Free Drawing Blood by Mary Lou George Page B

morning thinking about him.”
    Avery looked down at the drawing and said, “Yeah? How’s that going for you?”
    They both started to laugh.
    Avery said, “What’s wrong with thinking about him? Of course you’re thinking of him. He’s the kind of man women think about. Hell, Irene O’Neill was old enough to be his grandmother and I’d bet she thought of him.”
    “Poor Irene is dead,” Holly said bluntly.
    Avery refused to be ashamed of her comment. “Yeah, well, when it comes to that man I’m not sure death is enough.”
    “You’re nuts. You know that, don’t you?” Holly appreciated her friend’s attempt to cheer her.
    “Yeah, but I know what I’m talking about.”
    “Better than most people.” They exchanged a knowing look. No words were necessary.
    Avery’s romance with her husband Stephen was the stuff that made best selling novels best selling novels. They hadn’t liked each other at first, but they’d wanted each other with a passion that promised to become legendary. That unmistakable desire made things very interesting until finally they actually communicated with each other and stopped playing games. In the end, they found themselves very much in love. Nobody was more surprised than Avery. Finally she stopped fighting him and her feelings for him. Holly had been relieved, because Stephen was the only man she’d ever met who was worthy of her friend. Theirs was a marriage to be envied.
    With a generosity of spirit that came from true love, they’d made Holly part of the family. She loved Jessica, Aaron and Connor like she would her own children which was a good thing as Holly figured it. She had never felt a desperate need to procreate. She often joked that her biological clock was unplugged and flashing
12:00
. Because of Avery, she had a family, children who loved her, children to love. She was content…at least up until now…up until she’d walked into the super market and straight into Stryker Cain’s arms.

Chapter 7

    By
noon
, the sun had reached its zenith and Holly was forced to turn on the air conditioning in her car. She’d dressed with the heat in mind and that included the heat Stryker tended to generate inside her. She wore a white sundress that she knew complemented her golden tan and her gentle curves. After about five minutes, she turned off the air conditioning and opened her sun roof. She much preferred the fresh clean Muskoka air, unconditioned.
    He’d given her excellent directions to his home and she had no problem finding his laneway. She pulled her car to a stop before turning down his drive. Taking a moment, she made a vain attempt to calm her nerves. Part of her wanted to put the car into reverse and get the hell out of there, but Holly ignored that part and pushed on. Her heart pounded as his house came into view.
    She liked it on sight. He’d made a beautiful home out of the huge old two story farmhouse. There were changes like an obviously new barn, but not a single one of his upgrades interfered with the charm of the place. The man himself sat on the porch steps, as casual as you please, throwing a ball for a yellow lab who brought it back to him over and over again. The dog dropped the saliva-soaked projectile at her master’s feet and barked. Stryker stood up when Holly brought her car to a stop. She hadn’t seen him move, but before she could reach for the door handle, he was opening it for her.
    He offered her his hand and helped her out of the car. It was a sweet gentlemanly gesture and smiling up at him, Holly placed her hand in his. His touch was cool and familiar, but it still made her heart skip a beat, then pound faster. It felt like he took her heart in his hand, touched it then gave it back to her forever changed.
    She could think of nothing to say. Coming to her rescue, he covered the silence.
    “You’re right on time.” With all encompassing expertise, his eyes swept down to her sandals and her painted pink toes, then back up. “You