The Bronzed Hawk Read Online Free PDF Page B

two thousand feet.”
    “Wind?” Kelly asked doubtfully. The balloon was still in motion, but she felt a curiously weightless, drifting sensation. “Are you sure there is one?”
    O’Brien smiled. “Quite a strong one, as a matter of fact,” he assured her. “You don’t notice it because the winds are so silent at this altitude.”
    “Is that it?” Kelly asked, looking out the gondola at the terrain far below. “I suppose you’re right. It’s unbelievably quiet up here. I’ve never known such a completely peaceful atmosphere.” She looked up at the brilliant scarlet chute above them. “It’s enormous, isn’t it?” she asked eagerly, “Are all hot air balloons this size?”
    “No, this one isn’t all that big. It’s slightlysmaller than average,” O’Brien replied, leaning against one of the metal struts and watching her glowing face with evident enjoyment. “It’s about sixty-six thousand cubic feet. They run as large as eighty-seven thousand cubic feet. If I’d known I was going to have a passenger, I’d have arranged for more roomy accommodations.”
    “To tell you the truth, I’m finding our little nest quite cozy,” Kelly said flippantly over her shoulder. “Do you usually fly this thing solo?”
    “Well, I meant to tell you about that,” he said, his blue eyes dancing with mischief. “Actually, I’ve only been up in a hot air balloon once before and then only for about a three-hour trip.”
    “I beg your pardon,” Kelly said blankly, turning slowly to face him. She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Even Nick O’Brien wouldn’t have attempted anything so outrageous. “Would you mind repeating that?”
    O’Brien nodded. “This is the first time I’ve taken a balloon up solo,” he repeated cheerfully. “I felt I should have some sort of instruction, so I hired an experienced balloonist to show me the ropes the first time, of course.”
    “Of course,” Kelly echoed faintly, gazing into his face, which was alight with mischief. “You’re putting me on, aren’t you?”
    He shook his dark head decisively. “Nope,” he said. “I would have told you before, but you seemed so eager to come along that I hated to dampen your enthusiasm. How are you enjoying your first balloon ride, Goldilocks?”
    “Very much, thank you,” she said dazedly. Then, incredibly, she began to chuckle, and her chuckle quickly escalated into uproarious laughter. Holding her sides, she sank to the floor of the gondola and leaned against the wicker wall.
    “You’re not hysterical, are you?” O’Brien asked warily, his gaze narrowing on her brimming eyes and flushed face. “I’ve got to warn you that a six-foot gondola is no place for a hysterical woman. I just might have to toss you overboard.”
    “You’d probably do it, too.” She was having difficulty speaking coherently through the helpless giggles that were still shaking her. “Add
you
accused me of involving myself in no-win situations! I’m now floating some seventeen thousand feet above the ground with a totally inexperiencedpilot who is using an equally untested fuel to propel us to sunny Acapulco in a gaudy scarlet hot air balloon.” She shook her head, still chuckling. “Can you blame me for losing my cool?”
    “My balloon is not gaudy,” he defended. “And you didn’t lose your cool, sweetheart. You laughed.” He shook his head wonderingly. “Any other woman would have been screaming hysterically or in an old-fashioned Victorian swoon right now. Do you know how long I’ve looked for a woman like you?”
    Kelly’s green eyes were dancing as they met his across the expanse of the basket. “I hope you don’t set up tests like these too frequently, Nick,” she said dryly. “The next woman you decide to take ballooning may not be as amused.”
    He smiled slowly with a warm intimacy that caused Kelly’s breath to catch oddly in her chest. “But why should I take another woman with me, love?” he asked gently.