The Newcomer. Margot Dalton

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СКАЧАТЬ sight of them was confusing to Doug, rendering him temporarily speechless. Every time he’d seen the mysterious young woman she’d been alone. Somehow he’d never associated her with a man. He felt a sharp pang which he realized was disappointment.

      But of course, that was ridiculous…

      “They want a two-bedroom suite for an extended period of time.” Rose turned to her brother with obvious relief. “But they need all kinds of telephone outlets, too. I told them we only have the…”

      Doug placed Robin carefully on one of the sofas by the old rock fireplace, then turned to face the group at the desk.

      “We can give them the gold rooms on the second floor,” he said to Rose.

      Rose smiled and handed him a key.

      “It’s not exactly a suite,” Doug told the guests, “but the two adjoining bedrooms have doors that lead to a common sitting room.”

      “Sounds perfect.” The young man gave Rose an engaging smile. “Don’t worry, ma’am, adjoining rooms will suit us just fine.”

      Rose’s shy, delicate face turned an even deeper shade of pink. “This is my brother,” she said, her Scottish burr very pronounced. “He’s Douglas Evans, the proprietor of the hotel. Dougie, this is Margaret and Terence Embree, from Los Angeles.”

      “Terry,” the young man said, coming forward to shake Doug’s hand. “Nobody ever calls me Terence.”

      Doug pocketed the key and shook the man’s hand, liking the firm grasp, then turned to greet the woman who approached.

      In spite of himself, she took his breath away. Up close she seemed even lovelier than all those times he’d seen her behind the wheel of her car.

      She was tall and graceful, wearing leather boots and a long woolen skirt and matching jacket in pale taupe. Her face was finely sculpted, with high cheekbones and big dark eyes. A golden drift of freckles across the bridge of her nose added a touch of boyishness, an appealing contrast that seemed to heighten rather than diminish her elegance.

      Her hair was long and dark, carelessly swept up and held at the back of her head by a big tortoiseshell clip. Doug studied the clip when she turned to glance at the sleeping child on the couch.

      So tempting, he thought. A man would only have to reach out and unfasten that clip, and her hair would tumble down onto her shoulders in a rich, glistening mass…

      He drew himself up with a guilty start.

      What thoughts to be having about a woman whose husband was standing not ten feet away, he chided himself.

      “Mr. Evans,” she said. Her voice was like honey warmed in the sun, sweet and husky. “I’m glad to meet you. Terry and I are planning to stay for quite some time in your hotel. We’ll need to make immediate arrangements to get a computer modem and fax machine installed in our room.”

      She extended her hand and Doug took it, his whole body thrilling at the touch.

      What was there about a woman that could make her very skin seem electric? Her hand was firm and slender, and he could have held it forever.

      “A fax machine?” he repeated, still a little dazed. “Computer modems? That’s going to require some thought, Ms. Embree. Our rooms don’t even have phones.”

      Her eyes weren’t as dark as he’d first thought, but heavily shaded by dense eyelashes. Her irises were exactly the color of those sunny backwaters in the Claro River where the water ran brown and cool over mossy stones. They gleamed with intelligence, and Doug could happily have drowned in them.

      “Call me Maggie,” she said, then smiled down at Moira who stood watching her with awestruck solemnity.

      As he shook Margaret Embree’s hand and gazed into that lovely face, Douglas Evans wondered if maybe the little girls were right after all.

      Maybe this woman was magic.

      CHAPTER TWO

      MAGGIE DISENGAGED her hand from the big man’s grasp and stepped back to examine him.

      Definitely a fine specimen, she decided. Tall and broad-shouldered, with an appealing rough-hewn look and a dancing light of humor in his green eyes. His hair was very black and crisp, with a lock that fell over one eyebrow in engaging fashion.

      And she loved the gentle way he’d placed the sleeping child onto that couch, then covered her so tenderly.

      The soft rich brogue of his speech was also attractive, although the incongruity of his accent, here in the heart of Texas, puzzled her a little.

      Maggie tried to remember what she’d recorded in her notes about Douglas Evans. To the best of her recollection he was actually the mayor, though that title probably held little significance in a place like Crystal Creek.

      And he also…

      “Welcome to our town, Maggie Embree,” he said softly, looking into her eyes.

      Ridiculous as it was, she felt her knees turning weak. A little thrill shivered all through her body, warm and moist.

      The same thing had happened when he’d taken her hand.

      Maggie gave him a smile that she hoped was cool and remote, then turned away to pick up a couple of pieces of luggage. Terry shouldered some duffel bags and the tall innkeeper took the rest, except for one he offered to the solemn golden-haired child at his side who seemed anxious to help.

      Obviously sensing something going on, the tabby cat leaped down from the back of the couch. She yawned and stretched, rump in the air, forelegs extended, then joined the group.

      They trudged up the wide staircase, and followed the big Scotsman and his cat down the hall. “You’re very lucky,” the proprietor said over his shoulder. “We’ve just finished some renovating, and this is our slowest time so you’re the only guests at the moment. You’ll find it very quiet. Although,” he added, “the pub still does a lively business.” He paused by a polished wooden door with a high transom, took out an old-fashioned skeleton key to unlock the door and led them into a charming room furnished with floral couches, matching drapes and a television set concealed in a mahogany armoire.

      “There are bedrooms on either side, each with its own bath,” the man said to Terry, gesturing toward a pair of doors. “But if you and your wife should prefer to—”

      “My wife!” Terry laughed, a warm, infectious sound in the quiet room. Even the little girl smiled. “Maggie and I are brother and sister, Mr. Evans.”

      “Are you now?” The tall man glanced at Maggie, and she caught a surprising flare of light in his green eyes that made her tingle again.

      All these wayward reactions were beginning to upset her.

      Maggie turned away nervously and tried one of the doors, which opened into a bedroom with a wooden four-poster bed and a deep padded seat at a window enshrouded in clouds of airy white muslin. Hooked rugs covered the shining hardwood floor.

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