Skye knew Brad and Peggy had probably been waiting to hear from her, but she didn’t feel like talking to them tonight.She had too many feelings to deal with.What had caused her to act as she had?She couldn’t remember doing anything so stupid in her life.Anyone would have thought Jordan was going off to war instead of returning home.It was amazing he was interested in her at all.She had bungled this relationship from the beginning.She had teased him, promised and misled him, lied to him, ranted and raved at him, and now acted like a complete idiot.
A couple of hours later she sat on her bed reading from her Bible, sorting through her feelings, and discussing this relationship in prayer when the phone rang.
Jordan.It had to be him; no one else would phone this late.
“Hello.”She didn’t attempt to disguise the eagerness in her voice.
“You’re home!”came the obvious observation.“Where have you been all night?I’ve tried phoning several times.”
“Hello, Sally.”She tried to hide her disappointment, but the unnatural dip in her voice revealed her letdown.“I was at my niece’s birthday dinner.”She didn’t add that Jordan had gone with her.
“I should have remembered that,” Sally chastised herself.“Were you expecting a call from someone else?You sound disappointed.”
“No, not really,” Skye said.“What’s up?”Sally wouldn’t phone unless it was something important, not this late at any rate.
“I’ve got some marvelous news.I knew you’d want to know right away.You don’t mind my calling this late, do you?”
Leave it to Sally to keep her dangling with anticipation.“You know I don’t.Now, what’s so all-fired important?”
“Dr.Warren was in this afternoon and he feels Billy has a slim chance of walking again.”
“What?Are you kidding?”Skye gasped in disbelief.It wasn’t a serious question.Sally wouldn’t jest about Billy’s future.The question was a natural outpouring of her own incredulity.
“A colleague of Dr.Warren’s from back east—I think his name is Snell—has been doing some experimental surgery in cases like Billy’s,” she continued, listing the specific areas of the spine now operable under the new technique, but the technical terms flew over Skye’s head.
“Yes...yes, but what does all this mean?”Skye interrupted.
Sally laughed.“I was getting to that.What all this boils down to is the fact that there’s a possibility this new technique will work in Billy’s case.Dr.Snell is flying here for some medical conference, and he’s agreed to examine Billy and determine the feasibility of success.If—and it’s a big if—Billy’s found to be a low-risk candidate, he’ll undergo the surgery.”
“Oh, Sally, I’ve prayed for something like this.”
“You’re not crying, are you?”Sally accused, her own elated voice wobbling with suppressed tears.
“No, silly, these aren’t tears, this is liquid joy.”
Chapter Seven
Monday and Tuesday passed in a dull shade of expectancy.Even though her days and nights were full, Skye found several things she wanted to share with Jordan.Little things.She’d finally broken a seven-minute mile, a goal she’d set for herself a year before.And of course she wanted to tell him about Billy.And there was one thing he must know that was sure to displease him.
Wednesday afternoon Skye unlocked her apartment door, slipped off her shoes, and entered her bedroom to change clothes, a pattern so set it was almost like instinct.She flipped the switch to her radio, a sound to fill the silence.Funny, she’d never thought of music like that before.Music had been her panacea, filling the void in her life, offering challenge and purpose.Suddenly it had become a sound to fill the silence.
Later she lay with her head resting against the back of the sofa.Had she fallen in love with Jordan?Was all this longing for the sound of his voice and the coming weekendlove?She cupped her tea mug with her long, slender fingers and sipped the tea absently.Her feelings for Glen had been so different from this.With Glen she’d felt cherished and protected.But Jordan drew from her something totally different.Something almost indefinable; a strong, fierce emotion.She shook her head to dispel her thoughts, unwilling to continue in this senseless vein.
Intent on reading her book, she tucked her bare feet beneath her and placed her mug down just as the phone rang.
“Hello,” she said cheerfully.
“Hello, Skye.”
“Jordan,” she breathed, and her heart skipped a beat.“I’m so glad you called.I was beginning to think my watery charades had convinced you I was a candidate for the loony bin.”
His laughter was full and rich.“The thought crossed my mind the first time you took off your shoe.”
Skye tightened her grip on the receiver, as if it would make what she had to say easier.“I have some bad news and some good news; which do you want first?”
He didn’t even pause.“I learned a long time ago to deal with any unpleasantness first.”
“When I got home last week,” she began hesitantly, “I looked on my calendar and I noticed that...that I’ve already got a date for this Saturday night.I...promised Sally I’d meet a friend of her husband’s.”
