Read Online Best Man for Hire (Entangled Lovestruck) (Front and Center) by Tawna Fenske - Free Book Online Page A

of rescue net.”
    “For you or for Rumpymuffle?”
    “For the cat.” Grant gave her a feeble grin. “If I fall, I’m pretty much on my own.”
    She bit her lip. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
    “No, but do you have a better one? The sun will be going down in a matter of minutes.”
    And I won’t be, Grant thought, trying not imagine himself with his face buried between Anna’s thighs.
    She frowned, then shook her head. “I already tried the fire department. Apparently they’re busy dealing with an actual fire.”
    “Okay then,” Grant said, looking up the three. “Commence operation cat rescue in three, two, one—”
    “Nice helmet,” she said. “It goes great with your shoes.”
    “Thanks,” he said, moving barefoot across the grass toward the massive palm. He pulled the carabineer out of his pocket and knotted the cinch string from the duck-printed laundry bag around it. Pulling it tight, he hooked the carabineer through his belt and clipped it shut.
    “Wait,” Mrs. Stein said, wriggling out of her pink chambray work shirt. You’ll scratch your arms if you don’t have long sleeves. Try this.”
    “I don’t think—”
    “Please,” she insisted, thrusting the shirt at him. “It’s the least I can do. Please hurry.”
    Seeing no point in arguing, Grant shrugged into the shirt. There was no way it would button around him, but he didn’t need it to. He just needed protection for his arms. The oversized fit of it, coupled with the fact that Mrs. Stein probably outweighed him by forty pounds, meant the garment actually fit his shoulders pretty well.
    “That’s definitely your color,” Anna said, managing a weak smile. “Between the gold gloves, the bare feet, and the helmet that looks like you stole it from a museum, you’ve got a head start on your next Halloween costume.”
    Grant offered her a mock salute and turned back to the tree. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to pose for the next issue of Cat Rescuer magazine.”
    He stood at the bottom of the tree and stared up, trying to remember what he’d learned in jungle training. No one was shooting at him, which was a plus, but doing this without any sort of climbing gear was probably not much safer.
    “Are you sure about this?” Anna asked.
    He turned to look at her, surprised by the look of concern in her eyes. Mrs. Stein sniffled and wiped a tear from her cheek.
    “Yep,” Grant said, and pulled on his gloves.
    He turned back to the tree, eyeing the tree scars ringing the thick trunk. He reached around the tree and placed one palm behind it. He moved the other hand around the front of the tree at chest level, hugging the tree as tightly as its girth allowed.
    He flexed his legs on either side and coiled himself to jump. He leaped up, the soles of his feet landing on either side of the trunk. He anchored his feet against the bark, his palms pressing tight from opposite directions, his feet doing the same from below.
    Coiling his muscles, he sprang up with his legs, using them to push himself up the trunk frog-style. He squeezed the tree between his feet, extending his upper body up to find the next handhold. The tree bark bit into his palms, and he was grateful for the gloves as he clenched the tree between them. Hell, he was grateful for the stupid pink shirt, come to think of it.
    Keeping his upper body affixed to the trunk, he used his legs to frog-hop upward again. He glanced beneath him, expecting to see more distance between himself and the ground. Six feet below, Anna gave him a timid little wave. Hell, she could probably jump up and grab his foot if she wanted to.
    Don’t think about Anna grabbing any part of your body right now , he commanded himself. Focus.
    Grant turned his attention back to the tree trunk and leaped again, moving his hands upward. His legs followed, feet crawling slowly up the tree. The bark was biting into his knees, but he had a good grip. He hugged the tree tighter and moved up two more