Special Ops Bodyguard. Beth Cornelison

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ A chill raced down Kate’s spine. Though she knew the truth about Janet’s marriage, hearing the harsh but honest term applied to her sister was unsettling.

      “Has she called the police on him?” Gage asked.

      Kate hesitated. Did she want to get into this with a man she just met? “Uh, yeah. She has. So have I. For all the good it does.” She gnawed her bottom lip and sighed. “Larry went to school with the guys on the force. They’re his buddies. They don’t do anything about him.”

      Gage’s dark eyebrows drew together, and his light blue eyes turned stormy. His muttered curse rumbled like approaching thunder. Kate’s hands stilled on the countertop, and she tipped her head, studying him. “Why do you ask?”

      His chin jerked up a notch. “Someone should do something about him. He can’t be allowed to hurt her, or you, and get away with it.”

      “I’m trying to help her. I moved out here from Ohio about a year ago to be with her. She’s the only family I have, and I can’t let her—” She dropped her gaze to her hands when her voice cracked.

      An awkward silence passed, filled only by the clatter of dishes from the kitchen where Pete was preparing for the next morning’s breakfast.

      “Janet is lucky to have you.” The words were spoken so softly, she could almost believe she’d imagined them.

      Lifting her head, she met a penetrating stare that seemed more caring now than icy. His pale blue irises were flecked with navy, which warmed his eyes and softened the hard edge he projected.

      Or maybe she was just seeing what she wanted to see. Was she so desperate for a man that she’d conjured tenderness and warmth in a stranger who’d yet to crack a smile for her?

      Sucking in a deep breath, she rallied herself. “I believe I promised you a piece of my apple pie.”

      Glad for the distraction, Kate took the pie down from the pastry stand and cut Gage a thick slice. “My best friend in Ohio was the Amish girl who lived next door to us. I learned to bake from her mother. I spent hours with them every day. Spent more time at their farm than at my own house, in fact. Anyway, Emma’s mother taught me to cook and people around here seem to think my desserts are pretty good. But judge for yourself.”

      She slid the pie in front of him and handed him a clean fork.

      Gage cut a bite, shoveled it into his mouth and chewed slowly. Kate held her breath, as if his verdict had the power to end or salvage her baking career.

      His eyebrows lifted, and he nodded, licking flakes of crust from his lips.

      Kate’s gaze zeroed in on the quick sweep of his tongue, and a fuzzy warmth swam through her, settling low in her womb. Dear heavens, why did such a simple thing seem … erotic to her?

      Another flood of heat stung her cheeks. She wasn’t used to a man having this sort of effect on her.

      After he swallowed, Gage turned the fork in his fingers idly.

      “Well?” She canted toward him, all too eager for his assessment.

      His stony expression shifted, his lips twisting wryly, and a sultry heat lighting his eyes. “Only thing I’ve ever had any better was sex.”

      “Oh. I—” The heat in her cheeks shot straight to the roots of her hair. Her hand fluttered to her mouth, and she covered a stunned laugh. “I, uh … thanks. I’ve never … had my baking compared to sex before.”

      His cheek twitched, and she’d have sworn she heard a chuckle rumble from his chest.

      “Well, I’m finished back here,” Pete called to her as he shuffled out of the kitchen. “You’ll lock up when you leave?”

      Gage sent her a puzzled frown. “You’re closing?” He flipped his wrist to check the large watch on his wide wrist. “It’s only eight o’clock.”

      “This is a ranching town, Mr. Prescott. Most ranchers and their families have eaten dinner and headed to bed by now. Mornings come early in a ranch town, which means we’re open at 4:00 a.m. to serve breakfast.”

      He lowered his brow and pressed his mouth in a firm line as if digesting this information.

      “Well, then I should let you finish your work.” He shoveled another couple of bites of pie in his mouth and gave her a nod as he rose from his stool.

      “Don’t rush off on my account. You can finish your pie, at least, then … maybe walk me to my car?”

      He reached in his wallet and pulled out a couple of bills. “I’d be glad to walk you to your car, but … I wouldn’t have thought a woman had to worry about being accosted in a small town like this.”

      Kate took off her apron and stashed it behind the counter. The infernal heat of her blush prickled her scalp again, as she gave him a bashful grin. “Well, yes … the town is quite safe, usually.”

      He tipped his head and arched an eyebrow. “Then … are you flirting with me, Miss Rogers?”

      Her heart beat triple-time under his narrow-eyed scrutiny. “Well, if you have to ask, I’m obviously not doing it right.”

      He slid his check and payment across the counter to her. His expression lightened, and a small dimple appeared in his cheek. “On the contrary, I like your style.”

      Even that hint of a smile sent her pulse racing. And his dimple … dear Lord, that dimple softened the hard edge to him and made her weak in the knees.

      Easy, girl. The man is only passing through town. Kate gathered her purse and pulled out her keys to lock up the diner, warning herself not to get any crazy ideas about Gage Prescott, security specialist. She might not know much about men, but she knew enough to be certain Gage was not the sort to settle down in a small town in the middle of Nowhere, Montana.

      When Senator Kelley left town, so would his hunky bodyguard.

      As Gage drove back through the front gate of the Bar Lazy K, he found his mind drifting to Kate’s sunny smile and her endearing tendency to blush at the slightest provocation. He gave his head a firm shake and redirected his thoughts to his client and the reasons he’d been hired.

      He drove past the sprawling main house and pulled the truck up to the ranch hands’ bunkhouse. In light of Kate’s comment about ranchers heading to bed early, Gage found the amount of activity on the ranch intriguing. A large number of men still milled about outside the bunkhouse, including several men working near the stables. Gage knew almost nothing about ranching, but even to him this amount of activity after dark seemed unusual.

      As he climbed out of the truck, the ranch manager, an older Native American man named Rusty Moore, approached him with a smile, three large dogs circling his legs, barking. “Easy, Ace. He’s a friend. Evening, Mr. Prescott. A successful trip?”

      Gage tossed the keys back to Rusty. “Somewhat. Thanks again for the use of the truck.”

      “I’d say anytime, but the truth is this truck and most of the other vehicles will be tied up for the next several days. We leave early in the morning.” Rusty reached down to give one of the dogs a good scratch behind the СКАЧАТЬ