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attention to the new buildings along the roadside. It’s a matter of willpower, she told herself. If she didn’t think about the pain, it wouldn’t be there.
    Gone were the big two-story houses that used to line the street across from the railroad. They’d been replaced by a bank, a new fire station, and an automobile dealership. She realized with a pang of regret that old Pretty Springs was no more.
    The old Allison Josey is no more either, she thought. But the changes in the town were progressiveand counted for something. Allison was still in transition, and she had no idea how she would revitalize her life.
    Joker turned the motorcycle abruptly at the sign that said PRETTY SPRINGS NURSING AND RETIREMENT HOME . He cut down a gravel service road, circled to the back of the stately structure with the huge wraparound veranda, and brought the cycle to a stop under a magnolia tree. Allison realized gratefully that he’d respected her wishes not to be seen.
    Joker removed his helmet and Allison’s.
    “Now you behave yourself, Beauty,” Joker cautioned. “Or I’ll check you in and let you share a room with your grandmother.”
    “I wish you hadn’t done this, Joker. I don’t want to worry Gran.”
    “She knows that you’ll come sometime, and she’s missed you—very much. Now you put a smile on that face, and let her see that you’re doing fine.” Joker lifted Allison’s chin and planted a quick kiss on her lips. “Okay?”
    “Oh, all right.” He was doing it again, convincing her with his touch to follow the direction he’d already determined for her. And she was agreeing without a fuss. “But how do you plan to explain why I can’t walk?”
    “I’ll handle that if you’ll promise me something. Don’t get shook, no matter what you see. And you’re right,” he cautioned, “we don’t want to let her know how bad your leg is. She thinks we’re just sneaking you in so that you won’t be mobbed by your fans.”
    Joker lifted her once more and stepped across a low rock wall into a private patio shielded from the world by a hedge on one side and a canvas awningon the other. He opened the sliding glass door, walked inside, and deposited Allison at the foot of a hospital bed covered with a plush satin comforter.
    “Morning, Miss Lenice, here’s our girl.”
    Lenice Josey opened her eyes, a bright smile spread halfway across a mouth drawn into a downward grimace at one corner. With one hand she pulled Allison to her and hugged her. “Good boy,” she said slowly, trying to erase the hesitation from her speech. “Joker said you … here. Your leg?”
    Allison could only nod as her face paled at the sight of her grandmother. She’d received the call about her grandmother’s fall just before the operation on her knee. Afterward she hadn’t been able to do more than keep in touch with Gran’s doctor by phone. Obviously Gran hadn’t wanted to worry her, so she hadn’t let him tell Allison the whole truth. Now she knew; the drooping mouth and the slurred speech indicated the fall hadn’t been just a fall—she’d had a stroke.
    “It’s fine. How are you, Gran?” Allison hugged the thin woman, pulled back, and looked at her grandmother as she continued to hold her hand. Lenice Josey had suddenly grown old, and Allison hadn’t noticed the change until now. To Allison, Gran would always be beautiful. Though Allison realized the staff was taking good care of her, her illness showed in her face. But she was still Gran. Her hair was styled, and the soft pink robe she was wearing complimented her carefully manicured pale pink fingernails.
    “Good … better … you?”
    “Much better now that I’m home. But I miss having you there. When are they going to release you?”
    A frown creased one side of Mrs. Josey’s face.
    “It better be soon,” Joker interrupted, his hearty voice teasing the elderly woman as he moved up beside her bed. “I’m going to have to sit outside this door with a big