made her yearn. Spending time with him was not an option.
She didn’t know why he was back in California. The why didn’t matter. What mattered was that he would be gone again soon. Dominic Price wasn’t the type to hang around. And she wasn’t stupid enough to believe she could change him. “Dominic.”
He let the silence hang between them a minute, then slowly straightened, and turned away. “Forget it.”
She watched him for a few paces, his steps slow, a bit too carefully placed, as if the simple act of walking caused him pain. The memory of him immobilized, his face covered in blood flashed into her mind. Hot on its heels was the confusion and pain that had colored his gaze as he’d stared up at her from the ER gurney. Her stomach hollowed. “Dom, wait.”
He stopped at the end of her walkway, and faced her. In the dim light she could just make out the tight set of his jaw.
“You shouldn’t be driving.”
“If anything happens, I take full responsibility for ignoring your advice. Your medical license is safe with me.”
He turned back to the van, which pissed her off more than his comment. “Dammit!” She stepped off the front step, caught up, and placed herself in front of him.
An eyebrow arched over the top of his sunglasses. “What do you plan to do, drive me?”
“Yes.”
“How will you get back home?”
She hadn’t thought that far in advance. All she knew was that the very last place he should be this soon after his accident, was behind the wheel of a car.
“See you around, Becca.” He left her standing there, staring at his retreating back as he circled the minivan and opened the driver’s door.
Damn idiot. “I’m following you to make sure you get there.”
“Do whatever you feel you have to do,” he replied, his tone giving away how tired and pissed off he was. “I don’t care.”
Rebecca stalked back inside and grabbed her purse. Then she did exactly as she told him she would do: she followed him, all the way back to Auburn. Until he pulled into the driveway of a large two-story contemporary home nestled in the foothills, and parked in front of a three-car garage.
She remained in her car as he cut through the landscaping and made his way to the front door, used a key to let himself inside, and closed the door without a backward glance. Then she turned her car around and headed back to her empty condo, doing her best to deny that it was anything more than concern for his well-being that had driven her to follow him.
* * *
Laughter echoed from the opposite side of the door, surprising Rebecca as she rang the doorbell. A quick double check of the house numbers assured her she was at the right place. She’d been raised in this house so the chances of getting it wrong were slim, but in all the years she’d lived here, or in any of the years since, she’d never known laughter to be a part of it.
The door swung open, revealing her mother. Her dark auburn hair was natural—the bi-monthly trips to the salon used to keep the gray under control, not to change her natural color. The smile on her face was…while not unnatural, it was definitely something Rebecca didn’t see often enough.
“Rebecca, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, Mom.”
“Come on in.” She moved aside and made room.
“I can’t stay long. I have another shift at the hospital.” In fact, she’d just come off one shift and had planned on catching a few hours of sleep before the next one began. “Dad said it was important?”
Her mother’s brow wrinkled. “When are you going to find a nice man to take care of you so you don’t have to work so hard?”
“She doesn’t need a man to take care of her, Camille.”
“Thank you, Dad—”
“She needs to continue her schooling. If you specialized, Rebecca, you wouldn’t need to put in so many hours.”
Please, not tonight . Though why she thought tonight would be different from any other visit was a
She didn’t know why he was back in California. The why didn’t matter. What mattered was that he would be gone again soon. Dominic Price wasn’t the type to hang around. And she wasn’t stupid enough to believe she could change him. “Dominic.”
He let the silence hang between them a minute, then slowly straightened, and turned away. “Forget it.”
She watched him for a few paces, his steps slow, a bit too carefully placed, as if the simple act of walking caused him pain. The memory of him immobilized, his face covered in blood flashed into her mind. Hot on its heels was the confusion and pain that had colored his gaze as he’d stared up at her from the ER gurney. Her stomach hollowed. “Dom, wait.”
He stopped at the end of her walkway, and faced her. In the dim light she could just make out the tight set of his jaw.
“You shouldn’t be driving.”
“If anything happens, I take full responsibility for ignoring your advice. Your medical license is safe with me.”
He turned back to the van, which pissed her off more than his comment. “Dammit!” She stepped off the front step, caught up, and placed herself in front of him.
An eyebrow arched over the top of his sunglasses. “What do you plan to do, drive me?”
“Yes.”
“How will you get back home?”
She hadn’t thought that far in advance. All she knew was that the very last place he should be this soon after his accident, was behind the wheel of a car.
“See you around, Becca.” He left her standing there, staring at his retreating back as he circled the minivan and opened the driver’s door.
Damn idiot. “I’m following you to make sure you get there.”
“Do whatever you feel you have to do,” he replied, his tone giving away how tired and pissed off he was. “I don’t care.”
Rebecca stalked back inside and grabbed her purse. Then she did exactly as she told him she would do: she followed him, all the way back to Auburn. Until he pulled into the driveway of a large two-story contemporary home nestled in the foothills, and parked in front of a three-car garage.
She remained in her car as he cut through the landscaping and made his way to the front door, used a key to let himself inside, and closed the door without a backward glance. Then she turned her car around and headed back to her empty condo, doing her best to deny that it was anything more than concern for his well-being that had driven her to follow him.
* * *
Laughter echoed from the opposite side of the door, surprising Rebecca as she rang the doorbell. A quick double check of the house numbers assured her she was at the right place. She’d been raised in this house so the chances of getting it wrong were slim, but in all the years she’d lived here, or in any of the years since, she’d never known laughter to be a part of it.
The door swung open, revealing her mother. Her dark auburn hair was natural—the bi-monthly trips to the salon used to keep the gray under control, not to change her natural color. The smile on her face was…while not unnatural, it was definitely something Rebecca didn’t see often enough.
“Rebecca, sweetheart, it’s so good to see you.”
“It’s good to see you, Mom.”
“Come on in.” She moved aside and made room.
“I can’t stay long. I have another shift at the hospital.” In fact, she’d just come off one shift and had planned on catching a few hours of sleep before the next one began. “Dad said it was important?”
Her mother’s brow wrinkled. “When are you going to find a nice man to take care of you so you don’t have to work so hard?”
“She doesn’t need a man to take care of her, Camille.”
“Thank you, Dad—”
“She needs to continue her schooling. If you specialized, Rebecca, you wouldn’t need to put in so many hours.”
Please, not tonight . Though why she thought tonight would be different from any other visit was a
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