The Passion of Patrick MacNeill by Virginia Kantra Read Free Book Online Page A

Blackie's there when I get home, she eats what I give her and she sleeps on my bed. See?"
    The strange thing was, he did see. He saw a dedicated professional woman made for love and starved for company. He wondered what made her choose a life so different from his own, so apparently at odds with her warm nature.
    "Yeah, after a tough day dealing with hospital cases, I guess nothing beats curling up with a cold beer and a cat," he teased.
    Her lips tightened. "Something like that. And for the record, I find my work very rewarding. I enjoy being able to make a difference in so many patients' lives."
    He didn't doubt it for a minute. And after what she'd done for Jack, he was sorry to have offended her. "Now, we have a dog," he said, turning easily back to the subject. "And a fish. Also two white mice in a cage and a snake in the woodpile."
    "You're kidding."
    He smiled, enjoying the stunned expression on her face and the surprisingly wistful look in her eyes. "Nope. You're welcome to come by some time and see."
    "And you take care of all that?"
    "Jack takes care of them. I take care of Jack. It works out pretty well."
    "He's a lucky boy. My mother wouldn't even let me keep a hamster."
    "She didn't like pets?" he asked sympathetically.
    "It wasn't that," she said quickly. Defensively. "She just didn't have time for them. I mean, she was a single parent."
    Patrick lifted his eyebrows. So was he.
    Kate shook her head. "I mean, she thought I wouldn't take good care of one. I had my schoolwork and my sister and…"
    He took pity on her obvious discomfort. "You have a sister?"
    She took a deep, relieved breath at the change of subject. "One. Younger. Amy. She lives near here with her two children. How about you?"
    "Two. Also younger. Con and Sean."
    His mimicry won him another smile. "Very Irish," she commented.
    "Blame my mother. My brothers even called me Paddy until we were all old enough for me to beat it out of them."
    That time she laughed outright. The husky sound loosed something warm and liquid in his chest.
    "Maybe I should try that with my sister. She still calls me Katie Sue."
    "Katie sounds Irish."
    "It's not. It's just one of those awful, double Southern names like Betty Lou or Billy Bob. I hate it."
    He crumpled his chip bag. "Deserting your roots?"
    Kate stiffened. There was enough truth in his mildly voiced accusation to sting. "No more than you are. Where are you from, Yankee? Boston ?"
    A corner of his mouth kicked up. She tried to ignore the feminine flutter produced by that fascinating quirk, tried not to admire the confident good humor with which he responded to her gibe. "Close enough. Quincy ,
Massachusetts
."
    "And what brought you from Quincy ,
Massachusetts
, down to the Carolinas ?"
    "Uncle Sam. I was stationed down here. Flew Harrier jets out of Cherry Point for a while."
    Everything he said brought his background into sharper focus, masculine, alien, exciting. She was out of her depth. Possibly out of her mind. Had she actually imagined that this warrior needed her comfort? That this male animal exuding sexual confidence could be interested in her stilted conversation?
    Caution tugged her back. But something about the tall, dark man on the other side of the table exerted a pull on her mind and her senses. Fascination and curiosity drew the next question from her. "What made you give it up?"
    "Jack," he said simply. "My own dad served too many tours overseas when I was a kid. I wanted my child to know both his parents growing up."
    So the warrior had given up jets to fly charter planes in
North Carolina
, surrendering one objective for another. Compassion twisted Kate's heart. The drunk driver who had smashed into the car carrying Patrick's family had killed more than his wife. He'd destroyed his dream.
    She reached across the formica table to touch Patrick's muscled forearm, shaken from her usual self-possession by her realization. "What about other family?" she asked, thinking of that empty waiting