Free Ghost Of A Chance (Harlequin Te(Bookos.org) by Unknown Page B

to know that he would be with her when
    she left tomorrow morning, regardless of what it cost him in terms of pain
    or exhaustion.

    A t dawn the next morning Anne stirred on the sofa she had been using as a
    bed since she had no longer felt it necessary to keep a watch over her
    patient. A sense of presence in the room made her open her eyes, and she
    stared in astonishment at Julian who was fully dressed and prowling
    around the kitchen, making coffee.
    "Good grief," she complained, yawning hugely as she pushed back the
    blankets. "You're up early."
    He threw her a quick glance before going back to the coffee
    preparations. "From what you've told me we have a long trip ahead of us
    and a lot to do after we arrive at the other end."
    "Well, yes, but I didn't say we had to rise at the crack of dawn."
    "When I'm not coming out of a bout of that damn fever, I usually get up
    at dawn," he said, shrugging. "Sometimes earlier."
    "Part of the secret-agent ethic?" she grumbled, stumbling to her feet.
    Her long flannel nightgown floated around her ankles. "Early to bed, early
    to rise, helps a guy catch villainous spies?"
    "That's not too bad, considering just how early it is. Are you always that
    fast at this hour?"
    "No. I was briefly inspired." Anne patted another yawn, suddenly aware
    of how disheveled she probably looked. Her hair was a tousled, russet mop
    and the flannel gown had been chosen for warmth, not seductiveness. Not
    that she wanted to seduce Julian, she reminded herself grimly. "Actually,
    you're looking fairly perky yourself, this morning. You must feel better."
    He considered that. "I do, as a matter of fact. Better than I have in a
    long time." The information seemed to surprise him. He frowned and
    flipped on the coffeepot switch.
    He did look good this morning, Anne thought as she hurried down the
    hall toward the bathroom. He was wearing a gray sweater, a pair of jeans
    and boots. His dark hair was clean from the shower and had been
    ruthlessly combed into place. Julian moved this morning with something
    approaching his former lithe grace, even though the limp was still
    hampering him. There was a sense of regained strength in the leanness of
    his body.
    Anne was seriously asking herself whether or not she could take any
    credit for his sudden progress when she realized the probable truth. Julian
    was looking better and feeling better this morning not because of her
    careful nursing but because for the first time in months he was about to
    go back to work. He had a task ahead of him. A self-imposed task, to be
    sure, but a real one.
    The realization was depressing. She should be glad that he might finally
    be showing some signs of enthusiasm, she told herself. After all,
    apparently he had been holed up here for the past several months, licking
    his wounds. His mental outlook must have been very dark indeed during
    that period. Perhaps a challenge was exactly what was needed right now
    to help complete his recovery.
    But deep inside, Anne knew the notion wasn't nearly as heartwarming
    as it should have been. The reality of the matter was that she had been
    nourishing a secret hope that she would be the cause of his recovery. She
    had wanted him to need her. When was she going to stop building up her
    hopes, Anne wondered sadly.
    Julian was accompanying her to the West Coast for a variety of reasons,
    but none of those reasons included love. He probably felt an obligation to
    protect Michael's sister, since he hadn't been able to talk her out of the
    scheme. And he might be finding some inner enthusiasm for the
    unexpected challenge. But he wasn't going with her because he had finally
    realized he was hopelessly in love with her.
    Anne grimaced at her own crazy emotionalism and drowned her
    discontent under the pulse of the shower spray.
    "There are a few ground rules we'd better get straight before we get on
    that jet," Julian announced a couple of hours later, as he locked up the
    cabin and held out his hand