Free Bicycle Built for Two by Alice Duncan Page B

her.
    “Yes,” she said. “She deserves better. She’s
always deserved better. But not from you.”
    “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Miss Finney! You’re
being ridiculous!”
    “Am I?” Obviously, Kate Finney wasn’t one to
wallow in emotion. That single tiny tear was the only one she
allowed herself. She was back in full form immediately, and as
cranky as ever.
    “Yes. If I want to pay for your mother to
have more comfortable surroundings, why should you object?”
    “Because I don’t trust you.”
    The flat statement,
rendered in a toneless voice, deprived Alex of thought for a
moment. “You—you— what ?” Never, in his entire almost thirty years of life, had
anyone dared to say such a thing to him, because he’d never given
anyone reason to speak those words. He prided himself on his
trustworthiness. His honor. His integrity. His word was his oath,
dash it.
    “I don’t trust you,” Kate repeated. “I don’t
believe anybody in the world, and especially not you, would do
something like that for my family.”
    “For your mother,” Alex growled. The dashed
woman refused to understand. The fact that he didn’t understand,
either, didn’t make the situation any more comfortable.
    “She’s my family.”
    Alex acknowledged the truth of Kate’s
statement with a nod, but he didn’t want to.
    “So,” Kate continued in her curiously flat
voice. “What I want to know now, is what do you want from me.”
    Alex threw up his arms. “Nothing! For
heaven’s sake, Miss Finney, what do you take me for?”
    “What do you take me for?” she countered.
“I’m not going to play house with you, if that’s what you’re
driving at.”
    Alex’s mouth fell open. Kate’s color
deepened.
    This time Alex’s voice shook. “I have never,
ever, been so offended, Miss Finney. If you think I’m the kind of
man who would—who would—who could— Oh, dash it!”
    Kate didn’t say anything. She stood before
him, glaring up at him like some kind of madwoman, her small body
trembling with rage. And she believed him to be a cad. A depraved
rake. A bounder. He couldn’t stand it. “Come with me.”
    And he took her by the arm and began
marching her off to a concession stand or a restaurant. He didn’t
care which, as long as it was nearby. She dug in her heels, but she
probably weighed a good fifty pounds less than he did, she was
almost a foot shorter, and she was no match for him when it came to
physical strength. Alex, who had never, in his whole life, forced a
woman to do anything at all, dragged her along like a pirate of old
might have taken a hostage. He was so angry, he didn’t even look to
see if they were being observed by other fair-goers.
    “What are you doing?” she screeched.
    “Be quiet.” He glanced over his shoulder at
her—she was hanging back as if she believed he was taking her to be
executed. “And if you value your shoes, you’d better pick up your
feet. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to have to buy another pair of
shoes just because you’re being stubborn.”
    “Stubborn? Stubborn ! How
dare— Darn !” She
picked up her feet and, trotting, caught up with him. “What the
heck do you think you’re doing?” She’d stopped yelling, thank
God.
    “I’m taking you to get a cup of tea. We’re
going to talk like civilized human beings.”
    “I have to work!”
    “Dash it, I’ll pay you for a fortune-telling
session! You won’t lose any money, I promise you.”
    “Hmph.”
    A surge of triumph swept over Alex. He
figured it was premature, but he could at least congratulate
himself on getting the obstreperous Kate Finney to do something he
told her to do for once. He’d bet not many people could say that.
That this would undoubtedly prove to be the only time he succeeded
didn’t matter.
    He didn’t let go of her when they reached
the Polish restaurant. It was pure luck that Alex had headed in
this direction, and he was glad of it. He could use another sausage
and kraut. And another