Read Online The Surprise of His Life by Karen Keast - Free Book Online

hurt, were the loving arms of her dad, the man
who could slay dragons, the man who could heal young and tender hurts, the man
who'd always had implicit faith in her.
    "You
look great," Dean said at last. "Doesn't she look great,
Walker?"
    When
Bunny had asked Walker the same question, he'd teased that Lindsey had gone and
gotten herself ugly. Now, taking in the soft taffy-blond curls that tumbled
about her shoulders and the snug jeans that cupped the curves of her shapely
rear, even to tease so seemed outrageously ridiculous. And so he simply spoke
the truth, "Yeah, she looks great."
    For
a moment, Lindsey's gaze connected with Walker's. The honest tone of his voice
warmed her.
    The
intensity of Lindsey's steel-blue eyes, a look that said what he thought was
important, equally warmed him. Though, to be honest, he wasn't quite sure why.
He just knew that it did.
    The
phone rang again, and Walker swore something decidedly unflattering about
Monday mornings and sick secretaries.
    Lindsey
turned her attention back to her father. "Could, uh, could you take a
break? I'll buy you a cup of coffee."
    Before
Dean could answer, another line rang. Dean punched in the call. It was about
the valve on Rig Four.
    "Yeah...
okay... no, I'll be on out."
    Disappointment,
frustration, even a bit of anger flowed through Lindsey. "Dad, I really
want to talk to you."
    Dean
looked up at his daughter and covered the mouthpiece with his palm. "And I
promise we will."
    Lindsey
looked skeptical. Highly skeptical.
    "Within
a couple of hours," Dean said into the mouthpiece. "Do ya'll need
anything else?"
    Lindsey
looked ready to do battle. Just as her father hung up, she said, "Couldn't
you spare—"
    "Let
me get this done, sweetheart, then we'll talk. In fact, I'll tell you what. Why
don't I pick you up at seven and we'll have dinner?"
    Lindsey's
skepticism looked on the verge of returning.
    "I
know I've been avoiding you, I know we have to talk, and we will tonight. I
promise. Okay?"
    "Do
you mean it?"
    Dean
made the appropriate sign over his heart. "Cross my heart and hope to
choke." As a little girl, her father pledging to cross his heart and
hoping to die had frightened Lindsey, so he'd modified the saying.
    Lindsey
smiled. "Okay. Seven."
    The
smile faded, however, as she watched her father, after a peck to her cheek,
walk from the office. She turned to Walker.
    "Do
you think he'll show up?"
    "Yeah.
He'll show."
    "How
can you be so sure? His track record isn't exactly sterling."
    "I
just know," he answered, grinning as he added, "Besides, I'll kick
his butt if he doesn't."
    "That'll
be the day—when you and Dad fight."
    Walker's
grin faded as he thought of his best friend. "Yeah."
    Lightening
the mood, Lindsey said, "I don't suppose I can buy you a cup of
coffee?"
    "I'd
love to, but there's no way I can get away. Not with Gerri out and all the zoo
animals loose and on the prowl."
    As
if to prove his point, the phone rang. He sighed.
    "Let
me get out of here and let you go to work," Lindsey said, heading for the
door. Before Walker could answer the phone, she turned and said, "I
thought you said I'd gone and gotten ugly."
    The
truth was that Walker could never remember thinking anyone more
beautiful—beautiful and something more. Alive. Lindsey was alive. Appealingly
alive.
    The
grin recaptured one corner of his mouth. "It's remarkable what a little
rest will do."
    Lindsey's
heart gave a bumpy thump-thump at the sight of his all-male smile... and at his
words. She said nothing. She simply smiled, waved, and walked out the door.
    Walker
watched her go. Curiously, her absence left him feeling... flat. Deflated. As
though life had shifted from technicolor to black and white. He had no idea how
long he stood staring at the spot where she'd been only seconds before. When
the ringing of the telephone finally penetrated his consciousness, he felt like
a first-class fool. What was wrong with him?
    Brushing
thoughts of Lindsey aside, he reached for the phone.