Catching Kent by Ruth Ann Nordin Read Free Book Online

eyes just because it seemed more romantic than
if she was staring at him. Plus, since his eyes were closed, she
could pretend he wanted to kiss her. Maybe she could even pretend
he asked if he could kiss her. Yes, that seemed like a good way to
think about it. Her lips touched his and a thrill of delight raced
up and down her spine.
    He jerked away from her and she
straightened up in surprise. “You’re awake,” she said.
    “ What are you doing?” He
struggled to sit up but winced and grabbed his ribs.
    “ Don’t hurt
yourself.”
    She hurried to help him, but he shoved
her away. “What’s wrong with you?”
    Startled by his tone, she stopped and
stared at him. “There’s nothing wrong with me. I’m trying to help
you.”
    He shook his head. “You’re not
helping.”
    “ What do you need?” She
picked up a glass of water. “Are you thirsty?”
    “ Leave me
alone.”
    She watched as he struggled to
sit.
    When he finally managed to settle his
back against the pillow, he was out of breath and holding his ribs.
She shook her head. He was obviously in no condition to do much on
his own and yet insisted on it.
    “ I don’t understand you,”
she said, placing the glass back on the table. “You shouldn’t be
pushing yourself so hard.”
    “ And you shouldn’t come
into a bedroom without a chaperone to kiss a man you don’t know,”
he snapped then grimaced.
    “ You’re in pain.” She
picked up the medicine her uncle had left and poured him a
spoonful. She held it up to his lips.
    “ What are you
doing?”
    “ I’m giving you something
for the pain. This will make you feel better.”
    “ Why do you insist on
treating me like a child?” He gingerly lifted his arm and took the
spoon. Once he swallowed the medicine, he gave it back to her.
“Where’s your mother? Where’s your father? Where are the
others?”
    “ They’re busy. I’m done
with my chores, so I came to read to you.” Recalling the dime
novel, she found it on the floor by her feet and picked it up.
“Here it is. My sister-in-law dropped a couple of these off
earlier. I was reading to you. It was the beginning of a wonderful
tale. There is this old curse placed on a house out in the middle
of nowhere and—”
    “ I don’t care what it’s
about.” Grunting, he shifted and released his breath.
    “ Oh, but you should,” she
protested as she sat back in the chair and flipped the dime novel
open. “You’re the main character. Let’s see…” She scanned the
opening paragraph. “Leonard, that’s his name. But it’s alright
because I’m pretending he’s you, and he’s with his wife. Her name
is…um… Here it is. Fannie. But we’ll pretend she’s me.” Ignoring
the way he rolled his eyes, she continued, “Anyway, they got
stranded at a train station that’s run by a really creepy old man
who refuses to give them a ticket until the next day, and they need
somewhere to stay. They try the inn but it’s full. Oh, wait. I
forgot to tell you that when they were on the train, they were
warned about the old house on the hill.”
    “ I don’t care,” he
said.
    “ But don’t you want to find
out what happens to us?”
    “ No. And there is no
‘us’.”
    “ Not yet, but there will
be.”
    He blinked several times and shook his
head. “You’re behavior is scandalous. Are your parents aware that
you do this to men you don’t know?”
    “ All I’ve done is read to
you.” Really, she didn’t see what was so scandalous about
that.
    “ And when I woke up, you
were kissing me.”
    “ Oh, that. Well, that’s
alright because we’ll get married. I won’t do anything else until
we’re married so don’t get any ideas. But there’s nothing wrong
with a little old kiss.”
    “ How many men do you go
around kissing?”
    “ None. You’re the
first.”
    He rubbed his head and
groaned.
    “ Are you in pain?” she
asked, leaning forward.
    “ Please tell me I’m stuck
in a bad dream.”
    Amused, she laughed and closed