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out as a bouncer in his spare time….”
Dana laughed softly. “Good luck.” She went on
up the stairs and into her room, closing the door
gently behind her. It was just beginning to sink
in that she didn’t have a job or a place to go. Her
job at the hospital had been filled out of neces-
sity, and without it she couldn’t move back in
with her roommate. She’d just joined the unem-
ployed of the world, and all because her employer
had some strange idea that she’d been making a
play for his brother.
The more she thought about it, the madder she
got. How dare he accuse her of chasing Dirk? It
was just as well that she was leaving. Let him sit
here and stew all alone; it seemed to be all he
wanted from life. Let him wallow in self-pity and
convince himself that he was blind forever, and see
if she cared.
The problem was that she did care—very much.
The thought of the big man sitting alone in that
room without trying to help himself made her want
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to cry. Nobody else would last with him. And most
nurses would just throw up their hands and walk
out: They wouldn’t take the kind of abuse he
handed out. She didn’t like to think of strangers
doing the things for him that she did; even handing
him his medicine and leading him around obstacles
had become a part of her life that she didn’t want
to surrender.
And she would keep remembering the way he’d
kissed her…. It had been unethical, but so sweet.
She’d felt necessary for the first time in her life—
secure and protected and needed. All the color
would go out of the world when she left this lonely
house by the sea.
She started packing her few things with a heart
that felt like lead. The sudden tap on her door in-
terrupted her, and she went to answer it with a
thudding pulse.
Dirk was standing just outside, his hands in his
pockets and a disgusted look on his face.
“I’m afraid I made it worse,” he said apologeti-
cally, with a faint smile. “Not only wouldn’t he
relent, he went right through the ceiling and
ordered me out of the house.”
She sighed. She’d hoped…but what did it matter
now? She returned the smile halfheartedly. “I’m
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111
sorry about that. He’s in a nasty mood. I only wish
I knew what was wrong with him.”
“Are you quite sure you don’t?” he asked with
quiet suspicion. “He’s very possessive about you.
I haven’t seen him this way since his early days
with Layn, before he found out what a barracuda
she really was.”
Dana felt the blush work its way up into her
hairline, and the fact that Dirk grinned wickedly
didn’t help it to fade.
“So it’s like that,” he murmured. “No wonder
he was so angry when you decided to go to
Savannah with me.”
“It’s not like that,” she argued. “I’m his nurse.
There is such a thing as ethics—”
“And such a thing as love,” he interrupted.
“What does ethics have to do with that? He cares
for you—surely you’ve noticed it?”
Her eyes closed briefly. “I’ve noticed that he’s…
attached to me,” she corrected. “But you must
remember that he’s blind—temporarily or not. It
makes him feel vulnerable, and he doesn’t like it.
What he thinks he feels for me may be nothing more
than affection. I’m his anchor right now. If he regains
his sight—and I’m convinced that he will—I will no
more fit into his world than he will fit into mine.”
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Blind Promises
“That might have been true once,” Dirk agreed,
“but he’s changing.”
That was true, he was, even if just faintly. But
Dana was too wary to hope, and she said so.
“I still think that if you went downstairs and
talked to him yourself, you might change his
mind,” he added.
She laughed softly. “I don’t agree. And pride is
my greatest fault; I’m not easily bent, you see.” She
shrugged her slender shoulders. “It’s better this
way. Mrs. van der Vere won’t find it very difficult
to replace me….”
“And you won’t have risked an involvement,
right?” he asked softly. “All right, it’s your life. But
I think you’re making a big mistake.”
“As you said,” she reminded him quietly, “it is
my life.”
He nodded. “Well, take care of yourself.
Although it’s been brief, it’s been nice knowing
you. We may meet again someday.”
She smiled. “It isn’t likely. But thank you
anyway. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
She closed the door gently behind her and hated
the quick tears that rushed into her eyes. She hadn’t
wanted to face what she was beginning to feel for
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113
Gannon van der Vere, but Dirk had forced her to.
Yes, it was a good thing that it would end there.
Because when Gannon did regain his sight, the last
thing he’d want or need in his life would be a quiet,
scared little nurse with inhibitions. And she was
wise enough to realize it.
All the same, she paced the floor for what
seemed like hours after she’d bathed and dressed
for bed and finished gathering all her belongings
into her suitcase. Her eyes felt bloodshot; her heart
felt sore, as if wounded. She knew it was pointless
to go to bed; she couldn’t have slept.
The soft knock at the door seemed like a figment
of her imagination, and she walked toward it like
a daydreamer. Surely Dirk hadn’t come back to
say goodbye again?
She caught the doorknob, turned it and found a
taciturn, weary-eyed Gannon standing quietly in
the hall. He was wearing wine-colored pajamas
with a long matching robe, and his blond hair was
badly rumpled, as if he’d tried desperately to sleep
and couldn’t.
“Dana?” he asked softly.
Her heart jumped wildly at the sound of her
name. “Yes?” she said in a taut tone.
He jammed his big hands into his pockets and
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Blind Promises
leaned wearily against the wall, his eyes staring
straight ahead. “Do you want to go?”
“Throwing the ball back into my court?” she
mused. “Will it salve your pride if you can make
me admit that I don’t?”
He shook his head. “But it might make it easier
for me to sleep. I…don’t want to have to break in
a new nurse now. I’ve gotten used to you. Warts and
all,” he added coolly.
It was insane, she told herself, to let herself be
talked into staying. It would be better for both of
them if she folded her tent and stole quietly away
into his memory. But she looked at him and loved
him; it was as simple as that. And the thought of
leaving him became a nightmare.
“I’ll only stay,” she said firmly, “if you’ll stop
accusing me of things I haven’t done with men I
barely know.”
His jaw tautened; his eyes flashed. But he sighed
and nodded. “Very well. As long as you don’t con-
template doing them,” he agreed.
“If you could see me,” she murmured, “just the
thought of my flirting with a man would amuse
you. I’m not even pretty.”
“You have a lovely voice,” he said, catching her
by surprise. His fingers reached out and instinctively
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found her face, brushing lightly across her cheek and
into her soft hair. His eyes closed in a scowl. “Don’t
go, Dana. You’d take the color with you.”
“You’d very soon find someone to put it back,”
she told him, moving away from the disturbing
feel of his fingers. “But if you like, I’ll stay…a
little longer.”
He grinned then, and all the lines seemed to fall
out of his hard face. “Until I fire you again?”
She smiled. “Until you fire me again.”
“Get up early,” he said, moving away from the
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