Read Online High Stakes Bride by Fiona Brand - Free Book Online

flicked the flashlight on, swinging the beam in an arc and double-checking the corners. When she was satisfied the barn was empty, instead of walking back out the main doors, she used the small side door that opened out onto the dusty space between the barn and the implement shed.
    Flashlight now flicked off, her hand closed around the handle. Holding her breath, she pushed the door open and stepped outside. Between the two buildings it was almost as pitch-black as the inside of the barn had been. Using the flashlight had been reassuring, but any night vision she’d had was gone.
    Gingerly, she stepped forward. Hot pain shot up her shin. She stumbled off balance, the flashlight slipping from her fingers as she gripped her leg. The back of one hand brushed against rough metal, and she remembered the ancient, rusted tractor scoop that sat against the barn wall, almost buried in weeds.
    A light shone directly into her eyes, almost stopping her heart.
    â€œWhat are you doing here?”
    Dani bit back an unladylike word when Carter swung the flashlight beam so that it illuminated the barn wall, washing them both in light. “I might ask you the same thing.”
    â€œI was outside on the porch when I thought I heard someone over here.”
    Her jaw clamped. “ I’m over here.”
    â€œYou were in the kitchen. The sound came from the barn.”
    Dani massaged her shin again and wondered if the pain would ever stop. “I thought you’d gone to bed.”
    She caught the speculative glance he gave her and suppressed another bad word. Now he knew she’d been checking on him.
    He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”
    â€œNext time try taking a pill.”
    â€œI don’t take sleep aids.”
    She should have been ready for that one. Aside from being a career soldier and a self-confessed adrenaline junkie, Carter was a medic. Nothing went into that high-octane body that wasn’t scrutinized and judged pure.
    Wincing, Dani retrieved her flashlight, flicked it on and examined the derelict scoop. It didn’t stick out from the wall by much. If she hadn’t been sneaking she would never have walked into it.
    â€œAre you okay?”
    â€œFine.” Apart from needing a tranquillizer and very possibly a tetanus shot. Trying to ignore the hot little coal of pain, Dani swung the light around and studied either end of the alley, examining the dark shapes of the trees, and what might possibly be lurking beneath them.
    Carter walked to the end of the barn and stared out into the night. Something about his quietness made all the fine hairs at her nape stand on end. If Carter had heard something, there must have been—
    â€œI can smell brownies.”
    She let out a breath and felt like beating her head against the side of the shed. “I’ve been baking. And before you ask, the answer is no and no.”
    The last thing she needed right now was to hear that sexy, faintly plaintive note in his voice. He knew what buttons to push; he knew what made her melt. If she said yes to the brownies he’d take that as encouragement, and right now she couldn’t afford the extra stress. Added to that he knew she was vulnerable at night and he knew she didn’t like being alone. The first time she had weakened and given in to the attraction that had simmered between them for years had been barely a week after Susan’s and Robert’s funerals. Carter had been there, his shoulder at the ready, and she had dropped into his bed like a ripe plum. “Go home, Carter. There’s nothing for you here.”
    â€œYour choice.”
    â€œThat’s right.” Her choice, and against all the odds it felt good to say no.
    She hadn’t realized she was so angry until now. She thought she’d had plenty of time to get over him. In a weird way it wasn’t even fair to be angry, because it wasn’t as if Carter hadn’t ever told her what he was like. He had