Free Her Lifelong Dream by Judy Kouzel Page B

bedroom suite. Leedy hoped she would somehow be provided with more insight into the man who occupied the
room that smelled faintly of his aftershave. Leedy was
happy to see that there was no sign of feminine influence,
other than more photographs of Deanna that were strategically placed around the room.
    "This is nice," she commented. "And so clean."
    "Did you expect piles of underwear on the floor?" Terry
asked. He had caught up to them, holding two glasses of
iced tea.
    "There are in my apartment," she joked. There were not,
of course, but she found his neatness endearing and she
couldn't resist poking at him.
    "I'd like to see that," Terry said softly as he handed her
the glass. "Remind me to stop by unannounced one day.
What would you two like for dinner? I could call in a
pizza ..."
    Deanna and Leedy looked at each other and laughed.
"How about Chinese food tonight, Uncle Terry?" Deanna
asked. "Leedy and I had pizza for lunch."
    "Chinese food sounds good to me," he said. "I rented an
Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. We could. . ." He stopped
in mid-sentence and eyed his niece suspiciously. "Do you
have homework?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
    "I did most of it earlier."
    "Most of it?"
    "I just have a little reading to do," Deanna said. "But I
don't have to ..."

    "You better get to it then," he said, his eyebrows raised.
"I'll order from Lee's Flying Wok and Leedy and I will go
out on the patio so that you will not be disturbed. You can
take a break from your homework when the food gets
here."
    Deanna groaned but went to her bedroom, dragging the
bookbag she had worn on her back most of the day. "Okay,
okay," she grumbled. "But there better be some egg rolls
left when I come out."
    Terry led Leedy out to the back yard. There was a stone
patio and a small wrought iron table and chairs. The landscaping was as neat and uncluttered as the house. The lawn
was mowed and there was a small garden.
    "Is it too chilly out here for you?" he asked. "I could
put on a pot of coffee if you're cold."
    "No," Leedy said. "The iced tea is fine."
    She supposed she should feel out of place, coming to
this house and sitting on this patio sipping tea. After all,
the house belonged to a man who was practically a
stranger. But somehow she didn't feel at all uncomfortable.
Somehow Terry's house felt as cozy to her as her own
place. And somehow, sitting outside with him in his yard
sipping iced tea was as easy as slipping on a well-worn,
flannel robe.
    "Thanks again for bringing Deanna home," he said after
they had settled down across from one another at the table.
"She talks a big game, but I think college is a big adjustment for her. I'm sure a day of shopping with you did her
a lot of good."
    "I don't know about her," Leedy said. "But it was good
for me. I had a great time at the mall with her. It was like
a day out with one of my old friends. She's a great kid."

    "I think so, too," he said. "But I may be biased. Not
everyone takes time out for teenagers, and Deanna needs
special attention sometimes. Thank you again."
    "Don't mention it," Leedy said, taking another sip of her
drink. "It was my pleasure."
    "And I'm glad you came here," he said, looking at her
with an expectant, longing look in his eyes. She fell into
the gaze almost immediately, as if she was drowning in his
eyes.
    "You're home early, aren't you?" she said, at last. "I
thought you would still be at your desk working out new
ways to foreclose on some poor little old lady's home."
    "I slip out early every Wednesday," Terry said. "I meet
Deanna here and we have dinner together. Besides, I handle
commercial loans, not residential. A woman by the name
of Paula Jefferson handles the little old lady foreclosures."
    The sun was quickly slipping down into the sky, and
their conversation stalled as they watched the end of the
day. The effect of the sunset cast a strange shadow over
the patio. It held a soft, pink warmth that floated over