Bad Girl Bill (Atlantic Divide) Read Online Free PDF Page B

team, so Mac had agreed with them she could play on the boys’ team. It had never changed. She’d grown older, but she was still “one of the boys.”
    Difference was, she wore a uniform these days. The sun shone, and the crowds milled. She had her favorite seat and was prepared to cheer on her newfound family.
    She scanned the field once and fixed on Michael’s blond hair as it gleamed in the sunlight, catching her attention as sure as a bar of gold. His head was angled so he could listen to Lydia, but his gaze was narrowed, perusing the seating area. When it settled on Bill, it stayed there while he nodded and agreed with whatever his sister said.
    *
    She wasn’t difficult to spot high up in the bleachers, wearing her ugly khaki deputy uniform, sporting a baseball cap and wearing shades. He knew she had seen him. Her body was angled toward him, and her utter stillness gave her away. Body language was his specialty, and he looked forward to learning the language of her body.
    A vibrating warmth spread through him from his stomach downward, and he inclined his head briefly in acknowledgement in her direction. She abruptly sat up straight, her chin notching up a level, and then gave a brief, jerky nod in his direction, and he knew he had her.
    If she moved, she was going to make it too obvious, and from the small amount he knew about Bill, she was too dogmatic to give him the pleasure of seeing her move on his behalf. The row she sat on was fairly full, but he was sure he could find himself a seat up there.
    He took his time collecting two hot dogs from the stand, picked up two sodas, and then he made his way through the crowds of parents, up the bleachers to the row Bill was sitting in. People stood to let him through, smiling politely, their eyes on the game about to start, their attention on their own kids.
    “Hey.”
    She glanced up as he sat next to her, wriggled his backside into the small space, tight up against her. His broad shoulders pushed her firmly into the corner as he invaded her personal space, and his leg pressed hard against hers from their hips, down through their thighs, touching at the knee.
    He handed over a hot dog and a can of soda.
    “That’s for letting me use your gym this week. It’s been great.” Only seven days and he was already starting to muscle up. It didn’t take long for his body to remember how to exercise.
    She grunted, and he thought it might be her way of saying thanks.
    He watched with fascination as she devoured her hot dog, attention on the crowd all the time as she chewed and swallowed.
    “First day, all your brothers were there.”
    “Hmmm…they said.”
    “It made it a little crowded.”
    “Yeah, it would.” She smiled, and he knew she was perfectly aware her gym was only suitable for a maximum of four.
    “Since then, there’s only been two of them at a time.”
    “Really? Good job my cousins didn’t turn up too.” She didn’t sound very attentive as her eyes scanned her surroundings.
    He thought it was interesting the way her brothers scheduled themselves so he was accompanied at all times. He’d thought at first they’d been going to intimidate him with their muscle power, overwhelm him with their numbers, but he’d been surprised at how friendly these guys really were. They just made sure he was never alone in her house, and by all accounts, she had no idea what they were doing. Interesting that she wasn’t party to that.
    Licking her fingers neatly, she turned to eye the rest of his half-eaten hot dog. He broke it in half and handed it to her He watched her push it into her mouth in one go and gulp as she tilted her head and slugged back most of the soda. Her throat worked quickly as she downed the cold drink, and then she swiped the back of her hand across her mouth when she was finished.
    Michael never took his eyes off her for a minute. He had never seen any woman enjoy herself so unselfconsciously in all his life. She fascinated him. He wondered if