Free See Jane Fall by Katy Regnery Page A

okay?”
    “I did. Thanks.” She didn’t look up.
    “Well, I thought we’d start with
breakfast—”
    “I’ve already eaten, thanks. Have to get
those bags unpacked, so probably best to get started.” Still glued
to her phone.
    Lars had glanced over at her in confusion.
She hadn’t asked about the Beach Boys, but he had them all queued
up and ready to go. He thought about pressing play, but the
potential embarrassment of her not acknowledging them, or worse—
not wanting to listen to them—made him think twice. What was going
on with her?
    She finally put her phone down and rummaged
through her bag. Finding the object of her search, she ran a tube
of lip balm back and forth across her lips then pursed them
together. He could smell the tropical sweetness of it…mango or
pineapple, sweet and incredibly distracting.
    “So, I guess I’ll drop you at the cottage
and then…”
    “I have the list of groceries for you.
Samara likes really high-quality produce, so please take care when
selecting, okay? And if the brand I specify isn’t available, don’t
buy a substitute. Please just mark it on the list and I’ll deal
with it.”
    “Fine.” He clenched his jaw. Nothing she was
doing was wrong. She was polite and respectful. She was also in
charge; he worked for her while she was visiting Gardiner. But, all
of her warmth and teasing fun was gone, and he wanted it back.
“Jane…”
    She turned to him. “Hmm?”
    “Is everything…okay?”
    “Sure.”
    “Are you… upset about anything?”
    “Upset?” She shook her head, but didn’t look
at him. “No. Not at all.”
    “You seem…different today.”
    “Just a lot to do today and tomorrow. Before
she gets here.”
    Well, he had tried. Business it
was.
    “Fine. I’ll drop you off, get the groceries,
and then I guess we can go look at the locations?”
    “Fine.” She crossed her legs toward the
window, leaning her elbow on the windowsill. “Mind some fresh
air?”
    “You’re in charge,” he observed.
    She rolled down the window and turned her
head away from him, effectively ending their conversation.
    Since he had returned with the groceries,
she’d barely said a word, except to ask politely if he would put
the perishables in the refrigerator and freezer.
    He stood up from the couch and walked to the
window. Beyond the dirt and dust that surrounded the cottages,
there was a large patch of green meadow that extended out toward
the park. A small herd of bison made their way into the meadow as
if on cue. Three, four, five, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, with a
calf among them. He watched them lumber into position, until they
were all munching on the sweet grass in the mid-morning sun.
    If he wasn’t enough to bring out the
sunny, teasing side of Jane, maybe they were…he walked back
to the bedroom and stuck his head into the room.
    “Jane!” he whispered.
    She looked up at him and grinned, then
seemed to catch herself and hurriedly looked down. When she looked
up again, her face was cool and professional, eyebrows raised in
question.
    “I want to show you something.”
    “I really have to finish this.”
    “Bring your camera.”
    He saw the incremental widening of her mossy
eyes, the twinkling she was trying to keep hidden. Curiosity
apparently won out as she opened the backpack hanging on the door
handle of the room and took out her camera.
    He put his index finger up to his lips,
indicating that she should be quiet, and she nodded, her lips
tilting up in anticipation, eyes bright and engaged.
    There’s my girl. He led the way
through the living room, pointing to the picture window. She gasped
at first sight of the herd, fumbling with her lens cap, but Lars
put his hand over hers to still it.
    “We’ll go outside,” he whispered. “You’ll
get better shots.”
    She nodded, curling her fingers around his
hand. He was careful not to meet her eyes, pulling her along to the
front door. He hadn’t expected her to take hold of his hand,