Free Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie Page B

out here to look after you,” he said. “He figured you wouldn’t listen to him, so...”
    “So you’re baby-sitting.” Kate sighed.
    “Don’t mention I told you,” Mark said.
    “Told me what?” Kate widened her eyes at him. “Now, get out of my way, sonny. I’m a woman on a mission.”
    The game degenerated into the kind of game the CJA would play—covert golf. They both preferred to hit when the other’s back was turned. As the game progressed and the cheating grew more blatant, Kate shook her hair out of her chignon and laughed, and Peter began to look frantic.
    “This is the only way to play golf,” Kate said to Mark. “And it took me until now to discover it. I’m going to take this jerk to dinner tonight in gratitude.”
    “I don’t think he’s going to make it to dinner.” Mark watched Peter, frowning. “He’s never lost before. And he’s never turned that color before, either.”
    “He’s fine,” Kate said. “There’s only one more hole.”
    Peter choked on his swing again, and his ball disappeared into the brush. He stalked off after it, leaving his caddie in the lurch with Kate and Mark.
    The problem with men like Peter was that they always got away with their slimy little tricks. That wasn’t fair. Something had to be done about that.
    “Let’s go watch this time,” Kate said, and the three of them trailed silently after him.
    They got to the edge of the course just in time to see Peter kick his ball savagely back onto the green.
    “Why, Pete,” Kate said brightly. “That’s cheating.”
    He jerked back at the sound of her voice and stared at her in anguish, and his face went gray. “Kate,” he croaked, and then he collapsed.
    “Peter?” Kate bent over him. “Peter, it’s a dumb game. Nobody cares. Peter?”
    She went down on her knees beside him. He wasn’t breathing.
    “Call 911,” Kate ordered Mark and bent to give Peter mouth-to-mouth.
     
    Half an hour later, Jake stood beside her on the green and shook his head as the ambulance pulled away. “First Lance, now this,” he said.
    “We gave him CPR. He’s going to be all right,” Kate said. “The doctor said so.”
    “Dating you is like dating death,” Jake said.
    Kate looked exasperated. “Nobody has died.”
    “Not yet.”
    Kate started to say something cutting and then remembered that Jake had sent Mark to look out for her. She was used to men who said nice things to her and left her to fend for herself. A man who implied she was a menace and then took care of her was a new experience.
    “I forgive you,” Kate said. “You’re a good person.” She patted him on the arm and then strolled off in the direction of her cabin.
    “What?” Jake said, confused, but she was gone.
     
    “You should have been there,” Mark told him and Will later. “That woman needs protecting like Rambo needs a bodyguard.”
    “I didn’t think she’d listened to me,” Jake said. “My mistake.”
    “I don’t think she misses much,” Mark said.
    “Well, don’t tell her I sent you,” Jake said. “I don’t want her getting any ideas.”
    “Right,” Mark said, turning swiftly away. “I sure won’t. Well, gotta go.”
    “What’s wrong with him?” Jake asked as Mark ducked out the office door.
    “What’s wrong with you?” Will countered. “What do you mean, you don’t want her getting any ideas? You should be so lucky.” He shook his head. “I worry about you sometimes, bro. Kate Svenson’s a damn good-looking woman and you don’t seem to have noticed. You’re getting close to legally dead, here.”
    “I’ll be a lot closer if I get interested in her, and so will you. She’s the one who put Lance in the pool last night, remember?”
    “Good for her,” Will said.
    “Well, I don’t intend to be her next victim.”
    “I don’t know,” Will said, considering. “She’s something else. It wouldn’t be a bad way to go.”
    “Hey,” Jake said, annoyed. “You stick to Valerie. If anything