Excerpt from Chapter Two

"Miss Katie Weathers, may I speak to you a moment?"

Surprised, she stopped and turned around. The man she saw faintly resembled the picture she had seen so often in Mrs. Cargile's room. But this was no sixteen year old boy--he was all man. Six foot tall or more, elegantly dressed in black from his expensive leather shoes to his black tie and dove-gray shirt. His black hair glistened.

"May I ask who you are?"

"Stephen Love."

Katie backed up. The man seemed to charge the air with electricity. His nearness caused her to shiver. If she thought Peter Miles handsome, this man was a Greek God.

"We've never met, how do you know me?" She didn't want to mention the many times his grandmother had shown her his picture.

"Grandmother had a good eye for detail. She described you so often that I couldn't have been mistaken. She thought you were an angel."

"Well, I'm no angel, Mr. Love.... Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Grandmother thought you were," he said, ignoring her question. "She wanted me to meet you, but I never managed to get over to Pinewood on the nights that you worked...how about letting me call you while I'm here in town?"

Katie felt her eyes widen. "I don't believe you! You talk about dating at your grandmother's funeral!"

Stephen jaw clenched, then led into a smile. "I am not asking you for a date, Miss Weathers. I thought we could get together and talk about my grandmother."

Katie blushed to the roots of her hair. "I'm sorry Mr. Love. I don't know much about your grandmother. Since I worked nights, she was usually asleep by the time I got to work."

"Well, she must have gotten to know you somehow, because she gave me a perfect description of you." He quickly looked her up and down, then smiled. "To quote Grandmother, ‘She's a beautiful young woman, long auburn hair, hazel eyes, small button nose and a lovely figure. She looks a lot like I did when I was her age.'"

Katie could feel the redness rising in her cheeks again. "That's very flattering, Mr. Love, but I'm sure I can't tell you anything you don't already know about your grandmother." There was that spark that ran down to her toes when she looked into his eyes. She turned to leave, but Stephen's voice stopped her, inisted she stay close to this man.

"I need to collect Grandmother's things from the home tomorrow, so I'll be staying overnight." He scribbled a number on the back of a card and handed it to her. "If there is anything you would like to tell me, please call."

Katie stuck the card in her purse and hurried for her car. She couldn't remember a time when she had been so embarrassed. How could she have jumped to such a stupid conclusion? He could very well be a married man! She shook her head; she hadn't noticed a ring. Even if I was interested, which I'm not, she told herself, a man like Stephen Love would never date someone like me....

She turned to see Stephen Love. She studied his movements as he pulled his keys from his pocket and unlocked the driver's side door. His motions were smooth and as flawless as his perfectly tailored suit.

Katie shook her head in attempt to free her gaze. "What are you doing, Katie girl..." she muttered under her breath. She didn't want to get involved with anyone. Not now, not ever! It had only been a little over a year since she'd divorced Peter and moved back to Arkansas.

Katie released her breath as Stephen's car finally pulled from it's parking spot. She couldn't let herself fall in love again; she was thoroughly disgusted with men. She and her brother had been at odds all her life. Marrying Peter has only serve to confirm everything she believed–men were selfish, conceited, self-centered, and only looked at women as something to own and control.

She shook her head again, this time a little more firmly. "Then why do they have to look so damn GOOD!"

Spirit of Love by Sue Crawford NOW AVAILABLE! Electric eBook Publishing

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