A Chance Encounter Read online

  Katie smiled. “I’m so glad you came, Taylor.”

  He gave her a tender look, then leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose. “Like a knight on a white horse riding to rescue the fair damsel in distress?”

  Katie managed a small smile, still too shaken to think clearly. “Yes.” She wanted to tell him that he stood head and shoulders above all the rest, that his strength had left her breathless. He had looked like a warrior, bursting through the doors, and she was grateful for his protection. “This is all such a shock, Taylor.”

  “Listen, Katie, we’ll have to go ahead with this. If you don’t give me that interview, the vultures will be back. They’ll make life miserable for you.” His eyes hardened as he watched her face drain of color. “They won’t leave you alone until you break. And then they’ll print only the sensational stuff. Half-truths padded with anything that will sell more copies of their papers or more hits at their website, at your expense.”

  She pushed herself away from the desk, and Taylor removed his hands from her shoulders. Walking aimlessly around the now quiet store, Katie tried to think. Finally, after stumbling over a pile of books that needed to be shelved, she scooped them up and turned to look at Taylor.

  “When I gave you the exclusive, I was fairly certain you wouldn’t print half-truths. Was I right to trust you?”

  Taylor nodded, his face grave. “You’ll have final approval on anything I write. Fair enough?”

  A wan smile came to her lips. “Yes, that is fair.”

  “You’ll have to give me the truth, though, Katie. All of it.”

  She slowly walked back to the desk, put the books down and then straightened up. “I realize that.”

  “You have nothing to fear, Katie. You saved a man’s life. The public won’t burn you in effigy for that.”

  Sadness lingered in her blue eyes. “The public fears what it doesn’t understand, Taylor. And I will be feared and misunderstood.” She moistened her lips, her voice dropping to a haunting whisper. “You’ve seen just the tip of the iceberg. Half the phone calls are accusatory. The other half are congratulatory. It doesn’t matter what they think, Taylor. They still won’t understand me. And they still won’t leave me alone.”

  Taylor couldn’t understand the sadness in her. He wanted to reach out and comfort Katie, but he realized that holding her wouldn’t help. No, the look in her eyes sent a bolt of fear through him as it slowly dawned on him that Katie Riordan was far more than he had bargained for. The phone rang, bringing them both back to reality. Without breaking eye contact with Katie, Taylor reached for the phone and answered it.

  “Unicorn Bookstore,” he snapped.

  Katie watched Taylor’s face cloud. Automatically she tensed.

  “Who is this? Hey, don’t hang up—damn!” He clenched his teeth, slamming the phone back into the cradle.

  “Who was it?”

  “Your friendly neighborhood arsonist. Something about making sure you wouldn’t stay in Rio Conchos much longer. Hang on. I’m going to call the police.”

  Gooseflesh rose on her arms, and Katie turned away to hide the fear she knew showed on her face. Good Lord, what else could happen? No, she’d better not ask! Rubbing her arms, she wandered aimlessly around the bookstore, trying to collect her scattered thoughts. She was aware of Taylor’s low voice, his tone lined with steel as he talked to the police. At last he hung up the phone.

  “The deputy police chief will be here in a while. He wants to ask you a few questions, Katie.”

  “Oh, Taylor—”

  “It’s necessary. Whether you like it or not. How many times has that man called?”

  She shrugged wearily. “I’d guess six times. This should be the seventh call.”

  “Is his voice at all familiar?”

  “No.”

  Taylor watched Katie, and his heart wrenched. She looked incredibly pale and forlorn, standing in the cascade of sunlight pouring through the window. “My gut instinct tells me your caller means business, Katie. I don’t want to alarm you, but you’re going to need protection until the man is identified.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t think you should stay in the building alone at night.”

  Real fear began to suffuse her as she stared at him. Taylor was a police reporter, and she had to respect his evaluation of the situation. Would someone really try to scare her into leaving Rio Conchos—simply because she had laid her hands on a dying man? Was that justice? Katie felt the hot tears gather in her eyes. Then they were streaming down her cheeks….

