Free A Prince for Jenny by Peggy Webb Page A

everything else. I have to go away. . . . Don't forget me .
    "Daniel?" His secretary's voice brought him back to the matter at hand. Dictation.
    "Where was I, Helen?"
    " 'I will be in North Carolina'..."
    "Ah, yes." Daniel leaned back in his chair. "... 'for the grand opening'..." It would be a party. How Jenny would love a party. "Take a break, Helen."
    "But the letter ..."
    "Can wait."
    Helen gathered her steno pad and stood up. "Are you feeling all right, Daniel? You haven't been yourself lately. Maybe you should take some time off."
    "I'm fine, Helen. Just tired, that's all."
    When the door closed behind her, he took the letter from his coat pocket and read it again. Jenny was leaving. She would be chasing sunbeams without him, and seeing sunsets and moonlight and stars, all without him. An aching sense of loss almost overwhelmed him.
    Moving like a tired old man, Daniel picked up his desk calendar and scanned his notations. Expansion to the East Coast complete. Opening gala being planned. Inquiries from the Midwest about putting his stores there.
    He was succeeding beyond his wildest dreams. Then why did he feel so empty?
    Jenny. Always Jenny.
    Daniel closed his eyes and pressed his hands against his lids as if the pressure could drive her from his mind. But even if she left his mind, he knew that she would never leave his heart.
    Impossible, he'd said about loving Jenny. And yet, until he met her, "impossible" was not even in his vocabulary. All his life he'd defied convention, had done the unthinkable as well as the impossible.
    How could he dismiss the possibility of loving Jenny in every way without knowing the facts? Hope sprang to life in him, and such joy, he almost shouted.
    He buzzed for Helen to come back inside. Before she was even seated, he was firing off the rest of the letter to North Carolina.
    "Let's see ... where was I? ... 'for the grand opening on July 15. My secretary will call you when all travel arrangements are complete. Regards,' etc." Daniel was pacing now, fired up with a new purpose. "After you get that letter off, cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day. We have some sleuthing to do."
    It took them exactly one hour to find out what Daniel wanted to know. When he left the office, he was whistling.
     o0o
    Dr. Wayne Dodge didn't usually see people on such short notice, but he was intrigued by the man and by the request. He pushed the thick glasses that were always sliding off his nose back into place so he could see the man better. A fine figure of a man, he was. More than handsome. He had character in his face. Wayne Dodge prided himself on always being able to judge whether a man had character.
    "So, Mr. Sullivan, you want to know about Jenny Love-Townsend?"
    "I don't expect you to reveal privileged information about her medical history. I merely want to know what she is capable of."
    "And the nature of your interest?"
    There it was. The big question. When Jake had asked, Daniel had equivocated. Never again would he betray Jenny.
    "I love her, Dr. Dodge, but as her father pointed out, most people do. I'm in love with her."
    Wayne Dodge had to pull off his glasses to wipe the moisture from his eyes. When he put them back on, he was smiling.
    "Jenny Love-Townsend has been my patient since she was four years old. I will tell you this, she's bright. She processes information perfectly. She understands everything.'"
    Daniel leaned back in his chair. Jenny understood. Innocent as she was, she still had the same dreams and longings as an ordinary woman.
    "The problem with Jenny is that there is a short circuit somewhere. Her intake is perfect; her output is imperfect. She's not Down's syndrome as you know it; that's why her looks fool you. We don't know why she's special. Lord knows, Jake Townsend has carried her to medical experts all over the world."
    "Could she get a driver's license?"
    "Certainly." Wayne Dodge laughed. "But over Jake Townsend's dead body."
    "He's unusually protective