Read Online Can't Stand the Heat? by Margaret Watson - Free Book Online Page A

for her restaurant.
    Her maybe-not-that-far-in-the-future restaurant.
    She’d been putting every extra penny in her savings account, but it wasn’t accumulating very quickly. If she waited until she could get a traditional loan from the bank, she’d be gray and arthritic. Too old to stand at a stove for hours.
    No. There was a way to make this happen. Pat Larson at the bank had promised to work with her. Nick was already looking for used equipment online. She was going to talk to Frank Jones about renting his store.
    Whatever happened, she was done worrying about seeing Walker at the Harp every night. Knowing him, he’d seek her out. Touch her and make it seem like an accident. Press her for a decision.
    She’d stay as far away from him as possible.
    Under no circumstances would she kiss him again.
    It had been three days, and her heart still quickened when she thought about his body pressed against hers. Desire pooled low in her abdomen when she remembered their kiss.
    No, there would be no more kisses under the trees in the moonlight.
    Gathering up the papers spread out on the kitchen table, she shoved them in the folder and replaced them in the file cabinet in the dining room.
    Sooner or later, she realized with a roll of her stomach, she’d have to let him talk to Nick. Get to know him. There wasn’t any alternative, not with his threat to ask Tony for permission to do the DNA testing. That was out of the question; if she gave in, Nick and Tony would eventually find out, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
    Walker was a formidable opponent. He hadn’t built a company like GeekBoy by being a soft touch in negotiations.
    But she had an ace up her sleeve, too. What did he know about teens? He’d be too eager, press too hard, and Nick would back away himself. Her moody son didn’t let anyone get too close.
    She wouldn’t bring it up, but if Walker asked again, she’d tell him he could talk to Nick. Under her watchful eye. She wasn’t about to leave them alone. Who knew what Walker would say to him?
    She might have to give in to his demands, but she would do it her way. Her rules. Not Walker’s.

    R ESTLESS AND UNUSED TO inactivity, Walker rode his bike down Main Street, headed for the mostly deserted county roads around Otter Tail. He’d have to go back to Chicago for a few days and take care of some business, but until then, he needed to burn off excess energy. Take out his frustrations on the pavement. He bent over the handlebars.
    It had been stupid to kiss Jen. There were ten other ways he could have distracted her. Her taste had lingered in his mouth, and her touch feathered across his skin in his dreams.
    The wind stung his cheeks like a slap in the face. Exactly what he needed to get his head on straight. He’d talked to one of Mary Haney’s neighbors and found out she spent the winter in Florida. According to her friend, she usually came back to Otter Tail in May.
    He couldn’t wait that long. He’d asked his assistant in Chicago to find a phone number for her, and as soon as he had it, he’d give Mary a call and find out what she’d done with the contents of his father’s house.
    He was making progress. He’d have that picture soon.
    As long as Mary hadn’t thrown it away, like he’d ordered her to do.
    Stupid to let his anger at his father cloud his judgment like that.
    He was almost out of town when he spotted Nick and two other kids on Main Street. They stood in front of the same sports memorabilia store where he’d seen Jen and her younger son. Nick was talking, and the other two were listening intently.
    He wouldn’t have a better excuse to talk to the boy. Nick knew Walker had spotted him last night. It would be natural to ask him about it.
    Squeezing his brakes, he rolled to a stop behind the trio. “Hey, Nick.”
    The boy looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened. “Uh, hi, Mr. Barnes.” He said something under his breath to the boy and girl, and they took off. Were