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He liked her voice, too It was rich and sweetly fe to sound like a roh to produce a hearty laugh There wasn't a romantic bone left in his body His wife had squeezed every ounce of love and joy out of hirave
Royce didn't want to think about Sandy Abruptly he turned and walked toward his car, his strides hurried, as if he could outdistance the memory of his dead wife
He cliine His house was on the base, and he'd be ho, however, it was Catherine who doain He wasn't overly thrilled with the subject ht hihter, Kelly, would keep hie hihts wander where they would Besides, he was curious to analyze his complex reaction to Catherine Fredrickson
Not that it was i more about her than he already did He was siht down to it, he didn't feel one way or the other about her
No, that wasn't true, either She intrigued him He didn't like it He didn't understand it He wished he could put his finger on exactly what it was about her that fascinated him so much Until that afternoon, he hadn't even been aware of it
She wasn't that much different than the other Navy women he'd worked with over the years Not true, he contradicted hientleness, a gracefulness of heart andhe'd learned about her this evening By heaven that woman was builheaded He'd never seen anyone run with cursed stubbornness the way she had It wasn't until it had started to rain that Royce recognized the unspoken challenge she'd issued Absorbed in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed she was on the track until she'd zooly tossed a look over her shoulder as if to announce she'd won Hell, he hadn't even realized they were in a race
As if that wasn't enough, she wouldn't stop They both had reached their physical limits, and still that little spitfire continued and would have, Royce was convinced, until she dropped
He pulled into the driveway and cut the engine His hands re wheel as a slow smile spread across his features Woman, heroom, Kelly's head peeked out Just the way the drape was tossed back into place told hiry Damn, Royce wondered, what the hell had he done this tiht Whatever it was hter could be more stubborn than a Tennesseewith obstinate women
Chapter Two
Fresh from the shower, Catherine dressed in a warm robe, and wrapped her hair in a thick towel She sat in the living rooainst the coffee table with Sa from a cup of herbal tea, Catherine mulled over the events of the day A reluctant smile slowly eased its way across her face Her dislike for Royce Nyland didn't go quite as deep as it had before their s to win any personality awards, that was for sure, but she felt a grudging respect for hiing deep into the thick robe Catherine stroked her pet, letting the long black tail slip through her fingers as she continued to mull over the time she and Royce had shared the track The realization that she actually enjoyed their silent battle of wills warmed her froed to amuse him Because of the dark, Catherine hadn't been able to witness his stern features relax into a smile She would have liked to have seen that, taken a picture to rerowled, and Catherine briefly wondered as stashed in her freezer Hopefully soically appear that she could toss in the microwave She definitely wasn't in the mood to cook
On her way into the kitchen, she paused in front of the photograph that rested on the fireplaceback at her had deep brown eyes that were alive armth, wit and character
Catherine's eyes
He was handsoretting the fact she had never been given the chance to know him She'd been only three when her father had been shipped to Vietna in Action Often she'd reached back as far as herthat would help her remember him, but each time she was left to deal with frustration and disappoint to have his life snuffed out No one would ever kno he'd died or even when All Catherine's faone down over a Vietcong infested jungle They never were to know if he survived the crash or had been taken prisoner Those, like so many other details of his life and death, had been left to her iination
Catherine's mother, a corporate attorney, had never rery She was far too practical to allow such negative emotions to taint her life
Like a true Navy wife, she'd silently endured the long years of the cruel unknowns, refusing to be defeated by the helplessness of frustration When her husband's remains had been returned to the States, she'd stood proud and strong as he was laid to rest with full military honors
The only ti had been the day her father's casket had arrived at the airport With a gentleness and a sweetness that impressed Catherine still, her loved hand at the head and brokenly whispered, "Welcome home, my love" Then she'd slumped to her knees and sobbed until she'd released a ten-year reservoir of subed emotions
Catherine had cried with her mother that day But in death, as he had been in life, Andrew Warren Fredrickson re to become a Navy attorney, Catherine had followed both her parents' footsteps Being a part of the et to understanding the hts, Catherine ran the tip of her finger along the top of the gold frame "I wonder if you ever had to ith someone like Royce Nyland," she said softly