Tallchief: The Homecoming Read Online Free PDF Page B

admired her, a woman who would fight for those she loved, but he couldn’t have her dragging the past into J.T.’s life.
    He crossed his arms and glanced at the ten-speed bicycle propped against the bay’s doorway. “Why don’t you just hop on that thing and leave me alone?”
    She stood her ground, long gleaming legs locked on the cement floor. “Two things, Mr. Tallchief. One, I want to know why I don’t qualify as a customer—there are legal recourses, you know. And two, you are going to accept an invitation to the Tallchiefs. You are going to bring your son to Tallchief house for the dinner they are giving in my honor. That’s Friday night. Be there.”
    “You’re telling me what to do, and if I don’t cooperate you’re going to give that information in your hand to them, right? That’s blackmail, isn’t it?” Liam inhaled slowly, his usual immense patience stretched by the sensual needs he hadn’t expected…and by another woman—Elspeth Tallchief Petrovna. The Tallchiefs had all visited his gas station in the past six months, but one look at Elspeth’s quiet gray eyes—what did he sense as their gazes met and locked? Why did the hair on his nape lift as big warning lights blazed in his mind?
    “Let’s just say I like having my way. You’ve been avoiding the Tallchiefs, and now you can’t. If you’re an imposter, they’ll know. That’s why, isn’t it?” Her smirkknocked the breath from him, irritated him and entranced him at the same time.
    “Do I or my son look like Tallchief imposters?” He didn’t want to enter a conversation with her, but he had and he wasn’t backing up. Liam Tallchief had had enough of threats in his life. Without thinking, Liam captured her wrist, and while she was dealing with that, he tugged her toward the sink, rubbed soap compound into her hand and scrubbed it, shaken by the delicate feel of her fingers within his. He dried her hand briskly with a towel and resented cupping her chin in his hand to scrub clean that smudge on her cheek.
    Her skin was just as soft as he suspected, contrasting with his darker skin, running smoothly beneath his calluses and scars. He couldn’t afford the need to stroke that willful silky hair, to grip it in his fists and hold her still as he took that lush mouth, parted in surprise.
    He tossed the towel aside, disgusted with his unstable emotions. “Get out,” he said as quietly as he could, not understanding his need to reach out and tug that lean curved body against his. One look down at her T-shirt, which tightened across her breasts as she breathed deeply, caused desire to rake at him.
    “Tell me why I don’t qualify as a customer. Give me one good reason. I’ve never been turned down before—for anything. My credit rating is good. I have not written one bad check in my lifetime.” She aimed a narrowed, determined look at him. “You handled me like a child. I resent that. And the next time you decide to haul me after you, you’re going to end up on your back—on the floor.”
    The image of her tossing him, a woman much smaller and lighter than himself, caused a smile to flirt withinhim. It died when J.T. stirred drowsily on his cot, sitting up to rub his eyes with his small fists.
    Liam inhaled roughly. J.T. had heard enough arguments before Reuben passed away. Explaining a sick and dying man’s bitterness to a child wasn’t easy, because Reuben had been selfish and a bully. Liam had kept Reuben from J.T., because the dying man would be left alone, if he struck out at the boy. “It’s all right, J.T. Miss Farrell was just leaving.”
    “No, I wasn’t,” she said brightly, and smiled at the little boy. She looked up at Liam, the warmth in her smile dying. “I’d like a date with your son. You’re obviously busy, and I’d like to take him for a walk to look at toys and then to the city park playground. Is that okay with you?” she asked, a challenge ringing in her tone. “I’m not running away with him, and