Blue Ribbon Summer (The Baltimore Banners Book 3) by Lisa B. Kamps Read Free Book Online

footsteps came to a stop, and jumped far enough back in surprise that she banged into the stall door.
    "Um, sorry. Not Jake." Ian stood a few feet away and shrugged in apology, his eyes soft in the dim light of the barn. Kayli whirled around so her back was to him, her face heated in embarrassment and mortification, and prayed he wouldn't come closer.
    Today was obviously not her day for answered prayers, because his footsteps echoed behind her and didn't stop until he was standing right next to her. He leaned his arms along the top of the stall door and stared down at the dirt floor, much like what she was doing.
    But he didn't say anything. Minutes went by and he still didn't say anything. And the silence went on for so long that Kayli shifted from one foot to the other, uncomfortable and embarrassed. And mortified. If she could have disappeared into the dirt, she would have. She needed to apologize, she knew she did, but her voice was simply frozen.
    "If I did anything--"
    "You didn't." Kayli shook her head emphatically, interrupting him, silently berating herself for waiting so long to say anything that Ian had a chance to speak first. She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush, her eyes focused downward. "I...I'm sorry. About back there. I, uh, I was out of line. With all of it. So, I'm sorry."
    She could have added more to the apology, could have offered at least a small explanation, but getting the apology out had been harder than she thought it would be. Kayli didn't think she could manage more than that right now.
    Silence continued to stretch around them, and Kayli shifted again. She had thought--hoped--that Ian would just turn around and leave after she apologized, but he didn't move. She shifted her eyes to the right so she could look at him without his realizing it, and was surprised to see that he had turned to face her, his dark gaze studying her.
    Kayli turned away, uncomfortable at the intensity she saw in his eyes. She moved away from him, walking toward the corner of the barn then turning around and heading toward the door before turning and heading back to the corner, looking for something to do.
    "Do I make you nervous?"
    Ian's quiet question stopped her aimless wandering and she looked over at him. He was still leaning against the stall door, one hand casually resting along the top, the other hand tucked carelessly in the front pocket of his jeans.
    "Nervous? No, of course not." Which was so patently untrue. She was going to hell for lying, she knew it.
    Ian pushed away from the stall door and for a second, she thought he was going to walk toward her. But he merely changed positions so his back was against the door, both hands now tucked into the pockets of his jeans. The stance was casual, unthreatening, laid back. He didn't move, just stood there quietly, his eyes following her as she walked toward the other corner. Like he was waiting...for something.
    Nervous, he had asked her. Yes, he made her nervous, for reasons she didn't understand, and reasons she didn't want to admit. Not to herself, especially not to him. He made her nervous because of his good looks, his smile, his easy-going manner. He made her nervous because she adored how he was nothing more than a big teddy bear, a complete push-over when it came to his nieces.
    He made her nervous because it would be too easy to like him--no, too easy to like him more . He made her nervous because she didn't know how to act around him, didn't know how to talk to him or what to say because she was so afraid whatever she said would make her sound like some kind of simple country bumpkin.
    He made her nervous because he made her want things, feel things, think things.
    He made her nervous because all of those things were so completely unlike her that she didn't know how to react.
    Yes, he made her nervous. Especially as he stood there, so still, his eyes watching her, seeing everything. She wondered what it was he saw when he looked at her, then