Kiss of a Dark Moon Read Online Free PDF

couldn’t be sure. The memories of her parents had grown dim over the years. Like blurred, faint images glimpsed through water. She tried to remember, to cling to a time when she had stood center stage in someone’s life, to recall what that had been like.
    Her father, a carpenter, had smelled of wood. Freshly cut cedar and pine. And his hands had been large. One alone could engulf half her head. She remembered that. If little else. Remembered him cupping her face as he kissed her good night. And her mother wore a gold cross around her neck. Kit could see it in her mind, nestled in the hollow of her throat—the skin there had been golden brown, like her own. Warm and smooth, puckered with the faintest gooseflesh. Her face was less clear, only a blurry image in Kit’s mind.
    The beep of the microwave broke her thoughts. With fork in hand, she removed the tray and peeled back the plastic cover. Stabbing into the pasta, she brought a bite of creamy noodles to her mouth.
    Her gaze drifted to the kitchen phone, giving a small start as she noticed the blinking light of the answering machine on the counter. Swallowing her bite, she set down her food and punched Play.
    She settled a hip against the counter as Claire’s voice emerged.
    â€œHi, Kit! It’s Claire. We just got to the cabin this afternoon. It’s so beautiful here. Hope everything is okay there. I forgot to ask you to water the little plant in the upstairs bathroom. Phone reception is bad up here. We’re in town for dinner right now, but give us a call. Love you. Bye.”
    Cooper’s voice came next, the deep timbre of his voice oddly sharp in the kitchen air.
    â€œKit, I just got your message. Nice work tonight. I’ll send a cleaning crew out for housekeeping and documentation. Call me as soon as you get this.” He paused before adding, “We need to talk.” Another pause. His heavy breathing filled the phone line, and she thought she detected an underlying thread of anxiety. “In person.” Then the phone clicked dead.
    Kit rolled the tines of her fork against her tongue. Did he know EFLA was in town? Frowning, she stood still, her mind spinning as the machine rolled into another message.
    Picking up the phone, she dialed Cooper’s number first. After several rings, his answering machine picked up. Hanging up, she tried his cell phone. His voice mail came on.
    â€œCoop, it’s Kit. Where are you?” She hesitated, about to say more, then instead ended with “Call me back.”
    She tried Gideon next, ready to warn him about EFLA. He and Claire weren’t expected home for another week, but she wanted to make sure they didn’t return sooner. At least until she’d hooked up with Cooper. She was sure he could straighten out the mess with EFLA and Rafe Santiago.
    Setting the phone back on its hook, she took a few more bites of the pasta. Finding herself too distracted to finish, she tossed the fork in the sink and chucked the small tray into the trash can. She turned off the kitchen light, then the one in the living room.
    Upstairs again, she headed for the bathroom. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she watered the small fern at the edge of the counter, going through the motions of being normal, unaffected—as if her mind wasn’t playing over her encounter with Rafe Santiago.
    Once in the guest bedroom, she paced the floor for several moments before abruptly stopping and staring unseeing at the tidied desk.
    She could handle Rafe Santiago. He couldn’t run her out of town. Perhaps in time he would see just how tough she was and reconsider his position on female hunters. Right.
    With a snort, she flipped off the light and climbed into bed, tucking her gun beneath her pillow. The mechanical clock’s numbers turned before her eyes. Ten twenty-eight. Pathetic.
    Twenty-six years old and she was in bed alone. Only a gun for company. She shouldn’t be going to