Dearly Loved (9 page)

Meredith bent over and scooped up the offending wrappers, wadding them into a ball. “While I’m here I thought I could get some of your more necessary items unpacked. That is, if you don’t mind me going through your things.”

David’s grinned at her. “Sure. And don’t worry, you won’t find anything incriminating in my stuff.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, wishing he could be serious for one minute. “I wasn’t worried.” Suddenly, Bitsy rocketed onto the bed and jumped in his lap. “Bitsy, get down!”

The dog ignored Meredith and looked up at David with a plea in his eyes. David ruffled the fur on its head.

“Is this that stray dog you were telling me about? He’s cute.”

“I only brought him with me because I can’t stand to leave him home all day on my day off. He’s alone too much as it is.”

Bitsy proceeded to perform a series of doggy tricks. David praised and cheered him on while the pup seemed to go on to new heights to impress him.

David glanced up at Meredith with a smile. “He can stay on my lap. Maybe he’ll eat up all the crumbs in my bed before you find them and give me a lecture about cleanliness.”

She threw the ball of wrappers at him, hitting him squarely on the nose.

David batted it away. “Hey! Don’t quit your day job!”

Seven

It was evening before Meredith had David’s kitchen unpacked and organized. Many of the boxes had been labeled, so she didn’t have to worry about finding anything incriminating, as David had so aptly put it. He’d been out of her life for a dozen years. How would she know private things might be packed away? A black book? Photos of former girlfriends? She shuddered, glad she hadn’t discovered anything of the sort.

Along with the kitchen, she also finished unpacking for the bathroom, linen closet, and some of the boxes for his bedroom. She noticed his towels were a trifle threadbare, the same for his sheets. From the scant supplies, it was obvious David hadn’t lived in one place for too long. There were no knick-knacks or decor of any kind to unpack as far as she had found—unless she included the awards, trophies, and soccer memorabilia. There were boxes and boxes of those. She left them packed, not quite knowing what to do with them.

The grumbling of her stomach reminded her she’d forgotten to eat lunch. Between unpacking and taking care of David and Bitsy, she was exhausted.
Now I have to come up with something for dinner. What would David think about delivery pizza?
She felt too tired to cook a healthy meal. Besides, pizza was healthier than cinnamon rolls and candy bars.

The doorbell rang. Bitsy came out of David’s bedroom and barked in the living room. Meredith opened the front door and found a man with several white bags marked with the name of a Chinese food restaurant. The man handed her the bags and turned to go.

“Uh, wait, I haven’t paid you.”

He smiled. “It’s paid for. The tip, too.”

Figuring David must’ve paid with a credit card by phone, she inhaled the heavenly aroma of Kung Pao chicken. If that smell could be bottled, she’d wear it as a perfume.

“Merrie?” David called from his bedroom. “Was that the food?”

With the dog dancing about her feet, she brought the bags into his room. She set them in the space he’d cleared on his nightstand.

“Your dinner came.”

“Our dinner. Do you really think I’d only order for myself?”

Meredith shrugged. “I’ll get your walker and help you into the kitchen.” Then she remembered he didn’t have a dinette set—just a couple of stools next to the kitchen counter.

“Why don’t you grab some plates and napkins and bring them in here,” he said. “I’m more comfortable where I am.”

Noting there was no chair in his room, or anywhere else in the apartment for that matter, Meredith wondered where she’d sit. The floor was the only option. A few minutes later, she returned with plates, napkins, and silverware.

David scooted to one side of the bed and patted the other with his hand. Bitsy responded with alacrity, jumping up next to him.

“Not you, you little fuzzball,” he said pushing the dog off the bed. “I meant your master. Or mistress. Whatever you call it.” He looked up at her and smiled.

Meredith hated the way she blushed at every little thing. “Thanks, but I’ll sit on the floor.”

David sighed. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s plenty of room here. We can watch a movie while we eat. There’s something starting that looks like a period piece. You love that kind of thing.”

David watched Merrie’s expressive face with amusement. He could see she considered the situation a moral quandary. He patted the bed again. “
C’mon
. I’m crippled and therefore safe. Sit.”

Bitsy plunked down on his haunches and put his paws up in the air. He chuckled at the dog’s antics. “Too bad your mistress doesn’t obey as well as you.” He opened a box from one of the bags and pulled out a piece of chicken for the dog. Bitsy wolfed it down.

“You’re teaching him bad habits,” Meredith said coolly as she perched onto the opposite edge of the bed.

Smiling at her stiff posture, he set the bags onto the bed between them and dished up the food.

“Hope you like what I chose.”

“It smells fantastic.”

He handed Meredith her plate and a set of chopsticks. “You used to always say a prayer when we ate together. Will you now?”

Giving him a measuring look, she nodded and closed her eyes. “Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food. Please bless it to the nourishment and strength of our bodies and please continue to bring complete healing and recovery to David. Amen.”

“Thanks, Merrie.” His smile deepened when he saw her face redden. Picking up the remote control, he switched the channels until he came to the opening credits of
The Scarlet Pimpernel
.

“Is this still one of your favorites?”

“Yes,” she said slowly, as if she couldn’t believe he remembered. “But if there’s a soccer game or something else you’d rather watch, that’s okay.”

“I want to watch this, Merrie. In fact, I often see myself as the swashbuckling Percival.”

Meredith stared at him and then laughed. “Oh, brother.”

