Free Bishop's Angel by Tory Richards

looked so green and
full this time of year. The nylon hammock swallowed her up as she
sank into it, gently rocking back and forth.
    Barnie was watching her from the window, no
doubt wishing he could join her. Then she saw movement behind him
and realized Bishop was up. He’d gone out the night before and
Angel woke to find him sleeping on the couch. What did I do? Then she shook her head, already knowing the answer. Nothing,
that’s what. He was the one pulling away.
    Her phone began to ring, and she dug into
her front pocket for it. “Hello?
    “Miss Davenport?” asked a male voice.
    “Yes?”
    “This is Tom with Pesky Pests. I’m just
calling to let you know your house has been cleared for
re-entry.”
    Maybe this was her solution. “Okay, Tom,
great. Is there anything I need to know?”
    “Nope, all looks good, there’s no sign of
any termites, and the gas has cleared. We’ll be back in a couple
months to check just to make sure we got them all, and you have a
two-year warranty. So if you have any concerns or problems during
that time just give us a call and we’ll be right out. Once you get
the repairs done, your house will be good as new.”
    That was Angel’s next big expense. “Thank
you.” She flipped her cell closed and considered whether or not she
should go home now or just wait another couple of days for Diana
and Alex to return. That had been her original plan. Would Bishop
care if she left?
    As if just thinking about him could conjure
him up, he surprised her by opening the door. Their gazes met.
“Good morning.”
    She didn’t like the sound of indifference in
his tone. “Hi.” Angel forced a smile on her face, willing herself
to act as if there was nothing wrong. “You look tired,” she added,
noticing the dark circles beneath his eyes. “Tonight you can have
the guest bedroom.”
    His expression turned into a frown. “I
thought I told you—”
    “You won’t be taking the bed away from me. I
just got a call from the termite people. I can go home now.” When did I decide to go home? “There’s no need for both of
us to be here for Barnie.”
    “No, but I just got a call that our furlough
might be cut short. We were told to remain on standby, which means
we can be called away at any time now.”
    Angel’s jaw dropped. Oh, God! Her
eyes were burning, which meant tears were on the way. Bishop
couldn’t see her reaction, but she couldn’t help it. When she
raised her cup to her lips it didn’t surprise her to see her hand
trembling. She chomped down on her bottom lip.
    “Angel…”
    Crap! He must have noticed it, too.
She remained silent, slowly meeting his gaze, painfully aware of
the tears that were swimming in her eyes.
    “Can we talk?”
    Not what she expected. “About what? Your
actions speak louder than words.”
    He stiffened. “Care to explain that?”
    She took a deep breath “Something changed
yesterday at the cookout. Since then you’ve gone out of your way to
avoid me. I finally figured it out.” She gave Bishop a watery
smile.
    “What did you figure out?”
    “That you got what you wanted, and now
you’re done with me.” There, she’d said it. Let him deny it. It was
the only explanation she could think of.
    The blue in Bishop’s eyes became so dark
they looked like glassy sapphires, and they appeared just as sharp.
As his expression grew taut and darkened, a tic appeared in his
lean jaw and Angel lowered her gaze nervously. She realized
instantly that she might have gone too far, and chalked up her
runaway tongue to being hurt. He had to know she was confused over
his sudden distance.
    “Do you really believe sex is all I wanted
from you?” The words were spoken between his teeth.
    Shrugging, Angel reluctantly raised her
gaze, meeting the fury in his and not backing down. “What am I
supposed to think, Bishop? I thought things were good between us,
that we had a connection. Then yesterday it was like a switch being
flipped off, and I’m left feeling