The Sheriff's Secret Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

the pockets of his jacket and crossed the office to where she stood. "We need to talk."

His low voice caused a shiver to dance along her skin. She crossed her arms over her chest.

Dammit, the aged gray sweat jacket again.

Gage's sweat jacket. Normally, she never left her place with it on, but Gina had shown up while she was studying and she'd forgotten to take it off. She doubted he even remembered how she had come to own it, but she wasn't going to take that chance. Thankful for the tank top she wore underneath, a quick zip and the jacket was off her shoulders. She used the sleeves to tie it around her waist.

His eyes followed her every move. "Why'd you do that?"

Yeah, like she was going to tell him she was crazy enough to hold on to this thing all these years. "It's hot in here."

An unreadable emotion filled his blue eyes. He blinked and it was gone. But his gaze stayed on her as he moved forward until the toes of his boots grazed hers.

She didn't budge.

For the first time since that weekend in Vegas, she and Gage were alone. Something they'd managed to avoid all these months. Oh, they'd seen each other. It couldn't be helped in a town the size of Destiny, but they hadn't spoken.

Until now.

"What are you doing in my bar, Gage?"

The brim of his Stetson grazed her hair. "I thought this place belonged to Max."

Not for long. "On paper. I'm the one who keeps it running."

"Always to the point, aren't you?"

"What I am is busy." She broke free from his hypnotic gaze and again crossed her arms. A few side steps had her resting her backside against Max's desk. "So, why did you scare my boss out of his office?"

Gage turned, his clenched fists visibly pressing against the creased leather. "We need to talk about a couple of things—"

"And one of them is your sister." Racy cut him off with a wave of her hand. "You went to Max about her working here, and what? Called in an old family favor? But he told you to deal with me. So, go ahead. Give it your best shot."

"My best shot?"

"In convincing me to fire her, but I'll give you my answer right now. No way."

His mouth pressed into a hard line, then he said, "This is the last place Gina should be working."

She cocked her head to one side. "Because?"

"The girl has a master's degree in twentieth-century British and Irish studies."

"And that's going to hinder her in carrying a trayful of burgers and beer?"

"Dammit, Racy! She's not equipped to deal with the horny cowboys and college kids that come in here."

"Unlike me, you mean."

"You certainly have a way of keeping them in line."

From anyone else, she might've taken that as a compliment. Coming from Gage, it sounded more like an insult. "If you're referring to that brawl in October, I was handling everything just fine until you walked in."

"Including Dwayne. After I stopped his fist with my face."

She fought against a grin and lost. "You should've ducked." Her tone turned serious again. "Look, I wasn't going to let Dwayne use a lopsided loss by his team as an excuse to start a fight. Besides, his right hook didn't shake you up too bad."

"It hurt like hell."

Let it go. You don't want to go there. "Well, I'm sure the ample attention one of my Belles heaped on you led to a speedy recovery." Too late, dammit!

"Tammy brought me a raw steak for my eye."

"With a healthy side order of cleavage and fawning."

His gaze dropped from her face to her chest. Racy knew the flimsy cotton tank top was no match against the purple satin push-up bra filled with her own generous assets. She tightened her arms beneath her breasts and took a deep breath.

A single tic danced over his jaw. Served him right.

His gaze moved higher and lingered on her neck. She had to fight to keep her hand from going to her throat. The love bite he'd left above her collarbone was long gone. It had taken almost three weeks for the mark to disappear, but the memory of how she'd gotten it, and who'd given it to her, remained powerfully strong.

Especially