Turning Point (The Kathleen Turner Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

just asked me that,” I spluttered, my cheeks burning.
    “That means you’re not,” he said, and there was no mistaking the satisfaction in his voice. “It’s been six weeks. If Blane hasn’t sealed the deal by now, it’s open season.”
    I was almost afraid to ask. “Open season on what?”
    The look in his eyes made my breath catch. “On you.”

CHAPTER TWO
    A s I drove back to my apartment, I thought about what Kade had said. He’d deftly changed the subject after his declaration. Perhaps my dismay had clued him in. I could think of nothing worse than Blane and Kade fighting.
    Nothing worse except them fighting over me.
    I snorted in derision. I was so not worth coming between them. Not that I thought I wasn’t a decent catch—I was pretty enough, and intelligent. I could sort of cook, and I wanted to have kids someday. But Blane and Kade were in a whole different league, not only in looks, but in careers, education, and success. I was just a bartender who had been given a job that I had serious doubts I could pull off.
    I showered and pulled on a T-shirt, my back aching from Branna’s so-called lesson. I’d just turned off the lights and climbed into bed when my cell phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID, and my heart skipped a beat.
    Blane.
    “Hello,” I answered, settling down under the covers.
    “Kat.”
    The sound of Blane’s voice made me smile.
    “Did I wake you?”
    “No. I wasn’t asleep yet.”
    “Are you in bed?”
    “Yes.”
    “What are you wearing?”
    I laughed. “A very sexy T-shirt.”
    “You look sexy in anything,” Blane said. “What did you do today?”
    I sighed. “Well, Kade dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn—”
    “Kade?”
    I stopped speaking. Blane’s voice had registered surprise and warning.
    “What was Kade doing in your apartment?”
    I swallowed, suddenly deeply uneasy. “He’s training me,” I answered. “He got back in town a couple of weeks ago.”
    Silence.
    “Didn’t he tell you?”
    “He did not.”
    Never had three words conveyed quite so much. I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.
    “How is he training you?”
    Uh-oh. Blane had his courtroom interrogator voice on.
    “He… um… makes me run… in the morning”—I nervously twisted the corner of the blanket in my fingers—“and started me in a self-defense class.” No need to tell him how Branna had beat me up today. “I have to go to the shooting range and practice, too.”
    I stopped, unsure if I should mention anything about the cloak-and-dagger lessons.
    The other end of the line was ominously quiet.
    “Blane? Are you still there?”
    “Yes.”
    The controlled anger in his voice made me cringe.
    “I’m sorry,” I apologized. “I assumed you knew, that he had told you.”
    “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about,” he said. “I’ll take it up with Kade. Don’t worry about it.”
    I briefly wondered what that conversation would be like, then decided I really didn’t want to know.
    I changed the subject. “When are you coming back?”
    Blane sighed tiredly. “I don’t know. I’d hoped to be back in a day or two, but that might not work out.”
    Lightning flashed outside. A storm was brewing. I watched as I listened to Blane speak, something in his voice causing a sense of foreboding to creep over me.
    “Listen, Kat.” His voice lowered, became more grave. “The Navy… I had a meeting today.”
    Lightning again, this time closer.
    “Kat… they want me to reenlist. They have a need for a specialized liaison between the JAG Corps and Special Ops, due to the secrecy and sensitive nature of what they do. They want me to take that position.”
    My stomach twisted painfully and I clutched the phone to my ear. “What does that mean?” The words felt stiff and foreign on my tongue.
    “It means I’d go back to active duty for a while—six months probably—before assuming the responsibilities of the job.”
    The lightning seemed to be right