Lifeline Echoes by Kay Springsteen Read Free Book Online

His mouth opened, closed again.
Finally he managed one sentence. "You told me the boss was a ball
buster."
    Although she was standing so close that,
even in four-inch heels, she had to tilt her head back to meet his
eyes, Sandy refused to take a step back. Instead, she leaned
closer. "I am," she whispered with soft seduction in his ear. "You
can trust me on that, too."
    As she walked away, her hip brushed him in
passing. He shifted quickly out of her way but not before she got a
good feel. Since she doubted he was packing a gun . . . there, she
was fairly certain his attention was back where she wanted it. On
her.
     
    ****
     
    Hours after the last patron had headed home
and the light in front of the bar had been turned off, Sandy
stretched out on her bed in the one-room efficiency apartment above
Valentine's but sleep remained elusive. Still feeling the residual
heat from her encounter with Ryan McGee, she wore only light
pajamas and hadn't bothered to pull down the covers on the bed.
    So the returning bad boy was Sean McGee's
brother. She hadn’t seen that one coming. And Mel was definitely
going to hear about her omission of that little detail.
    She considered Sean's older brother. Not one
mention in her earshot in the six years she'd made Orson's Folly
her home. What did it take for a town to obliterate someone's
existence from the circle of gossip? It must have been something
drastic for the hard feelings to be so enduring even after such a
long absence. She frowned. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to
play up to him during her act. She already had a hard time fitting
in, even after six years of living in Orson's Folly. It might be
better to remain neutral in the apparent ongoing dispute between
Ryan McGee and Bull MacKay.
    But there was something about Ryan that
intrigued her, something that compelled her to want to spend more
time with him. Emotions and physical sensations she hadn’t
experienced in years were demanding permission to come alive
again.
    "Ryan McGee." Into the darkness, she
whispered his name, testing the feel of it on her tongue.
    She wasn't worried about
why he'd left Orson's Folly, nor why he had unexpectedly returned.
None of that had anything to do with her. On the other hand, her
own over-the-top response to him was confusing. He wasn't her returning prodigal
anything. But something had drawn her attention in his direction
from the start and she wasn't certain she could back off. Or if she
wanted to.
    For sure, he was easy to look at, with his
long legs and fit muscular build. Wherever he'd been, he'd spent
plenty of time outside. His skin was well-tanned. Sun-kissed, dark
blond hair feathered away from a face that was just passing
scruffy, and fell straight to touch the top of his collar. She
always had been a sucker for that look.
    She was intrigued by the way his expressive
green eyes changed color with his mood. And she really liked the
way he studied her with those eyes, especially when he knew she was
looking back.
    Touching him had been daring for her, even
in the context of her performance. But she'd liked the feel of him.
Even more, she'd liked knowing she had thrown him just a little off
balance when she'd admitted in the heat of her anger that she had
been thinking about him.
    Tired, unsettled, just at the edge of sleep,
she nevertheless found herself wondering if Ry was home to stay or
just in for a visit. Either way, she figured her summer had
suddenly become a lot more interesting.
     
    ****
     
    With shaking hands, Sandy pushed the button
to open the com again. "Are you there, Mick?"
    After a very long pause, the radio squawked
and the voice answered, "I'm here. What's the status?"
    She tried to keep it professional. "I've
been advised you need to check your emergency locator signal. Help
is on the way. And you should conserve your radio battery by
turning the unit off and checking in every hour."
    There was a lengthy pause. She could hear
him breathing. Then she was surprised