The Traveling Kind Read Online Free PDF Page B

could see the whiteness of discomfort in his tanned face. He paused inside the room, leaning his weight on the crutches. “I thought I smelled bacon. What did you do—eat without me?” His gaze centered on the dirty dishes in the sink where Charley was standing.
    “Yes. Shad fixed breakfast this morning. For a change I got to eat somebody else’s cooking besides my own.” She moved away from the sink as Gary hobbled toward the table.
    “Shad fixed breakfast?” he repeated with questioning surprise. While Charley held the chair steady, Gary lowered himself into it.
    “Yes. You should take a lesson from him,” she chided and scooted a second chair closer so he could prop his broken leg on it.
    “Maybe he has discovered that’s the way to a woman’s heart,” Gary suggested, surveying her with an inspecting look that Charley couldn’t quite meet.
    “I doubt it.”
    She laughed aside the suggestion, but the idea nagged her that Shad might have been trying to work his way into her good graces after she had tried to make it clear she wanted no physical involvement with him. “He was fixing his own breakfast so he could get an early start. When I came down he just threw another egg in the skillet for me.”
    “Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to hire this drifter,” Gary murmured thoughtfully.
    “What makes you say that?” As she started for the refrigerator to get his bacon and eggs she sent her brother a curious look.
    “He’s a good-looking devil, and even though you know your way around, you haven’t had what could be described as an overabundance of male company lately. The two of you are going to be working together and living in the same house. You are not an unattractive woman, Charley. Sooner or later he’s going to make a pass at you. And I’ll lay you odds that he’s the kind that loves ‘em and leaves ‘em.”
    She didn’t dismiss her brother’s words of caution. All she had to do was remember the sensations that had flowed through her when Shad had kissed her early this morning. There was a volatile chemistry between them, something she had to be on guard against. She chose not to mention the incident to Gary. Nor did she question his assessment of Shad’s character. It was too close to her own opinion.
    “As you said, Gary—” she shrugged to fake a lack of concern “—I’m old enough to take care of myself.”
     
    But Shad’s presence in the household and the experience of the first day did alter Charley’s routine. In the mornings she splashed cold water onto her face until she was fully awake before she went downstairs dressed for the day. And she was the one who fixed breakfast.
    They were subtle precautions. Yet circumstances necessitated that she spend time in his company, working, sharing a meal, or spending the evening hours with him. The impact of his male vigor and ready smile didn’t lessen with repeated exposure to it. In fact there were times when Charley felt her resistance was gradually being worn away. When his gaze would light on her with a glimmer of appreciation in their depths, she would feel a surge of satisfaction. Any direct contact with him, however accidental, would start a curious curling sensation in her toes. Those were the times when she wondered if she was waging a losing battle.
     
    Less than a week after Shad had come to work for them, Charley was in the barn giving the horses their evening portion of grain. Outside she heard the rattle and roar of the tractor and mower signaling Shad’s return from the hay field. She glanced at her wrist watch since Shad had told her at noon that he wouldn’t be coming in until all the hay was cut. She had planned supper for seven; an oven meal of baked ham, scalloped potatoes and baked beans since those dishes would be the easiest to keep warm if Shad had worked until dark. As it was, by the time she finished with the evening chores and put the food on the table, Shad would have time to shower and clean up