Protecting Peggy Read Online Free PDF Page B

for?”
    â€œOh, Bugs!”
    Peggy had no idea Samantha had disobeyed her instructions to stay in the kitchen until she heard her daughter’s high-pitched wail.
    â€œThat’s what for.” Propping against the banister, O’Connell jerked his head toward the floor at the bottom of the staircase.
    Peggy’s heart sank when she saw Samantha bent over her beloved pink rabbit, its head torn off and stuffing strewn on the wood floor.
    â€œDamn thing was at the top of the stairs,” O’Connell said. “Caused me to slip and fall.”
    Samantha glared up at O’Connell, tears streaming down her cheeks while she hugged the bunny’s torso. “You broke Bugs’s head off!”
    â€œHey, it’s a miracle I didn’t break my own neck.”
    Peggy crouched, pulled her sobbing child into her arms. “It’ll be okay, sweetheart.” She would have to have another stern talk with Samantha about leaving her toys lying around the inn. Now, however, was not the time.
    â€œYour kid’s not hurt.” O’Connell delivered thewords in a steel tone. “I am. You ought to keep that in mind.”
    Peggy lifted her gaze to his. From where she crouched, he looked disconcertingly big. And strong. She hated the fact she was nearly kneeling at his feet, but she couldn’t do anything about that. Not while Samantha clung to her while she sobbed hot tears against her shoulder.
    â€œIt’ll be okay, Bugs,” Samantha murmured between watery gasps as she rocked the animal. “I’ll fix you.”
    Peggy ran a soothing palm down the child’s dark curls. “Mr. O’Connell, I am very concerned about you. Do you need a doctor?”
    â€œA lawyer’s more like it.”
    â€œI’ve got a question, O’Connell,” Rory said as he stepped between them. Peggy sensed that a protective barrier had suddenly risen in front of her and her child. Still crouched on the floor with Samantha crying against her shoulder, she leaned forward so she could see each man’s face in profile.
    â€œWhat’s the question, Sinclair?” the EPA inspector asked.
    â€œWhy do you want a lawyer?”
    â€œThe kid—”
    â€œSamantha,” Rory said evenly. “Her name’s Samantha.”
    â€œYeah, well, she left that rabbit in the middle of the stairs. The fall I took could have killed me.”
    â€œSo, you want a lawyer because you’re thinking of suing Mrs. Honeywell?”
    O’Connell looked at Peggy. “Maybe.” His gazedropped to her mouth. “Unless we can work out something.”
    She gritted her teeth while heated anger pooled in her cheeks. If Samantha and her other guests weren’t present, she would ask the idiot if he actually thought his threatening her with a lawsuit would compel her to sleep with him.
    Rory hooked a thumb in the front pocket of his jeans. “Here’s the deal, O’Connell. If you call a lawyer, I’ll have to talk to him, too.”
    A guarded look settled in the man’s eyes. “About what?”
    â€œI came down to breakfast ten minutes ago. I saw the pink bunny at the top of the staircase.”
    â€œSee—”
    â€œNot in the middle of the staircase. Off to one side. Against the wall, in fact.” Rory shrugged. “Didn’t look like a safety problem to me. It sounds more like you just got clumsy. If you had gotten hurt, it would have been your own fault. Besides, what does it say about an inspector who trips over something hot pink?”
    â€œWe saw the bunny, too, Mr. O’Connell,” one of the art judges volunteered while the other nodded in agreement. “This gentleman is right. The bunny was against the wall. You must not have been looking where you were going.”
    Apparently realizing he was outnumbered, O’Connell scowled. “Yeah, okay. I guess I’m more shaken up than anything.”
    Peggy swiveled her