vowed. Not ever again.
Susan had gone, leaving Kara to her thoughts and sole ownership of the now lukewarm pizza. Taking a piece of it with her, she strolled out to the waiting room to look over her practice and assess it while she ate.
Alex's death had left her with a lot of unpaid bills she hadn't expected. Most of those accounts had been settled but there was still the day-to-day running of the hospital to consider. Overhead like that wasn't cheap.
Susan had taken one look at the books and offered to work for no wages. Kara had insisted she be paid. As soon as they could afford to add another warm body, they planned to get a kennel boy—or girl—to keep the runs and cages clean. Until then, they shared the dirty work, too.
Sighing, she switched off the office light. Darkness had frightened Kara before she'd married Alex. After a few months with him, however, she'd welcomed the dark as a place to hide whenever he got so angry he lost control and began screaming at her. Living with him had been like sharing her life with a time bomb.
She was about to return to check on her latest patient when she saw headlights and the shadow of a truck bearing down on the glassed-in front of the animal hospital.
Startled, she stepped back just in case the driver misjudged the distance and didn't stop in time. Whoever it was, he sure was in a hurry. She wasn't up to tackling another emergency. Yet she knew she wouldn't—couldn't—turn anyone away.
The truck slid to a halt in a shower of mud reflected in the outside light. Someone jumped out and ran up the steps to the porch.
Kara dropped the slice of pizza into the trash, reached for her keys, and headed for the door. When she looked up she was face-to-face with Tyler Corbett. He was waving a white slip of paper.
She unlocked the door.
He burst through, his boots thudding on the tile floor. “I thought you didn't answer the door at night.”
“I do when I can see who it is. What's wrong?” She followed him down the hall.
When he got to the place where light from her office illuminated the paper in his hand he stopped and whirled to face her. “This,” he said, waving the paper.
Kara stood her ground. “Well, if you'll hold it still, I'll take a look.”
“You don't have to look, Doctor,” he said, exaggerating her title. “You sent it to me.”
“I what?” Suddenly, she realized what he had to be holding. Except he couldn't be. Not yet. Susan had only put the monthly statements in the mail that evening.
“Whoa,” Kara said firmly. “That's impossible.”
“Oh? Then what's this?”
“Well, it looks like one of our bills but it can't be. The postal service isn't that good.”
“This didn't come in the mail,” Tyler said. “It was hand delivered.” He unfolded the bill and held it up in front of her face. “Look at the part on the bottom. If you wanted me to pay for the puppy's care up front, you should have said so when I was here, not fired off a new bill before I even had a chance to drive all the way home!”
Susan. Kara's shoulders sagged. Of course. Her sister knew how badly she needed to keep her accounts current and in a fit of efficiency, she'd changed Tyler Corbett's bill to reflect the latest charges and hand delivered it to him, rather than put it in the mail with the others.
“I'm really sorry,” Kara said. “She…we… shouldn't have done that.”
“Well, you're right about that.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of crumpled money, thrusting it at her. “Here. Consider this a down payment. If there are more charges before the dog gets well, I'll pay whatever it costs. In spite of what you seem to think, I'm not a deadbeat.”
“This isn't necessary.” Cupping the bills in both hands so she wouldn't drop them, she realized she was trembling. “You can write me a check later. When everything's done.”
“No way, lady. I came here to pay up and I intend to do just that. Your brother-in-law works for me, remember? The last thing I need is to have my foreman think I'm dishonest.”
“I'm sorry. I'll see that Susan doesn't do anything like this again,” Kara promised, chagrined. Her voice grew more faint. “It wasn't fair.”
That sincerely apologetic attitude gave Tyler pause. The woman wasn't acting nearly as mercenary as he'd imagined she would. She hadn't even pocketed the money he'd shoved at her.
He had an attack of conscience. “I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to scare you.”
“You didn't,” she said.
“Then why are you shaking?”
Kara stood taller, her chin jutting out, and alibied, “I'm probably just hungry.”
“Didn't you eat that pizza?”
“I managed half a slice before you got here.”
“Well, no wonder you're shaky. Come on.” Without waiting for her consent, he ushered her into her office where the open pizza box rested in plain sight atop a file cabinet. He took the money from her hands, tossed it onto her desk and said, “You go wash up. I'll wait here.”
“That's not necessary,” Kara insisted. “I'm fine.”
“No, you're not. And it's my fault. First I made you work overtime, then I kept you from enjoying your dinner.” He scanned the office. “Got a microwave?”
“In the back. I use it to warm food for some of the animals.” The wary look on his face made her smile in spite of her unsteadiness. “It's perfectly clean if that's what you're worried about. Anyway, I prefer my pizza cold.”
“Good. Me, too. Go wash up while I find us some napkins.”
“Us?”
Tyler shot her a lopsided smile. “If you don't mind, I'll join you. I was so busy blowing my stack I forgot to eat. I've just realized I'm famished.”
Kara shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” Taking a deep, settling breath she left the room. There was no way she could tell anyone, especially not Tyler Corbett, why she'd been trembling. Hunger had nothing to do with it. When he'd burst in and shouted at her, her panicked response had been instinctive. Fresh fear had taken control. Alex's legacy of intimidation lived on.
After two years, she'd thought she was through being frightened. Tonight, when Tyler had confronted her, uncalled-for dread had returned as if it had never left.
Procrastinating, she splashed water on her face at the bathroom sink and stared into the mirror. “I'm going to be okay,” she said to the image. “I'm smart and capable and I can make it on my own. It doesn't matter what Alex thought. He can't hurt me anymore.”
And God loves you, she heard echoing in her head, in her heart. Kara nodded as she reached for a towel to dry her face. Remembering that she was a child of God was the most important part of her ongoing healing. It was His opinion that was important. No one else's counted.
“I
