Sandy Randolph laid down the computer printout she'd been reading. Resting her head on the back of he chair, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It didn't help ease the pain in her head. No amount of relaxing, no amount of aspiring swallowed, managed to put a dent in it.

"Sandy, I have..."

Sandy raised her head when she heard her assistant's voice. Judi Weston stood opposite the desk, her arms filled with papers, her eyes filled with concern. "Another headache?" she asked softly.

Sandy nodded, then winced when even that small movement shot pain through her head.

Judi frowned. "When are you going to see a doctor? You've had those headaches for as long as I've known you."

"I don't like doctors."

"I don't think anyone's crazy about them, but they do come in handy when a person is sick." Judi sat in one of the two padded chairs before Sandy's desk. "You remember last year when I was in that car accident?"

"Yes."

"I had headaches, backaches, neck pain... Hell, I was a mess, but Doctor Carlson helped me. He's great, Sandy. Maybe he can help you too."

Sandy frowned. "I don't want to go to your chiropractor."

"Why not? What could it hurt? Don't judge him before you even talk to him just because you've never been to a chiropractor." She grinned. "Besides, he's gorgeous. Just looking at him will make you forget all about your headaches. He has the most incredible blue eyes." Her grin turned devilish. "And the rest of him is just as gorgeous. What a body! I tell you, I'd be in his bed in a second if he crooked his little finger at me."

Judi's grin faded. "Let me call his office and make an appointment for you. If you don't feel comfortable after talking to him, don't go back."

Sandy sighed. She'd put off seeing a doctor, but she had to do something. She couldn't continue to let the pain interfere with her job. "All right. Make the appointment and I'll go."

Judi smiled. "I'll call right now and see if I can get you in today."

After Judi left, Sandy rose from her chair. She stood by the plate glass window behind her desk and stared out at downtown Seattle. She tried to clear her head, to think of absolutely nothing. It worked for all of ten seconds.

Then she thought about Brad.

Her date with Brad two weeks ago had started out wonderful, as usual. She always had a good time with him. Charming, handsome, great sense of humor, incredible in bed. He had all the traits a woman looked for in a man.

If only he hadn't told her he loved her.

She hadn't been able to stop the automatic freezing or the negative response to his declaration. Instead of admitting she cared for him, she'd pulled away. She had to. She couldn't possibly become seriously involved with him.

She couldn't become seriously involved with any man.

The pain in her head moved into her temples. Sandy closed her eyes. The headache had started after she had returned home from her date. It was still with her now, and she knew it would hang around for several more days before it finally stopped. The pattern never changed.

Her intercom rang. Sandy spoke briefly to Judi, long enough to discover she had a two-thirty appointment today with Judi's doctor. By listening to her friend, a person would think this Doctor Carlson was some kind of miracle worker. Sandy hoped so. It would probably take a miracle to help her.

* * * * *

Mike Carlson finished the progress report on his newest patient and closed the file. A glance at his watch showed him it was almost noon. Good. His stomach had been growling for the last half hour.

A soft knock on his open door made him look up. His assistant, Kathy, entered the room.

"Doctor Keaton just called to remind you of your lunch date."

Mike frowned. "Having lunch with Jack is not a 'date', Kathy."

She grinned. "Sorry. Poor choice of words." She handed him another patient file and two more phone messages. "Your mother expects you for dinner next Friday evening. She said to plan on spending the night 'cause your dad wants you to play golf with him the next day."

"My dad knows I work on Saturdays."

"He also knows you're closing the office next Saturday because I refused to work on my anniversary."

Mike chuckled. "That's right. I forgot. How long have you been married?"

"Two glorious, exciting, incredibly wonderful years."

"C'mon, Kathy, you could be a little more enthusiastic about it."

She laughed and Mike joined her. Teasing Kathy was easy and fun. She had been his assistant ever since he opened his practice three years ago. He couldn't have asked for a better worker.

"By the way," Kathy continued, "Judi Weston called. She made an appointment for her boss. Dana Singleton rescheduled for Monday, so I put Judi's boss in at two-thirty."

"What's wrong with...her? Him?"

"Her, and Judi said she's had headaches for years." Kathy crossed her legs. "You're going to have to put Judi on the payroll if she keeps referring patients to you. This will be her fourth since she began seeing you. I think she's trying to get your attention."

"I think she's trying to get me into bed. She's made it abundantly clear she's available."

Kathy shrugged. "You could do worse. She's pretty and nice and has a crazy sense of humor."

"Yes, she does, but I made a pact with myself a long time ago not to get involved with any of my patients. Things like that can get...messy."

The telephone interrupted their conversation. "Duty calls," Kathy said with a smile. "See you after lunch."

