Bounty Hunter by Donna Kauffman

door.” She looked up and found his gaze on her again,
     as she’d known it would be. “But thanks for the offer.”
    After they’d found the lamp, he’d let her slip into the familiar routine of stowing
     the groceries without pushing any further for the explanation she’d promised him.
     She hadn’t expected the reprieve. Between her emotional outburst earlier and the riot
     of feelings that had exploded inside her the instant she’d felt his lips brush against
     her cheek, she more than welcomed the chance to regain her bearings.
    Judging from the flat, unreadable expression that had returned to his eyes, his offer
     of help was simply that, not a calculated move to remind her of his earlier offer.
    It did anyway. She tamped down the uneasy feelingthat maybe she shouldn’t be in such a hurry to rely on her instincts again. Especially
     where Kane Hawthorne was concerned.
    Hoping to quell her sudden tangle of nerves, she turned back to packing the box. “However,
     I reserve the right to call for help if I find another snake in the spring house,”
     she said with a light smile. “Spiders and mice I can handle; anything with legs. But
     creatures that can move on the ground that fast without any feet, I don’t trust.”
    “The trick is not to let them see you coming.”
    Elizabeth darted a glance at him. “Yeah, well, you’d know plenty about that,” she
     teased.
    She felt her pulse accelerate when she was rewarded with another of his rare smiles.
     It was no more than a slight upward curve at the corners of his mouth, but it managed
     to push a button. Lord knew how she’d respond if he ever flashed a real one. She’d
     probably spontaneously combust.
    “What’s so funny?”
    She realized with a start that she’d been staring at him, and given the thread of
     her thoughts, she could only wonder what he’d seen on her face. She felt her cheeks
     warm and hoped the soft lighting kept it her secret. “Nothing really. It’s just … well,
     you look so different when you smile. I guess I wondered why you don’t do it more
     often.”
    His smile didn’t disappear, as she’d half expected it to, but from where he stood
     leaning on the counter a few feet away, she saw his jaw tighten anda tiny muscle twitch at the corner of his eye. Another sore subject? Smiling?
    Just as suddenly, the teasing, easy mood they’d shared for the past few minutes vanished.
     Again she looked for salvation in the newly filled box in front of her. Grabbing the
     corners, she lifted it, her motions made stiff by the sudden awkwardness she felt.
     She didn’t hear him leave his post by the counter, but as soon as she’d settled the
     heavy weight in her arms, he relieved her of the burden.
    “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said quietly. “You were just being nice.”
     He stepped back and moved to go around her.
    Without conscious thought, Elizabeth blocked his path. “I wasn’t ‘just being nice,’
     I was being sincere. You’re a handsome man who happens to look pretty sensational
     when you smile. It’s not a crime, you know.”
    All she got was a noncommittal grunt as he pushed past her and walked to the back
     door.
    She didn’t bother hiding her smile. It felt too good. Besides, this time she had no
     doubt. “Why, Kane Hawthorne,” she called after him, “I do believe you’re blushing.”
    The slap of the screen door was his only response. It wasn’t until she turned and
     went about storing the other empty boxes, that it occurred to her he hadn’t said whether
     he was coming back. Even though it was dark, it really wasn’t very late. And it wasn’t
     as if either of them had to be up at dawn. Somehow she doubted he was going to lether have the entire night to change her mind about telling him her story.
    A frown crossed her face. Why was he so insistent on helping her? Was he really the
     honorable guy his references claimed he was? What else could he be? she asked silently.