Outlaw Carson Read Online Free PDF Page A

apparently led a strange life,” Dr.
Chambers said. “If he’s having trouble adjusting to his new
environment, I suggest you act as his cultural liaison. Your
efforts won’t go unrewarded.”
    The words “things of power” were on the tip
of her tongue, right on the very tip, begging to be released. She
fought the urge with everything she had inside her. Concentrating
on those elusive rewards, she tried to get the conversation back to
something that would highlight her intelligence.
    “Have you made arrangements for his
accommodations?” she asked. “He seems at loose ends.” Not
brilliant, she thought, but not stupid.
    “I’ll leave that up to you as his cultural
liaison. Frankly, from what we’ve been hearing these last couple of
months, we weren’t at all sure Mr. Carson would fulfill his
contract. You might contact faculty housing.” The dean paused, and
Kristine heard a disturbing hesitation in his voice when he
continued. “Remember, Dr. Richards. We are only interested in Mr.
Carson’s provisional inventory of the ancient remains of Tibet. I
recommend you concentrate your efforts on the research we paid for
and not on whatever else he may be involved in. He is a man of many
talents, not all of which we wish to be associated with.”
    Perfect, she thought. Absolutely perfect.
“You’ve been very helpful, Dr. Chambers,” she said, refraining from
sarcasm. “Thank you.” She hung up the phone in disgust and plopped
her chin into her hands, knowing she’d just been royally dumped
on.
    His cigarette finished, Kit walked over to a
window that looked out over rolling hills leading to a reservoir,
the escarpment beyond, and the city on the plains below. The
redwood deck swept around the north and east sides of the house.
The south side was a glassed-in area with a quarry-tile floor,
filled with plants and sunshine. Her house was so open, far
different from his own in the upper reaches of the Kai Gandaki
River in Nepal, near the Tibetan border. His house, which he had
lived in for several years, had been built to hold off the cold of
bitter winters and the winds funneling down through the gorge. Hers
welcomed the elements into every room. He would enjoy the comforts
it offered.
    The comforts and the company, he thought,
discounting the small lack of an invitation. His partners had
obviously not seen fit either to send an explanation with the
trunks, or to make any arrangements for his arrival. In all
likelihood, they probably hadn’t thought he’d get out of Tibet
alive, not with the Turk battling for the prize he’d attained. But
the woman had a doctorate, and he’d sensed even greater
intelligence than the title implied. She would surely respond to
reason, and if not, he’d learned much of the art of persuasion from
his second father, Sang Phala.
    Still in her office, Kristine waited for yet
one more telephone transfer, knowing her options were dwindling
faster than the snow in the high country. Faculty housing was
booked until Saturday, the married students housing had a waiting
list two pages long, and the dorms were full for the next two weeks
with the Christian Crusaders.
    The secretary came back on the line. “Dr.
Richards?”
    “Yes?”
    “I’ve found a cancellation in Corbett Hall,
but—”
    “We’ll take it,” Kristine blurted out.
    “But it isn’t a private room,” the secretary
finished.
    “That’s his problem,” Kristine muttered
under her breath, and thirty seconds later had given the secretary
all the information she had, his name and a billing address to the
history department.
    With her first success of the day under her
belt, she went out to garner another one, getting rid of the most
intriguing man she’d met in many a moon. The irony wasn’t lost on
her.
    “We’re in luck,” she said, gaining his
attention as she entered the living room.
    “I have felt the same,” he replied, turning
with his rogue’s smile in place. His eyes darkened with the same
warmth she