To Heal A Heart (Love Inspired) by Arlene James Read Free Book Online Page B

wouldn’t say what he’d lost or give Mitch his full name or address, so Mitch suggested that they meet in a public place.
    The man chose a popular Greenville Avenue restaurant, and they set a time for early Friday evening. Mitch felt cautiously optimistic, but it turned out that the fellow had lost his Social Security card and didn’t want his daughter to know.
    “She thinks I’m the next thing to senile as it is,” the grandfatherly man explained.
    Mitch advised him to contact the local police and the Social Security Administration immediately, as well as all three national credit reporting agencies and the administrator of his pension checks.
    “It’s a hassle, but it’s the only way to protect yourself, identity theft being such a problem these days. And if you find out someone’s been using your information to make purchases or apply for credit cards, let me know right away. I’ll go with you to file a report and help you clear your name and credit.”
    He gave the man his business card, brushed aside his expressions of gratitude and asked if he had seen anyone drop a piece of paper while boarding the plane. Like the newlywed, the gentleman answered in the negative, but he suggested that Mitch ask a friend who had accompanied him on the flight. Mitch jotted down the name and telephone number that was supplied, then insisted on buying the fellow a glass of iced tea and an appetizer. He politely refused Mitch’s offer of dinner, so Mitch dined alone, disappointed that he was no closer to finding the owner of the letter, though it was early days yet.

Chapter Four
     
     
    T he restaurant had filled up by the time Mitch was ready to leave—not at all surprising, since the lower Greenville area was a popular nightspot on the weekends. However, Mitch had hardly noticed as he’d sat brooding over his dinner. Only when he looked up to signal the waiter for his check did Mitch realize that the place was alive with movement and conversation. He glanced around him in some surprise, and his gaze snagged on a head as bright as a shiny new copper penny.
    She wore her hair down and loose, the sides tucked behind her ears, rather than braided as before, and had applied just a touch of makeup, darkening her lashes and adding sheen to her full lips, but there was no mistaking that face with its wide, almond-shaped eyes, pert nose and slightly pointed chin. She was sitting with three other people, a couple holding hands on top of the table and a man, obviously her date. Mitch felt his stomach muscles clench.
    After she hadn’t shown up at church that Sunday, he’d thought about looking her up at work, but he’d told himself he would see her again when he was meant to and that he should concentrate on returning the letter. He had looked for her a couple times in the square where they’d bumped into each other before, but she was evidently taking her lunch elsewhere these days. And now she was seeing someone else. He gulped and passed a hand over his eyes, surprised by the depth of his disappointment.
    God knew that she didn’t owe him anything or he her, but he couldn’t shake the sudden feeling that it was supposed to be different. When the waiter returned with his credit card and receipt, Mitch added a generous tip to the total, signed his name and slipped the card back into his wallet. Rising, he pocketed the whole and prepared to take the long way around the room to the door, but just as he pushed his chair up under the table, Piper turned her head and looked straight at him.
    Her amber eyes lit with recognition, and then a small, helpless smile touched her lips. Mitch straightened his tie and began making his way toward her before he even realized that he was going to do so.
     
     
    Piper glanced at the man beside her. Talking loudly to Scott about some soccer game, he failed to notice either her or the big man approaching them. Nate Tatum was loads of fun, all right—the loud, abrasive type who yammered