The Black Sheep and the Princess Read Online Free PDF

apparently vastly sensory-deprived one of them. “And unfortunately I’m not prepared to discuss any of this tonight.”
    If he’d been anyone else, she’d have extended her hand for a polite shake, but she was half afraid she didn’t have polite in her where he was concerned. And touching him, letting him have any direct contact with her flesh…even all these years later…no. As badly as she’d wanted him to, she’d never let him touch her then. It would be the height of stupidity to think she could handle it any better now.
    â€œI couldn’t find any contact information for the camp, and I didn’t have any direct information on contacting you,” he said by way of explanation. “Your mother’s attorney wouldn’t give that out.”
    Her eyes widened. “You spoke to Donald?”
    He nodded. “I didn’t know where else to start. You’re in trouble here, Kate. Trust me, no one wanted it to be otherwise more than me. I didn’t want to come back here. I never wanted to come back here. But…helping people is what I do. And I thought I could help you. I know I can.”
    It just wasn’t adding up. No one just dropped everything to race off and play Good Samaritan for someone they hadn’t seen in eighteen years. There was only one explanation she could think of that made any sense, though she didn’t pretend to understand it. Yet. “Shelby put you up to this, didn’t he? Well, I don’t know what his game is, or yours, but you can tell him his ploy won’t work. We had a deal and, one way or the other, I’m holding him to it. Good night, Mr. MacLeod.” She slapped her thigh. “Come, Bagel.”
    Not waiting to see if her fickle dog complied, she went to storm past Mac into the cabin, but he shifted slightly, causing her to stop short and almost lose her balance rather than allow herself to come into even the most incidental contact with him.
    â€œWhat on God’s green earth would make you think I’d ever so much as lift a finger for Shelby Sutherland?”
    Even if she hadn’t heard the banked fury in his tone, she was close enough now that there was no mistaking the same emotion in his eyes. “A lot of years have passed,” she managed, suddenly feeling a whole lot more than indignation. He was far too close. “People change.”
    â€œNot that much.”
    She realized she was shaking, but there was nothing she could do about it. “Then why help me? You wouldn’t give me the time of day eighteen years ago. Why go to all this trouble now? Have you changed?”
    â€œI thought maybe you had. I guess I was wrong.”
    â€œDonovan—Mac,” she corrected quickly, automatically, when his eyes flared, “I don’t know what’s going on here, or why you’re really standing on my porch.” She broke off, was forced to swallow, her throat suddenly gone dry and tight. He really was standing far too close. “But I’m going to have to ask you to leave now. We—we’ll talk later, sort this out. No more accusations, I’m just—it’s been a long day.”
    He said nothing, simply held her gaze. Only there was nothing really simple about it. She had no idea if he was even affected by her now, so many years later. Maybe she’d just dreamed that all those smoldering looks he’d sent her way all those summers ago had meant something. Had meant he was as intrigued by her as she’d been by him. For all the opposite reasons. She’d wanted, badly, to walk on the wrong side of the tracks. For a while anyway. With him. She’d thought maybe he’d wanted to get a taste of her life, too. Get a taste of her. But she’d been young and most definitely foolish where he was concerned.
    It appeared that with age didn’t necessarily come sensibility.
    Then he was lifting his hand, and she knew, with absolute