A Moment of Weakness by Karen Kingsbury Read Free Book Online

these—
    Suddenly a knowing look crossed Lang’s face. “I’ve got it. Unusual name. Jade, I think it is.” Lang nodded. “Yes, that’s it. Jade. Miss Jade Conner.”

F ive
    T ANNER STARED AT L ANG AND FELT THE BLOOD DRAIN FROM HIS face. For a moment he stood frozen in place. Jade Conner? The girl who’d fought so eloquently against him was Jade Conner?
    Tanner shoved his papers at Lang. “I’ll see you at the office.” Lang took the documents, a bewildered look on his face, as Tanner ran toward the door where he had last seen Jade.
    He scanned the area in both directions, and then he saw her, fitting a key into a newly washed Honda.
    “Jade!” He wore Italian dress pants and a starched white button-down with the finest tie his mother’s money could buy. But he dodged the mingling citizens like a wide receiver eluding tacklers. He was at her side in seconds.
    She turned around and scowled at him. “What do you want?”
    Tanner gulped. Where should he begin? His heart was pounding as he searched her face, her emerald eyes. It was Jade. Eyes as green as the water in Chesapeake Bay. No wonder she’d seemed familiar. “Yes, I … well, you’re—”
    “How did you know my name?”
    Her question caught him off guard, and when he hesitated she pounced. “Listen, I don’t care who you are or where you’re from or what lofty Ivy League school you attend. You have no right coming to our town and trying to convince those people it’s okay to close down the children’s unit. That’s our hospital, not yours, and personally I don’t care if you have some kind of agenda to work out.”
    She railed on him for nearly a minute, which gave Tanner enough time to catch his breath. He relaxed and studied her. She was beautiful. Much more so than his memory of her could have imagined. He watched her eyes flash the way they had back when they were children, and he felt himself smile.
    Tanner soaked in the sight of her. Jade Conner. He’d actually found her after all these years.
    She released a heavy sigh. “You know, you are an arrogant, wicked man.” Her jaw was clenched, and Tanner felt a twinge of remorse for causing her such grief. “Kelso General is filled with sick children, children you care nothing about, and all you can do is walk in here, give your professional speech, and then stand there
smiling at
me. I wish you’d turn around and go back to wherever you came from.” She spun around to her car and opened the door. “I have nothing more to say to you, Mr. Ghormsley.”
    Tanner paused.
Don’t you recognize me, Jade?
    “Eastman …” He waited while the word hit its mark. “Tanner Eastman.”
    It took her a few seconds. Then slowly she turned around and faced him once more, only this time she leaned against her car for support. Some of the color had faded from her face, and her voice trembled when she spoke. “Your name is Tanner Ghormsley.”
    “No.” Tanner took a step closer. “Mr. Lang got it wrong.”
    They stood there for what felt like an eternity, searching each other’s eyes. Tanner saw her expression soften and then fill with disbelief. Finally her eyes grew wet and she shook her head. “No. It can’t be …”
    “Jade, it’s me. Tanner.”
    Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and he circled his arms around her, drawing her close as she did the same. All thoseyears as childhood friends and they’d never hugged like this. But now, with the evening traffic whizzing by and the last of the stragglers from the meeting still filing past them, it felt like the most natural thing Tanner had ever done.
    He pulled back, his arms still around her waist. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand and then pushed her fists into his chest like a petulant child. “So tell me, what do you have against our children’s unit, huh?” Her tone was completely different now, almost teasing, but Tanner could tell she was bothered … and wanting to understand.
    His voice was little more than a