First Impressions by Nora Roberts Page A

that the reflection grinned back with quick good humor. Hardly, Shane decided, but she wouldn’t want a man who looked only for a perfect face. No, she hadn’t the face or figure to lure a man into love had she wanted to. She had only herself and the love in her heart.
    Shane flashed the mirror a smile before she turned away to prepare for bed. She’d always thought love the ultimate adventure.

Chapter 6
    Weak sunlight filtered through the bad-tempered clouds. The creek was swollen from the rainfall so that it ran its course noisily, hissing and complaining as it rounded the bend at the side of Shane’s house. Shane was doing some complaining of her own.
    The day before, she had moved her car out of the narrow driveway so that the delivery truck could have easy access to the back porch. Not wanting to ruin the grass, she had parked in the small square of dirt her grandmother had used as a vegetable garden. Once the car had been moved, Shane had become involved with the unloading of lumber and had promptly forgotten it. Now, it was sunk deep in mud, firmly resisting all efforts to get it out.
    She pressed the gas lightly, tried forward, then reverse. She gunned the engine and swore. Slamming out of the driver’s side, Shane sloshed ankle-deep in mire as she stomped back to the rear tire. She gave it an accusing stare, then kicked it.
    â€œThat’s not going to help,” Vance commented. He had been watching her for the last few minutes, torn somewhere between amusement and exasperation. And pleasure. There was a simple pleasure in just seeing her. He’d stopped counting the times over the last few days that he’d thought of her.
    Out of patience, Shane turned to him, hands on hips. Her predicament was annoying enough without the added benefit of an audience. “You might have let me know you were there.”
    â€œYou were . . . involved,” he said, glancing pointedly at her mired car.
    She sent him a cool look. “You’ve got a better idea, I suppose.”
    â€œA few,” he agreed, moving across the lawn to join her. Her eyes snapped with temper while her mouth pouted. Her boots were caked with mud past the ankle. Her jeans, rolled up to the calf, had fared little better. She looked ready to boil over at the first wrong word. A cautious man would have said nothing.
    â€œWho the hell parked it in this mud hole?” Vance demanded.
    â€œ
I
parked it in this mud hole.” Shane gave the tire another fierce kick. “And it wasn’t a mud hole when I did.”
    He lifted a brow. “I suppose you noticed it rained all night.”
    â€œOh, get out of my way.” Incensed, Shane pushed him aside and stomped back to the driver’s seat. She turned on the ignition, shoved the shift into first, then stepped heavily on the gas. Mud flew like rain. The car groaned and sank deeper.
    For a moment, Shane could only pound on the steering wheel in enraged impotence. She would have dearly loved to tell Vance that she didn’t require any assistance. There was nothing more infuriating than an amused, superior male . . . especially when you needed one. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she climbed back out of the car to meet Vance’s grin with icy composure. “What’s the first of your few ideas?” she asked coolly.
    â€œGot a couple of planks?”
    Even more annoyed that she hadn’t thought of it herself, Shane went to the shed and found two long, thin boards. Without fuss or conversation, Vance took them and secured them just under the front wheels, Shane folded her arms and tapped one muddy boot as she watched him.
    â€œI’d have thought of that in a minute,” she muttered.
    â€œMaybe.” Vance stood again to walk to the rear of the car. “But you wouldn’t get anywhere the way your back wheels are stuck.”
    Shane waited for him to make some comment on feminine stupidity. Then she would