Free Rogue Stallion by Diana Palmer Page A

of her favorite brand of gin, who knows?”
    She grimaced, hating that pain in his eyes. She wanted to soothe him, to comfort him.
    He looked up and saw the expression on her face. It made him furious.
    “I don’t need pity,” he said through gritted teeth.
    “Is that how I looked? I’m sorry. It disturbs me to see how badly your past has affected you, that’s all.” She smiled. “I know. I’m a hopeless do-gooder. But think, McCallum—if you’d had someone who really cared what happened to you, wouldn’t it have changed your whole life?”
    He averted his eyes. “Facts are facts. We can’t go back and change the past.”
    “I know that. If we could, think how many people would leap at the chance.”
    “True,” he agreed.
    She studied him over her cup. “This town must hold some bad memories for you. Why did you come back after all these years?”
    “I got tired of my job,” he replied. “I can’t even talk about it, do you know? It was all classified. Let’s just say that I got into a situation I couldn’t handle for the first time in my life, and I got out. I don’t regret it. I manage better here than I ever dreamed I would. I’m not rich, but I’m comfortable, and I like my job and the people I work with. Besides,” he added, “the memories weren’t all bad. I have a few good ones tucked away. They keep me going when I need them.”
    “And was there ever a special woman?” she asked, deliberately not looking at him.
    He cocked an eyebrow. “ Women, plural,” he replied. “Not just one woman. They all knew the score. I made sure of it and I’m a loner. I don’t want to change.”
    Jessica felt a vague disappointment.
    “Were you hoping?” he taunted.
    She glared at him. “For what? You, with a bow around your neck on Christmas morning? It’s a long time until Christmas, McCallum, and you’d look silly in gift wrapping.”
    “Probably so.” He studied her. “I wonder how you’d look in a long red stocking?”
    “Dead, because that’s the only way I’d ever end up in one. Heavens, look at the time! I’ve got my desk stacked halfway to the ceiling. I have to go!”
    “So do I,” he agreed. “The days are never long enough to cope with all the paperwork, even in my job.”
    “In everyone’s job. God knows how many trees die every day to satisfy bureaucrats. Know what I think they do with all those triplicate copies? I think they make confetti and store it for parades.”
    “I wouldn’t doubt it.” He pushed away his empty cup, stood up, laid a bill on the table, picked up the check and walked to the counter with it.
    Jessica dug out a five-dollar bill and paid her share.
    “Late lunch, huh, McCallum?” the waitress asked with an inviting smile.
    “Yeah.” He smiled back at her. “Thanks, Daisy.”
    She colored prettily. She was barely twenty, redheaded, cute and totally infatuated with McCallum.
    He opened the door for Jessica and walked her back to his car.
    “Thanks for your help,” she told him with genuine appreciation. “Those kids needed more of a talking to than I could give them. There’s something about a uniform…” she added with a gleam in her eyes. Of course she was kidding; McCallum, a plainclothesman, wasn’t wearing a uniform.
    “Tell me about it.” He’d already discovered that uniforms attracted women. It was something most career law-enforcement officers learned how to deal with early.
    “Have you found out anything about Jennifer?” she asked on the way back to her office.
    He detailed the bits and pieces he’d been following up. “But with no luck. Do you know any midwives around the community?” he asked. “Someone who would be able to deliver a child and could do it without telling half the world?”
    Jessica pursed her lips. “One or two women come to mind. I’ll look into it.”
    “Thanks.”
    He stopped at her office and waited, with the car idling, for her to get out.
    “I’ll let you know how things go with Amy,”