Suddenly, she cracked a smile. The sun! It broke through the clouds and doused me with light and warmth, and for the first time, I saw that face from my dream. Or coma vision, or whatever it’d been.
“You have a gorgeous smile.” I swear, it fell out of my mouth. I didn’t say it on purpose.
“While I realize the correct response to a compliment is thank you, I’ll probably just pretend you didn’t offer it, since I’m pretty sure you’re only acting interested in me so I’ll forget what you did to Roland. So that I won’t sue you.” Her eyes narrowed. “I know you know that I know I won’t win in court, but I can still make your life pretty miserable for a while, and I can ruin your reputation in the process, so there’s no use pretending I have no power in this situation.”
Geez. My head spun. Finally, I came up with, “I agree. You really don’t know how to take a compliment.”
Her mouth dropped open.
Then, taking a big chance, I smiled. A real smile. Not like the half-terrified smiles I’d given her earlier when I realized I really was at her parents’ anniversary party. The dream had even correctly included the number of years of their marriage. “I would very much like not to get sued. Especially not by you.”
She heaved a big sigh. “Roland was one of the good ones.”
“Yeah?” For whatever reason, I suddenly needed to know what Sheridan Chandler considered good qualities in a man. “How so?”
“For one, even at his worst—and he had a lot of personal struggles—he was caring and intuitive. He could always tell when people around him were having a rough time. He offered a genuine smile and a comforting word.”
Oh, that. Well, that wasn’t my forte at all. “What else?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
Maybe it was, for Sheridan Chandler. I’d really rather hear about her than about my former patient. But if she wanted insightful, I could give her insightful. Thanks to that dream. “You place a lot of value on smiles.”
“Smiles are powerful. Speaking of motivational stickers, I have a smiley face pasted on my toaster.”
I know, I almost said aloud. “Unique.” I nodded a little, as if I hadn’t already seen this. Was I good at feigning nonchalance? Not really. My knee was bouncing.
“Everyone needs a smile. And reassurance. And hope.”
Oh, we were back to that again. “Some people have a dog. A dog always smiles at you when you get home from work.”
“Do you have a dog?” She looked out the sun roof. “Forget it. You live at The Citadel.”
No pets in The Citadel, big signs everywhere announcing it. “No, but my guess is that you do.”
“Me? What makes you say that?”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing you have a medium-sized dog. He’s got a preference for Breeder’s Choice pork-and-rice dog food.” I was hitting the mark with this so directly it could backfire, but her face just looked amused until … “And his name is Jasper.”
Sheridan’s demeanor went from mildly entertained to horrified. “Get out of my car.”
“What? What did I say?” I scooted out of reach of her fist which was balling up and might punch me. I didn’t really think she was violent, but I was still sporting quite a few stitches on that side of my head and couldn’t take any risks. “Don’t you have a dog?”
“No!” Veins bulged on the sides of her neck. “I—you—just get out.”
“Did your dog die or something? Did I say the wrong thing?”
“I don’t have a dog. I’ve never had a dog. I always wanted a Brittany Spaniel and to name him Jasper. How did you know that?” The murderous look lit her eye again. “Never mind! I never want to see you again. Get out, Dr. Hotwell. Get out of my car and get out of my head and get out of my life. Now!”
I obeyed, and her car roared around the circular drive at the kind of speed that turned to a blur in a movie.
Wow. That had not gone well. I winced and turned to go upstairs.
And now I had more questions than ever about what was happening to me. It was definitely freaking me out. Or turning me into a freak—someone who obsessed over beautiful, fiery women who hated me. Turning me into what must look like a total stalker.
My breath came heavier. I had to research this. Big time. What was going on with my brain?