The Doctor and the War Widow by Viola Russell Read Free Book Online Page A

occupation and giggled softly. “A doctor. . . You’d like that, Eden.” Harley remembered her mother’s half-joking fantasies that Harley would marry a doctor and shook her head, still smiling. She read on. He was widowed with one daughter. Last name Sharif. First name Abisi. Harley stared at the name. The profile said he was born in Egypt. Harley had heard that Egypt was turning more and more fundamentalist. She leaned back in her chair and buried her face in her hands. She murmured, “God, extremism killed John. Can I do this?” Harley sighed and berated her own narrow-mindedness. “Remember that not all Muslims are extremists. Prejudice is just plain evil.” Nico sat near her, wagging his tail in seeming agreement and shot her a look that seemed to say, Go for it. Well, maybe she needed some adventure in her life, to break out of her comfort zone. Hopefully, this guy would provide it.
    Nico nuzzled against her leg and then placed his face on her thigh.
    “What’s up, boy? Would you like having a nice doctor around here? At least, he can write like a human being. You’d write better than some of these guys.”
    Nico wagged his tail happily and gazed at her expectantly. Harley didn’t want to commit herself to meeting the guy yet. Writing e-mails seemed harmless, but a meeting would mean she was obligated to keep talking to or meeting him. A large part of her was still very committed to John. “Let’s take a walk, boyfriend.” She rubbed Nico’s ears.
    When she passed Eden’s sealed room, Harley heard what sounded like a pecking at the window. She hurriedly made her way to the kitchen and retrieved the dog’s leash. Once in the street, Harley glanced at the window of her mother’s bedroom. A large white dove flew nearby, its wings fluttering rapidly. Harley stared at it for a long time and then talked to Nico as he trotted by her side. “What should I do? This guy seems literate and considerate, but he’ll probably have some of the same issues as all the others.”
    The dog wagged his tale and gazed at her with a look that Harley sensed was cynicism. “Okay, I know. I have issues, too.” She suppressed a sob that turned into an ironic laugh and pushed her hair behind her ears. Sharp grief clawed at her soul. Harley hated how the grief could suddenly cast a cloud over her existence even without warning. “Too many people have gone. Too many. I’m tired of death.”
    Nico moved closer, nuzzling against her leg. “This man’s older than I am. A lot. But maybe I should take a chance. Young people can die, too.” A tear rolled down Harley’s cheek. So tired of loss .
    A squirrel diverted Nico from Harley. He almost pulled her to a tall oak tree. The small creature quickly scampered to the treetop. Nico moaned softly in frustration and pulled at his chain. “Sorry, you can’t climb. Besides, you didn’t help me with my problem. Donna will tell me to e-mail, but she’s almost like the girls at work, determined to see me married or at least hooked up. Cousin Judy will warn me in a thousand different ways to be careful.” Harley knelt to hug her dog.
    Nico licked her face. Harley laughed. Her mood had suddenly lightened. “You’re right. What the hell can it hurt?”
    When she returned to the house, Harley opened the box of dog biscuits and fed one to the waiting Nico. She then returned to the last round of edits and submitted. After these edits were approved, Harley would have to approve the cover art for her book and write the dedication page. She had nothing to do until she had the final approval. Besides, she had an idea for another story. She opened a new document and then paused. In not answering that man, Harley knew she was being a coward, and a rude one at that. Neither of her parents would approve. Her mother was undoubtedly rolling over in her grave that she’d raised a rude child. Her father would chide her for being gutless.
    “Oh, why the hell not! Right, boy?”
    Nico yawned and