A Heart to Rescue Read Free Page B

owe you a job.”
    “I’ll find one,” Mel said nonchalantly . The job at Rumbling Rock had been perfect for her because it had allowed her to hide from everyone in her old life. That would be the hard part to replace. She was confident she could find a waitressing gig just about anywhere. “It’s fine.”
    Nate reached up and cupped her chin. “I’m not the type of guy to shirk my responsibilities. Let me take to you dinner , and we’ll discuss it. Once I know what you’re looking for, I’ll line something up. It’s no problem.”
    Mel’s brain short-circuited the moment that his skin touched hers and so his follow-up comments barely registered. As soon as they did, she tried to figu re out what they meant. Was his invitation a date or a job interview?
    “Who are you again?” she asked.
    “Again, just a guy helping you out because you helped me,” Nate said with a chuckle. “Are you free later tonight?” His hand dropped away from her face .
    “Um , I was supposed to work until 9pm tonight, so I guess so,” she said uncertainly.
    “Good. I have to go back to the office and take care of a few things. How about I pick you up at 7:30pm?
    “Okay. ” Mel felt as if her life was spinning out of her control.
    “I’ll take you to one of my favori te places. Nothing fancy, but definitely a few steps up from the Rumbling Rock.”
    Mel groaned, “That’s doesn’t take much .” She was already cataloging her closet tr ying to figure out what to wear . That exercise alone could eat up the hours until Nate came back to get her. “I guess I’ll see you at 7:30pm then.”
    Mel started to lift her foot out of the car, but then stopped. “How about you at least tell me your last name?”
    Nate smiled. “Only if you tell me yours.”
    He was flirting with her. She was sure of it. “Jenkins.”
    “Billings. Nate Billings,” he said with a smug grin.
    The name was familiar, but she couldn’t immediately place it. She couldn’t wait to get to her condo and scour the internet for information on this man who seemed to good to be true.
    “Thanks again, for today,” she said.
    The smile fell from Nate’s face and was replaced with one of concern. “You don’t need to thank me. I’ll see you later.”
    “Bye,” she said with a small smile and then pushed herself out of the car. She nodded to the driver and made her way around the car to the building entrance.
    The doorman, Peter, was watching her with a mixture of interest and suspicion. She knew from experience that he was the biggest gossip in the building. By nightfall, everyone would know that a mystery man in a black town car brought her home.
    “Ms. Jenkins. You’re home early today,” Peter said with a nod as he opened the door for her.
    She looked back over her shoulder and saw that the town car still sat there . It was oddly comforting to think that Nate was ensuring she made it safely inside. She had no idea where he had come from, o r what brought him to the Rumbling Rock that afternoon, but she was glad for the reason, whatever it was.
    “Thank you, Peter,” was her only reply. She wasn’t going to give him one iota of information for him to spread to her nosey neighbors.
    For the moment, Nate Billings was the only thing on her mind. She hurried to the elevator. She didn’t have much time to investigate her white knight.
     

PART II
     
    Mel glanced at the clock. 7:20pm. She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt and then dragged her hands away. She pushed herself up off the couch and went into the bathroom for the third time to check her make-up. The mirror revealed the same image that it had on her previous trips.
    She had taken to wearing her hair up in messy ponytails around the same time she went to work at Rumbling Rock . Tonight, she let her chocolate brown locks hang loose, coerced by a curling iron into large bouncing t endrils that framed her face. Her hair fell just below her collarbone and she knew it was one of her best