Read Online The Rogue Hunter by Lynsay Sands - Free Book Online

and the one floor was only half the size of that of the building next door. It was a real cottage, not a luxurious retreat for a rich man… and Sam wouldn't have traded it for the world. There were too many lovely memories tied up in this smaller, cozier cottage.
    "The ear infection strikes again," Alex said with disgust, drawing Sam's gaze her way as she reached them. "Are you all right?"
    "She's burned herself," Mortimer muttered, and there was no mistaking his tone for anything but being put out.
    "Ear infection?" Bricker asked, pausing behind Alex and peering curiously over her shoulder at Sam.
    "She has this recurring inner ear infection that puts her off balance," Jo explained, her worried gaze on Sam's arm as Mortimer turned it this way and that to see how much of it had been injured.
    "An ear infection, eh?" Bricker said, and Sam noticed that his gaze was firmly on Mortimer as he said that. The man then glanced back to Sam and asked, "Can't they give you something for it?"
    "They have," Jo answered for her. "They've given her every kind of antibiotic there is, I think, but it keeps coming back. Her doctor has finally made an appointment with a specialist."
    "Yeah, but it takes forever to get in to see specialists. She'll be lucky if she doesn't kill herself before the appointment," Alex said with disgust. "I'm amazed she hasn't already. If she'd insisted her doctor send her to a specialist when I suggested it, she'd be infection-free by now. But no, not Miss I'm-Too-Busy-to-Be-Bothered. She let it drag on and on and—"
    "Alex!" Sam snapped irritably. "I'm sitting right here, you know." She scowled at her sister and then paused when she noted the way Mortimer's lips were twitching. Apparently she'd amused him with her grumpiness. That just made her scowl harder.
    "This is a nasty burn," Mortimer murmured. He bent over her arm to look closer, and Sam found herself staring at the top of his head. His hair was blond, cut short, and so thick she could barely see through it to the healthy pink scalp below. And he had a nice spicy sort of woodsy smell to him, Sam noted, and tried to inhale deeply without making it obvious she was sniffing the man.
    Sam gave her head a shake, wondering if she'd hit it on the way down without realizing it. She was generally so wrapped up in her career that she took no notice of men. And this certainly wasn't a man she should find interesting. He was a stranger. She knew nothing more than his name and that he was staying at the cottage next door.
    "Here, we'd best get you up."
    Sam blinked in surprise as she was suddenly lifted off the floor and set on her feet by the man who had been examining her arm.
    "Do you have any salve for the burn?" Mortimer asked, glancing to Alex as he urged Sam toward the old Formica-topped dining table a couple of feet away.
    "In the bathroom," Alex answered. "I'll go get it."
    "I'll start mopping up the floor," Jo said, turning to move off down the hall behind Alex.
    "Here, sit down," Mortimer said, and Sam couldn't help but notice that his tone was less angry now and a touch gentler for some reason. Earlier he'd sounded like she'd deliberately thrown the potatoes around, burned herself, and tossed herself to the floor.
    That thought reminded her of the potatoes, and Sam glanced toward the sink. Much to her relief, while water had splashed out and onto the counter and linoleum, none of the potatoes had. They remained mostly in the pot, with only a couple of stragglers lying in the sink. A quick rinse would fix them, she thought, grateful that was all that would be needed. It had taken her forever to peel and cut those damned things, and bringing them to a boil on the barbecue had seemed to take just as long. She'd have been mighty upset if all her efforts had been ruined.
    "The potatoes are fine. Sit," Mortimer ordered, apparently noting where her concern had gone.
    "I'll handle the potatoes," Bricker assured her, moving to the sink even as he spoke.
    "There,