MacKenzie's Lady by Dallas Schulze Read Free Book Online Page B

that had been known to make recalcitrant patients spring to do her bidding.
    Holly held up her hand defensively. "Don't look at me like that. I'm telling you the truth. He really is the guy from Tijuana, the one I thought was a pimp."
    "From your description of his clothes, I don't see how you could have been mistaken. He's either a pimp or he has the world's tackiest taste."
    "Neither one, actually. He's a cop and he was on a job down there. Well, he could hardly go into that area in uniform," she snapped in answer to Maryann's skeptical look.
    "Great. You went to Tijuana to get my grandfather's watch and you come back withou the watch but manage to pick up some guy who's nine feet tall, who dresses like a pimp and claims to be a cop. Just great!"
    The kettle whistled urgently and Maryann turned away to pour steaming water over two tea bags in a pair of mugs, carrying them over to the table. She sat down at the table and began to dunk her tea bag, her attention on her roommate.
    "How do you know he's a cop?"
    "He told me he was. And I believe him. And he's not nine feet tall."
    Maryann shrugged. "You don't have to bite my head off. If he told you he's a cop and you want to believe him, that's entirely your business. I just don't want to see you hurt." She scooped sugar into her mug with a generous abandon that Holly envied as she sipped her unsweetened tea.
    "I'm not going to get hurt. He showed up after school today. And it's a good thing he did, because Baby wouldn't start again. He showed up, offered me dinner and a ride and then brought me home. That's all there was to it." Her casual tone dismissed the evening as nothing out of the ordinary. She wondered if the word "liar" was emblazoned across her forehead or if it just felt that way.
    "Are you going to be seeing him again?"
    "He said he'd give me a call." She patted her hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn and made a production out of noticing the clock. "Good heavens, it's getting late. I'd better get to bed if I'm going to make it to work on time."
    Maryann didn't try to detain her and Holly escaped to her bedroom. Despite the late hour, she didn't fall asleep immediately. Every moment of the evening had to be taken separately and examined again in the light of Maryann's skepticism. Had Mac lied to her about being a cop? Was she a fool for believing him without proof? With a sigh she decided that she didn't have to worry about it unless he called again. And there was no guarantee that he would.
    But she fell asleep with a furtive prayer and her dreams were once again filled with his presence.
    ❧
    Holly's prayers were answered even sooner than she could have hoped. As she got ready for work the next morning, she was in a less than perfect mood. She was going to have to walk to school. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining with a fitful brilliance that was typical of Los Angeles in March. The weather was perfect for a walk but her legs still felt as if they'd been run through a grinder, and walking was the last thing she felt like doing.
    She had just managed to find a pair of shoes that actually matched each other in the tangle of footwear that littered the bottom of her closet when the doorbell rang. Muttering imprecations directed toward anyone who might be within hearing, she hurried across the living room, patting vainly at her hair, which looked as if it had battled with a tornado and come out on the losing side.
    She flung open the door, ready to explain to the manager that Maryann would be giving her the rent check as soon as she woke up, and then gaped at the apparition on the doorstep. Mac had one hand braced on the top of the door jamb, his long body leaning casually against its support.
    He gave her a slow smile that made her bones feel like butter left in the sun. "I thought you might need a ride to work this morning since your car is out of commission.''
    "I...I...as a matter of fact, I could use a ride. I was going to walk but then I couldn't