  “I won’t leave, Taylor. I love my home. I need my piano, my music—they give me peace and quiet.”

  “Get a hotel room for the next couple of days, Katie,” he begged. “Just until the police nail this caller.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t really have the money. I can barely make the mortgage payment each month, Taylor.”

  He cursed and walked toward her. “I’ll pay for the hotel. I’m the one who’s responsible for this mess. I’ll foot all your bills.”

  He loomed so strong and confident before her. The moment he opened his arms to her, Katie entered his embrace. Exhausted, she rested her head on his chest, aware of the strength of his arms around her. Safe. She felt safe and cared for…and loved. The word seeped into her cartwheeling mind and found solace in her heart. It was more than mere guilt that pushed Taylor to help her, she realized. He could have walked away from her, and this whole business, but he hadn’t. He had taken responsibility for his actions and moved to help her deal with the situation. And the tremor she detected in his carefully modulated voice told her of his feelings for her….

  Katie gently dislodged herself from his arms, searching his worried face. “I want to stay here. I know it sounds crazy, Taylor, but my apartment is a sanctuary for me, a place where I can hide from the world. I love the colors I’ve chosen for it, the music I play there and the peace it provides. Please try to understand. I live half of my life upstairs. The colors, the sounds, my plants—all are a part of me. That’s where I feel safe and secure.”

  His mouth tightened into a firm line. “I can’t persuade you to leave?”

  “No.”

  His hands gripped her arms. “All right, then, I’ll move in with you until this situation clears up. And no arguments, Katie. I’ll sleep on the couch at night, so don’t give me that panic-stricken look.

  “But—”

  “You’re leaving me no choice, dammit! Now listen to reason. You’ve got a dangerous sociopath out there, tormenting you for some twisted reasons. I got you into this, and I’ll get you out of it. But you’re going to have to trust me.”

  She searched his eyes, fraught with frustration. “I don’t know if my couch is long enough…”

  Taylor managed a sour smile, relaxing his hold on her arms when he realized she wasn’t going to fight him on that point. “So, I’ll bring a sleeping bag. It doesn’t matter.”

  “Yes, it does. You can have the bed. The couch is plenty big enough for me.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want, Katie. Just allow me to help you, that’s all.”

  Her heart was pounding erratically, and not from fear. Taylor Grant affected her senses like sunlight caressing flowers, flowers that turned their heads to follow the sun across the sky. With sudden certainty she knew Taylor’s presence in her life signaled a transformation that was entirely new to her. “Why don’t you bring whatever you need over, then?”

  Taylor hesitated, watching as two customers walked through the door. “Okay. Sure you’ll be all right here by yourself? I’d like to be here when the police arrive. We could get my things later.”

  Katie shook her head firmly. “Go on. You’ve got better things to do today than play watchdog.”

  He gave her a sharp look. “I’ll guard you with my life, sweetheart. No one’s going to harm you. I can promise you that.”

  Suddenly, all her anxiety about the forthcoming weeks melted away beneath his warm dove-g
ray gaze. Her world had been turned upside down, and her belief in herself had been severely tested. But it all looked far less threatening when Katie realized that Taylor Grant would be at her side throughout the ordeal that lay ahead. He might not know much about her, but she was beginning to learn that his integrity and his values were unquestionable. A silken thread of burgeoning love twined through her beating heart like a soothing balm….

  Chapter 6

  Maud gave Taylor Grant a disgruntled look when he sauntered into the Unicorn Bookstore, but she was too busy with a roomful of customers to do much else. Katie stood beside Maud, slipping the newly purchased books into plastic bags as her friend rang the purchases up.

  “You know, at three o’clock, five people are bringing in their animals for you to lay hands on,” Maud groused just loud enough for Katie to hear.

  “I know.”

  “You’re pale, Katie. Are you up to it?” Katie gave Maud a tender smile. “That’s out of my hands, isn’t it?”

