Wildfire Read Online Free PDF Page A

busy.” Amanda had honed her evasions to a fine art.
    Guy responded to her no-nonsense tone by changing the subject. “I’m attending a meeting this afternoon with the dean. You know”—he lowered his voice confidentially—“I think he might appoint me to the next vacancy on the tenure committee. We see eye-to-eye on administrative matters and he often asks me for my advice.”
    Guy was totally involved in climbing the internal ladder of success and consequently was often in the middle of a number of Machiavellian plots and power plays. Amanda personally thought that a better appearance and a nicer disposition would gain Guy a lot more than the kind of backstabbing he seemedto enjoy participating in. But that was his problem; she had enough of her own to contend with.
    The following week was very hectic. Two members of the library support staff quit, so they were now shorthanded. On Wednesday the circulation librarian called in sick, which meant that the remaining librarians had to rotate hourlyshifts at thereference desk out in the main reading room. Amanda spent her hour alternating between helping bewildered students find information and reprimanding others for sneaking cups of coffee into the library.
    Although NO DRINKING, EATING, OR SMOKING signs were prominently displayed throughout, Amanda still caught at least half a dozen people trying to enter with containers of coffee
or lit cigarettes.
    After firmly repeating the rules so many times, she began to feel like a law enforcement officer. Most of the students were pleasant about it, but there’s always one in every crowd who won’t comply without a fight.
    “Where’s it say there’s no drinking?” one belligerent girl demanded.
    Amanda pointed to the sign right behind her.
    “Well, I’ve never heard of such an idiotic rule.”
    “All libraries have that rule to protect their books from accidents,” Amanda patiently explained. “The replacement cost for damaged books has risen dramatically over the past few years.”
    “I’ve always brought in coffee and never been stopped before. I’m not a kindergartener who’s going to spill everything all over my books!”
    “The rule stands. If you like, you can speak to the head librarian about it.” This tactic proved successful in getting the student to bad-naturedly give in, throwing her full cup into the trash, muttering under her breath all the while. Given the choice, few people wanted to talk to John Abbington, and Amanda couldn’t really blame them.
    “Any time you want to apply for a position down at the police station, just give me a call,” a masculine voice drawled.
    Amanda whirled around. “Brady!” How did he always manage to sneak up on her?
    “No more Detective Gallagher, I see. That
is
an improvement.” Brady congratulated Amanda with a grin that was ever so slightly lopsided.
    “What are you doing here?” she asked, noting the envelope he
held in his hand.
    “I’ve got something for you.” He dropped the envelope on top of the desk.
    “What’s this?”
    “My references,” Brady solemnly replied. “Aren’t you going to open it?”
    Amanda cautiously did so, as if fearing the contents might bite her. Her fingers alighted on an innocuous sheet of paper, which she pulled out and read.
    “Dear Amanda. It’s about time someone asked for references from a sister—no one’s ever had the good sense to consult me before. Brady is pretty nice,considering he’s an older brother. You can’t expect too much from them, can you? Although Brady tends to be overprotective, you shouldn’t run into any problems. Don’t play Monopoly with him though. He’ll accuse you of cheating if you win. Good luck! Ginny Gallagher.”
    Amanda had to laugh. “Your sister’s editorial commentary is most enlightening.”
    Brady leaned forward, bracing his hands palm down on the desk that separated them. “My sister does cheat at Monopoly,” he maintained, studying her mouth with a sensual