Have You Seen Her? by Karen Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

keys, and other sundries back into it. “Like I wanted to buy the damn things anyway,” she muttered.
    Steven picked up a shiny black compact and she snatched it from his hand with a scowl. “Give me that,” she snapped.
    “Then why did you?” Steven asked, handing her a plastic bag filled with . . . He narrowed his eyes and stared.
Dog biscuits?
These, too, she snatched from his hand and shoved in her purse.
    “Why did I what?”
    “Why did you buy those shoes if you didn’t want them?” She stopped, her hand on her palm pilot. When she looked up, her dark hair parted like a waterfall and Steven felt his heart stop. She was smiling. Grinning, even. Frowning, she was striking. But smiling . . . She was absolutely beautiful. And her smile made his own lips curve up. Warmed him, inside and out.
    “My friend talked me into buying them,” she answered. She reached for one of the shoes, holding it up for a rueful inspection. “I told her I’d probably fall and break my ankle.”
    Steven laughed out loud, physically feeling the burden lighten from his shoulders. Not forgotten, not by a long shot, but lighter. For the moment. Suddenly uncomfortable, Steven stood up. Her eyes followed him, not looking away as he found himself wishing she would.
    “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I wasn’t watching where I was going and I ran into you as much as you ran into me. You’ve been very polite and I’ve been surly. I’ve had—” She shrugged. “A bit of an intense day. I know that isn’t a good excuse, but it’s the best one I’ve got. I hope you’ll forgive my bad manners.”
    Steven cast his eyes around the school’s lobby seeing the papers still strewn about. “It’s okay. Let me pick up your papers.” He could hear the brusque note in his voice and hated it, just as he hated it every time it came out. But it had become a part of him, part of the shield that kept all nonessential people at bay. Still, he hated the way her violet eyes widened and her dark brows scrunched together, puzzled.
    Jenna stayed where she was for a long moment, offensive shoe in her hand. The change in his expression had been abrupt, laughing one moment, then distant the next. She wondered what she’d said. He’d started picking up the strewn papers. As he leaned forward, his golden hair picked up the reflection of the overhead lights, taking on a reddish gleam. He was tall and powerfully built and she found herself mentally comparing him to Mr. Lutz as she set the shoe aside and began gathering papers. Both men were tall, but the similarity ended there. Lutz used his size and physical power to intimidate. The stranger had a gentle touch. After her initial surprise when he’d picked up her foot, she’d felt no fear at all. Lutz’s eyes had been cold as ice. This man’s were a warm brown and crinkled around the corners when he laughed.
    Her hands stilled. Brad Thatcher had dark hair and a slender build. But her student’s eyes were brown and crinkled around the corners when he laughed. In fact, Brad’s brown eyes and warm smile were a lot like those of the man gathering her scattered papers. She closed her eyes as heat rose in her cheeks and she pressed her hands against her face. Brad’s eyes and smile were
exactly
like this man’s. Like father . . . like son.
Oh, Lord,
she thought, swallowing the groan that had started in her throat. This man was Brad’s father. She’d called him an incompetent idiot. And she’d practically shown him her underwear. Some first impression she’d made.
    She looked up, unsurprised when she saw her purple folder in his hands. He was reading a test in the folder, his face a study in helpless, frustrated misery. He looked up and met her eyes and she felt as if she’d taken a rabbit punch to the gut. In his eyes she saw a riot of fear, disappointment, and a weariness that made her heart clench.
    “You’re Brad’s Dr. Marshall,” he said quietly.
    She nodded. “And you’re Special Agent