Stranger in Camelot Read Online Free PDF

and allowed only the most tempting little streams to escape. They sought paths through the smooth, dark hair on his long legs. She stared at a trickle that slid slowly down the heavy muscle atop one of his thighs. Those water molecules had certainly had an interesting trip.
    Buying soap was the last thing on her mind.
    Feeling bad for watching him in secret, she started to climb down and leave, but he opened his eyes and caught sight of her. Aggie halted, one foot on the middle fence board, the other about to settle on the board below it. The thick sole of her hiking boot slipped on the board’s painted edge, still damp from the night’s rain. Aggie’s foot and leg plunged between the boards, and she cursed. A second later she was straddling the fence halfway up and flailing about with her arms for a grip.
    Lady Agnes, indeed!
    As she struggled to pull her leg back, and her rump began to slide toward the ground, she was grimly aware of John Bartholomew tossing the hose aside and coming to help her. He scaled the tall fence so fast that he made a smooth vault from the middle board and then over, landing right beside her. His large, bare feet sprayed her with fine particles of sand.
    “Let me, Agnes,” he said kindly, without a trace of amusement. Then he put his hands under her arms and pulled her upward. She felt like an ant being lifted by a crane.
    “When I was a kid I took ten years of dance classes. For all that damned trouble I shouldn’t have ended up with the grace of an armadillo.”
    “Even a swan has awkward moments.” Her feet dangled off the ground. He lifted her higher and kissed the tip of her nose. She thought her breasts were beingstroked by every hair and muscle of his chest as he set her down. When she took a shaky step back, he cupped his hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Good morning,” he said pleasantly.
    “Mornin’.”
    She busily adjusted her bandanna and smoothed her shorts, trying to ignore her jumbled emotions and his glistening body. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your shower.”
    “Thank goodness you did. I was in agony. Didn’t your advertisement say there are shower stalls with hot water at your campground? I hope so. My nobility would get icicles on it if I had to take a cold shower every morning.”
    “Look, John, that’s something we’ve got to talk about.” Aggie stepped back again, forcing him to drop his hands from her shoulders.
    “My icicles?” He eyed her hopefully, smiling.
    She suddenly felt like a jerk. “I was too addled last night to remember my rules. The campground’s only for families and couples. No singles. I’m really sorry, but my grandfather always ran things that way, and he was right. It’s quieter and less trouble. I’ve got a reputation to keep up. A lot of my campers are senior citizens, and they get nervous so easily. Please don’t take this personally. I’m sure you wouldn’t cause any trouble.”
    The disappointment that darkened his eyes twisted her resolve. He really seemed let down. “I understand, Agnes. I’ve put you in an embarrassing spot. Please don’t worry. I approve of your rules.”
    “I apologize. I mean it.”
    “Your grandfather is … deceased?” he asked carefully.
    She nodded. “He died a couple of months ago. He was in town doing some Latin research at the library, and he had a heart attack.”
    “I can hear the grief in your tone. How awful for you to lose him.”
    “I miss him,” she admitted, and looked away, feeling vulnerable and distraught for many reasons, not just Grandpa’s death.
    “You ran this place together?”
    “Yeah. When I was little he taught me everything he knew about horses. When I came back here five years ago, he made me a partner and gave me my father’s old room. He was getting a little frail. I cooked for him and kept out of the way when his girlfriends came to visit.”
    “Girlfriends?”
    She smiled. “Grandpa was popular with the senior set. He called them his gray