Can't Fight This Feeling by Christie Ridgway Page A

struggled in his hold and moved back. This time, he let her.
    “Color’s better,” he commented, studying her.
    “Well.” She pulled the strap of her purse higher on her shoulder. “Thanks for the, um, aid.” Not knowing where to look, she addressed the tips of her boots. “I’ll be on my way now.”
    Mac spoke up, a note of caution in her voice. “Brett.”
    “Don’t worry, I’m not letting her go anywhere.” Then, without warning, he scooped Angelica up in his arms. He strode toward the swinging door in the counter, ignoring her spluttering protest. “You’ve got eats somewhere around here, right?”
    The Walkers were efficient and deaf. Angelica knew this, because they didn’t listen to her during the few minutes it took for them to ensconce her at Mac’s desk and present her a selection of foods. Soon a bowl of steaming oatmeal was in front of her, along with a sliced apple, a handful of nuts and a fresh mug of hot coffee.
    When they all stared at her with similar unyielding expressions, she could do nothing but pick up the spoon and begin to eat. Once it scraped the bottom of the dish, Mac gave a nod. “Color’s even better now,” she said.
    “I’m sorry to cause such trouble,” Angelica began, misery returning as her hunger was abating.
    “Nonsense,” the brunette said briskly. “My newest employee has to have enough sustenance to do a full day’s work.”
    Angelica glanced at her, startled.
    Mac held out her hand. “Welcome aboard.”
    Under the light from Poppy’s delighted smile and aware there was a matching gleam in Shay’s eyes, Angelica returned the gesture. “Are you sure?”
    “She’s sure,” Brett answered for his sister, his voice brusque. Then he squatted down so that his gaze met hers. The gray was icy now. “What the
hell
did you think you were doing sleeping in your car?”
    Poppy made a noise. “Brett, now’s not the time.”
    “It sure as shit is the time,” he said, not even sending his little sister a glance. “Now, answer.”
    Angelica squirmed on the seat, she couldn’t help herself. “The Bluebird closed for the season. I couldn’t find another place.” She couldn’t afford another place.
    He frowned. “For God’s sake. You were living at that dump?”
    “It was perfectly fine,” she protested, finding some spirit. Straightening in the chair, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Marv and Alice are wonderful hosts.”
    Brett rubbed his hand over the top of his head. “How about your car? Has that been pleasant?”
    “Well, no. I admit I was a little afraid of the Insane Knife-Wielding Killer Clown.”
    “The what?” His lips twitched.
    She waved her hand. “Just a little someone conjured by my overactive imagination.”
    He shook his head. “You should have come to me.”
    “No, Brett,” she said.
    “Well, it’s ‘yes, Brett’ now,” he answered, rising so that he loomed over her. “We’ll find you some decent digs.”
    “I can’t afford—”
    “The cabins,” Poppy put in. “Wouldn’t that be perfect? She could stay in the one next door to you, Brett. You’ll be close enough to keep her safe from the Insane Knife-Wielding Killer Clown.”
    “Wait,” Angelica said. “What? No.”
    “We already decided it’s all yeses from you from now on,” the annoying man said, his tone implacable.
    “I don’t know...” she said, looking around at the faces of the gathered Walkers. There was amusement and something else on the female ones...speculation? They were all staring at their big brother.
    “It’s free,” Shay added. “Think of that.”
    “No, I couldn’t,” Angelica protested. “I really couldn’t.”
    “Yes, you could and you will,” Brett said, in a tone that declared the matter was closed. “We’ll figure out some way for you to work off your rent.”
    At the suggestion, she went hot all over. He hadn’t meant it to come out the way it sounded, she told herself. It was her active imagination working