barbecue, Tom overseeing the activities, and King and his crew doing the physical labor, she could go back to her trailer and … and do what? She wasn’t quite sure. She’d never had the luxury of free time before.
She’d almost reached the van when she felt two strong arms circle her waist from behind and lift her easily from the ground.
“Now, darlin’, you just hang on there a minute. I’m wearing all my clothes. I’ve brought my entire crew over here to help out on your little project, and I’ve put Harold in charge of the cooking. I’ve done everything I could think of to please you, and you’re not leaving here with that burr under your saddle. What’s wrong?”
“Put me down, King Vandergriff. Everyone is watching.”
“Not until we talk. Let them watch. Now, either you come with me or I’ll carry you off with the approval of everybody here. You’ve never been shy before. Do you need a television camera on you before you’ll discuss a problem?”
“That’s cruel—and it isn’t true.”
He kept on walking, holding her feet off the ground.
“All right, King, put me down. We’ll talk.”
He lowered her to the ground, reluctantly sliding his hands away from her waist. She smelled like flowers. Her hair was tousled by the wind. The usual T-shirt she was wearing was spotted on the back with perspiration. He didn’t want to let her go. Sowhat was new about that? Every time he saw her it was harder to keep from touching her.
She turned to face him, smiled at the curious onlookers, and took his arm in hers, as if he were simply walking her to the van. “But,” she said, her lips curved in a false smile, “if you really wanted to talk to me, why have you avoided me for the past three days?”
“Oh, you don’t like being ignored?”
For the benefit of those watching, she widened her smile until her face hurt. She wiped a bead of perspiration that had rimmed her cheek and was about to run down her neck. “Leave me alone, cowboy.”
“Why, darlin’.” He returned her forced smile with one of amusement and tipped his hat to Esther Hainey, who was driving by in the Humane Society station wagon. As they reached the van he deftly dropped Kaylyn’s arm and leaned one hand against the door on the driver’s side, effectively preventing her from getting inside. “I believe you missed me.”
“Not a chance, buster. If you really wanted to talk, why wait until now? Does it take a public display of adoration to reach you?”
“The last I noticed, it was the same number of steps from my trailer to your tent as it was from your tent to my trailer. And so far you haven’t impressed me with your shyness. What’s your excuse?”
“It wasn’t shyness,” she said, moving away from him, “it was shock. You as much as made me a proposition that if I’d sleep with you, you’d let me keep the springs.”
Resting his other hand on the van, he imprisoned her inside his arms. His smile narrowed into astraight line of displeasure. “Not sleep with me, Kaylyn. You and I will sleep together one day. But sleeping isn’t what we were talking about. Correct me if I’m wrong, but what we were discussing was your trading the use of your body for those springs, wasn’t it?”
One by one the sounds of construction behind them came to a stop. Kaylyn refused to look. She knew that every man and woman in the park was watching. Her pulse was racing, and her lungs felt as if she’d already taken in the last breath of oxygen in the atmosphere. And King? He stood over her, daring her to argue. He wasn’t touching her, yet her body felt every part of him as though it were pressed against him.
“Does this mean,” he asked, “that you’re more important to yourself than those springs are to your patients?”
King groaned silently at his own words. He knew better than that. Why was he doing this? He had expected her to be pleased with what he was doing. Dammit, what had gone wrong? He’d made all
She’d almost reached the van when she felt two strong arms circle her waist from behind and lift her easily from the ground.
“Now, darlin’, you just hang on there a minute. I’m wearing all my clothes. I’ve brought my entire crew over here to help out on your little project, and I’ve put Harold in charge of the cooking. I’ve done everything I could think of to please you, and you’re not leaving here with that burr under your saddle. What’s wrong?”
“Put me down, King Vandergriff. Everyone is watching.”
“Not until we talk. Let them watch. Now, either you come with me or I’ll carry you off with the approval of everybody here. You’ve never been shy before. Do you need a television camera on you before you’ll discuss a problem?”
“That’s cruel—and it isn’t true.”
He kept on walking, holding her feet off the ground.
“All right, King, put me down. We’ll talk.”
He lowered her to the ground, reluctantly sliding his hands away from her waist. She smelled like flowers. Her hair was tousled by the wind. The usual T-shirt she was wearing was spotted on the back with perspiration. He didn’t want to let her go. Sowhat was new about that? Every time he saw her it was harder to keep from touching her.
She turned to face him, smiled at the curious onlookers, and took his arm in hers, as if he were simply walking her to the van. “But,” she said, her lips curved in a false smile, “if you really wanted to talk to me, why have you avoided me for the past three days?”
“Oh, you don’t like being ignored?”
For the benefit of those watching, she widened her smile until her face hurt. She wiped a bead of perspiration that had rimmed her cheek and was about to run down her neck. “Leave me alone, cowboy.”
“Why, darlin’.” He returned her forced smile with one of amusement and tipped his hat to Esther Hainey, who was driving by in the Humane Society station wagon. As they reached the van he deftly dropped Kaylyn’s arm and leaned one hand against the door on the driver’s side, effectively preventing her from getting inside. “I believe you missed me.”
“Not a chance, buster. If you really wanted to talk, why wait until now? Does it take a public display of adoration to reach you?”
“The last I noticed, it was the same number of steps from my trailer to your tent as it was from your tent to my trailer. And so far you haven’t impressed me with your shyness. What’s your excuse?”
“It wasn’t shyness,” she said, moving away from him, “it was shock. You as much as made me a proposition that if I’d sleep with you, you’d let me keep the springs.”
Resting his other hand on the van, he imprisoned her inside his arms. His smile narrowed into astraight line of displeasure. “Not sleep with me, Kaylyn. You and I will sleep together one day. But sleeping isn’t what we were talking about. Correct me if I’m wrong, but what we were discussing was your trading the use of your body for those springs, wasn’t it?”
One by one the sounds of construction behind them came to a stop. Kaylyn refused to look. She knew that every man and woman in the park was watching. Her pulse was racing, and her lungs felt as if she’d already taken in the last breath of oxygen in the atmosphere. And King? He stood over her, daring her to argue. He wasn’t touching her, yet her body felt every part of him as though it were pressed against him.
“Does this mean,” he asked, “that you’re more important to yourself than those springs are to your patients?”
King groaned silently at his own words. He knew better than that. Why was he doing this? He had expected her to be pleased with what he was doing. Dammit, what had gone wrong? He’d made all
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