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Kara looked at Jared "I’ lunch is on the house"
Jared nodded unhappily "Coh free meals, you’ve probably cost yourself a thousand bucks in food…I was glad to help, but I was only doing uro held up a hand iaze was arctic
"Are you suggesting my son’s life is not worth so there is no debt between us?"
Jared sighed Kara s our host"
"The lady is wise," Ishiguro declared, just as the waitress reappeared, carrying a large tray croith enticing dishes
Ishiguro placed the food hi sure the teht…Kara waited for hi hio that far And then, finally, he left theh Poor Jared looked so embarrassed, she almost felt sorry for hiing into her chawanmushi, a delicately flavored custard crammed with seafood and mushrooms
"It’s not just the fuss he makes," Jared confessed in a low voice "I swear, he loses money every time I come in Then, I avoid the place for a few s are hurt…it’s kind of a mess"
"That will teach you to save lives, you bastard," she said soleun their hed, sed and unclipped his pager for a quick glance "I’ve got to go back to the hospital," he said "Lether napkin on the table
"No, Kara, stay here and enjoy the food, you--"
"This isn’t a date, Jared," she re that fact herself "I’ close for the next few days Besides, it’s not hard to get your pager nu with you"
He looked pleased She had no idea why "Okay I’ll call us both a cab" They stood and, as Ishiguro approached, he waved his pager at the restaurant owner "Gotta run, Ish Everything was fabulous I’ht, Dr Dean I hope you’ll stop back later for dinner" He shook Jared’s hand, then beaht when Kara bowed She did it out of a perverse, continual need to prove her late sensei, a uro in looks but quite dissi He’d told her once, when she was very small, that Americans bowed like cows danced She’d spent asto perfect her defensive techniques
Ishiguro, s, returned her bow and they left
At the hospital, she watched Jared work and was iain He was deft, co and, if he felt it was appropriate, gently teasing The patients seemed to adore him
Certainly the nurses were fond of him She bristled as more than one nurse "accidentally" brushed by Jared, touched his arhed a bit too loudly at his jokes Then she scolded herself for bristling
Calling Jared back to the hospital had not been a trick Still, Kara kept a wary eye out She hadn’t heard any word on the street about Carlotti, which was good news, so far Carlotti was like a freight train…slow to get going, als started to happen, they would happen fast For now, she and Jared could enjoy the calnored the sensation It was too bad their lunch had been interrupted, but they could grab a bite when Jared was finished his work She certainly wasn’t planning to leave hi for her and stepped up behind hi his shoulder He turned and blinked with surprise when he saas her "How do you do that?" he said, half co all over for you and I never see you unless you want ency Rooht Don’t walk on your hands to prove your point, I get it And I’lanced at the clock and saith a start that she had been watching and ad about him for close to five hours It felt like fiveShe stiffened for a ers arm and--odd!--she felt their warmth all the way down to her toes "I’, "I finished as quickly as I could"
"I don’t mind," she said and pulled her hand away
No doubt about it Dr Dean was dangerous She was used to physical danger, used to the worry of sohs trying to take down AA as some sort of stupid initiation rite, but she had no idea how to deal with e ahim because it would thwart her enemy, or because she couldn’t bear to see hihtful Jared noticed Kara ordered everything he did and wasn’t sure why Was it a sign of respect, or a lack of iination?
He asked her She made an exasperated sound and salted her fries "Nice question Lack of iination, of course…the truth is, since you won’t letthree steak dinners"