Bodyguard/Husband Read Online Free PDF Page B

bluntly, “What’s going on with your sister?”
    “Nothing you need to be concerned about.” Holly turned away from Jack’s icy, knowing gaze to run hot water into the sink. She didn’t want to get into her relationship with her younger sister. Especially not tonight. She was too tired. He could whip out his suspicious microscope and study her friends and family tomorrow.
    “I’m concerned about everything that concerns you.”
    Holly sighed. “You obviously don’t have any brothers or sisters.”
    He didn’t answer. She took that as a no.
    “Debi was only four when our parents died, so she hardly remembers them. To her, I’ve always been the mother figure. She resents me telling her what to do. She’s a kid.”
    “You’d been married for three years by her age.”
    “That’s right.” Holly nodded, unsettled by the extent of his knowledge. “And widowed within three more. But Debi’s young, and I think she’s afraid I’m going to go away.”

    Did the idea that Holly had impulsively married a stranger frighten her sister? Holly would have sworn she’d seen a flash of tears in the brown eyes so much like her own.
    Jack studied her. “Pretty insightful. So what she said doesn’t bother you?”
    The tension of the past hours and days bubbled to the surface. “Sure it bothers me. But she’s just lashing out because she’s scared. I’m the big sister. It’s my job to take care of her. And I do not want her involved with this.” Now her own eyes were filling with tears. She blinked them away, along with memories of Debi’s little hand squeezing hers as they cowered in the grim church sanctuary with the twin caskets of their parents looming over them. Eleven-year-old Holly had comforted her baby sister, but she’d wished desperately for someone strong enough to hold her hand and make her feel safe.
    As if he’d heard her unspoken wish, Jack reached out, but stopped just short of touching her arm. “So, do you spend a lot of your time taking care of people?”
    “What do you mean? Did Uncle Virgil tell you that?” She stepped away from the promise of his touch. She’d only known him a few hours. It disturbed her that she already knew the feel of his lips and the strength of his arms. Knew them and wanted to feel them again.
    “It’s obvious. Your fear that he’s too stressed. Your relationship with your sister, your immediate concern about my shoulder.”
    Holly looked at the stranger who had been thrust into her life. He was too close, too big, too perceptive. He wasn’t as muscular as Brad had been, nor as tallas Danny’s six feet two inches, but he filled up her kitchen with his broad shoulders and his chameleon-like eyes, which seemed to be able to pierce through all her defenses, down to the heart of her.
    She plunged a stack of dirty dishes into the soapy water, wishing she could wash away the past and all the heartache that had brought her to this point.
    “You can put your stuff in the guest room,” she said dismissively. “Second door down the hall on the left. The bathroom is the first door.”
    Jack didn’t move. She felt his eyes boring into her back.
    “Why did you get married right out of high school?” he asked, his voice gentle and low.
    The question startled her. She rinsed a plate as she tried to think how to answer. She didn’t want to talk about why she’d gotten married so young. “I thought you knew everything about me.”
    “I didn’t say I knew everything. I said you’d be surprised what all I know.”
    Holly slung soap and water off her fingers. “So, since we’re married, shouldn’t I know all about you, too?”
    He held her gaze for a beat. “This is about you, not me,” he said. “I’m just the bait. You’re the key. You didn’t answer my question.”
    The bait. A thrill of apprehension ran through her. She got the feeling his questions were going to become a lot more personal and probing before he was done. “First of all, it wasn’t right