An Independent Wife by Linda Howard Read Free Book Online

first-class news magazine," he said dryly. "I gather you like your job?"

    "Ob, yes!" she said, ieaning forward eagerly. Her big eyes sparkled and she tripped over her words in her enthusiasm, "I love it! I never could understand why you were always so anxious to get back to work, but then I was bitten by the same bug. It gets in your blood, hooks you, doesn't it? I suppose I've become an excitement junkie, I only feel half-alive when I'm stuck here in the office."

    "Your eyes haven't changed," he muttered almost to himself, his gaze locked on her face. "They're still as dark blue as the sea and so big and deep a man could drown in them. Why did you change your name?" he demanded abruptly.

    "I told you, I didn't want to trade on your name," she explained patiently. "I wanted to stand on my own feet for a change and I found that I liked it. As for Sallie, somehow Sarah was changed to Saflie at college and I've been Sallie ever since then."

    "College?" he asked, his eyes sharpening.

    "Yes, Ifinally got my degree," she said, laughing a little. "After you left I took a lot of courses-languages and creative writing-but when I began reporting it took up so much time that I had to get my degree in fits and spurts."

    "Did you go on a diet, too? You've changed everything else in your life, why not get a new figure?" He sounded almost resentful and she stared at him in bewilderment. Surely he didn't mind that she'd lost a little weight? It hadn't even been that much.

    "No, I didn't go on a diet, losing weight just happened," she said, her tone reflecting her lack of understanding of the question. "I became so busy that I didn't have time to eat and that still holds true."

    "Why? Why did you change yourself so drastically?"

    A sudden tingle told her that this was not a casual conversation, a catching-up on old times, but that Rhy had deliberately brought her around to this question. For what reason she didn't know, but she didn't mind telling him the truth. After all, the laugh was on her. She raised her eyes to his. "When you left, Rhy, you told me to call you when I thought I was woman enough for you. I nearly died. I wanted to die. Then I decided to fight for you, to make myself into a woman you'd want, so I took a lot of courses and learned how to do a lot of things, and along the way I also learned how to do without you.
    End of story."

    "Not quite," he said sardonically. "Your rascally husband has reentered and another chapter has started, and to make the plot really interesting he's now your boss. Let's see," he mused, "is there a company policy against employing relatives?"

    "If there is," she returned clearly, "I was here first."

    "But I'm the boss," he reminded her, a wolfish grin moving across his face. "Don't worry about it, baby. I don't intend to fire you. You're too good a reporter for me to let you go to someone else." He got to his feet and so did she, but he said, "Sit down, I'm not finished." Obediently she resumed her seat and he walked around to take his own chair, leaning back in it as he picked up a file.

    Sallie recognized the file as belonging to personnel and she realized that it held her own records. But she had no reason to keep Rhy from reading it, so she watched as he leafed through it.

    "I'm curious about your application," he said. "You said no one knows we're married, but what did you put down as your marital status?" he questioned. "Ah, here it is. You've been very honest. You adn-tted to being married. But your husband's name is, SEPARATED-CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

    "I told you no one knew," she replied.

    He looked over the application and his brows abruptly snapped together. "Next of kin-none?" he demanded harshly. "What if you'd been hurt, even killed? That does happen, you know! How could I have been notified?, I

    "I didn't think you'd care," she defended herself. "Actually, I didn't think about it at all, but I can see where you'd want to know. YOU might want to get married again