Sunshine and the Shadowmaster by Christine Rimmer Page A

in.”
    It was too much. Heather spoke up. “Don’t...”
    â€œI thought you wanted me to talk.” His tone was mocking now, cold.
    â€œNot like that. It’s not good. You can’t afford to talk like that. You can’t even let yourself think like that.” Heather stood. “You have to clear your mind, get some sleep.”
    A harsh sound came from Lucas. “Get some sleep for what?”
    â€œSo that when morning comes you’ll have the strength to get up and start looking for Mark all over again.”
    Lucas rose, then. He came toward her, out of the darkness. When he was close enough to touch her, he stopped. She could feel his gaze moving over her, as he studied her in the pale moonlight from outside.
    â€œHow old are you, exactly?”
    â€œTwenty-three.”
    â€œHell,” he scoffed. “Only a kid.”
    Heather stiffened as if she’d been slapped. He had just revealed something of himself to her. And he’d gone too far. Now he wanted to withdraw. So he was taunting her, putting her in her place by calling her a child.
    But Heather wouldn’t be put in her place. She said, “I was a straight -A student in high school, did you know that?”
    He made a low, noncommittal sound, as if her history didn’t interest him.
    She went on anyway, “I could have had scholarships to some pretty good colleges. But I didn’t go after a scholarship. Maybe you could say I had no ambition. Or maybe my idea of success is just different than most people’s. Because I always knew what I wanted from life. I wanted to marry Jason Lee and have a family with him, to raise kids here, in this town that I know like I know my own heart.
    â€œAnd I got what I wanted. The way I looked at it, I had everything. A man I loved. And finally, last fall...” She hesitated, not really believing what she was about to tell him. And then she heard herself say it, “...I had a baby on the way.” She took in a deep breath. “But I lost the baby.” She swallowed, convulsively. “And you know what happened to the man I loved. He died in an operating room after being trapped in a landslide working on a county road.”
    The dark room seemed terribly quiet after that. From outside, Heather could suddenly hear the crickets singing and the night birds calling to one another through the trees.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Lucas said.
    Heather waved a hand, already regretting what she’d just done, wondering what in the world had possessed her to tell him about the baby. So few people knew. She’d only been two months along when she’d miscarried. It had happened just a week before Jason Lee died.
    â€œHeather?” Lucas’s voice was gentle. “I really am sorry. I didn’t know about the baby.”
    She swallowed and drew herself up tall. If she had said more than she should have, then the least she could do was make certain he got her point.
    â€œYour apology is accepted. But from now on, respect the fact that I have lived through a rough time, too. And if I was more a girl than a woman before I lost my baby and my husband, you can bet I was totally grown up by the time I watched Jason Lee being lowered into the ground. Don’t call me a kid.”
    â€œI won’t.” It was a vow. “Ever again.”
    â€œGood, then. I’m satisfied.”
    He was quiet, looking at her. Then he asked, very softly, “Are you really satisfied?”
    She blinked. Even in the darkness, she was close enough to see his eyes. They had changed. They shone soft and deep. All at once, it was last night all over again.
    â€œI don’t—”
    â€œHeather. Yes, you do.”
    She stared at him. Not understanding. Yet knowing all too well.
    He said her name again, on an exhalation of breath. And then, slowly and deliberately, he raised his hand.

Chapter Six
    H eather let out a small gasp and stepped back before Lucas