Gratified to see her relaxing, he kept up the light banter until he became engrossed in the movie himself.

***

Long after they’d finished their dinner, the movie came to an end. David looked over at Meredith and saw she’d drifted to sleep, her chin resting on her chest where she sat propped up against the headboard. Poor thing. He figured she’d been on the go for nearly twenty-four hours straight.

He allowed his gaze to travel over her features and felt a tightening in his chest. The light fragrance of her perfume and the way the lamp light made her hair glow mingled with honey-toned images and emotions from the past. From being curious to see her after all the years to spending this time with her, however brief, had caused long-buried feelings to burgeon within him. He could admit surprise at his strong response—but he knew this was more than nostalgia. Merrie Ambrose was a woman worth wooing.
Do I have a chance?
He wondered why she’d come today. Pity?
Does she find me attractive, or will her view of me be colored only by my past treatment of her?

One thing was for certain. If he wanted to get reacquainted, she needed to stay in one piece. As carefully as possible, David got up from the bed and limped to the linen closet. He knew he was taking a risk in what he planned to do, but he didn’t want an exhausted Meredith driving home at midnight by herself.
One of us in a car accident is quite enough
.

Bitsy lifted his nose and watched as David gently covered Meredith with a comforter. Her eyes snapped open.

Uh oh
.

She looked around, seeming disoriented. When her gaze landed on him, he swallowed.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice raspy.

“It’s late and you, um, looked cold.”

She blinked several times and sat up, pushing her hair from her eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I didn’t want you driving this time of night in your condition.”

“Condition?”

“Exhaustion. I know you came here straight from work.”

Her cheeks flooded with color. “So you assumed I’d sleep here all night?”

He raised his hands. “Just thinking of your safety, Merrie.”

Meredith pulled off the comforter and stood, her eyes shooting sparks. She yanked on her shoes, gathered her things, along with the dog, and headed to the door.

“I suggest you hire a nurse,” she said repressively, “And it’s Meredith, not Merrie!”

David watched her go with a sigh of regret.

***

The phone rang, waking Meredith from a deep sleep. She blindly groped for the receiver and pulled it down under the covers with her. “Hello?” she croaked.

“Hi, Meredith. This is Clay.”

“Oh, hi,” she said, trying to banish the sleepiness from her voice. “How are Tiffany and Snowflake?”

“They’re great. I’m calling to ask if I can take you to dinner tonight. I know it’s late notice, but I’m leaving town unexpectedly and wanted to see you before I left.”

She sat up in bed, her mind whirling. “Um, yes, that would be great. What time?”

“How about seven?”

“Okay, I’ll see you then.”

After he hung up, she glanced at the clock. Four thirty in the afternoon! The events of the previous night flooded her brain.
I can’t believe I fell asleep at David’s! And that he had the gall to assume I'd stay!
Her mortification drained some of the pleasure at spending time with Clay.

She jumped out of the bed. “I won’t let it. David is just someone I used to know. He will not intrude and spoil my life again.”

Bitsy inched forward on his belly to take up the spot on the bed she’d just vacated. He rested his head on his paws and looked up at her with beady puppy eyes.

“What?” she demanded, hands on her hips. Bitsy let out a sigh.

Meredith sent him a gimlet look and headed for the shower. As her anger cooled, uninvited concern for David took its place.
I wonder how he’s doing. What if he trips again and gets hurt? What if he develops a fever? A raging infection?
She hardened her heart. If he can dial for take-out Chinese food, he can dial 911.

She let out a disgusted snort.
I will not think about him one more time today. I’m going to spend some time with a man who’s not prone to involving me in morally murky situations like…that other guy
.

***

“Merrie.”

Meredith spun around, wrapping her blue cover-up around her frame. She’d know that voice anywhere, whether it had been twelve years or...two weeks.

“
David!
”

He leaned negligently against the side of the pool and regarded her. “I’m surprised you remember my name.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t heard from you in so long, I thought maybe you’d forgotten who I was.”

Lowering herself to the edge of the pool, she let her feet dangle in the water. She avoided David’s eyes and it took all her self-restraint not to say
so how does it feel to be forgotten?

Meredith was surprised at the vehemence of her feelings. She raised her gaze to look at him. He was waist deep in the water in a pair of black swim trunks. His wet hair was smoothed away from his face and drops of moisture glistened on his skin, highlighting a livid scar from his surgery. She swallowed.

“You seem to be out and about rather soon,” she said, trying for an air of nonchalance.

“Hydrotherapy for my leg. I’m waiting for my physical therapist.”

Was it her imagination or was there an edge to his voice? “Well, you’re recovery seems to be going well.”

“Do you swim here often?”

Glad for a benign subject, she nodded. “Yes. Usually about four times a week.”

“That’s interesting. This is my fifth time here and the first time I’ve seen you.”

Meredith’s face heated. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well, David. By the way, it might be a shock to you, but I do have a life.”

She shrugged out of her cover-up and tossed it onto a nearby railing. Without looking back, she slid into the water and swam in the opposite direction of David Steller.

***

Forty-five minutes later, Meredith grasped the side of the pool. She’d swum hard, fueled by her vexation with David.
Does he have any idea how rude he sounded?
The man had no clue. No clue how he’d hurt her those years ago. If he thought he could just sashay, well
limp
, back into her life and act like he’d done nothing wrong, he had another think coming. The adoring teenager she’d been had grown up—and grown wiser.