When Somebody Loves You by Cindy Gerard Read Free Book Online Page B

her fork. It had been this way for over a week now. Since the night Michael had left her cowering like a whipped dog in the rain, he’d been dropping by the office to “chat” with Helen. Helen, in turn, never missed an opportunity to work some of her newfound information about her “suitor elect” into conversations with January.
    “His cat’s name is Fluffy,” Helen added.
    January set aside her fork, fighting the picture that came to mind. Slowly removing her glasses, she studied Helen suspiciously. “Michael has a cat named Fluffy?”
    “No, dear. Leonard. Leonard has a cat named Fluffy, though I can’t for the life of me figure out why he gave it that name. Mangy critter has less hair than Leonard. I truly don’t know why he keeps it around. Cats are so independent, they don’t really need anyone to take care of them. Well, there, I guess I answered my own question, didn’t I?” She giggled. Ignoring January’s narrowed eyes, she busied herself stirring artificial sweetener into her tea and saturating her salad in French dressing. “Now a horse, there’s an animal that requires a lot of care.”
    January sighed, regretting her question even as she asked it. “Who has a horse?”
    Helen stared thoughtfully into space, her Sizzling Strawberry eye shadow giving her an otherworldly look. Finally she shrugged and said, “Oh, nobody I can think of, sweetie, but Michael could certainly have one if he wanted to. What with his family owning a cabin up in the mountains and all.”
    She’d had to reach quite a way for that one, but January gave Helen credit. She was a craftsman. January felt like she was watching Helen piece together a patchwork quilt called “The Life and Times of Michael Hayward.” So now she knew that Michael had a dog and a cabin in the mountains. A couple more squares to add to the quilt Helen had been working on all week. January already knew far more about Michael Hayward than she wanted to. She knew enough to make him seem too human, too real . . . too nice.
    She knew, for instance, that Michael owned a co-op apartment in New York City. Now that he was back in Boulder, though, he intended to sell the apartment and make Boulder his permanent residence. She also knew why he had gravitated to Boulder in the first place. Boulder was his birthplace. When she had met up with him eighteen years ago, he’d been living in Chicago. Evidently his work had taken him there, and since then it had taken him a little bit of everywhere. His family had remained settled in the Boulder area, and Michael, according to Helen, was a family-oriented man. His younger brother, Rob, was an engineer for the city development committee in nearby Longmont, and his sister, Gretchen, was married and lived in Boulder with her husband and two children. Finally, both of Michael’s parents were retired and living in Denver. He wanted to be closer to all of them.
    “Doesn’t it sound romantic?” Helen’s dreamy voice broke into January’s thoughts. “A mountain retreat. Just imagine, moonlight on a fresh snowfall, a crackling fire in a huge stone hearth—”
    “Helen . . .” January warned, but Helen went on like she hadn’t heard.
    “My Jack took me to a place like that for our honeymoon. It was one of the happiest times of my life.”
    The protest January was about to issue died on her lips when she saw the faraway and poignant expression in Helen’s eyes. Blinking hard, Helen met January’s gaze. “You are blowing a very good thing here, sweetie.”
    January shook her head. “Helen, please—”
    “January,” Helen interrupted sternly, “I’m telling you, you are making the mistake of your life. This man is a special man. And despite the fact that you’ve done everything but kick him in the teeth, he keeps coming back. Do you have any idea what an unusual trait that is in a man as strong as he is? When are you going to get wise to the fact that he is no threat to you? That excuse he trumped