Legacy by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online Page B

I'd better get myself out of your bedroom or I won't be able to keep my promise."
    Without a word she followed him out into the living room, the check clutched in her hand. He finished his brandy while standing by the window gazing out into the darkness. They spoke little during those few minutes but the atmosphere was heavy with unsatisfied male desire. When at last he turned to leave.
    Honor thrust the check at him. Conn took it without glancing at it, stuffing it into his jacket pocket.
    "Feel better now that you've paid the debt?" he asked softly.
    "Yes." But she didn't feel she had paid the debt, Honor decided as she said good-night to him at the door. He had protected her from having to deal with Granger. She didn't have any way to repay that part of the obligation and the knowledge caused a faint tingle of unease.
    It wasn't until she had turned out all the lights in the living room and walked slowly back down the hall to the bedroom that the sensation of wrongness returned. Once again she found herself standing in the doorway, trying to understand what it was that bothered her.
    This time she finally focused on the cause. The large, folding screen with delicate Japanese artwork wasn't standing in quite the same place it had been earlier this evening when she had left the house. It didn't quite hide the television behind it.
    The designer instincts in her had always insisted on using the screen to hide the brash, high-tech look of the portable TV. The twentieth-century technology had seemed to clash with the elegant serenity of the room.
    Curious, Honor walked over to where the screen stood and examined the flattened areas of carpet where the legs of the screen had once pressed it down. She knew she hadn't moved that screen in two weeks. It had been that long since she'd used the television.
    It was such a small thing, she told herself nervously. But designers were trained to notice small details in a room. It was often the little things that made the difference between a room with dynamic, personal impact and a simple showplace that had no warmth. The little things could also destroy the image. People in her profession soon learned to recognize odd little details that could produce great effects or ruin beautifully planned projects.
    Someone had been in her bedroom that night.

THREE
    « ^ »
    "She's a nice young lady, Conn," Ethan Bailey said. He was focusing a set of field glasses, watching a fast filly go through her morning workout on the track.
    "Your horse or Honor Mayfield?" Landry leaned against the railing, his eyes following Bailey's expensive filly.
    "Both, I reckon. But to tell you the truth it was that sweet little Honor I had in mind."
    "You trying to tell me something, Ethan?" The odd little smile flickered at the edges of Landry's mouth.
    Still gazing through the glasses, Bailey shrugged. "None of my business, of course, but, well, she doesn't seem quite your type, son."
    "I agree. It's none of your business and she's probably not my type." But Conn kept his tone easy, not wanting to offend his friend. "On the other hand, I've never been really sure exactly what my type is. And Honor is turning out to be… interesting."
    Ethan's brow held a trace of a disapproving frown. "You planning on playing games with Miss Honor?"
    "You're certainly concerned about her."
    "Like I said, I like her. Back where I come from a man's not supposed to play games with a lady like her."
    "She can handle them." Conn relented. "Look, Ethan, don't worry about her. And don't worry about me, either. I know what I'm doing."
    "You always seem to be in control of things, I'll grant you that." Ethan grinned abruptly. "Forget I tried to give you the dose of fatherly advice. A man my age sometimes takes a few liberties he's got no right to take. Besides, if you scratch deep enough, you'd probably find out my motivations weren't exactly pure as the new driven snow."
    "Meaning you're jealous?"
    "You bet," Ethan acknowledged fervently.