Free Finding Kate Huntley by Theresa Ragan Page B

and then slid into the passenger seat. Jack left the parking lot and merged into traffic. “Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine.”
    He glanced her way. “You’re shaking. What happened back there?”
    “I don’t belong here.” She looked straight ahead, hardly blinked. She felt hollow...empty.
    Jack kept his eyes on the road as he talked. “It’s perfectly natural that you might feel out of place. You’ve been gone for a long time. But it’s all going to work out. I promise.”
    Kate looked his way. “How can you be so optimistic all the time? You’re on the Ten Most Wanted list for a murder you had nothing to do with.”
    “Getting upset about it won’t help matters.”
    She continued to stare at him. “I can’t figure you out. Who are you? Who are you really?”
    He downshifted and stopped at a red light. “I’m just a regular guy. Jack Coffey, a thirty-two year old man who’s been dealt a pretty good hand up until recently. I believe in justice, the American way, and that all things happen for a reason.” He shot her a quick glance, but the light turned green and he was forced to keep his eyes on the road. “I think of life as a challenge, every day a new adventure. And it doesn’t take crash-landing a plane to get my adrenaline soaring. The taste of fine wine, good sushi, or spending time with the right woman works just as well.”
    “Jack Coffey in a nutshell, huh?”
    “Pretty much.”
    “Why do I sense there’s more to you than fine wine and sushi?”
    The lines around his eyes crinkled when he smiled. “Because you’re a woman and women see and feel things that men can’t even begin to comprehend.”
    She hissed. “That’s such a copout.”
    He laughed.
    Kate couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually had a conversation with a man. It was interesting...nice. Although Jack claimed to be a simple man who enjoyed the little things in life, something told her he was more complicated than he liked people to believe. The fact that she was softening toward Coffey made her question her judgment. Jack was honest and straitlaced, too much so. But he had his limits. The thought of him dangling Charlie out the window was a good example. For the most part, he seemed to be cool and even-tempered. Not once had she seen him panic during his short stint as a pilot. Above all else, more than his lean, lithe body and good looks, the thing that rattled her about him most was his kindness.
    Kate went back to staring at the road ahead of her. Jack Coffey was getting under her skin, making her feel things she didn’t want to feel. Although a part of her wanted to relax, wanted to let Jack handle things for a while, a bigger part of her, the part that couldn’t let go of her father’s image before he’d died, refused to allow her to let her guard down. She needed to remember why she was here and she needed to stay focused.
    After a good night’s rest, she decided, she’d head off on her own. She didn’t need the complication of caring about someone else right now. She’d vowed long ago to avenge her father’s death, and nobody, including Jack Coffey, was going to stop her.

Chapter 7

    If A.J. had his way, he and Becky would have left the fundraiser an hour after they arrived, but he kept reminding himself that this was Becky’s night. How many times was he going to get all decked out in a tuxedo, rented or otherwise, and take her to the Biltmore for caviar and expensive champagne? Sadly, the probability of it ever happening again was slim to none. But what did he care? He’d much rather be doing the tango in Becky’s bedroom. Never mind that she’d put his sultry moves and fancy footwork to shame earlier tonight. That hadn’t stopped him from working on bettering his posture and hip movement. There were three things about doing the tango in bed that intrigued him: it was challenging, fun, and it took two.
    Upon re-entering the ballroom, he found Becky missing from the spot where he left her