The Phoenix Encounter by Linda Castillo

Author:Linda Castillo [Castillo, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2003-12-03T06:00:00+00:00

Twilight hovered quietly over the forest. It was a magical time when the cool winds from the mountains to the north eased into the valleys and turned the air to crystal. When the songbirds from the highland meadows sang and received answering calls from their prospective mates.

Dusk was Lily’s favorite time of day. On evenings like this she liked to pack a snack of grapes, cheese and crusty bread and take Jack down to the stream for a picnic. Even though he wasn’t yet old enough to eat solid food, she would spread the pretty woven blanket on the grass, and they would play simple games and laugh at silly things and for a few short hours forget about all the worries in the world. Turning to take a final look at the cottage, Lily couldn’t help but wonder if those days were over for good. The thought brought a tinge of melancholy.

She slipped the straps of Jack’s carrier over her shoulders, hefted his little body against her abdomen and smiled at him. “We’re going to take a little hike, big guy,” she said.

“Gah!” Jack cried in answer, kicking his feet out on either side of her.

Laughing outright, she craned her neck forward and touched her nose to his. He looked so happy and healthy smiling at her she wanted to laugh. Robert had given him an oral iron supplement along with a vitamin B-12 shot earlier. While Jack hadn’t much liked being subjected to either of those things, his condition had improved in just a matter of hours.

“He looks good,” Robert said, coming up beside her.

Lily glanced at him. “He smiled a moment ago.”

“He made off with one of my boots this morning.”

“I noticed. I stopped him right before he dropped it into the commode.”

Robert chuckled. “I think the terrible-two phase may come a little early with him.”

Lily smiled at Jack, and her heart swelled with love. “As long as he’s healthy and happy. That’s all I care about.”

“The disease can be controlled. Researchers have made some breakthroughs in the last several years.”

“He’ll be able to live a normal life?”

“Aside from being sick a few times when I was young, I’ve led a completely normal life.” His gaze lingered on hers a moment too long.

When her cheeks heated, Lily turned quickly away. Of all the things she could have been thinking of, the kiss they’d shared the night before shouldn’t have been one of them. They were about to embark on a dangerous journey, yet here she was thinking of that kiss. Damn it, she wasn’t a schoolgirl. She was a grown woman with a sick child, a boatload of responsibilities and a very dangerous war raging all around her. How could she be thinking of something as inconsequential as a stolen kiss?

But Lily knew the answer. And while she may not like the route her thoughts had taken, she’d never fallen to lying to herself. There had been nothing inconsequential about that kiss. It meant something—to both of them, she was sure.

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