The Gift Read Online Free PDF Page B

how sensitive and soft the skin there would be.
    Damn. He cleared his throat and released a long, slow breath. “Anything in particular you expect to find in there?” His voice sounded gruff and thick. A lot like he felt right now…
    “I’ll know it when I see it.” She shot him a quick glance, then pulled open drawers, leafed through appointment books, looked through Lorilee’s Rolodex. “Would you mind giving me a list of your wife’s closest friends? I’d like to chat with them while I’m in town, too.” She held up the Rolodex. “Will I find their contact info in here?”
    Ty inclined his head. “I expect.”
    “You aren’t sure?”
    “I never use Lorilee’s desk.” He swallowed the sudden lump that formed in his throat. What he didn’t say was that taking or moving her things had always seemed too final.
    “You mean you haven’t touched anything in this desk since your wife left, Mr. Malone?” Dearborn arched a dark eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe.”
    Ty shrugged. “Believe it or not, I haven’t touched anything in that desk since my wife died. It’s a fact.”
    “It’s not dusty in here, Malone.”
    “I said I don’t touch it. Pearl cleans everything, and the kids use the supplies for homework.”
    Her expression wavered and she gave an emphatic nod. “Okay. If you say so.” She turned her attention to the side drawers. “Does that mean you’ve left everything else of Lorilee’s alone, too?”
    “I reckon.”
    “Well, in that case, I’ll examine things more closely.” She passed a pad of yellow paper to him and a pencil from the Mardi Gras cup that had sat on Lorilee’s desk for as long as Ty could remember. “Would you jot down the names of those friends for me, please?”
    “Sure.” His hand brushed against hers as he took the pad, and the sudden urge to grab hold and tug her up against him slammed into him like a gut punch. A film of perspiration coated his skin.
    “Mr. Malone?”
    The sound of her voice jarred him back to reality. Holy shit. He was in pitiful shape. They were talking about his dead wife, and he was attracted to another woman. That made him lower than a snake. “Sorry. I was just…” Just what? It wasn’t as if he could tell the truth.
    “Not a problem.” Dearborn turned her attention to the drawers on the far side of the desk. She rose from the chair and bent over, denim hugging her curves like a lover’s caress.
    Definitely a problem.
    Ty mopped sweat from his forehead with the backof his sleeve, then walked to the window on the far wall and raised it. A cool spring breeze tinged with the scent of rain drifted through the window, drying the perspiration from his skin.
    He had to regain his self-control. The only reason this woman had such an effect on him was because he hadn’t been around any women near his own age lately. They’d all either been a lot older or younger or married.
    So…maybe she was married. That would cool his desire in a hurry. He needed to know. Dammit.
    She straightened after a moment and stretched. The action pushed her breasts forward, straining against her blue T-shirt. Please be married. He drew a deep breath and said, “Must be hard on your family, you gallivantin’ around the country all the time like this.”
    She froze midstretch and blinked, clearly oblivious to the effect her pose had on Ty’s deprived—and depraved—state. “Pardon?”
    He walked toward her, thankful when she finally straightened and relaxed her shoulders enough to stop aiming her nipples at him. “Your family. Don’t they mind you traveling so much on business?”
    “Oh, I’m not married.” She placed Lorilee’s Rolodex in her backpack. “Thanks for letting me borrow this. I promise to return it unharmed.”
    Not married. Ty managed not to sigh, and he refused to acknowledge the cheering section between his legs. “What…” He shook himself and managed to form a complete sentence. “What would you like to see