Free Love Letters, Inc. by Ec Sheedy Page A

only six interruptions, not all of them from Mae.
    After lunch they were walking toward the pro shop, when Rosie asked, "Is it always like that? So many people coming at you for things?"
    "It's a bit worse than usual. My partner's away." Enough said. Right now, he didn't want to think about Con York, let alone tell Rosie about him. Con's recent penchant for playing hookey was beginning to wear thin. It hadn't started out that way. At first they'd worked together, but lately Kent had taken over virtually all of Con's work. He was beginning to feel like a fool for tying up with him in the first place.
    He opened the door to the pro shop and followed Rosie in. Greg was waiting for them.
    "Rosie, this is Greg Nestor. He's our golf professional. Between him and Marlene, I think you can find the answers to all your questions." When he looked down at her, he caught the faint scent of lemons. Knowing Rosie, a man couldn't be sure if it was perfume or pie ingredient. "When you're finished here, let me know. I'll drive you home."
    She pushed her chin against the brace in what passed for a nod and, unless he read her wrong, had just a little trouble pulling her gaze from his. His breathing warmed, and he concentrated on his own problem, shifting his eyes to look at Greg. "Take care of the lady, Greg," he said, his voice odd to his own ears. "I'll be in my office."
    He had arrangements to make for a family barbecue. It was show-and-tell time.
    * * *
    Rosie called Kent at three to tell him she'd done all she was going to do for today, and by three-thirty they were in his car. Rosie was tired, but she was determined it wouldn't show. This was the longest time she been away from home since her surgery. All she wanted to do was go home and put her head down. But she couldn't. Not yet.
    She glanced at Kent. The lines in his forehead were drawn tight enough to snap. She resisted the urge to smooth them away. No. It would be all too easy to make Kent Summerton and his stress lines a full-time job. She stilled her twitchy fingers.
    "Kent, would you drop me off on Yates Street? I've got a doctor's appointment at four."
    "No problem." He started the car.
    "Thanks." She smiled, not wanting him to see her own weariness.
    "How are you getting home?" he asked.
    "Hennessy's picking me up."
    "No, he isn't."
    "Excuse me?"
    "I'll take you to the doctor, and I'll wait."

 
     
     
    Chapter 6

     
    "But I told Hennessy I'd call when I was done. He's expecting to hear from me."
    "I'll call him."
    The set of his chin said argument was futile. "Fine," she agreed. "If you want to play taxi driver, so be it."
    She was grumpy about it and let it show. She didn't know what Kent Summerton had in mind, and it bugged her. She hoped he wasn't the kind of guy who took the word no as a challenge, because she wasn't sure she was up for it. Her blood simmered every time she laid eyes on him; a roiling boil was a distinct threat. Even her current state of exhaustion didn't make her immune. All she had left was her willpower. Now there was a scary thought.
    She left him sitting in the doctor's reception area with his nose in a copy of Fortune Magazine. Of course she got all mushy and flickery inside, thinking he looked like an expectant father waiting for a newly pregnant wife. Hopeless, she was hopeless.
    "You're doing great, Rosie," Dr. Winters said. "You'll be out of the brace in no time at all." He walked with her to the reception area where Kent waited. "Until then, continue to take it easy and don't do anything foolish—and stop looking at me like that," he added, giving her a stern look. "I didn't promise anything. That surgery you had was no joke, young lady. I'm not about to have all my hard work undone because you can't wait to go bungee jumping."
    "I know, but I was hoping the darn thing could at least be downgraded from steel to latex. I'm a bit tired of being a human lightning rod." She smiled through her disappointment. She really had hoped she'd be able to