Read Online Hide and Seek by Charlene Newberg - Free Book Online Page B

punishing jolt from a live wire.
    His heart slammed as he gathered the slipping reins of his control. "I was in here earlier, looking for a blue shirt, and my jeans."
    "They were on the floor. Now they're in the closet." She smiled. "Are you picking, LeBerger?"
    "No, but I'm not used to finding everything so precise and…disinfected." When she didn’t comment, he continued. “Oh, and about my bed…I prefer it left unmade, mussed like a woman's hair after making..."
    "Enough!"
    He grinned, satisfied to have breached her armor and watch color infuse her cheeks. Heaven knew he’d eat his best Stetson to know what she was thinking. How he wanted to further break through her stiff reserve, to discover her touch and prove he wouldn't misuse his strength. Yet, to get stupid over a woman again would be like feeding his heart to a meat-grinder. Women always left him, and he had received a lifetime of rejection.
    Later, he lay peering up into the darkness. Like a maddening chigger, Caprice O'Brien had crawled under his skin and irritated him to no end. He inhaled, sliding his hands under his head. It was a damned good thing he could rationally and sensibly list her numerous faults. In particular, her West Virginia drawl was as strong as her coffee was weak. Her jade eyes were too large, her thick, auburn hair much too…too shiny, and her thoroughbred legs, too long. Never had he seen so many freckles on one infuriating woman, and worst of all...she knew more about fly fishing than he did.
    Forcing away torturous images of soft, round breasts, he closed his eyes.
    Double, double, toil and trouble…
    To his way of thinking, Esmeralda, Gemma, and Caprice were three bothersome females who had joined forces to stir up a huge cauldron of trouble.
    Before eight the following morning, Holt joined his father inside the house while Caprice and Shawn slept. Jack set a mug filled with steaming coffee onto the kitchen table. He took a chair, and Holt leaned against the counter.
    Jack gestured to the mug in Holt’s hands. “Your morning brew was made with bottled water. By the way, I went out once during the night to put more gas in the generator," Jack said. "Paid her some attention and she continued to purr."
    "Dad, the insurance companies will be scrambling for several weeks. It may be sometime before an agent can inspect the house. Board up and come home with me. I could always use another hand."
    “Another hand? I was never cut out to unload a breech calf from the hanger of a bovine." His father shook a finger at him and laughed. "Show me a flight simulator for that."
    "There’s plenty of retirees living in Okaloosa County with Eglin Air Force Base right there,” he said but his father shrugged unimpressed.
    “I have clearance to Langley, and Ft. Lee.”
    “What would it take to get you to return to Elixir for good?"
    Jack’s expression turned thoughtful. “A woman with staying power.”
    Holt looked outside. In the distance someone was hammering. Nearby, neighbors greeted one another as they put their lives back together. A woman laughed. Even in adversity, people fought back and tapped into their humor.
    "What's your ETA for Commerce?" Jack asked.
    "It was two this afternoon." Experiencing a fresh surge of impatience, Holt consulted his watch. "We should have left two hours ago, but I don't have the heart to wake Caprice."
    Jack's eyes twinkled. "Sleep well? Must have been hard, eh?"
    “Don’t start.” Holt glowered and remembered his aching physical reactions. "She's all frozen inside because of her ex.”
    "Roger that. I witnessed her jitters last night. She could use a month of rest and recreation in the mountains." His father’s face softened. “Son, you live on that ranch like a whipped cur. It’s been ages since Lilah sent you into a tailspin. Don’t you think it's time to throttle forward and climb out of that rain cloud?”
    Holt’s chest tightened. "There are some lessons I’m not soon to forget.”
    “Maybe