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"Miss," Travis said, "are you all right?"

"Of course she’s not all right," the runner said "Your da at us-"

"He doesn’t see and holding the other aze

Bits of what appeared to be oatuy’s cheek Travis had noticed an oat on the bench beside the woround between her feet What the hell had been going on here?

The runner glared at Travis and started to speak But then he looked at the woman and Einstein, and he evidently realized that his calculated outrage would no longer be appropriate He said sullenly, "Wellyou should still get the damn hound under control"

"Oh, I don’t think he’ll bother anyone now," Travis said, coiling the leash "It was just an aberration"

Still furious but uncertain, the runner looked at the huddled woman and said, "Nora?"

She did not respond She just kept petting Einstein

"I’ll see you later," the runner told her Getting no response, he refocused on Travis, narrowed his eyes, and said, "If that hound co at et on with your run He won’t bother YOU"

Several tied slowly across the park to the nearest exit, the one

On the bench, Einstein had settled down on his belly with his head on the wo to you"

Without looking up, s Einstein’s coat with one hand, she said, "He’s a lovely dog"

"I just got hi

He sat down on the other end of the bench, with Einstein between them "My name’s Travis"

Unresponsive, she scratched behind Einstein’s ears The dog made a contented sound

"Travis Cornell," he said

At last she raised her head and looked at him "Nora Devon"

"Glad to h she wore her hair straight and lank, though she used no lossy, her skin flawless, and her gray eyes were accented with green striations that see his approval and frightened of it, she immediately broke eye contact, lowered her head once ?"

She said nothing

"Was that ht," she said

With her head bowed and shoulders hunched, sitting there under a ton-weight of shyness, she looked so vulnerable that Travis could not just get up, walk away, and leave her with her probleht to find a cop-"

"No," she said softly but urgently She slipped out fro scra at her with affection

Rising, Travis said, "I don’tout of the park on a different path from the One the runner had taken

Einstein started after her but halted and reluctantly returned when Travis called to him

Puzzled, Travis watched her until she disappeared, an enigray dress as drab and shapeless as the garb of an Areat pains to cloak the fearments that would not lead a man into teh the park Later, they went to the beach, where the retriever see sea and by the breakers foa on the sand He repeatedly stopped to stare out at the ocean for a minute or two at a time, and he frolicked happily in the surf Later still, back at the house, Travis tried to interest Einstein in the books that had caused such exciteure out what the dog expected to find in them Einstein sniffed without interest at the voluhout the afternoon, thefrequency and vividness She did not require alluring clothes to capture a ray eyes were enough