being a woman in control of her life. Right, Lil?”
“Sorry, I can’t help you, dear. I agree with Colbie.” The pretty woman looked up from her wheelchair, her spirit bright in spite of the hardships life had dealt her. “Yes, a man can cause all sorts of havoc, but it all comes down to the kind of man he truly is deep inside. Seeing that inner truth of a man takes a lot of time and investment. Good men are hard to find, but they’re out there. My prayer is that one of them finds you.”
“Thanks, Lil, but save your prayers for Colbie.” Brooke squeezed the hand of the sweet lady who was like a mother to her. “She needs them.”
“I wouldn’t mind a tall, dark, handsome hunk to stroll into my life.” Colbie swept in carrying both mugs and set them on the coffee table. “On the other hand, he might get in the way of time spent with my mom, so maybe I’m better off without him.”
“See my point?” Brooke dropped onto the couch and waited for her sister to plop down next to her. “Dudes change things. When it comes down to it, our lives are good. Who needs change?”
“My sentiments exactly.” Colbie picked up the remote control and handed it to her mother. “Mom, your turn to pick. What are we going to watch?”
“Oh, you know I love that travel race show.” Lil clicked a button and the screen flashed to a market scene in China. “I always meant to travel the world when I was you girls’ age. I had such plans.”
It wasn’t just the wheelchair that had put a crimp in the woman’s dreams. Sad, Brooke took a tentative sip of frothy cocoa, hot enough to nearly burn her tongue but good and sweet and comforting. She definitely needed the comfort. She knew what it was like to have life change suddenly and dreams evaporate. She blinked back images of a courtroom and the grim faces of a jury.
That dog had put a smile on her face tonight. She thought of Liam. He was so gorgeous. It was easy to picture him and Oscar trucking through the dark across town to wherever they lived. It would be easy to wish for a good man to love her. But that dream had been lost the moment the police had shown up at her door more than nine years ago. Life took you down paths you never imagined and all a person could do was deal with it. This was her dealing.
If her heart gave a little sigh over Liam she ignored it, counted her blessings and let the reality show carry her away.
Chapter Two
Liam headed down the sidewalk into the bright morning sun, feeling guilty at leaving his new dog home alone for the first time. He couldn’t get the sound of Oscar’s howl out of his head. Trying not to imagine how the poor dog was feeling, he focused on his work. The courthouse looming up ahead helped to remind him of his responsibilities.
He had to stop worrying. Oscar would be all right. He was safe in the house. Come five o’clock, Liam would walk back through that door and the dog would see he hadn’t been abandoned. All would be well. Right?
Right.
“Oh, dear. Oops.” A woman’s good-natured trill caught his attention. He rounded the corner to see Lil in her wheelchair with her back to him, gazing down at her purse on the sidewalk.
“Hi, beautiful.” He knelt to swoop up her leather bag. “Don’t you look fetching? You are going to turn heads in court today.”
“Liam, you are a charmer.” Lil accepted her handbag with a nod of thanks. “What good timing. Brooke, Colbie, look who I found walking the street.”
“That makes me sound iffy. Like I’m up to no good.”
“Oh, I suspect you are up to something very good.” Lil’s eyes twinkled merrily. “I hear you got yourself a dog.”
“Guilty. It seemed like a good idea at the time. What can I say?” His few working brain cells decided to fail the moment Brooke circled around the back of the SUV and into sight. He opened his mouth intending to say something about Oscar but he forgot what.
Soft golden sunlight tumbled over her like a promise, glinting in sleek mahogany hair and caressing the curve of her delicately cut face.
Don’t look, he instructed his brain, but his neurons didn’t obey. Neither did his eyes, which could not stop taking her in. At first glance she seemed fragile, fine-boned, as if a brisk wind could carry her away. But when she leveled him with her hyacinth-blue gaze, an inner strength shone through, impressive and distinctive.
Wow. She’d been beautiful in the starlight, but in the full day words failed him. Stunned, frozen, his jaw slack—did he look like a dolt?
Good thing he wasn’t interested. Nope, not one bit. Her beauty bounced off him like rain on a roof. He remained unaffected.
“I hardly recognize you without your dog.” Brooke didn’t meet his gaze. “How is Oscar?”
“After making good on all your cookie promises, I sent him straight to bed with a new rawhide bone.” He seized the grips of Lil’s wheelchair, deciding to be useful.
“I’m glad to see you’re handling him properly.” She hiked the strap of her leather bag higher on her slim shoulder. She wore dress slacks and a solemn blouse and sweater, adding to her seriousness. What did he like about her most?
That was easy. She clearly gave him a “not interested” vibe. Not one thing about her hinted she might be open to further conversation with him. Not with the way she turned away, keeping her back to him.
This was a woman he could like. They were on the same wavelength.
“Come along, Lil.” She ambled ahead, her tone softening with affection as she addressed the older woman. “Let’s get you settled before the courtroom gets too busy.”
“That would be easiest,” Lil agreed cheerfully, tipping her head back to look up at him. A knowing grin made her sparkle. Multiple sclerosis might have put her in a wheelchair, but it hadn’t slowed her down. “Do you know what you need, Liam?”
“I’m afraid to answer that question.” He wasn’t the dimmest bulb in the pack and he figured Brooke wasn’t, either. The tap-tap of her heels could only be an attempt to escape Lil. Not that he blamed her. He gave the wheelchair a good shove to get it going. “What do I need? Maybe a haircut? A new attitude? A—”
“A dog trainer.” Lil smiled as Brooke held the heavy courthouse door.
A dog trainer? He didn’t see where she was going with this. A tiny zing at the back of his mind told him to be wary—there was something familiar but he couldn’t place it. Mainly because all he could see was Brooke in full sunlight. Her ivory complexion, her chiseled, fine-boned features and her full, rosebud mouth. Why couldn’t he look away?
“Don’t do it, Lil.” Brooke rolled her eyes as a breeze of wind rustled the ends of her dark hair. “Don’t condemn me to that.”
“To what?” Then it hit him. He remembered her gentle touch, how the Lab had taken to her, that she had been the one to catch the runaway. So, the pieces were all starting to fit. He guided the wheelchair into the busy lobby.
“You need help with that dog, young man.” Lil glimmered like a rare gem. “Brooke, you’ve trained how many dogs?”