  “Humph, I’spose so.” Maud frowned darkly as she watched Taylor saunter to the back of the small desk area, winding his way through the chattering, smiling customers like a fox through sheep.

  Katie felt some of her apprehension lift as Taylor shot her a brief smile. “Just a minute and I’ll show you the way upstairs,” she told him, thanking the customer. “Maud,” she added, “I’ll be right back.”

  “Fine, Katie.”

  Katie smoothed her floor-length purple skirt and retucked the shell-pink blouse. She straightened the red sash she wore around her slender waist and, wedging between the customers, hurried toward Taylor. Together they exited the bookstore, Taylor’s hand firm on her elbow.

  “Did the police come?” he asked.

  “Yes, but they think I’m making the whole thing up, Taylor. I’m sure of it.”

  His eyes narrowed as he retrieved an overnight bag from the car. “But they will tap your line?”

  She ran her fingers through her ebony hair, pushing it away from her face. “Yes, for the next seven days.”

  “That’s all we want. I don’t care whether they believe us or not. Okay, lead the way to this magical apartment that you refuse to leave, princess.”

  “It’s my home! Don’t you love to come home after a hard day’s work at the office?” She led him up a darkened stairway that was set between two stores.

  “What? Come home to an empty house?”

  Katie heard the pain in his voice. At the top of the stairs she halted, inserted the key and pushed open the door. “Well, for the next few days, I doubt you’ll be lonely.”

  Taylor gave her an enigmatic look. Her subtle lilac fragrance enticed him; he yearned to reach out and take her in his arms. At that moment she appeared so vulnerable, so incapable of protecting herself…. “Somehow, I agree with you,” he murmured dryly, as he walked into her apartment.

  He halted and looked around as Katie shut the door. The coolness provided by the air-conditioning enveloped him, a shock after the eighty-degree heat on the street. He missed nothing in his inspection of the spacious apartment. The walls were painted a pale lavender. The drapes were of ivory lace, and through them the sun placed its muted pattern on the opposite wall. The carpet was a dusty rose, thick and luxurious beneath his feet. The furniture was bamboo, chairs and couches adorned with thick, wine-colored pillows that invited him to kick off his shoes, sit back and relax. The multitude of greenery amazed him. It was as if they had stepped into a beautiful jungle. Chairs and a settee had been placed among the verdant splendor. Thick, luxuriant Boston ferns hung long, graceful arms near each of the three windows, while several palm and fig trees gave the living room a true breath of life.

  Life, Taylor thought, as he looked around. The place had an amazing feeling of life about it. He could feel the energy, sense it. There was an unexplained joy and serenity in the room, and he halted, unable to pinpoint its exact source. And then, slowly, he turned his head to Katie, standing a few feet away. There was a knowing glint in her deep blue eyes.

  And then he saw the grand piano in the corner. It was black lacquer and highly polished. Setting down his bag, he walked over to it and Katie followed.

  “You said you played?” he asked.

  “A little.”

  “Oh, I think more than just a little if you have a grand. I’ll bet this instrument cost over ten thousand dollars.”

  Katie ran her hand lightly over the side of the piano, caressing it as if it were a living creature. “When my parents died unexpectedly, I inherited this piano. It was my mother’s,” she added in a wistful voice.

  Taylor watched her expression, marveling at her ability to communicate so effectively with those eyes and that wonderfully soft mouth. “What happened to your parents?”

  “They were coming out to celebrate the opening of my book shop five years ago. Their plane crashed on takeoff.”

  She took a deep breath. “It was a shock,” she finished inaudibly, her eyes dark with memory.

  “I’m so sorry, Katie. I’d like to have met your mother and father. They must have been very special people—to have created you.” He wished he could soothe the anguish in her upturned eyes.

  Katie sat on the piano bench. Gently she fingered the keys, bringing to life the soft notes of some unknown classic. Her slender fingers caressed the keys with delicate strokes, and Taylor found himself holding his breath. He wanted to capture the innate beauty of that instant. Then, as gently as Katie had brought the classic to life, she allowed it to flow back into the warming silence that surrounded them.

