Free Stone, Katherine by Pearl Moon Page A

helping you?"
    "Several local firms have offered, but so far I think I'll be
able to do everything myself."
    ***
    "Would you like a cigarette?"
    Sam's question ended an hour of concentrated silence, he studying
her meticulous notes, she working at one of her three computers.
    Good, Maylene thought as his question registered. Finally he was
behaving according to type. A Marlboro man. She could feel disdain—and, as a
result, impose control on the effect he had on her. Couldn't she?
    Turning from the computer screen to him, she answered,
"No." Then, smiling prettily, she added, "Thank you."
    "Do you mind if I smoke?"
    "Yes, I do."
    She was on the moral high ground here. As she waited for Sam to
light up despite her objection, to reveal his true cowboy boorishness, she felt
a little disappointed at the impending triumph. Some foolish—yet defiantly
hopeful—part of her didn't want to bid farewell to the feelings he evoked.
    There was to be no farewell. Once again he tricked her. With a
nonchalant shrug, he returned to his reading without a cigarette.
    They didn't speak until they were preparing to meet James for
lunch.
    "I'd like you to spend some time at the construction site with
me, Maylene."
    "Oh, yes, of course."
    "How's tomorrow afternoon, say about three?"
    Maylene consulted her desk calendar. "Three's fine. Should
James be there, too?" Shouldn't he be?
    Amusement glittered at her hesitancy in being alone with him.
"I can't imagine why."

Six
    The Jade Palace
    Salisbury Road, Kowloon Peninsula
    Thursday, June 10, 1993
    As Maylene approached the trailer that would serve as Sam's on-site
office, she felt a disconcerting mix of annoyance and apprehension.
    The annoyance was fully justified. Sam had already walked the
property with James, and although she might have been flattered that he was
bothering to repeat the process with her, as if he valued her input, she knew
he didn't. He just wanted her on his turf, in his lair, to make further
disparaging remarks about her lack of expertise.
    And the apprehension she felt? It was, she feared, eagerness in
disguise. Some utterly mad part of her wanted to be caressed by his dark blue
eyes and feel once more the warm— and strangely joyous—sensations.
    The trailer door was ajar. Maylene entered without knocking... and
saw the strong, lean silhouette of a cowboy. He wasn't wearing a hat, nor did
she see one, and his denim work shirt was open at the collar, not cinched with
a string tie. His belt buckle was brass, not silver, and without stones of any
kind. But his jeans were well-worn, saddle-worn, and his boots were badly
battered.
    He was absolutely still, yet absolutely powerful. A portrait of
arrogance—and of a loner, a maverick, a man who cared only about his horses,
his cigarettes, his land.
    Before speaking, Maylene drew a calming breath, inhaling the scent
of cigarette smoke as she did.
    "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys."
    Sam had been thinking about her, gentle thoughts, so he heard more
fondness than contempt in the familiar country-western lyric spoken in her
elegant English. Only when he turned did he realize her words were far from
teasing.
    Wishing he had a Stetson to tip, he drawled slowly, "Well
howdy, Miss Maylene, ma'am. Mighty fine day, ain't it?"
    He perused her with a laziness as slow and sexy as his drawl.
Yesterday her suit had been flame-colored, and today she wore navy trimmed in
white, but like yesterday she looked as if she'd just stepped off the runways
of Paris. Today's heels were even higher than yesterday's.
    "I assume you brought your work clothes. Feel free to change
in the other room."
    "These are my work clothes."
    The cigarette that smoldered in Sam's left hand went slowly to his
mouth and stayed there. Its curls of smoke narrowed the appraising eyes.
    He's a cowboy! Maylene reminded herself as the giddy warmth came
alive. A cowboy Pied Piper, beckoning to sensations she'd never known, luring
them to the surface and