The Maverick Who Ruled Her Heart. Susan Carlisle
Jordon might have too, except he couldn’t seem to get any positive attention from Kelsey.
“I had a dog almost just like you when I was a kid.”
She stopped petting Hardy and straightened. It was as if her enthusiasm had suddenly waned. There was a sad note in her voice as if she’d remembered something she didn’t want to. Had something happened to her dog when she’d been a kid? Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “So, do you live here?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re neighbors. I’ve got the place a couple houses over.”
“Great,” she said, with less gusto than he would have liked to hear. Why did it matter what she thought?
“Well, I guess we’ll let you get back to your sunbathing or whatever you were doing. Come on, Hardy.”
The dog looked from one to the other then sat beside Kelsey.
She said with a smirk on her lips, “I guess your dog likes me better.”
Jordon picked up Hardy’s stick and threw it in the direction of his dock. The dog jumped into the water.
“See you later, Kelsey,” Jordon tossed over his shoulder smugly, as he walked up the dock toward the shore.
Back on his own dock, he threw the piece of wood two additional times for Hardy, in an effort to forget Kelsey only yards away. It didn’t work. His attention kept slipping back to her. It wasn’t just that she was a beautiful half-dressed woman within eyesight but Kelsey intrigued him on a number of levels. She was plain old-fashioned interesting. Something that women he was acquainted with weren’t.
Hardy, finally worn out, lay down beside him. Jordon absently rubbed his ear. “Thank you for being such a turncoat.”
The dog said nothing and Jordon continued to watch Kelsey as she read a book, the sunset no longer of interest. At dusk Kelsey folded her chair down, gathered her belongings and headed toward the house.
“Good night, Kelsey,” Jordon said softly.
He stayed until the night swallowed up the last ray of light then made his way inside with Hardy at his heels. “I hope the view is as good every night,” he said to Hardy, not sure if he meant of Kelsey or the sunset.
The next morning Kelsey tried her ignition switch one more time. Nothing. Was it just a dead battery or something more?
How was she going to get to work? Molly had a doctor’s appointment and had left earlier. Great. It wouldn’t look or sound good when her superiors were contacted by someone in Atlanta and they had her being late to work fresh in their memory. She needed a ride quickly. Looking two driveways over, she confirmed that the blue SUV was still sitting in the drive.
She grabbed her purse from the passenger seat, stuffed it under her arm and started in the direction of Jordon’s bungalow. It would have been nice if one of the other houses around them was occupied but they were only used seasonally so she had no choice but to ask Jordon for help. She wasn’t looking forward to asking him for a ride, but she had little choice unless she walked, and she would be late for sure if she did that.
She stepped up to Jordon’s door. Her hand faltered before she knocked. Barking preceded the door being pulled open. Behind the screen door, wearing no shirt, stood Jordon.
“Well, good morning,” he drawled in an exaggerated tone.
Why did the man manage to set her teeth on edge? Taking a deep breath, she said, “My car won’t start. Can I get a ride with you?”
He grinned, “So what you’re staying is you’re not angry with me anymore.”
“I knew you wouldn’t be a gentleman about this.”
Jordon clasped his hands over his heart. “That hurt. Of course I’ll be glad to give you a ride.” His grin grew and he pushed the screen door open and used his leg to block Hardy from exiting the house. “I’m almost ready. Want to come in and wait?”
Her gaze found his chest. “I’ll just wait out by your SUV.”
He shrugged and let the door slam. “Suit yourself.”
The guy was so smug. What was it about her that made him so rude?
She’d been acutely aware of him behind her while she’d sat on the pier the previous evening. It had taken all her willpower not to glance behind her to see if he was watching her. She’d read the same three pages of her book five times and she still couldn’t have told anyone what they’d been about. All she’d been able to think about had been what Jordon had been doing.
Refusing to give him the satisfaction of him knowing that he’d rattled her, she’d acted as unaffected by him as she’d been able. He’d completely ruined her plans for a relaxing evening. Wishing he would leave, she’d given up at dusk and packed her belongs. She had been grateful that he hadn’t been sitting close enough to see her hands shake when she’d risen.
Had she heard “Good night, Kelsey” drift on the wind?
“Hey, you going to get in or daydream all morning?”
She blinked then focused on him. “I’m going to get in.”
At the beep of the door being unlocked, she climbed into the vehicle and settled into the large comfortable seat. Jordon effortlessly took his spot behind the wheel. They didn’t speak as he backed out of the drive and drove toward town. As they passed the blue house about a mile up the road Jordon commented, “I used to know a family that lived there. They were the Davises. Are you any kin to them?”
A sick feeling went through her. So he did remember. But there was no point in lying. “Yeah. Their daughter.”
He jerked his head around to look at her.
“You might want to watch the road,” she said.
“So you’re one of Chad’s sisters.” He sounded utterly amazed.
“I am.”
He nodded as if in thought. “Which one are you?”
She’d hung on his every word as a kid. She’d thought he’d been the be-all and end-all and he couldn’t remember which one she was. That stung. “I’m the youngest one,” she made herself say in a strong voice.
He pulled to the side of the road and turned to look at her. “So have you known all along who I was?”
“I recognized you while we were dancing.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
She suddenly felt the need to defend herself. “I didn’t even know your real name until you came into my class. You were always J-man to me. We need to get going or we’ll be late.”
He pulled the SUV back onto the road. “J-man. I’ve not been called that for years.”
“Why did you move back?” Kelsey asked. There had to be something in particular to make anyone want to come back to Golden Shores.
The only indication he gave that her question might have disturbed him was the tightening of his hands on the steering wheel.
“It was time to make a change.”
“But why here, of all places?”
“Because this is the last place I remember feeling like I belong,” he said matter-of-factly.
Kelsey huffed. “And it’s the one place I wish I didn’t belong.”
This conversation had gone way past a simple ride to the hospital. Kelsey was relieved when Jordon pulled the SUV into the hospital parking lot. She had to get out of there.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said, opening the door of the SUV before Jordon had turned the engine off.
“Kelsey—”
She