Clark pulled up at her front door and cut off the engine. “We’re going to San Antonio, to the ballet.” He held up a hand when she started to protest. “I’m going to hire a bodyguard so Boone won’t have the excuse that I’m putting you in danger.”
That was a new twist. She felt new respect for her friend.
“And we’re going shopping, whether you like it or not,” he added firmly. “You need some pretty evening wear, something silky and off the shoulder,” he added with a smile.
Keely felt sick. “I don’t wear those sorts of things,” she said primly.
“I’m not asking you to wear your underwear,” he said gently. “Just something a little more feminine than what you usually go around in.”
He couldn’t know how he was hurting her pride. But it did show, and he noticed. He frowned.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She clasped her hands together in her lap. “Clark, I can’t wear clothes that don’t button up to the neck, much less something off the shoulder,” she said with grim pride. She raised her face. “I had an…an accident, just before Dad brought me back to Jacobsville. There are, well, scars…”
“God, I’m sorry!” he said at once. “I didn’t know!”
“Nobody knows, not even my mother,” she said, tight-lipped. “And you can’t tell anyone, either.” She lowered her eyes to her jeans. “It’s something I’ve learned to live with, in my own way. But I have to dress within the limitations of my injury.”
“That weakness in your arm,” he recalled out loud. “That’s part of it, isn’t it?”
She nodded. Her face was flushed. “I’m sorry.”
“No. I’m sorry,” he replied quietly. He reached over and clasped her hand in his. “I won’t tell anyone,” he promised. “And we’ll buy very conservative clothes. But pretty ones.”
“I won’t let you do that,” she said proudly.
He pursed his lips. “Suppose I made you a loan?”
“I could never pay it back. You’ll just have to make do with what I can afford to wear. My mother can loan me some of her more conservative things, and her fox fur. I’ll look presentable. I promise.”
He smiled gently. “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“This bodyguard, you should probably ask Sheriff Carson about it,” she said.
“I will. Go on in. I’ll be in touch.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked as she opened her door. “Nellie might come back to you.”
“I don’t know that I want her to,” he replied. “We’ll take it one day at a time. If you need anything, though, you let me know, okay?”
She wouldn’t, and he knew it, but she smiled.
His dark eyes narrowed. “And I’m sorry that I told you what Boone said,” he added solemnly. “It hurt you.”
“Life hurts, Clark,” she said quietly. “There’s no getting around that.”
“So they say.” He leaned over to close the door, and powered the window open. “Next Friday night. The ballet.”
She smiled. “I’ll ask Dr. Rydel if I can leave work early.”
“I’ll ask him, too,” he volunteered.
“You brave soul!”
“Yes, I’ve heard that he’s making meals of the staff lately, but we get along,” he chuckled. “I’ll call you. So long.”
“So long.”
