Bad Boys In Kilts Read Online Free PDF Page A

earlier. And who knew what Daisy thought of her? She shouldn’t care. But a part of her wondered, nonetheless. The insecure part that was standing there in grease-stained coveralls, hair in ratty braids, nails torn and ragged, not so much as a swipe of makeup on her face. While Daisy stood there looking every bit as cute and perky as her namesake. Effortlessly so. She wondered what it would be like to have the kind of natural beauty that so easily turned heads, and the quiet confidence that came along with it.
    Kat had plenty of confidence about a lot of things regarding herself, namely when it came to her abilities and skills. But when it came to things like appearance and attractiveness to the opposite sex, that same sense of self deserted her completely. Sure, she cleaned up okay, all things considered. She wasn’t a total grease monkey. Before going to Hagg’s for an evening of billiards, darts, and Brodie, she’d scrub herself clean, rebraid her hair, put on a clean pair of dungarees and a fresh shirt. But that was as girly as she got. No need to pretend otherwise, after all. She knew everyone far too well, and they her. What would be the point?
    Aye, there might have been a moment now and again when she’d indulged in a makeover fantasy—hallucination was more like it—but when it came down to it, she had zero inclination to so much as paint her nails, much less her face. She was a take-it-or-leave-it type when it came to any sort of cosmetic enhancement. For the most part, she chose to leave it. Her feeling had always been that if she had to slap on layers of goop in order to get a man’s attention, it wasn’t worth getting. Men didn’t have to go to all that trouble. They shaved, brushed their teeth, and combed their hair. She was willing to do that much.
    Standing there now, in the face of Brodie’s easy good looks and Daisy’s perky perfection, however, she began to have second thoughts about her stance on all things cosmetic. Brodie liked girly-girls. Well, to be fair, Brodie liked all kinds of women. His head could be turned by an infectious laugh as easily as a pretty face. It was one of the things she liked best about him, that he judged people for who they were and not what they looked like. And yet ... when he looked at her, she doubted he saw anything resembling a desirable woman. He just saw good ol’ Kat. One-of-the-boys Kat. Best-buddy Kat.
    “I, uh, I’d better get inside and make sure Papa isn’t doing anything he shouldn’t be,” she stammered, suddenly feeling out of her element and hating it. This was her town, her people, her place of business. It was ridiculous to feel like an outsider in any manner. “Thank you for taking care of him, I appreciate it,” she told them both, and meant it, but wanted nothing more than to get as far away from them as possible. Not waiting for a response, she clutched the sack of sandwiches more tightly in her fist and went inside the shop, leaving Brodie and Daisy standing there looking confused by her abrupt departure.
    “Go ahead and make a good team,” she muttered. “See if I care. God, you’re such an idiot, Kat. To even think you could get him to—”
    “Hey—”
    She jumped when Brodie put his hand on her arm. The sack bobbled dangerously, clanking the soda bottles together that were tucked inside. Brodie moved easily to take the bag from her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you heard me.”
    “What?” she said, knowing she sounded testy beyond reason and that he’d have no way of understanding why. But there wasn’t much she could seem to do about it. Hell, after her little performance earlier, God only knew what he was thinking. At the moment, she just wanted to crawl into the nearest hole and hope he eventually forgot all about today. Maybe Daisy could take his mind off of it. The thought made her scowl deepen.
    He lifted his hand from her arm, palm out in a placating manner. “Nothing. I—I just wasn’t