Free Her Only Hero by Marta Perry Page A

picked up the receiver. “Hello.” Her heart sank
at the sound of her mother’s high-pitched voice. “Hello, Mom. How are you? How
is Dad?”
    As usual, it was impossible to find out how her father really
was. Her mother seemed to consider his emphysema a tedious excuse for not doing
what she wanted him to do. And if she asked her father, of course he’d say he
was fine because he didn’t want to worry her.
    Laura interrupted a long string of complaints about the retirement
complex in which her parents lived in Arizona. “I have someone here right now,
Mother. May I call you back later?”
    Her mother switched gears immediately, getting abruptly to the
reason for her call. Money. She persisted in believing that only selfishness
kept her only daughter from funding her every whim.
    “I’m sorry,
Mom.”
    She turned away from Ryan. He was pretending interest in a
magazine on the coffee table, but he’d have to be stupid not to realize
something was going on.
    “I wish I could help you, but I can’t.” She thought of her
dwindling bank account with a moment of panic. “I’ll call you back later.
Goodbye.” She hung up quickly, before she could say something she’d regret.
    She stood staring down at the phone for a moment, not ready to
face Ryan yet, aware that her palms were damp and her stomach churning.
    He let the silence stretch for a few minutes before he spoke.
“Family troubles?”
    She took a breath. “You could say that.”
    He patted the couch next to him. “I bored you with mine. The least
you can do is to return the favor.”
    She managed a smile as she sat down. “It’s not much of a favor.”
    “Your parents are out in Arizona, I remember.”
    “For my
father’s health.”
    “Is he doing all right?”
    “He’s been better since they’ve been out there.” She rubbed her
forehead. “At least I think so. He always puts up such a good front when I talk
to him that it’s hard to be sure of that.”
    “You worry about him.” His palm settled on the back of her neck,
moving in slow, soothing circles. “Won’t your mom level with you?”
    How to explain her mother in a few well-chosen words?
Impossible, but she had to say something.
    “Mom seldom thinks of anything except as it affects her, I’m
afraid. She sees my father’s illness as a personal inconvenience.” Her fingers
were curling into a tight ball, and she deliberately relaxed them. “She’s never
stopped blaming Dad for selling their house here and moving into a smaller
condo out there.”
    “I’m sorry.” His tone was gentle. “I guess that kind of puts you
in the middle.”
    The movement of his hand was easing the tension away. “There’s
always something. This time she wants me to put up the money so that they can
move into a ‘real house’ instead of the condo.” She shrugged. “I can’t,
obviously.”
    “Doesn’t she understand that?”
    “She’s convinced that my husband couldn’t possibly have left me
as badly off as I say.”
    She stopped. She’d already said more than she intended. She
wouldn’t talk to Ryan about Jason.
    It was Ryan’s fault—for being here, for insisting on offering
friendship, for making her long to confide in someone. She shook her head.
    “Sorry. I shouldn’t be unloading that on you.”
    “Hey, we’re friends, aren’t we?” He touched her chin lightly,
tipping her face up so that she looked into his eyes. “Friends can level with
each other.”
    “I guess so.”
    The words came out breathlessly. She wanted to tell him that she
was fine, that she didn’t need any help or anyone to lean on, but the words
wouldn’t seem to come. They got lost in the nearness of him.
    The deep blue of Ryan’s eyes seemed to grow even darker, more
mysterious. His fingers stroked her cheek, warming where they touched.
    She wanted to lean into his embrace and feel his arms close
around her. Feel his lips on hers. He was going to kiss her—
    Ryan pulled back, looking dazed and a little