Mike watched her leave, then lowered his gaze to the phone message from his mother. While he loved his parents and enjoyed being with them, he wished he had someone else he could be with on Friday evening. He'd been dating Carol for the past four months. He could call her. They would go out to dinner and a movie, then back to her house, or his, and make love. She was fabulous in bed, yet Mike felt as if something were missing. He wanted more than just a body to ease his temporary desire.

He wanted to fall in love.

Mike leaned back in his chair. As always when he felt lonely, he thought of Leslie and his failed marriage. How different his life would be if Leslie had really loved him and not his family's money. He believed there should be some kind of mark placed on gold diggers the day they were born so a man wouldn't be stupid and fall in love with one.

Mike could honestly say he no longer loved Leslie. That love had quickly died when he'd discovered the truth about her. The failure hurt more than anything. He'd honestly thought he'd found "the one". What fools men could become when they let their hearts rule them.

A glance at the small, framed picture on his desk brought a lump to his throat, just as it did every time he looked at it. Mike picked up the picture and stared at the image of his son. Corey had been three months old when Mike took the picture. Now, he was almost two years old. Mike assumed Corey was walking, saying a few words, and feeding himself. He had no way to know for sure. A month after he'd taken the picture, his divorce became final and Leslie disappeared with their son.

The police had tried, but with no luck. At his father's urging, he had finally hired a private investigator. The P.I. had no success either, nor had the second one Mike hired. Mike refused to give up. He'd hire a new P.I. every week if he had to.

He'd never stop looking for his son.

* * * * *

Mike stopped at the bakery down the street from his office to pick up dessert after lunch. There was a line at the cookie counter, so he was ten minutes late getting back to work. He ran up the two flights of stairs instead of walking up as he usually did and hurried into the reception area. It was empty. Kathy must have taken his new patient back to his office.

He hated to be late.

"Hi," he said to Kathy over the counter that separated the reception area from her office.

One eyebrow arched as if to say, "You're late, doctor", but she said nothing about his tardiness. She handed him a manila file folder. "She's in your office."

"Thanks." Mike quickly scanned the new patient questionnaire. He read the comments she'd written about her headaches, then closed the file and headed down the hall toward his office.

He saw the back of her head when he stepped into his office. Male appreciation stirred inside him at the sight of her hair. Light brown curls fell past her shoulders. He imagined a woman with such lovely hair had to be very attractive.

Mike sat down at his desk before he fully looked at his new patient. His mouth dropped open in shock. "Sandy?"

"Michael?"

He stared at the girl who had been his best friend in high school. No, not girl--woman. Sandy had become a very beautiful woman.

"My God, is it really you?" he asked.

She smiled. "It's really me."

"How did... When did... Oh, hell." Mike rose from his chair and rounded the desk. Taking Sandy's hands, he pulled her from her chair and enveloped her in a tight hug. He held her for a few moments before releasing her. "What are you doing here?"

"My assistant sent me. I had no idea her Doctor Carlson and my buddy Michael Carlson were the same person."

"I didn't even look at the name on the chart. I was late getting back from lunch, so just grabbed the file and came in here." Smiling, he took her hands and held them while his gaze quickly moved over her. "You look fantastic."

"So do you."

Mike hugged her again before he motioned for her to sit back down. He leaned against the desk in front of her. "How long has it been since I've seen you?"

"You took me to a concert on my seventeenth birthday. That was almost thirteen years ago."

"Thirteen years. I can't believe it."

"You were the one who wanted to see the world. I stayed in Portland until..." She stopped, and Mike thought he saw a flash of pain in her eyes before she continued. "I stayed there until I graduated from college."

"When did you move to Seattle?"

"Five years ago, when I went to work for Anderson-King."

Reaching behind him, he picked up Sandy's file and opened it. "You're the personnel director?"

"It's a fancy title for the person who keeps the payroll records."

"For the whole company?"

She nodded.

Mike whistled. "That's quite a job. Anderson-King is the fourth largest insurance company in the States."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because it's my insurance company." He glanced over her patient questionnaire. "Is there a lot of stress in your job?"

"Some. Why?"

"Headaches are often the result of high stress jobs. People get so busy, they don't take the time to do the little things that can help them."

"Does that mean I don't need to be here?"

"Sorry. You can't get away from me that easily." He took a pen out of the holder on his desk and jotted down what Sandy had said about her job. "I'm going to give you an exam and take some X-rays."

"An exam, huh?" She grinned devilishly. "I'll bet you like giving those, don't you?"

Mike scowled at her. "It isn't 'that kind' of exam, Sandra. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Her grin widened. "Sorry. Old habits are hard to break. I always loved teasing you."

"I remember. And you loved doing it at the most inappropriate times...like when I was with a girl."

