The Renegade Returns (Mill Town Millionaires) Read Online Free PDF Page A

still a part of this family. I hope one day you can willingly put your name on the mill, and reap the benefits along with the rest of your family.”
    All the work would be done by Aiden and Jacob. They should have the rewards—they would have the rewards. And Luke would have his freedom. He loved his brothers, loved the new family they’d built. But how could he stay here and still feed his love for the road?
    Unbidden, an image of Avery’s face as she flushed with embarrassment came to him. He shook the enticing image away. He had never let anything in Black Hills hold him back. He certainly wasn’t going to start now.
    He and Avery would have a little fun, something to liven up his time here, but he could still walk away on his own terms. When he was good and ready.

THREE
    A ll work and no play made Avery a dull girl—and apparently made Luke a frisky boy. Just the look on his face as he settled into one of the treatment rooms warned her he would be trouble.
    Avery experienced a lot of feelings during her therapy sessions with clients: pride, sympathy, joy…but never this mixture of irritation and interest. How did he get under her skin with such little effort? A few words and she was tripping over her own feet.
    His very presence seemed to inject her with pheromones that clouded her mind and drew her thoughts where they shouldn’t go in a professional setting. Especially when her work required her to have her hands all over him.
    Then there was the return of the awkwardness. She’d stopped dating because of it. Better to avoid it than to wonder if she had a medical condition—one that caused shaking, clumsiness and unintelligent muttering—all with a single look from any eligible, attractive man. The sight of a handsome man shot her adrenaline up, and if he spoke to her, she immediately became all thumbs. Her considerable intelligence didn’t help at all. And her fellow citizens’ determination to marry her off meant she’d had a wealth of humiliating experiences.
    Dropping things, stumbling into door frames, bumping into all manner of furniture, and—her favorite—jerking her fork so that food ended up in all kinds of crazy places. One time, she’d actually flicked pasta onto her date’s eyebrow. She couldn’t remember that incident without cringing. So Mark escorted her to many functions, which gave her a reprieve from the matchmaking mamas.
    The only time it didn’t happen was when she put on her scrubs and became her professional self—comfortable in her knowledge and authority.
    Until Luke. And he knew it, too.
    Luke—with his sexy stare and flirty ways—jump-started the phenomenon quicker than any guy ever had. Which was why she approached him for this second session with her professional facade firmly in place. And it would stay that way. “I’ve worked up a comprehensive plan for you,” she said, “now that I’ve had a chance to evaluate you firsthand—”
    “Firsthand evaluation?” he asked, bending to catch her gaze. “How did I miss that? Can I have a do-over?” His wiggling brows didn’t help her nerves. She gripped his chart hard before it could get loose.
    “Behave,” she said in her sternest voice.
    “Oh, honey, I don’t know how,” he said with a wicked grin that sent shivers racing over her.
    How could he derail her so easily, so completely? She dared not speak for a moment, afraid she’d get out no more than a croak as her throat tried to close. That would be humiliating.
    Finally, she cleared the constriction. “Look, in this clinic, I’m the boss. This is my career.” She adopted a stern look, despite the amusement on his face. “Here, I’m not your friend, family, or—” She almost said girlfriend . Where the heck had that come from? “So stop playing and get busy.”
    He didn’t respond right away, which surprised her. Luke always seemed quick on the draw. But she could feel him watching her. Probably preparing for battle.
    Lord, have mercy. His teasing