Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,72
you decided to rescue me. When he gets here, then I’ll leave. Until then, I’ll try to throw myself into the spirit of things.” She glanced toward the small dance floor. “I might even try an Irish jig.”
There was no mistaking the faint spark of excitement that stirred in Moira’s eyes. “I can live without watching you trip over your own feet,” she said wryly. “As for calling Bryan, are you sure you wouldn’t mind going back alone?”
“I’m a big girl. I can fly by myself,” Kelly responded with a chuckle. “Stop worrying. I’m not going to throw open the door and dive into the Atlantic.”
Moira regarded her indignantly. “Well, I should certainly hope not.”
“A couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been so quick to say that,” Kelly said. “But now I’m going to go home and fight for the man I love. He’s not going to know what hit him.”
Moira finally grinned. “Good for you.”
“It might be best, though, if we don’t tell Bryan that,” Kelly warned her. “It might give him second thoughts about coming over here to join you.”
A blush tinted Moira’s cheeks. “Oh, I think I can keep your brother’s mind otherwise occupied.”
Kelly studied her friend and noted the new sense of confidence. It made her more attractive than ever. “Yes, I imagine you can. Any hint of wedding bells?”
“Not yet,” Moira conceded. “But then I haven’t taken him on my tour of quaint Irish chapels yet. That ought to get him thinking along the right lines.”
“Maybe you’d be better off just asking him outright to marry you,” Kelly suggested. “Bryan’s head is usually in the clouds. The direct approach has its advantages with a man like that.”
“Is that what you intend to do with Michael, ask him to marry you?”
“Absolutely not,” Kelly said as if she were utterly horrified by the idea. Then she grinned. “Actually I intend to plant the idea in his head and then let him think he was the one who came up with it. Michael has definite control issues, but now’s not the time to work on them.”
Moira lifted her glass of ale. “To us, then, and the men we love.”
“To love,” Kelly said, then added silently, and to getting Michael to believe in it.
Well, this was turning out to be damned frustrating, Michael decided as he spent days trying to catch up with Kelly.
He’d finally heard she was back from Ireland…from his mother. Apparently Kelly had paid her a visit on her return. She’d brought Doris Havilcek a lovely book of Irish recipes.
And Kelly had been spotted at the pub. Maggie reported that Kelly had dropped by with a list of Irish musicians who had upcoming tours to the United States and would be happy to play at Ryan’s Place.
There had been sightings at the clinic, as well. Jennifer told him shyly that Kelly had been there for her last session, which had been rescheduled from Tuesday to Wednesday, a day when he wasn’t likely to be around.
His plan for getting to Kelly and making things right was being foiled at every turn. He was mentally threatening to stake out her parents’ place, when he concluded that maybe he needed to put a little more thought into his approach. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a specific plan in mind.
Years of SEAL training had taught him that every last detail of an operation had to be ironed out in advance to assure success, even if the best-laid plans occasionally went wildly awry and he wound up scrambling. Looking at the alternatives from every angle might mean delaying the start of the mission, but it could guarantee achieving the results he wanted.
While he was at home pondering the best way to handle things, he got a call from an admiral at the Pentagon requesting a meeting.
“Sir, I’ve already resigned,” he pointed out.
“I’ve got the paperwork right here on my desk,” Admiral Stokes agreed. “Haven’t signed it yet.”
Michael bit back a curse at the delay. He’d wanted the ties severed once and for all. “Why is that, sir?”
“It occurs to me that you might not be thinking too clearly after what you’ve been through.”
“Believe me, I’ve been over this a thousand times,” Michael countered. “I’m not suited to a desk job. Whatever contribution I was able to make to the navy came because I was a highly skilled operative. That’s over.”
“Hell, man, your brain still functions, doesn’t it?”
The harsh tone cut right through Michael and made him sweat. “Yes, of