"Michael, you were always with a girl. You had more girlfriends than any three guys should've had."

He grinned. "High school was fun."

"Was college fun too?"

"Oh, yeah." He straightened and once more tugged her from her chair. "Enough reminiscing. I'll take you to the exam room so you can put on a gown for the X-rays. We'll talk more after that, okay?"

* * * * *

Mike leaned back in his chair and stared out the window. The afternoon had been busy, so this was his first chance to sit and relax. Absently, he reached for a cookie and munched it while thinking about Sandy. He still had a hard time believing she had actually been here today. She looked incredible. The large, shapeless gown patients wore for their exams did nothing to enhance her figure, but the sweater and slacks she had worn showed off her body.

Her gorgeous, voluptuous body.

He and Sandy had been such good friends, yet never had any romantic notions about each other. She'd been like a little sister to him, someone to cut up with and tease. She'd been there to hold his hand when things didn't go right for him.

The first time he'd met Sandy, he'd been dating her best friend. Perhaps that was why they never became involved with each other. After he and... "what's-her-name" broke up, his friendship with Sandy had already been well established. Taking a chance on losing that friendship by becoming involved with her was something he didn't want to risk.

He'd never realized until today how much he'd missed her.

A soft knock on the door made Mike turn his head. Kathy came in and sat in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. "Chris has to work late tonight and I don't want to eat alone. Want to share a pizza?"

Mike smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but I still have some paperwork to do. And I have to mark Sandy's X-rays. She'll be here tomorrow morning."

"I guess you were pretty shocked to see her. She told me you two went to high school together."

"'Shocked' doesn't come close to describing how I felt. She said it's been thirteen years since the last time I saw her. I can't believe it's been that long."

"There was never anything between you two?"

Mike shook his head. "We were best friends. It was great to have a girl I could talk to, one I wasn't always trying to impress. I could just be me with her."

"After hearing about all your conquests in school, it's hard to believe you were ever platonic with any female."

"Well, maybe the conquests were exaggerated..." He held up thumb and forefinger, one inch apart. "...just a little."

She gave him an I-thought-so look before standing. "If you won't have dinner with me, I guess I'll go home and have a sandwich."

Mike playfully scowled at her. "Don't try to make me feel guilty."

"Is it working?"

"No."

"Darn it." Kathy wiggled her fingers at him. "See you tomorrow."

After Kathy left, Mike's thoughts returned to Sandy. Seeing her again had been wonderful, yet it had reminded him of how much time had passed. He was only thirty-one, but had already been through one marriage and divorce. He'd been raised to believe marriage was for life, that every couple had problems they had to work out. He still believed that. Although he'd failed once, he wanted to marry again and give Corey lots of brothers and sisters.

Mike picked up the picture of his son. He would never stop looking for Corey, but the chance of finding him diminished with each passing day.

The phone rang. Mike glanced at it, noting the light on the third line flashed. It was either a wrong number or someone knew to call him on that line after hours. He picked up the receiver. "Doctor Carlson."

"Hello," Carol purred.

Smiling, Mike leaned back in his chair. Carol always sounded absolutely wicked on the phone. "Hi yourself."

"I have a wonderful bottle of red wine ready to open and steaks for the grill. How soon can you be here?"

Mike's smile disappeared. He didn't want to be with Carol tonight. That didn't make sense because it was obvious by her invitation what she had in mind. Normally, the same thing would be on his mind. Being with Carol for a few hours would make him temporarily forget about Corey.

Instead of accepting her invitation, Mike said, "Uh, Carol, I can't."

"Why not?"

Good question, but he had no idea how to answer it. "I'm loaded with work. I'll be in my office for at least a couple of hours. Can I take a rain check?"

"For when?"

"I'll give you a call, okay?"

"Call soon. I'm awfully lonely."

"I will. Bye."

Mike hung up the phone. The mental image of a lonely Carol had his hormones screaming at him to call her back. It's been two weeks since he'd been with her. Turning her down wasn't the smartest thing to do.

His gaze fell to the stack of files on his desk. Sandy's lay on top. Straightening in his chair, he reached for her file and opened it. He'd been so busy, he hadn't taken the time to read over the questionnaire. Passing over her name and address, he looked at her marital status. Single. That surprised him. Sandy had always been popular with the guys. He figured she would've married shortly after high school.

There was a zero in the blank that asked for number of children. That also surprised him. He'd seen Sandy with her nieces and nephews and she was a natural mother. While he doubted if Carol would ever have children since she only wanted to have a good time, Sandy should be a mother.

He had a lot of questions to ask her, but they'd be answered in time. Now that he had his best friend back in his life, he had no intention of letting her go again.

a