CHAPTER THREE

      THIS WAS NOT GOOD. A hero, someone who would appear out of nowhere and save the day... It was every girl’s dream, which was absolutely fine, just as long as that hero didn’t think he could remove himself from the imaginary world and infiltrate reality.

      And Ethan Conway was more than six feet of solid reality. The kind that made her melt when she looked at him and shiver whenever he touched her. He’d stepped out of a dream, and was wreaking havoc with her waking world, and she’d let him do it. She’d given in and allowed him to help her.

      He’d been in the right place at the right time. That was all it was. If she could just concentrate on not being so needy, then Ethan wouldn’t seem so much of a hero.

      * * *

      Kate had learned her lesson, the last time she’d been mugged. It had been two days before Mark had come to see her. Looking around and declaring that he hated hospitals, he’d dumped an ostentatious bunch of flowers across her legs, making Kate wince in pain, and then had selected a chair, brushed it off with a handkerchief and sat down.

      After the attack, as soon as she’d been able to get someone to help her with the phone, Kate had made frantic calls, trying to find out whether Mark was all right. She’d heard that he was professing himself to be a bit shaken up, but that he was uninjured, and her friends had expressed surprise when they’d heard she was in hospital. Mark had never thought to mention that.

      ‘It’s every man for himself in these situations, Kate.’ Mark had seemed keen to justify his actions, but suddenly guilt had cut into his air of nonchalance.

      He couldn’t have known. That was what Kate had been telling herself. He’d thought that she’d be able to run too, and that was why he hadn’t come back. And afterwards...? Perhaps he’d felt guilty and that had kept him away.

      Mark’s mouth twisted suddenly. ‘You need to keep your wits about you a bit more.’

      ‘I... I couldn’t get away...’ Tears had blurred her vision and Kate had tried to blink them away. However needy she’d felt, however battered and bruised, it had been clear that Mark didn’t want to see it.

      ‘Like I said—if you’d been taking notice, then you would have been right behind me.’

      Mark had shaken his head slowly, as if her slow-wittedness left him at a loss.

      And that had been the end of it. Mark had talked about a film he’d gone to see—one that they’d been planning to see together—and had left exactly one hour after he’d arrived. He’d clearly been keeping his eye on the time.

      She’d asked one of the nurses to give the flowers to a woman at the other end of the ward, who didn’t seem to have any. Mark wasn’t coming back.

      And he’d been right in one thing. If Kate couldn’t look after herself, then no one else would.

      * * *

      Kate stubbornly refused to call Ethan, and he hadn’t called her. For three weeks she’d worked solidly, trying to get her life back into some semblance of normality. And then his name showed up on her caller display.

      This must be the call she’d made him promise to make. She tapped the answer button, smiling into the phone, trying to inject some of that smile into her tone.

      ‘Hi, Ethan. How’s everything?’

      ‘It’s Jeff. He’s failing fast.’ His voice was broken with emotion.

      ‘Okay. Why don’t I drop in and see you? I’ve just finished my Friday evening surgery, and I can be with you in half an hour.’

      ‘Are you sure? That would be great.’

      ‘That’s fine. No point in having you come all the way here.’ If Ethan was going to lose Jeff tonight, then it would be better for both he and his dog if they were at home. Then a thought struck her.

      ‘What about Sam? Is he there?’

      ‘I’ve explained everything to him. He seems to be taking it better than I am...’

      Ethan’s voice faltered and Kate wished she could hug him. This must be so hard for him. Not only dealing with his own feelings but also trying to decide what was best for Sam.

      ‘I’ll call my mother and ask her to pick him up. He can spend the night with my parents. Perhaps we can take things from there?’ Ethan seemed to pull himself together suddenly.

      ‘Okay, that’s a good idea. I’ll see you soon.’

      Kate ended the call and pulled on her jacket. Then she hurried outside to her car.

      * * *

      Ethan had hoped that Sam would be gone by the time that Kate arrived. But his son was dawdling, obviously waiting for something before he went with his grandmother, and Ethan didn’t have the heart to hurry him up.

      The doorbell rang, and Sam ran to the door with him. ‘Why don’t you go upstairs and help Grandma?’ Ethan tried to deflect Sam but Sam shook his head stubbornly.

      ‘No!’ Sam pressed his face against the glass in the front door, trying to see through the frosted panels. Ethan saw movement outside, a blur of red hair and the wave of an arm. Sam waved back.

      ‘Out of the way, then.’ Sam stepped back a little, allowing Ethan to open the door.

      ‘Hello.’ Sam greeted Kate before Ethan had a chance to.

      ‘Hello. You must be Sam.’ Kate smiled down at his son and Sam nodded.

      ‘Are you the lady who might take Jeff to heaven?’

      Sam had clearly taken everything that Ethan had told him and put it together in his own way. Ethan flashed a look of apology at Kate, gently trying to move Sam away from the doorway.

      Both of them ignored him. Kate bent down and Sam escaped his grip, joining her on the front porch.

      ‘Yes, I am.’ She reached out, brushing the back of Sam’s hand with one finger. ‘Is it all right with you if I come in?’

      Sam looked Kate up and down, obviously thinking about it. Kate was smiling, and any interruption was suddenly impossible, as the two sized each other up.

      ‘Dad says that Jeff’s very, very old.’

      ‘Yes, he is.’ Kate’s tone was gentle.

      ‘Will he see Mummy in heaven?’ Sam’s question delivered a knife to Ethan’s heart. He saw Kate’s gaze flip up towards him, in the way that most people’s did when Sam asked questions about his mother, but she didn’t back off or change the subject, leaving Sam to wonder what was going on.

      ‘What do you think, Sam?’

      ‘He will.’

      ‘I think you’re right.’

      If Kate really was an angel, come to take Jeff to heaven, then she made a very good one. She almost shone in the evening sunshine, which slanted across the porch—red-haired, with soft, honey-coloured eyes, which were unafraid of Sam’s questions. Sam seemed to see it too, stepping towards her and laying his hand on her knee. Then he leaned forward, whispering into Kate’s ear, and Ethan strained unsuccessfully to hear what he was saying.

      ‘Yes, of course I will.’ Kate crooked her little finger, hooking it around Sam’s. ‘There. That makes it a promise.’

      Sam nodded, clearly satisfied, and ran into the house and straight