LITMIR.BIZ

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veins, and he gritted his teeth, suppressing his reaction to Kate.

      Get a grip, soldier. What was it about this woman that made him wax poetical like some lame … well, poet? Sure, she was pretty and friendly and a refreshing change from the ball buster sort of women he usually met, but he had no excuse for losing his head around her.

      “Janet, this is … uh, I’m sorry. I never got your name.”

      “Gage Prescott.” He offered his hand to Janet, and they shook. When he would have withdrawn his hand, Janet clung to his fingers, meeting his eyes with a come-hither look that startled him. Her lack of subtlety was bad enough, but when he spotted the wedding ring on her left hand, he became distinctly uncomfortable.

      “So, where are you from, handsome?” Janet asked.

      “Bozeman, most recently.” Giving her a quelling look, Gage extricated his hand, but not before she had let her fingers stroke his palm as she slid her hand from his. He cut a glance to Kate, who either hadn’t noticed her sister’s behavior or chose to ignore it. “I lived all over the world while I was in the army.”

      Janet’s eyes widened. “Really? Like where? Paris? Rome?”

      “Uh, no. More like Baghdad, Manila, Guam.”

      Janet’s expression deflated, then she shot him a horrified look. “Have you ever killed anyone?”

      More than I want to think about.

      Kate flushed and swatted at her sister. “That’s a terrible thing to ask!”

      Janet’s reply faded to background noise as Gage flashed on the bloody Afghan road where his recon had failed to protect his team from ambush. The deaths of more than a dozen good soldiers, men he called friends, were on his head. Nausea swamped him, and a fine sheen of sweat gathered on his brow.

      “So why does Senator Kelley need a bodyguard?” Kate asked, pulling him out of his haunting memory. “And what’s he doing in Maple Cove? Last I heard, there was no love lost between him and Cole.”

      “I’m not at liberty to say. The senator’s relationship with his son is only my business as it relates to keeping the senior Kelley safe.”

      “I saw on the news where all those women came forward claiming he’d had affairs with them.” Janet leaned forward, a conspiratorial gleam in her eye. “So is it true? Did he sleep with all those women? What did his wife say?”

      Gage scowled. “That’s not for me to say.”

      Kate scooted closer, partially wedging herself between Janet and Gage. “Please excuse my sister, Gage. She failed Tact and Manners 101 in school.” She gave her sister a meaningful look. “Don’t you have some tables to wipe or something?”

      Janet’s mouth puckered as if she’d tasted something sour. “No. I’ve finished my work. Have you?”

      Kate sighed her exasperation but plastered on a patient smile. “Almost.”

      Straightening her shoulders, Kate offered Gage a rueful grin as she turned to gather the sugar dispensers behind the counter.

      Studying the two sisters, Gage couldn’t help but notice the differences. Both were physically beautiful, yet Janet’s attitude toward her sister, her graceless flirting and untoward questions made her unattractive. Kate, on the other hand, had a glow and magnetism that shone from inside, raising her outward appearance to pure radiance. Gage found himself drawn as much to that inner warmth as to her bright blue eyes and feminine curves.

      Snatching him from thoughts of her sister, Janet covered Gage’s hand with hers and leaned so far toward him, he had a clear view down her shirt. Which, he had no doubt, was her intention. “So, tell me about being a bodyguard.”

      “I’d rather you ladies tell me about Maple Cove. Working here in the diner, I imagine you know most everyone.”

      “True enough. What do you want to know?” Janet propped her chin on her hand and braced her elbows on the counter, as if settling in for a juicy round of gossip.

      Gage sat back, crossing his arms over his chest and directing his comments as much to Kate as to her sister. “Personalities. Conflicts. Anyone in town have hard feelings toward the Kelleys?”

      Janet scrunched her nose as if searching her memory for the best dirt she had on the Kelley family.

      “I don’t think anyone has a beef against Cole, if that’s what you mean. He’s well-respected by the other ranchers,” Kate said. “I have heard some locals disagree with the senator’s politics, but nothing extreme. What kind of conflicts do you mean?”

      “Just getting a feel for the town. Is there anyone I should be forewarned about, anyone who could be trouble?”

      Janet smirked and dragged a fingernail down his chest. “Depends. What kind of trouble you looking to get in?”

      The bell over the door jingled, and both Janet’s and Kate’s eyes darted toward the newcomer. Janet paled, jerking upright and stepping back from Gage, a guilty look on her face. Kate’s expression clouded and she visibly tensed.

      Alerted to trouble by their reactions to the new arrival, Gage turned on the stool and spotted a wiry man in jeans, boots and a Western shirt—typical ranch-hand garb—stride into the diner with a hard glare pinned on the women. “What the hell’s going on in here?”

      “Larry,” Janet gasped, flicking a nervous glance at the clock. “You’re early.”

      The man glowered at Gage, then at Janet. “Seems to me I’m just in the nick of time. What were you and this clown doing, pawing each other like that?”

      “I—I—”

      “Nobody was pawing anyone, Larry,” Kate said.

      He snapped a churlish look toward Kate. “Stay out of this! This is between me and my wife!”

      Gage groaned internally. Great. A jealous husband.

      Larry stalked behind the counter and grabbed Janet by the arm. “I know what I saw when I came in. Don’t lie to me!”

      His muscles tensing, Gage lifted a hand, palm out. “Take it easy, pal.”

      “Honest, honey. Nothing happened. I—” Janet whimpered in pain as her husband squeezed harder on her upper arm and jerked her toward the door.

      “I knew I couldn’t trust you.” He started for the door, dragging Janet, who stumbled along behind him.

      Gage bristled and felt a rush of heat flood his face and neck, his jaw tightening.

      Kate flew around the counter after her sister. “Wait, Larry. Maybe Janet should stay here for a while.” She stepped in Larry’s path and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Just until you’ve had a chance to calm d—”

      Larry planted a hand in the middle of Kate’s chest and shoved her so hard she fell backward, knocking over several chairs as she tumbled to the floor.

      Gage launched off his stool and intercepted Larry at the door, blocking the irate husband’s exit. The last thing he wanted was to be distracted from his security job by domestic problems of the local residents, but he couldn’t let the jerk’s abhorrent treatment of his wife and Kate go unchallenged, either. Abusive husbands ranked somewhere just below sewage scum in his esteem.

      “Outta my way, creep,” Larry growled.

      “I don’t think so.” Gage crossed his arms over his chest, ready to do battle with the cretin if needed. “Not until you apologize to Kate and let go of your wife’s arm.”

      Larry puffed out his chest and got in Gage’s face. “Who the hell do you think you are telling me my business with my wife?”

      “Looks like I’m the guy who’s going to teach you the right way to treat women.”

      Hank

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