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You own it. Stephen is dead.
Curt. Cold. She turned and started to walk away. His eyes raked across
her back. Okay, so she resisted. Maybe he deserved it. Maybe he had been
too hard on her. A woman had a right to change her mind. Maybe he d been
wrong about the kiss. Maybe she hadn t felt what he felt.
She did feel it.
116 Amber Carlton
Arleigh whirled around. What?
He shook his head. She rolled her eyes, hefted her basket, and stomped
away from him. Damn. He d never had a problem with women before. They
practically threw themselves at him. Okay, so it had been only half a day,
but in Ryder Kendall s world, time didn t matter. One kiss, one touch, and
sex became a nonissue. How many women had he slept with? More than he
could remember. Nothing to be proud of, but true.
And then this little wench comes along and totally blows his doors off.
The problem was he wanted this one, and he thought they would be
spending the rest of their lives together. He could feel it.
Court her. Woo her. Convince her. Try, Kendall. For the first time in
your life give an honest effort. Resort to flowers and candlelight if you have
to.
He could do that. Talk to her. Listen to her. Ask about her life, hopes,
dreams, fears. Easy. How long would it take to make a woman fall in love
with him?
She s already in love with you. Can t you feel it?
Would you please stop that? Arleigh snapped.
Stop what?
Talking to yourself.
Then I ll talk to you.
Tis busy I am, Arleigh said. And must you follow me around like a
puppy?
I can follow you anywhere I want. I own you. You work; I ll talk.
You ll never know I m here.
Arleigh glanced over her shoulder. You re very intrusive, Master
Ken
I can t get over this place. In my time, we re not farmers anymore, but
we ve tried to keep the property as true as possible. Caindale Cottage is on
the National Register of Historic Places.
Indeed? How thrilling for you.
Ryder smiled at her back. We still own quite a chunk of the island, but
when the plantation grew, craftsmen moved in and wanted to stay and
bought land piece by piece. Nick Kendall made a killing. There s a town
now. Stores, churches, schools, a hospital, the works. We even have our
Trinity Magic 117
own zip code. We still feel like it belongs to us, but it doesn t really. We just
act like it does. First Family and all.
She gave him an odd look over her shoulder. He shut up. For a minute.
It must have been something, owning this whole island.
Stephen kept busy, she said. We rarely saw him, but I miss him. He
took care of us, kept us protected. He was kind.
I m kind, Ryder said.
So you ve said.
I ve also said I ll help you. That s what I came to do. Shouldn t you
tell me how I can find Flynn?
He won t let you near them.
That s not going to stop me. I hoped for a little help on your part, but
you don t seem too concerned. Aren t you worried?
Arleigh whirled around. He had finally struck a nerve.
Of course I m worried, but Cameron made it very clear I m not to try
to get them back.
So you re going to let three little girls be held against their will? That
doesn t sit right with me.
He said there will be consequences.
Oh, there ll be consequences all right, but Flynn s the one that s going
to pay. I ll talk to him. Somewhere inside of that psychopath has to be a
rational man. I ll go to the governing council. See the governor. Whatever it
takes. They re my kids, damn it!
You don t know him like I do. He has power you couldn t imagine.
I m a smart guy. I ll think of something. He put his hands on his hips
and glanced around. So how do I get off the island? I can t believe how big
the river seems. In my time, there s been a lot of erosion, and the river s
changed its course. We have a causeway now. I have a feeling you don t
have one of those.
Arleigh hefted her basket and continued to walk toward the garden. He
followed behind her, his glance roaming everywhere. He actually loved it.
Peaceful, idyllic, no traffic, no noise, no airplanes overhead. There were no
car engines, no stereos blaring music that abused his taste. The birds were
singing, and the river water roared in the distance. The tranquility amazed
him. The autumn leaves crackled, drifting to the ground and
118 Amber Carlton
He crashed into Arleigh. She had stopped dead in her tracks and turned
to face him. He tried to take the basket from her, but she pulled away.
What now? he asked.
You are still talking nonsense. I don t know what you re going to say
from one moment to another. How do you think you can help me when you
talk like the village idiot?
I m trying, he said.
She dropped the basket on the ground and put her hands on her hips.
Then what is a causeway? A car? An airplane? What is a stereo?
He seriously had to watch himself with his bad habits. Was I talking
out loud?
Aye, unfortunately. You don t seem to e er stop talking. But I would
feel more comfortable if you talked about things that were real. All the good
intentions aren t going to help me if you don t stay in this world.
I will stop. Immediately.
She pursed her lips. Are you a witch?
Right family, but, no, I m adopted.
She waved her hands around, babbling about crazy people. Her patience
had reached an end. And he had business here. He kept forgetting that. In
the past, for a reason. He had to remember his mission. But damn it, look at
her.
She looked like something out of a movie. Women didn t look like her
on his Trinity. Her face looked flawless without makeup. Her hair rioted
over her shoulders, gorgeous without a stylist. She had perfect features and
clear skin. Her cheeks flushed when angry, as she was now, but the charm
and nostalgia of her appearance overwhelmed him and, he had a hard time
taking her seriously.
Even her clothes were romantic and sexy as hell. Her pale yellow skirt
blew around her legs. Her breasts peeked over the edge of that leather [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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