Free Quinn's Woman by Susan Mallery Page A

happily-ever-after with a young woman who had a different idea of her future. Yet somehow they’d managed to find each other again.

    “You ever think about what would have happened if Kari hadn’t left town the first time you two were together?” he asked.

    Gage nodded. “I used to think about it all the time. After she came back to Possum Landing, I realized we’d both been too young. I’m not sure we would have made it. This time I know we’ll have a long future together.”

    “Good for you.”

    His brother looked at him. “I want to ask if there’s anyone in your life.”

    Quinn laughed. “I don’t stick around long enough for that to happen.”

    “Will you ever?”
    T
    Stick around? “I’ve been giving it some thought,” he admitted.

    “I’m not going to ask you about your job,” Gage told him. “If you want to talk, I’m more than willing to listen.”

    “I appreciate that.”

    “If you want to talk about Dad, I’ll listen to that, too.”

    Quinn knew the offer was genuine and he appreciated it. But after all these years there wasn’t a whole lot left to say.

    D.J. arrived at the park where they’d agreed to meet five minutes before her appointment with Quinn. She’d walked the three blocks from her office, using the time to try to clear her head and focus. She hadn’t been all that successful.

    Lack of sleep, she told herself as she stretched her legs. Under other circumstances she would say she was on edge. Not this time, though. There was no reason to be. Quinn was just some guy who knew things she wanted to know. Nothing more.

    As she bent over to stretch her hamstrings, she pressed her lips together. Okay, maybe, just maybe Quinn got to her in a way that most men didn’t. Maybe there was something more to her reaction than simple admiration for his abilities. She pushed her palms to the grass and felt the pull in the backs of her legs. Maybe she found him attractive.

    D.J. wasn’t entirely comfortable with that concept. While she was willing to acknowledge some men were better looking than others, she didn’t usually care one way or the other. Any interest she had in their physical nature was more in the lines of their potential threat value. Of course, it didn’t matter if she thought Quinn was handsome, right?

    She wrapped her arms around her calves and pressed face into her knees, then straightened. And nearly screamed.

    Quinn stood less than ten feet away. Somehow he’d approached with such stealth that she’d never heard him. Her heart jumped into overdrive, and sweat broke out on her back. Proof of her vulnerability made her want to back up fifteen feet, but she forced herself to stand her ground.

    “Morning,” he said with an easy smile. “Ready to kick butt?”

    Faking a confidence she didn’t feel, she planted her hands on her hips. “As long as it’s yours.”

    “We’ll see. You warmed up?”

    She nodded.

    “Then let’s go.”

    He headed for the jogging trail. She fell into step beside him.

    They’d both dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. The morning had started with a light fog, but it would break up quickly, then the temperature would warm. She wasn’t sure what he thought of her attire, but she found his slightly distracting. His gym shorts exposed the muscled firmness of his thighs, while the worn T-shirt pulled at his broad shoulders. Once again he reminded her of a predator.

    She told herself that the slight tightening in her stomach was a natural reaction to being around a dangerous animal. It didn’t have anything to do with his chiseled body or loose-hipped grace.

    D.J. matched Quinn’s long-legged stride. As he picked up the pace, she kept her breathing slow and deep. Their feet pounded out a steady rhythm.

    “We’re going to need to find a gym at the end of the run,” he said. “I planned a route that will have us finish up at your office. I figured you’d know the closest place to work out.”

    How did he know where