Free To Love and Protect by Tamra Rose

realized what I'm up against when you wouldn't let me leave the clinic until you fixed my arm."
    "Oh, how is it by the way?"
    "It's pretty much healed up."
    Shelly grinned. "See? I knew what I was doing after all. It's a good thing you listened to me."
    "Like I had a choice," he muttered, though his eyes twinkled.
    Geri knocked on the door, then stuck her head in the room. "Shelley, Jake Webber's here with his dogs. Do you want me to see if Dave can take him? He did ask for you when he made the appointment, but I'm sure he'd understand if you're not up to it."
    "No, that's okay, Geri. I'll be right there."
    "I'll clean your truck off for you on my way out," Matt said.
    "You don't have to do that."
    "Would you rather it sat in the parking lot all day with ‘You’re not safe' displayed on the windshield?"
    Shelley shuddered. It wasn't that she forgot the warning, but hearing it verbally only deepened its sinister component. "No − I just meant that you don't have to be the one to clean it."
    Matt looked into her eyes, his calm, easy way instantly reassuring her that everything would be okay. "I want to."
    Shelley managed a smile. "Thanks − again."
    "So I'll see you sometime tonight, right?"
    She nodded, then quickly added, "Wait a second. With everything going on, I didn't even get a chance to ask you how Carly's doing."
    "She's doing great, considering what she's been through."
    "Is she eating?"
    "Oh yeah − there's no problem in that area."
    "What about moving around? Has she tried walking yet?"
    "This morning she was standing up and walking a little bit in my bedroom, where I'm keeping her. She's still kind of wobbly and limping on that leg."
    "She probably will be for another few weeks, but it's a good sign that she's attempting to walk."
    "What would happen if she didn't?"
    "We'd probably have to consider physical therapy to get her moving again. But it sounds like that won't be necessary. I'll have a better idea of things when you bring her in Friday."
    "Got ya, Doc," Matt grinned.
    A few minutes later, as Shelley swung her stethoscope around her neck and headed off to meet Jake Webber and his two rowdy Rottweilers, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of how nice it felt having someone looking out for her. Especially someone who appealed to her in the way that Matt did. It wasn't so long ago that she thought it could never happen again, that true love had found her once and it was unrealistic to think it could happen twice.  But she couldn’t deny that her growing feelings for Matt seemed to be heading in that direction. Her smile wavered as another question inevitably entered her mind. Would the happiness that she could potentially find with Matt end the same way that it had with Ted?

 
    Matt waited until he was back in his car before taking deep breath and then tightening his jaw. This was personal now. The thought that someone wanted to harm Shelley, such a caring and compassionate soul, was simply inconceivable. What could...why would... he drew in another breath, leaning his head back against the seat to steady his composure. He was so riled up he could taste it in his mouth. But he knew he wasn't going to help Shelley by letting the bitterness of anger or the sweetness of revenge get the best of him. He had to keep her safe, plain and simple. Not an easy task for someone so stubbornly resolved to ignoring precautions. He had admired her independence before, but it was making him downright crazy now. This was not time to emulate Annie Oakley. Why couldn't she see the gravity of the situation? How could he convince her to do what she needed to do to be safe without setting off too many alarms? He knew that just beneath her exterior was layer of fear that burrowed down to her bones. She might have learned to keep it partially buried in the two and a half years since her husband had died, but it would never entirely dissipate. She had to know only too well that the world could be a scary place, that the