Page 137 (1/2)

Kiss me, Ian

He sank to his knees and stared up at the starlit sky He wondered if she was outside right now, staring up at the sa him

Where was she? What was she doing now?

They were the first questions he asked himself every

322

when he woke up, and the last ones he asked before bed He was sick with the need to know, to see her one ht of her, worried about her Could she deal with loneliness? Had he taught her that?

He couldn't reht her philosophy and religion and how to think, but had he taught her how to survive?

God, he wanted to go to her, follow her and sneak through the bushes like a cri sure that she still shed Still saw the sun behind every cloud

But he couldn't go to her, he knew that, told hi Honor deo And ould he say when he got there, anyway? Good-bye again? All he could give her noas the gift of his discipline The gift of his absence I shall be honorable always AlwaysGod, how he'd coone

She had, as always, demanded the very best from him, the ultimate proof of his honor and his decency Now he supposed he was as good a s that would havea true asylum on the property, one that would easily house fifteen patients He'd contacted all of his old colleagues and told theroup of disturbed patients; neither financial nor social considerations were relevant He'd corresponded with Drs Freud and Wellsby, and several pro the basis for this new profession of his

Strangely enough, he found that what he did to make her happy made him, if not happy, then at least content Pleased with hireat strides, and in truth, Ian had never

323

been so proud of anything or anyone as he was of the boy

And Lara Sweet, guileless Lara was ht possible For hours they sat together, so at all

On the outside, Ian's life looked to be i But everyone in Lethe House knew the truth