Free Texas Rose by Marie Ferrarella Page A

his thoughts drift.
    But knowing it wasn’t possible, he got down to business and answered her question. “I was just wondering when we could get started.”
    â€œGet started?” she echoed dumbly. Just what the hell was he implying? What had Beth said to him? “Doing what?”
    He looked at her innocently. “You’re supposed to be my tour guide, remember? Your aunt went to the trouble to write up an itinerary for me.”
    She scowled. Itinerary her foot. Beth was supposed to be on her side, not his.
    â€œAre you still pretending you want to play tourist?” She’d thought they’d gotten beyond that ruse last night. He wasn’t interested in seeing the city; he was interested in reclaiming his pride, which she’d wounded by leaving him.
    He grinned at her and she tried her best not to succumb.
    â€œIt’s my story and I’m sticking to it.” His eyeslocked with hers. Maybe Beth could read eyes, but he couldn’t. When she wasn’t being angry at him, he hadn’t a clue what Rose was thinking. “This is supposed to be the most fascinating city in the country. So fascinate me.”
    â€œI’m not the city.”
    â€œBut you know it better than I do,” he pointed out. “You wouldn’t want me to get lost, would you? Suppose I did and something happened to me. You’d never forgive yourself.”
    She sighed. This baby was absorbing all her tolerance, and right now whatever remained of it was being laid siege to by both Matt and her aunt. Being outnumbered didn’t make her feel very friendly.
    â€œDon’t bet on it.”
    But that was exactly what he was doing. Betting on it. Betting the farm, the ranch and the whole nine yards. He took a step into the room and saw the guarded expression that came over her face.
    â€œI could bring you breakfast. There’s some fruit salad left over from last night.”
    Rose made a face. “Just apple juice.” It was all she could hold down in the morning lately, and at times not even that.
    â€œNo coffee?”
    The mere mention made the walls of her stomach pucker and twist.
    â€œNo, no coffee.” She began to get out of bed, thenstopped. He was still standing there, watching her. “Do you mind? I have to get up and get ready.”
    â€œYou didn’t mind me watching you get dressed the last time,” he reminded her, a hint of a wicked smile on his lips.
    She remembered. Remembered slipping on her dress while wrapped in his warm gaze.
    She struggled to keep back the thrust of desire before it could take hold.
    â€œThat was then, this is now.” When he made no move to leave, Rose picked up a shoe and threw it in his direction. “Go.”
    â€œI’m going, I’m going.” He laughed, ducking, as he left the room. The shoe landed against the closed door and fell to the floor.

Six
    I n the temporary housing of the Men’s Grill, Spencer Harrison frowned as he flipped his cell phone closed. There’d been no answer. Again. This looked as if it was getting serious.
    He liked to think that he wasn’t given to needless worrying, although since entering his third decade and after becoming the local D.A., Spence had found himself doing a great many more worst-case scenarios than ever before. Including the period of time when he’d been a marine and he, Tyler, Ricky and Flynt had been held captive by the enemy.
    Spence’d been the one who’d told the others to not give up hope, firmly believing that someone—most likely their commander, Phil Westin—would find them and help them fight their way out of the hell-hole. And they had. Westin had engineered a plan that had freed them. An ex-juvenile delinquent earmarked for an early end, Spence had been miraculously plucked out of the destructive path his life had been headed and given another chance. Optimism had been his hallmark ever since.
    Even so, experience had