Free The Vigilante by Ramona Forrest Page A

“Uh—any place but there, Bob. I don’t know why I feel that way, but right now, I do.” She barely got the words out. Why does the name Denny’s, upset me ? She hugged herself and waited for his reply.
    “Hey, we’ll go to La Fiesta . They’re open late. Okay then?”
    Martha nodded her acceptance and they went to Bob’s big GMC four-wheel drive. It was a high climb getting in, so he helped her up. She felt the heat of his hands on her body when he did, and she shivered at that unexpected sensation.
    “I don’t want to be nosey, girl,” he said. “But something big has got a grip on you. You need to relax. Maybe a bit of down time will fix your wagon. What’s going on? That is, if you’d want to spill. I’m a damned good listener.”
    Martha managed a smile. “A lot has happened and everything has kinda snowballed on me. I can’t talk about it, but I appreciate your company, Bob, I really do.”
    His truck, big, warm, and strong, just like him, gave her the feeling of badly needed security. Basking in his gentle masculinity added to the feeling of stability. She realized she felt comfortable with him—an unexpected pleasure.
    The loss of her husband Chet had left her alone. Sometimes she felt like an Eskimo woman left out on an ice floe alone to die. No family members, though they helped, had ever filled that great hole in her life. Indeed, they never knew the depths of loneliness his loss had left her to face. They had their own lives, and she wanted them to live peacefully without worrying over her problems.
    She’d been more than aloof when men came near, fearing additional pain should she become entangled in a good relationship and face another loss. But now, with something as casual as a snack after work, she’d allowed a male to enter her personal sphere, if only this once. “Nice truck, Bob, rides smooth,” was all she could manage to say.
    “Thanks Martha.” He glanced her way, his eyes warm and soft, and hesitated. “You know, I’ve always liked the way you look at work. You’re good with your patients. The way you are makes me think you just might be good people.”
    “I always hoped I was.” Relaxing a bit, she nearly giggled, but held it to a chuckle. No need to act the silly female. “You’re one fine nurse yourself, Bob. I’ve watched you, too.” To another nurse, being good at the profession made all the difference in how they were perceived by their peers.
    They said no more until he’d ushered her to a seat in La Fiesta . It had the usual Mexican décor: sombreros, serapes, and wildly colorful ollas sitting around filled with brightly colored paper flowers. It wasn’t busy this late—just a few patrons ordering small stuff. They received their colorful menus and ordered. By then, Martha realized she had a ravenous hunger. “This is nice, Bob, I didn’t know I was so hungry.”
    He smiled in return, but said nothing and kept looking into her eyes as his long fingers toyed with his napkin.
    Martha took a good look at him. He was approaching middle age. His hair, touched with gray, was thick with a hint of curl about it. Slim and fit, about six feet, she guessed as she wondered what his story would be. She’d never heard anything of his personal life, and asked, “How are things for you, these days?”
    Sadness edged his smile as he replied, “Not so good in a lot of ways, but I’m handling it. My family’s gone now. Had a bad auto accident a couple of years ago, I made it—they didn’t.”
    “Oh Bob—I’m sorry to hear that.” Martha felt tears forming and blinked them away. “We get so tied up in our own lives, we tend to forget that others have been there, too. I didn’t know about your family.”
    He shrugged, a half smile spread across his firm mouth. “I’m learning to live with it, but I think about my two younger kids. They’ll never have the chance to marry, or do the things we’d hoped for them. One girl was away at school, so I do have her, but