Free Almost Home by Barbara Freethy Page A

with an enticing
twinkle in her eye.
    He scowled at her. "Are you flirting with me?"
    "No way! A man like you, who everyone hates, who
would sell his soul at a horse race? I'd have to be crazy to flirt with you."
    "I think you are," he muttered, looking deep
into her eyes.
    He heard her catch her breath, a tiny sound that made
him want to make her do it again. Maybe if he touched her … if he kissed her…
    Katherine cleared her throat, breaking the spell
between them. "We're not getting very far, are we?"
    "Actually, I thought we were moving along quite
nicely," Zach said dryly as she started walking again.
    "I've never been in such a small town before,"
she said somewhat dreamily. "No one knows anybody in
L.A.
Most people live in their cars. It's so
fast, so crowded, so impersonal."
    "You live in
L.A.
?"
    "
Beverly
Hills
."
    "The land of the rich and famous, big houses,
wide streets, and long cars."
    "Yes, but you can get lost in those big houses,
wide streets, and long cars," she replied, a sad note in her voice.
    "Did you?"
    She paused at the corner and glanced at him. "If
no one ever looks for you, are you lost?"
    "I don't know. Is that like if a tree falls in
the forest, does it make a sound?"
    She laughed, and he was pleased to see the light come
back in her eyes. For a moment there, she'd looked incredibly lonely. And he
couldn't imagine why. She had beauty, personality, guts. Who wouldn't look for
her? Hell, who would let her out of their sight in the first place?
    Katherine checked for traffic, then carried on, her
short skirt swirling around her legs, making him catch his breath once more. He
knew about legs, long, sleek legs that could run like the wind. But her
legs—they put all others to shame.
    "What happened to your mother?" he asked abruptly,
trying to get his attention off of her legs.
    When she reached the opposite corner, Katherine
stopped. "My mother died in a car accident when I was twelve."
    "Sorry."
    "It was a long time ago. My stepfather got stuck
with me. He'd been married to my mom for only a short while before she died. He
was nice enough to keep me anyway."
    Zach told himself to start walking, to stop talking.
There was no point in learning any more about her, but for some reason he
couldn't let it go. "He doesn't mind that you're looking for your
biological father?"
    "No, he doesn't mind. Maybe he's hoping I'll find
my real father and get out of his life."
    "I doubt anyone could let go of you that easily,"
Zach said, surprising himself as much as her.
    "Thanks," she said, meeting his eyes with a
grateful smile. "That's nice of you to say, even if it's not true."
    Zach heard the pain in her voice and felt a sense of
kinship with a woman he'd never expected to have anything in common with. They
came from completely different backgrounds, but he knew what it was like to
feel unwanted.
    Katherine took off down the street, putting an end to
any further conversation. She didn't stop until she reached the door to Golden's.
She looked surprised to see Zach still behind her. "Are you still here? I
thought you were a busy man with all kinds of work to do."
    "I'm thirsty," he muttered. "As long as
I'm this close, I might as well get a beer."
    "And I thought you might want to help me."
    "I can get into enough trouble on my own."
    "Do you want to go first?" she asked
hopefully. "Just in case there are any drinks flying."
    "No way."
    "That's not very gallant."
    "I told you—"
    "I know. You're not innocent. You're not gallant.
You're not a white knight. Jeez, I got it already. I might be on a wild-goose
chase, but I'm not playing Cinderella. I gave up on finding a prince a long
time ago."
    "That's not true. You're hoping your father will
turn out to be the most incredible man in the world. A prince among men. You're
headed for a big fall, sweetheart."
    She looked into his eyes. "Are you going to stick
around to catch me?"

----
    Chapter
6

    « ^ »
    Z ach didn't answer her
question. What did she want him to