People Will Talk Read Online Free PDF Page A

release.
    "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
    Bret's voice came from so close behind her that
she jumped.
    "Hey," he laughed, steadying her with his hands
on her upper arms. "No swan dives allowed."
    "No," she murmured shakily, acutely conscious
of the heat and strength of his hands through the thin cotton of
her shirt.
    "This is why I do windmill work," he said. "On
days like this the place looks like God's country from horizon to
horizon."
    Instead of letting go of her, he moved closer,
sliding his arms around to hook together in front of her
body.
    Nora's heart started its own rendition of the
"Star Spangled Banner." Locked against him, she was surrounded by
sensation, the warmth of him, the solid feel of his muscled
chest.
    "What I really love," Bret went on, "is the way
the earth looks from the sky. Leaving the ground is so freeing.
"
    His breath wafted against her ear, sending her
nerve endings into a frenzy. She tried to hide the involuntary
shiver that skated over her skin.
    "I-I guess that's what you like about flying,"
she said, compelled to speak even though her voice felt
strangled.
    "Mmmhm." Bret leaned back slightly, settling
her more comfortably against his chest. "I've always loved heights.
Sometimes when I'm at the top of a tall building, I get the
craziest urge to jump."
    "That is crazy." She'd always known he had his
moments of insanity, which made her intense attraction to him even
more strange.
    "Yeah," Bret said. "I guess the craziness
explains my parachuting and bungee jumping phases."
    Nora chuckled, tilting her head back to look at
him. "Your mother must worry about you all the time."
    His smile flashed and died as he looked down at
her. She saw the darkening of his eyes, felt the tension in the
moment, and knew that if she held still, he'd kiss her.
    Yearning possessed her with an urgency. She
knew she couldn't trust him with her heart, that he was trouble,
but now she just wanted to kiss him. The realization should have
terrified her out of his arms and off the windmill
platform.
    But at the moment, she couldn't move. Nora's
eyes fluttered shut as Bret bent closer. She felt the brush of his
lips against hers, the soft catch of electricity that funneled
through her body. He murmured something in his throat, pulling her
tighter as he angled to taste her mouth.
    The scent of him flooded her and left her
hungry and aching. She opened to his kiss, welcoming the taste of
him, the sensation of being surrounded by him. He kissed her with a
softness that held no hesitancy, a thoroughness that sent a ringing
to her ears and a rush of blood thundering through her
body.
    Never had she experienced such an overwhelming
kiss.
    She told herself to be grateful when he lifted
his mouth from hers. It took all her effort to focus on that
thought.
    ''I'm glad you came home, Nora." Her eyes
popped open.
    "Now I know who to call when I need to do
windmill repair."
    She stared at him, dumbfounded by the chaos of
her nervous system while struggling to return to the normal world
of speech. Good Lord, she was acting as if she'd never been kissed
before.
    "Glad to be of help," she said as coolly as she
could.
    He laughed, keeping one hand on her arm as he
shifted back to the center of the platform. She scooted after him,
swamped with a sudden need to feel the ground beneath her
feet.
    Bret Maddock was the kind of guy who could make
a girl forget her upbringing and cast her reputation to the
winds-and then go merrily on his way.
    Following him down the ladder, Nora reminded
herself of her situation. Because of Richard's betrayal, the town
censured her for something she hadn't done. Trusting Bret was
absolutely out of the question.
     
    Hoyt's feed store always smelled the same. The
odors of hay and pesticide mingled with the dusty scent of dog.
Nora stood inside the door, her eyes adjusting to the sparse light
filtering down from the occasional light fixture.
    The dusty shelves were still crammed with feed
and fertilizer. Along one