New Leaf Read Online Free PDF Page B

to prowl the darkened rooms. She refused to acknowledge, even to herself, about whom she’d been thinking as sleep eluded her.
    As if her thoughts conjured him up, Barney Sterling opened the front door, juggling two capped cups that bore the Jake ’n’ Bake logo. He balanced the cardboard carrying tray on the palm of one hand, holding the door back with his opposite elbow to make it over the threshold without jostling the drinks.
    “Good morning! I bring coffee!” he announced.
    With an attractive shift of his slender hips, he strode to the counter. She tried not to notice the length of his strong legs or the easy way he moved. His boots made sharp raps on the planked wooden floor. Taffeta felt sure she could close her eyes and still tell that the footsteps belonged to a man.
What
, she wondered,
do I find so sexy about that?
    He set the tray on her counter and rested his folded arms on the edge. His dark brown jacket had a thick lining that added breadth to his already impressive shoulders. With a nudge of one knuckle, he indicated which cup was hers.
    “I wasn’t sure how you like yours, so I went for French vanilla, a shot of caramel, and lots of sugar.” He curled the long, sturdy fingers of his right handaround the other cup. His amber-flecked gaze settled on her face. “You look tired. Have a sip. It’ll perk you up.”
    It miffed her that he’d somehow guessed how she loved her coffee. She didn’t often indulge herself with creamers and sugar because she didn’t need the extra calories. She decided to make an exception this morning, though, not because she yearned for caffeine, but because opening the cup would give her something to do with her hands.
No fidgeting allowed
.
    He pushed up the brim of his Stetson and treated her to one of those devastating crooked grins. When that crease appeared in his lean cheek, every rational thought in her head leaked out her ears. She pried the lid from the cup, hoping her fingers wouldn’t tremble.
Why is he here? What does he want?
She glanced up at his burnished features. A friendly twinkle danced in his eyes, and she felt sure that if he knew what she had supposedly done, he’d be grim-faced and glaring at her. And he wouldn’t be here with coffee in the first place.
    She hadn’t been born yesterday, and when a man came sniffing around, it normally indicated that he was interested in a woman. She assumed that he had found her attractive when he caught her dancing, and he was back again to check her out a bit more. God help her, knowing that made her pulse quicken. It also scared the crap out of her because he was a law enforcement official.
    Feeling off balance, she groped for somethingto say. “Thank you for the coffee.”
That was brilliant
. She took a careful sip because heat swirled up from the toffee-brown liquid. “Mm. Just the way I like it.”
    Still bent at the waist, he shifted his weight from one booted foot to the other. “Tell me something, Taffeta Brown. Do you enjoy reading?”
    Taffeta blinked. She had no idea where that had come from, but she didn’t want to piss him off by refusing to answer. “As a matter of fact, I do.” She didn’t ask whether he did. She didn’t want to encourage the man. He was already as bold as brass.
    His mouth curved slowly into a grin. “What are your favorite novels of all time?” He took a sip of coffee and whistled away the burn. “I’ve reread
To Kill a Mockingbird
and
The Catcher in the Rye
so many times I’ve lost count.”
    Those two titles ranked at the top of her favorites list. So far as Taffeta knew, her ex-husband, Phillip, had never read a single book from cover to cover. “Every time I read
To Kill a Mockingbird
, I’m captivated all over again by the characters.”
    “Who is your favorite?”
    “Scout,” she replied without hesitation. “I can totally associate with her.”
    “Ah, a tomboy, were you?”
    Without weighing her words, Taffeta said, “A very angry and resentful