Free His Woman, His Child by Beverly Barton Page B

take a leave of absence from a big important FBI job to come back to live in a hick town, just to look after their best friend's widow."
    "Lowell and I were best friends since we were kids. He even saved my life once, when we were teenagers. There wasn't anything I wouldn't have done for him."
    Kendra snuggled closer, pressing her body against his, tilting her head so that her lips almost touched his. "Well, I for one am glad you're back in Tennessee. I think I'm going to enjoy having you around."
    Hank put his beer bottle down beside hers. More than ready to accept what she was offering, he pulled her into his arms. As he claimed her lips, he eased her backward, down into the plush sofa cushions. Then he heard a light rapping at the door and a soft feminine voice calling his name, but before he could untangle himself from Kendra or wipe her mauve lipstick off his face, Susan opened the door and walked into the room.
    "I noticed your car was back so I thought I'd come over and see if you wanted—" Susan stopped dead-still after she'd taken only a few steps. Her cheeks flushed scarlet. She began backing toward the door. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know you … I had no idea. Please forgive me for intruding."
    Susan turned and fled. Hank practically tossed Kendra onto the floor when he jumped up and ran after Susan. Kendra let out a loud yelp as she grabbed the sofa arm to steady herself. By the time Hank made it halfway down the stairs, Susan was long gone. The sound of her back door slamming reverberated in his ears.
    Damn! He stood there for a few minutes, trying to figure out the wisest course of action. He had two women on his hands—both of whom were probably mad as hell at him, and he didn't blame either of them. He should have told Susan he had a date tonight. And he should have locked the damn front door! He'd have to apologize to Kendra for leaving her so abruptly. He'd acted on pure instinct when he'd run after Susan.
    When Hank walked back upstairs to his apartment, he found Kendra slipping into her coat. Hell, he'd blown it big time! Putting on his best apologetic face, he looked at her and felt a modicum of relief when she smiled at him.
    "I'm sorry." He took a couple of tentative steps in her direction. "You don't have to leave."
    "Oh, yes, I do." Reaching out, Kendra caressed his cheek. "I like you, Hank. But I make it a policy not to date guys who are already involved with someone else."
    "Whoa, there," he said. "Wait just a minute. I'm not involved with—"
    Kendra placed her index finger over his lips, silencing him. "Oh, yes, you are. Maybe you don't even realize it. But from where I'm standing, I can see it plainly. Susan Redman was more than embarrassed to find us making out on your couch. She was angry and jealous. Believe me, a woman senses these things in another woman."
    "You're wrong. Susan doesn't—"
    Kendra laughed. "Yes, she does. And so do you. You wouldn't have tossed me aside and run after her, if you didn't."
    "I was worried about her being upset," Hank explained lamely. "She's pregnant and—"
    Kendra gave him a quick kiss. "Come on. Take me home. By the time you get back, she'll have cooled off and you can go talk to her."
    "I don't owe Susan an explanation for my actions." Hank put on his coat. "My life is my own." He followed Kendra outside, locked the door and walked down the stairs behind her. "I'm free to do whatever I want, with whomever I want." He assisted Kendra into the Lexus, rounded the hood and got in on the driver's side. "She had no business barging in the way she did."
    "Yeah. Sure," was all Kendra said when he started the engine and backed the Lexus out of the driveway.
    Thirty minutes later, after depositing Kendra safely at her front door, he came home, parked his car and sat behind the wheel as he stared at the back of Susan's house.
    Why should he care what she thought? It was none of her business if he chose to fool around with half the women in Marshall County. And