  “My mother was a registered nurse, Taylor. And to combat the depression she often felt in dealing with terminally ill patients, she bought a piano to lift her spirits. I can remember when I was three years old, sitting on my mother’s lap and plinking on the keys….”

  He leaned against the piano, studying her closely. “And she taught you to play?”

  Katie smiled, lost in those wonderful memories. “Yes. And when I was seven, they decided to give me formal lessons with a local teacher.”

  “Then why aren’t you a concert pianist? You certainly play well enough.”

  She shrugged. “I gave it serious thought.”

  “But?”

  Breaking into a smile, Katie rose. “I don’t have the discipline. And to become a concert pianist, one had to be willing to devote his life. I loved the outdoors. I didn’t want to be cooped up in a room playing a piano all day. Not when the sun was shining and the sky was a gorgeous dark blue. I wanted to be a part of that, too.”

  Taylor glanced around the living room. “Well,” he drawled, hiding his own smile, “I’d say you brought the outdoors in to live with you.” He noticed vases of wildflowers from the surrounding hills of Rio Conchos. One rested on the mahogany stereo, another stood in colorful profusion on the bamboo-and-glass coffee table in the center of the room. Plum, crimson and cerulean blue pillows were thrown casually about the coffee table, giving the room a Japanese cast.

  “I eat my dinner there,” she explained, pointing down to the coffee table.

  “You eat you meals in the living room? Off the floor?”

  Her grin was infectious as Katie beckoned him to follow her. “The coffee table is my official dining area. I may be a klutz, but I manage not to scatter my food on the floor. Come on, you’ll see why the living room has to double as my dining room.”

  The apartment had obviously been converted from an office into a living area, Taylor thought. The kitchen was exceedingly narrow, offering just enough room for one person to move around. She was right. There was no place for a table and chairs. The area was flooded with sunlight. Several philodendrons in wicker baskets hung from the ceiling. Brightly colored wallpaper adorned one wall, lending the kitchen an old-fashioned feeling that Taylor thoroughly enjoyed. And never mind its lack of size!

  “As you can see, this place wasn’t that well designed,” Katie said, leading him into the bedroom and the adjoining bathroom.

&
nbsp; “It’s beautiful,” Taylor said somberly. “Just like you are.”

  “Well—thank you,” she murmured.

  He longed to reach out and wind those raven strands of gently curling hair around his fingers. Today Katie had gathered it up at the crown of her head. A plum-colored ribbon tamed it and kept it from her face, leaving only a fringe of wispy bands across her brow. “You improve everything you touch, Katie. Look what you did to this place.”

  It was true. The bedroom was a brilliant, lively green; the drapes were jade with beige and orange flowers. Above the queen-size bed, covered by a spread that matched the drapes, Katie had hung apple-green chiffon netting. The atmosphere shouted of the Arabian Nights. Taylor grinned down at her.

  “Katie, has anyone ever told you that you live out your fantasies?”

  She returned the grin. “A few people have, yes. But why not?” She gestured gracefully with her arm. “My home is my castle. I feel safe here. I love the colors, the plants. And when I play my piano, the whole place vibrates with such incredible joy that sometimes I cry afterward.”

  His smile widened as he luxuriated in that very sense of happiness surrounding her. “Will you play for me some night, princess? I could use a few moments of joy.”

  Katie sobered. “I know exactly what I’m going to play for you. I’m going to draw you out of that shell you hide behind, Taylor Grant.”

  Laughing, he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. Her skin was pliant and yielding beneath his touch. “This is incredible. You’re incredible,” he whispered, his eyes darkening. And, he wanted to add, magical. There was something magical about Katie Riordan. For a second, Taylor had the feeling she was so special that she didn’t belong there. It shook him with a momentary panic. There was an inscrutable secret in Katie that he hungered to understand and become a part of. She exuded a serenity and peace that had eluded him thus far in life. And just being around her allowed him to relax and be himself more than he could recall ever having been.