Charlene Sands by The Law Kate Malone Read Free Book Online Page B

concentration, muttering to herself as she worked on the weathered picket fence in her front yard. “Morning, Kate.”
    She whirled around, seemingly surprised to see him. He had to pass this way every morning on his way to his office, but this was the first time he’d come across her. “Good morning,” she said without a smile.
    “Working on the fence?”
    “Trying to. The darn thing’s so old and beaten that I don’t know why I bother, but last night’s winds nearly ripped the wood in two. I plan on strengthening it, then covering the ugly boards with a thick coat of whitewash.”
    Kate took the hammer and began to pound in a nail on the post nearest him. She missed and jammed her finger. “Ouch!” She jumped back and gripped her injured hand, tears misting in her eyes.
    “You okay?”
    She nodded, but he could see her frustration mounting. She’d been muttering when he’d come upon her.Clearly she wasn’t enjoying this chore. And now, she’d hurt herself.
    Cole came around the inside of the fence where she stood and took the hammer out of her hand. He unbuckled his gun belt and threw it across the porch rail.
    “What are you doing?” Kate asked. She was sucking on the finger that she’d nearly crushed.
    Cole averted his eyes. His mouth had already gone dry, watching her move that finger over her lips. “Helping.”
    “But…I can do it.”
    He raised a brow. “I see how well you were doing.”
    “I didn’t ask you…for help.”
    Cole pounded in a few long nails then glared at her. “If you want this fence steady by the time the winds come later on, move aside. It’s going to take a while.”
    “But I said I could do it.”
    Cole set down the hammer and looked deep into her wintergreen eyes. “We aren’t kids anymore, Kate. You don’t always have to beat me at everything. There’s no prize at the end, no finish line. I’m helping because you need it. Now, if you want to do something useful, bring me something cold to drink.” Cole raked his gaze over her body and his gut tightened. She filled out a simple calico better than any woman Cole had ever known. She didn’t need silk or lace; Kate was female enough without all the frills. Coletook a hard swallow and turned back to the task at hand. “My mouth’s all but parched.”
    Twenty minutes later, and with nearly half the work accomplished, Cole took a break. He rubbed his sleeve across his forehead, wiping away sweat, then sat down on the grass near Kate and sipped his lemonade. “This half of the fence is good and tight now,” he said, glancing at Kate. “Should hold up to the winds. Won’t take me long to finish the rest.”
    Kate looked at his work and shrugged sheepishly. “You were right, Cole. I’d still be working on that first post if you hadn’t come along.”
    He grinned like a devil. He knew he probably shouldn’t tease her, but the temptation was too great. “You mean I bested you?”
    Stunned by his remark, she flung the remaining drops of lemonade at him. “Cole Bradshaw!”
    “Hey!” Good thing her glass was almost empty or he’d have had to go home to change a sticky shirt.
    “You are such a, oh…never mind.”
    She folded her arms across her middle and lifted her chin in the air, just as she’d done countless times in their youth. This was the Kate that Cole remembered best. She gave as good as she got, but it had been a simpler time then. Now their different beliefs separated them like a towering sugar pine being split in two.
    “What am I, Kate?”
    “I can’t tell you,” she said impishly, “or youwon’t finish my fence.” She chuckled and stood up, her coppery waves bouncing against her shoulder.
    Cole, too, stood and they stared at each other with smiles lifting their lips. Emotion rushed through him then, and strong familiar yearnings. “Don’t build the saloon, Kate.”
    Her smile evaporated, like water on the desert sand. “I have to, Cole.”
    “And I have to stop you.”
    “I know,”