie?”

“No.” She managed a feeble smile. “I was just trying to remember what happened last night.”

Her cheeks flushed. “Nothing to worry about,” he reassured her.

The tub!
Katie’s eyes widened. “I fell asleep in the tub last night!”

Taylor tried very hard not to smile and almost succeeded. “Yeah, you did.”

With a groan, Katie covered her face. “I always fall asleep in there! I forgot to warn you about that.”

He crossed his arms. “Well, after forty-five minutes I got worried, Katie. Sorry….”
Liar!
he thought. He wasn’t sorry at all.

“Wasn’t much to it,” he went on in a businesslike fashion, “I just dried you off, put you in your robe and carried you to bed.” And then his voice grew gentler. “You were exhausted last night. You only woke up once. You had a bad dream, sweetheart. I came in to see that you were all right. That was all.”

She raised her eyes, utterly mortified, but had the good grace to accept his explanation. “You won’t put that in your exclusive, will you?”

Soberly, Taylor shook his head. He sauntered up to her, the desire to sift his fingers through that ebony hair excruciating. Katie looked drowsy, inviting and so much a woman, wrapped in her silk robe. “What we do in our personal life is none of anyone’s business,” he promised somberly.

“Spoken like a true Scorpio.” Suddenly, Katie was glad he was born under that sign. “Scorpios value privacy above all else.”

Taylor smiled down at her. “I think Sagittarian’s must, too.” He reached out to brush his knuckles lightly against her flaming cheek.

Katie closed her eyes, overwhelmed. “I owe you,” she said, meeting his dove-gray gaze. “I remember that nightmare. And how you held me afterward…Thank you…”

Taylor hunched down, his hand resting on the edge of the mattress. “I’m glad it happened, Katie. It showed me something.”

“What?”

“How tired you are. How much you need a rest.”

Her eyes glimmered with tenderness. “I thought you were going to make fun of me.”

“Never. Anyway, once you’re up and dressed, we’ll take the day off. I called Maud and she agreed to watch the store today so that I can steal you away and let you recuperate.” He smiled recklessly. He had her, for once! “And I’ve managed to put together a picnic basket, found a blanket and all I need is you. What do you say?”

Katie sat openmouthed for a moment. “Why—I think it’s a wonderful idea!”

He stood, shoving his hands into the pockets of his beige chino pants. “I knew you’d see it my way,” he said, obviously pleased with himself.

With a laugh of delight, Katie threw off the covers. The robe had loosened during the night…Blushing, she hastily retied the belt, got up and threw her arms around Taylor’s neck.

“Thank you, Taylor,” she whispered.

Unprepared for her enthusiasm, Taylor took a step back. But he recovered quickly, and a ribbon of happiness flowed through his heart. Embracing Katie, he pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re welcome, princess.” And then, reluctantly, he released her, wondering what it would be like to wake up every morning with Katie at his side….

Taylor excused himself and ambled back to the kitchen to finish packing the basket. When he had awakened this morning, it was with an overwhelming sense of happiness. The feeling was foreign to him; he’d never felt that way with Mary Ann. Was it Katie’s crazy Arabian Nights bedroom decor that did it? The birds singing right outside the window? The sun turning the room into a muted pastel fantasy? What? The more time he spent around Katie, the more his logic—which had always served him so faithfully—deserted him. More and more he was relying on his emotions, paying closer attention to them than he ever had before. He packed the last of their meal, closed the wicker basket and sighed deeply. It was Katie, and that irrepressible spirit of hers. She was a sorceress, weaving her spell, robbing him of the ability to think…teaching him to feel.

Shaking his head, Taylor picked up the basket and walked into the living room to wait for Katie. The phone was still off the hook; earlier, in the morning he had replaced the receiver only to take five calls in a row, all from reporters. Maybe he should put it back again. Grimacing, Taylor thought about how the journalists would continue to hound Katie. He wasn’t proud of his colleagues at this moment….

“Taylor?”

He started at the sound of Katie’s voice, then turned. His heart pounded at the sight of her. She was dressed in a body-fitting, lime-green top and a bright yellow skirt that almost touched her ankles. On her feet were delicate white sandals. She looked like lemon and lime: refreshing, beautiful. Her hair was tied in a knot with yellow ribbon, a few tendrils escaping to frame her expressive face.

“Yes?” His voice was low.

She smiled. “Have you chosen a spot for our picnic?”

“Maud said you had a favorite glen up in the hills. Your…magic place?”

Katie’s smile broadened. “Wonderful! I’m glad I wore my swim suit,” she said, pointing to the lime-green top. Do you have one?”

He shook his head. “Maud didn’t mention swimming.”

Picking up a small, rainbow-colored canvas bag, she joined him. “Let’s stop at your place and get you some swim trunks, then.”

Taylor nodded and escorted her out of the apartment. Inwardly, he winced. He didn’t want Katie to see where he lived—not after he’d experienced her place. She had created a home. He lived in a silent skeleton of a house. When they arrived at the small pink stucco one-story on the outskirts of Rio Conchos, Taylor grew tense. Katie insisted on going in with him while he retrieved the swim trunks.

The look on her face told him everything. She stood in the center of the living room, stricken.

“Taylor, you haven’t even begun to unpack!”

“I haven’t had time,” he said, and disappeared into the bedroom.

Katie looked around. All the blinds were drawn, leaving the room dark. Just like a Scorpio’s nest, she decided. The house was nearly empty and the highly polished wood floors were in serious need of mopping. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she resolved to say nothing more about his house. The fact that he refused to meet her eyes told her much. He was uncomfortable about allowing her into his private world.
Typical Scorpio,
she decided. Well, she’d fix him! A plan began to form in her mind….

It was a lovely day. Taylor guided the car effortlessly through the California hills, now covered with verdant grass. The rains had been kind this year. By mid-May, the lack of water would turn these hills yellow, and they would remain so until December or January. At last Katie pointed to a small dirt road that passed between two rolling hills. Carefully he drove up through the winding lane that took them deeper into an isolated area, devoid of homes or people.

“There!” she said excitedly, pointing to his left. “Can you see the glen?”