Free Dearly Loved by Bonnie Blythe Page B

watch a movie while we eat. There’s something starting that looks like a period piece. You love that kind of thing.”
     
    David watched Merrie’s expressive face with amusement. He could see she considered the situation a moral quandary. He patted the bed again. “ C’mon . I’m crippled and therefore safe. Sit.”
    Bitsy plunked down on his haunches and put his paws up in the air. He chuckled at the dog’s antics. “Too bad your mistress doesn’t obey as well as you.” He opened a box from one of the bags and pulled out a piece of chicken for the dog. Bitsy wolfed it down.
    “You’re teaching him bad habits,” Meredith said coolly as she perched onto the opposite edge of the bed.
    Smiling at her stiff posture, he set the bags onto the bed between them and dished up the food.
    “Hope you like what I chose.”
    “It smells fantastic.”
    He handed Meredith her plate and a set of chopsticks. “You used to always say a prayer when we ate together. Will you now?”
    Giving him a measuring look, she nodded and closed her eyes. “Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food. Please bless it to the nourishment and strength of our bodies and please continue to bring complete healing and recovery to David. Amen.”
    “Thanks, Merrie.” His smile deepened when he saw her face redden. Picking up the remote control, he switched the channels until he came to the opening credits of The Scarlet Pimpernel .
    “Is this still one of your favorites?”
    “Yes,” she said slowly, as if she couldn’t believe he remembered. “But if there’s a soccer game or something else you’d rather watch, that’s okay.”
    “I want to watch this, Merrie. In fact, I often see myself as the swashbuckling Percival.”
    Meredith stared at him and then laughed. “Oh, brother.”
    Gratified to see her relaxing, he kept up the light banter until he became engrossed in the movie himself.
     
    ***
     
    Long after they’d finished their dinner, the movie came to an end. David looked over at Meredith and saw she’d drifted to sleep, her chin resting on her chest where she sat propped up against the headboard. Poor thing. He figured she’d been on the go for nearly twenty-four hours straight.
    He allowed his gaze to travel over her features and felt a tightening in his chest. The light fragrance of her perfume and the way the lamp light made her hair glow mingled with honey-toned images and emotions from the past. From being curious to see her after all the years to spending this time with her, however brief, had caused long-buried feelings to burgeon within him. He could admit surprise at his strong response—but he knew this was more than nostalgia. Merrie Ambrose was a woman worth wooing. Do I have a chance? He wondered why she’d come today. Pity? Does she find me attractive, or will her view of me be colored only by my past treatment of her?
    One thing was for certain. If he wanted to get reacquainted, she needed to stay in one piece. As carefully as possible, David got up from the bed and limped to the linen closet. He knew he was taking a risk in what he planned to do, but he didn’t want an exhausted Meredith driving home at midnight by herself. One of us in a car accident is quite enough .
    Bitsy lifted his nose and watched as David gently covered Meredith with a comforter. Her eyes snapped open.
    Uh oh .
    She looked around, seeming disoriented. When her gaze landed on him, he swallowed.
    “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice raspy.
    “It’s late and you, um, looked cold.”
    She blinked several times and sat up, pushing her hair from her eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
    “I didn’t want you driving this time of night in your condition.”
    “Condition?”
    “Exhaustion. I know you came here straight from work.”
    Her cheeks flooded with color. “So you assumed I’d sleep here all night?”
    He raised his hands. “Just thinking of your safety, Merrie.”
    Meredith pulled off the comforter and stood, her