Free A Place in Her Heart by Trish Milburn Page A

approaching.
    Katy found the strength to step outside the car, being careful not to stumble and present the officer still parked behind her reason to give her an unnecessary sobriety test. She watched as the driver backed up to the front of her car, trying not to think too much about the hit her bank account was going to take. Instead, she glanced at the time on her phone and again considered calling Linda. But just maybe she could arrive in time if the tow truck driver agreed to drop her off on the way. The thought of riding in the truck with a man she didn’t know made her queasy, but what choice did she have? A taxi would cost more money she didn’t need to spend, and she wouldn’t know the cabbie any better than she knew this guy.
    The driver shoved the truck into park and slid out on long, lean legs. Despite what she’d been through with Terry and the scary nights she’d spent on the streets in the aftermath, there seemed to be a small portion of her female brain that could still appreciate a good-looking man from afar. That part took over as she followed those long legs up to a powerful torso clad in a snug, dark, long-sleeved T-shirt. The chill in the November air didn’t appear to faze him.
    She jerked her gaze upward before he could notice her ill-advised appreciation. When she focused on his face, shock nearly knocked her off her feet. He was older, more man than boy now, but she’d have known Callum Walsh anywhere. She’d spent too many years loving him and not having the courage to tell him as much.
    Cal’s step faltered when his green eyes met hers, and he tilted his head slightly. “Katy?”
    His voice. She’d thought she’d never hear that deep rumble again, and now that she had all she wanted to do was run away as fast as she could. The last time she’d seen him, he had brought Terry home with him after basic training in Illinois. He’d introduced her to the monster who’d launched her into the worst year of her life.
    “Cal,” she said, keeping her voice remarkably calm and flat.
    He smiled and walked toward her, and it took all her effort not to walk several steps backward.
    “I haven’t seen you in forever. How are you doing?”
    She pointed toward her car. “I’ve had better days.” Like the ones when they used to hang out together in high school with their small group of friends, ones when she’d lie in bed at night and swear to herself the next day would be the one when she found the resolve to tell him exactly what he meant to her. But that day had never come, and she’d cried herself to sleep the night he’d left for basic training. She’d been on the verge of confessing her love when she’d seen the excitement in his eyes about his impending departure, heard him talk about his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL, witnessed the pride in his parents’ eyes. And she couldn’t do it, couldn’t burden him with the knowledge that she wanted more from him. The fear that he wouldn’t return her love had killed any courage she’d managed to muster. She’d known that if she loved him, she had to let him go.
    But when he’d returned after basic, she’d found herself yearning for him all over again, only to have him push his buddy Terry toward her like he was doing her the biggest of favors. Her hopes dashed, and with no family other than a mother who barely kept the two of them housed and fed, she’d latched on to Terry’s subsequent attention and found herself married to him within two months of their meeting.
    Cal waved his hand in front of her face, bringing her back to the present. “You in there?”
    “Sorry. Just wondering if you could drop me off on your way to the garage. I’ve got a meeting.”
    “Sure.” As if picking up on her urgency to get to her destination, he hurried to hook up the car.
    She slipped into the passenger seat of the tow truck and felt as if she’d fallen down the rabbit hole into a purely male domain. Though the cab was pretty clean, it still