Free Seeing Stars: A Loveswept Classic Romance by Fran Baker Page B

in earnest. “It … it was because no—nobody invited me.”
    Nick turned her toward him and gathered her gently into his arms. Dovie cried against him with her elbows folded tightly between them, and her tears brought some new and disturbing stinging behind his eyes. When her sobbing eased, he took her face in both hands and wiped at the wetness on her cheeks with his thumbs.
    “Do you want to hear something else?” She hiccuped indelicately and laid her head against his chest. “I’ve known for a couple of years that it was time to cut the apron strings and get on with my life. Last winter, when I learned about a grant program that trains nurse-practitioners to give primary care in rural areas like Spicey Hill, I even went so far as to send for an application.”
    “Did you submit it?”
    She shook her head, and a lock of her soft, clean hair tickled his chin. “No. I was so afraid that I’d be accepted and then found wanting, I threw it away.”
    Running scared … Well, he could certainly relate to that. Hell, he’d been running at MachFour ever since that gasoline tank had exploded in his face.
    She worked her arms out from between their bodies and slipped them around his lean waist. “It’s kind of funny, really. At the time, I told myself that the kids still needed me too much. But when you asked if I had any regrets, I suddenly realized that I was the one who was all tangled up in the apron strings.”
    “I’ve got a nice sharp pair of scissors in my medical bag.” Nick crushed her closer and they clung that way, sharing a new bond of warmth and comfort. “I’d be glad to cut you loose, if you’d like.”
    “I’d like.” Her voice was so low, it vibrated. “Do you know what
else
I’d like?”
    “Food, I hope.” His stomach grumbled noisily. “Sorry, but it’s a well-known fact that man does not live by excitement alone.”
    She gave a gasp of surprised laughter. “Law, this must be one for the record books! I haven’t thought about food in almost twelve hours.”
    “Well, put your thinking cap back on, because I’m buying dinner.”
    “Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m starved!”
    He released her and grinned. “What was it you wanted to say before I so rudely interrupted you?”
    Dovie turned to look again at her newborn nephew, as pink and round and perfect as a Christmas angel. The confusion and weariness ofthe day, the worries and sorrows of a lifetime, fell away from her like a worn-out robe.
    When she finally turned back to Nick, she felt the fluttering of hope in her heart. “I wanted to say that if the invitation for Saturday night is still open, I’d like to try my wings.”

Six
----
    Cupping the telephone receiver between her shoulder and her ear, Dovie reached around behind her back and zipped up her new dress. “No kidding, Arie, when I looked in the mirror after that man was through with me, I said ‘This isn’t a make-over. It’s a miracle!’ ”
    Her youngest sister’s laughter caroled merrily over their long-distance connection. “Well, it’s about time you spent some money on yourself.”
    “It wasn’t that expensive, if you want to know the truth.” Perching on the edge of the bed, Dovie slipped her slender feet into black satin pumps. “All they charged me for was having my hair styled. They did my makeup for free—some sort of a sales promotion. But I’ll probably be a month of Sundays paying off the clothes I bought to complement the new me.”
    “What color is your dress?”
    “Would you believe fire-engine red?”
    Arie whistled appreciatively. “I’ll bet it’s smashing with your dark hair and doe eyes.”
    Smashing? Dovie stood and examined her reflection in the cheval mirror across the room. It was the most daring dress she’d ever owned!
    The crushed-silk halter top lifted and supported her generous breasts, while leaving her shoulders and back seductively bare. Soft torso shirring and the long, pencil-slim skirt accented her