Read Online How Cat Got a Life by Tatiana March - Free Book Online

and the display wouldn’t switch on. “Damn. I’ve broken my phone. I slammed my side against the railing when I swung over the top. I heard a crunching sound. It must have been the phone in my pocket.”
    “I’ve got mine,” Dalton said. He extracted the phone from the pouch tied around his waist. “I’ll dial 9-1-1.”
    “You can’t.” Cat grabbed his arm. “Brock would kill me.”
    Dalton lowered the phone. “What else do you suggest? It’s a cold night. Sooner or later we’ll have to call anyway, and it’s better to call now, before we have to make things worse by peeing in the corners.”
    He raised his hand, scrolled down the stored numbers. “If you prefer, I can call the sheriff. He gave me his number when I started working at the children’s home.”
    Cat closed her eyes. It had seemed such a good idea two hours ago, but Brock would be furious. She had wanted another week with him. Instead, he might end up throttling her.
    “Go on then,” she muttered. “Tell him I’m with you. He might calm down a bit on his way over.”

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    Brock parked by the entrance to the Town Hall and jumped out of the car. Of all the harebrained women in the world, why did Catherine Bridgewater have to be the one to invade his life, turning his beliefs upside down, firing up every male instinct he possessed?
    He found the pair of them shivering in the open chamber at the top of the clock tower.
    “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he shouted before he fully emerged through the trapdoor. He scowled at Dalton. “You were supposed to keep her out of trouble.”
    “Sorry.” The boy had the audacity to grin. “I tried.”
    Brock turned to Cat, and the fear that clenched in his gut almost brought him to this knees. “Don’t you understand you could have been hurt?”
    She stood before him, arrow-trim in the black leggings and top, hugging her arms for warmth. A forlorn expression flickered over her face as she stared up at him, eyes full of uncertainty.
    “Christ, Cat.” He gathered her into his arms. “Don’t you realize what it would do to me to find your lifeless body sprawled on the sidewalk?”
    “Sorry,” she said. “We’re good climbers. There was no danger.”
    His hands roamed her back, as if to make sure she remained unharmed. Nothing else mattered. In that moment, when he cradled her body against his, attempting to share his heat with her, it dawned upon Brock that if Cat had fallen and died, his grief would have eclipsed the pain he’d felt when he lost his wife.
    “Let’s get you out of here.” His voice was gruff when he released her. “I’ve got some blankets in the car.”
    Dalton stared at the pair of them, satisfaction stamped on his face.
    Brock sighed. Cat’s stepson added another twist to a situation already far too complicated.
    “I’ll lead the way,” the boy said cheerfully and disappeared down the steep staircase.
    “You’re freezing.” Brock ran his hands up and down Cat’s arms. “You should have huddled together for warmth.”
    “I didn’t think it was a good idea. He’s a teenage boy just discovering girls. We’re not related by blood, and we’ve only known each other two years. It would have been awkward.”
    “I see.” He nodded his understanding. “You need a hot bath. Is there a tub in your hotel room?”
    “Yes,” Cat said, and promptly sneezed.
    Brock searched his pockets until he found a clean tissue. He handed it to her before guiding her down through the trap door.
    “We’ll pass by the campus first,” he said when they reached his car.
    “Why didn’t the alarm go off?” Dalton asked.
    “Some jerks cut a wire this morning, trying to cheat.” Brock assisted Cat up to the front seat. “I’d have posted a guard outside, but I didn’t expect anyone to be crazy enough to try the climb at night. It’s usually done at dawn.”
    “Cat’s a good climber, and I’m not bad myself.” Dalton settled