Rocky and the Senator's Daughter by Dixie Browning

Author:Dixie Browning
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2001-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Sarah couldn’t believe how good it felt to get away. With the vacation crowd at its peak, she would be just one of the hoard. And if there happened to be a reporter around—other than Rocky, that was—he’d be far more interested in the sand-sculpture contests, surfing competitions and the hang gliders on Kill Devil Hills than in an almost-middle-aged widow who happened to be slightly connected to a couple of old scandals.

Say, aren’t you congressman whatsisname’s widow? What do you think of Ms. Cudahy’s book? Have you read it yet? Are you going to sue the publisher?

It probably wouldn’t be the first time the paparazzi had tried to stir up the coals of an old scandal when they ran out of fresh material. She hadn’t read the damn book, didn’t intend to and didn’t want to hear another word about it. As for suing, what grounds did she have? There was no libel involved, so far as she knew. The whole mess might have died a natural death if Stan hadn’t broken down in the most public place—the house floor, with the cameras rolling, no less—and confessed his part of the whole sordid affair.

Naturally the press had jumped on it like flies on roadkill, but in the end, not even confession and public humiliation had been enough to assuage his guilty conscience.

“How do you feel about raw bars?”

Glad of the diversion, she replied, “In a word? Yuk.”

They were listening to one of Rocky’s CDs, something smooth and heavy and vaguely familiar as they drove onto the Currituck Sound Bridge. He was humming along with the haunting refrain. Sarah would have figured him for soft rock or jazz. So much for her judgment.

They found a restaurant that looked well patronized without being too crowded. He pulled in, switched off the engine and turned to face her. “Look, if you change your mind at any time, we can just get up and walk out, okay? If you feel the least bit uncomfortable, just say the word.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, it’s not like I was a celebrity or anything. I doubt if one out of ten million people even know I exist. We’re not in Washington now, or even Virginia or Maryland.”

“We’re not in Kansas now, Toto,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Point taken.”

Once inside, he drew the hostess aside and spoke a few quiet words. The stylish middle-aged woman palmed the bill, and after one quick glance at Sarah’s glorious shiner, which no amount of makeup would completely disguise, led them over to a candlelit table for two overlooking the ocean.

“Oh, this is wonderful! And we didn’t even have reservations, can you believe our luck?” Wearing a sleeveless ankle-length cotton dress in a splashy red-and-white print she managed to look cool, sophisticated, yet very much like a kid on Christmas morning. Watching her face glow with excitement, Rocky reminded himself that this was a woman who’d been holed up alone in the middle of a cornfield for nearly a year. Given another few weeks, she might even have welcomed the press.

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