LITMIR.BIZ

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her pool,” she murmured to herself. She closed her eyes again.

      “She kept herself in great shape. Probably why she lived as long as she did.”

      A wide expanse of floor-length windows and French doors looked out over the vista. As Greg stepped up onto the redbrick terrace, a woman opened one of the doors.

      “Ah, Hannah,” Greg said, smiling. “Thank you for opening the door.” He looked at Sherri. “This is Sherri. Sherri, Hannah.”

      So he was married. He could have mentioned that when she was going on and on about their living together. He must have found her quite amusing.

      He could have told her at some point. It made no difference to their relationship, or rather lack of relationship. Sherri was glad to know that he’d found someone else. She didn’t know why she was so surprised. He was handsome, well-educated and now could give any woman whatever she wanted.

      Being this close to him was so disturbing. He wore the same aftershave, the one that had haunted her for months after she’d left.

      Greg carried her through the wide hallway toward the front of the house. A wide, curving staircase went up to the second floor. Before they reached the stairs, Greg stopped in front of a closed door.

      He gathered her closer, if possible, and opened the door. This had been Millie’s room. She remembered it well. Millie’s light perfume still lingered. A motorized wheelchair was near the bed. She wondered if Millie had needed it during her last few months. If so, Sherri knew Millie would have hated to be confined to a chair.

      He carefully placed her on the bed and stepped back. “I’ll be right back.”

      She closed her eyes and was drifting in a sea of pain when she felt something move on the bed. Her eyes popped open and she gasped. Two cats had jumped on the bed and were daintily stepping up to her.

      “Where did you two come from?” she asked them in astonishment.

      Greg said from the doorway, “When Joan mentioned that you had planned to take care of both cats while she was gone, I volunteered to keep them here, since she didn’t want to split them up.”

      He handed her a glass of water and two capsules. She recognized the pain meds from the hospital.

      “How did you know I was taking these?”

      He shrugged. “I got a list of your medications from the doctor.”

      Sherri swallowed the capsules, chased them with the water and lay down again. She was grateful that these were fast acting.

      After a moment of silence, Greg said, “I forgot to ask Joan their names.”

      “This is Lucifer,” she replied. Lucifer reached her side and butted his head against her hand, purring all the while.

      “So is this one Satan?” he asked with a teasing glint in his eye, a look she’d always loved.

      “No. Angel.” She glanced at Angel. He had lifted his back leg and was now engrossed in cleaning himself.

      She scratched Lucifer’s ears and under his chin until he settled in next to her, his front legs across her chest. Sherri looked up at Greg. “You hate cats.”

      He stood watching her from the foot of the four-poster bed, his hands in his back pockets. “Yep.” He smiled. “Looks like he’s missed you.”

      “Why would you accept the care and feeding of animals you don’t like?”

      He stood there and looked at her, as though he could see her soul and understood all her emotions. Which was impossible.

      “Good question,” he finally replied thoughtfully. “So far, I haven’t found a sensible answer.” He turned away and headed for the door. “Get some rest,” he said over his shoulder, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

      When Sherri opened her eyes sometime later the room was in deep shadow. She noticed that the sun was beyond the treetops. She must have slept all day. She looked around her and saw the two cats still on the bed and sound asleep.

      Lucifer enjoyed stretching out on his back as far as his long legs would go. Angel preferred sleeping in a ball. One was on either side of her.

      A small lamp came on near the door and Sherri saw Hannah standing in the doorway.

      “I’m sorry to disturb you, but you didn’t eat anything at lunch and Greg said you need to eat something. May I help you into the chair?”

      Sherri pushed herself up on her elbows. Hannah looked Swedish, with beautiful skin and flaxen hair. She was tall, almost as tall as Greg. They made a nice-looking couple.

      “Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”

      After they maneuvered her into the chair, Sherri pushed a button and it moved silently across the room. Hannah opened a door. “This is your bathroom. Will you need help?”

      Not in this lifetime.

      “I’m fine. Thank you.”

      She managed to get inside and closed the door. The room was about the size of her bedroom in the apartment. There was a free-standing shower and a large tub with jets. A long counter and mirror stretched across the width of the room.

      Sherri had never been inside this particular bathroom. She found a washcloth and filled the sink with water. She bathed herself as well as she could. Somehow she would have to learn to help herself into the shower once her dressing came off. When the nurse changed it that morning, she had used a smaller dressing, saying that the incision looked healthy and was healing. There was a built-in seat inside the shower, plus shampoos, conditioners and creams. The place could have been a five-star hotel.

      After struggling to get her clothes off, she wet a washcloth and washed herself with soapy water.

      Sherri was drying off when she heard a tap on the door.

      “Yes?”

      Hannah said, “I’ve laid out your clothes for you. Greg will check in on you in about forty-five minutes.”

      Sherri finished drying herself and opened the door. She looked at the clothes laid out for her. They were new. She moved to the closet and opened the door. The walk-in closet had all of her clothes and several new things that still had tags on them.

      She spun her chair around and crossed the room to the dresser. When she opened the drawers, she discovered all of her things were here…plus several new items.

      He’d certainly been confident that she would fall in with his plans. Why not? He’d made certain that she had no place to go except here. She hated to admit that he’d been right about everything. She really couldn’t have taken care of herself. What she had trouble understanding was why he’d do this for her. He’d put himself out to see that she had everything she needed, including Lucifer. Which was another thing. He’d once mentioned that he was allergic to cats. She’d been disappointed because she’d always loved them and once she settled into her apartment she had found the kittens. Thank goodness Joan had wanted one, too.

      Now here they were, content to be nearby. It was difficult to be upset with him; he’d done so much for her at a time when she’d desperately needed help.

      She took underwear out of the drawer and with a great deal of effort managed to get the pants over her cast. She was already exhausted. Hannah had laid out a simple pullover dress that was new. Sherri slipped it over her head. She pulled the sling over her shoulder and slipped her arm into it.

      She was as ready as she would ever be. She saw no reason to wait for Greg. With new determination to be nicer to him, Sherri left the room.

      Five

      Out in the hallway, Sherri went back the way she and Greg had come into the house. She stopped at the French doors and admired the view. Greg had been given a truly wonderful gift. She knew he must miss Millie very much. Sherri wished she’d stayed in touch with her. As the

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