Free Sleight Of Hand by Kate Kelly Page A

considered arguing, then shrugged her
shoulders. Best to pick her battles.
    "In my jacket pocket, I think." She waited
for his reply, but after a minute all she heard was the start of a
motor. Great, he was probably doing that male I-hate-to-wait thing.
She smiled suddenly. This, at least, was ordinary. Why did that
make her feel so good?

    Chance ran the snow brush over the windshield
one last time, chucked it into the back seat and squinted at his
watch. Nine-oh-five, not that it mattered what time it was, but he
was hungry, and he had this damned restless energy running through
him that demanded he do something. If his ankle wasn't still
tender, he'd walk to the restaurant and let Sarah bring the Chev.
Except he couldn't leave her alone, because they'd learned last
night a lot could happen between here and the diner.
    He studied the wet, grey day and the slush
piles left behind by the snow plow, then whistled through his teeth
as he climbed into the Blazer. What the devil was taking her so
long?
    Of course, they'd be at the diner already if
he hadn't pulled that number in the hallway. When he'd gotten up
and heard the water running.... A reluctant smile drifted over his
face. To see what Sarah looked like fresh from a shower had proved
too tempting. He hadn't been disappointed.
    He thought about reciting his
what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing lecture, but knew it was
useless. The best he could hope for was that the attraction stayed
purely physical. Love-them-and-leave-them relationships were all he
had time and space for in his life. He scowled out the windshield.
It was all he could afford now, and with Sarah, he had a feeling it
wouldn't be enough.
    Which left him pretty much where he'd
started. Keep his hands off the lady and his mind on the job.
Seemed like he'd been telling himself that from the minute he'd
seen her in New York.
    When the door to the cabin opened and Sarah
hurried out, his thoughts ground to a halt. She stopped halfway to
the car, stuck her hand in her jacket pocket, and with a dazzling
smile, pulled a key out and held it up for him to see.
    Chance's muscles tightened as he watched her
swivel round and go back to lock the cabin door. Her long legs did
things to the tight stretchy pants she wore that should damn well
be illegal. The high heels she wore didn't help, either. Why
couldn't she have put on her mukluks?
    "You have a fetish for unusual footwear or
something?" he asked when she hopped into the Blazer. Without
waiting for an answer, he shifted into reverse and backed out the
driveway.
    "Fetish?" She looked at him blankly. "Oh,
these." She crossed her legs and swung one foot up and down.
    The smile that curled the corners of her
mouth made his mouth water. Hungry. He was hungry. That's all.
    "No, but I'm considering developing one."
    The Blazer shuddered to a stop as he trod the
brake pedal by mistake. He closed his eyes against the ache that
pressed in behind them.
    "Everything okay?" Sarah asked him
brightly.
    He grunted a non-committal sound as he pulled
up to the office and yanked on the emergency brake. He dug Harvey's
cell phone out of his pocket.
    Sarah held out her hand. "I'll run it in to
him."
    "Maybe we should get one of these. For you,"
he added. "Just in case something goes wrong."
    "I thought you said it would take only a
couple of days to find my father. Why would I need a phone?"
    "Because it's getting more complicated than I
thought it would."
    She narrowed her eyes. "Don't think you can
get rid of me now."
    Lay it on the line. Keep it straight. Hell, just past nine in the morning and his brain had atrophied
into cliches. "You stay as long as you behave yourself and do what
I tell you."
    "Oh, that's rich, Chance. First you tell
everyone I'm your wife, then you treat my like your...like
your...dog." She choked on the last word. "I can't wait to see
where we go from here."
    "My guess is nowhere." She knew his agenda.
That part, at least, he'd been up front about. When he