Oklahoma Moonshine (The McIntyre Men #1) by MAGGIE SHAYNE Read Free Book Online Page B

Gaming him out of enough cash to pay for this place was supposed to have been her last con ever. She’d
really meant it when she’d told herself it would be. But she’d never intended to take on a partner who owned half the place. This was
her
home.
    So one more con might just be necessary, and that was a shame, because she was starting to really
like
the guy.
    Still, she had to outsmart them all. Her cunning was her only advantage here.
    She took a deep breath and walked down the hall and into the bedroom. Her sleeping bag lay unrolled on the floor, the clothes she’d worn yesterday
    right on top of it. Her toothbrush was visible in the still unzipped makeup bag, and her cooler sat beside the rest.
    She sat down on top of the cooler and let her head fall into her hands. Her father would be ashamed of her, making such a rookie mistake.
    “So you’ve been staying here,” Rob said from the doorway.
    Looking up quickly, she met his eyes, read them, saw that he wasn’t just guessing. He knew. “How do you know it’s my stuff? Could be
    anyone’s.”
    He smiled a little. “Well, I’m a guy. A guy’s not gonna forget an outfit like that. At least not within twenty-four hours.” He
    nodded at the rumpled white top and ruffly skirt as he said it. “Besides, the upstairs bathroom smells like your perfume. And also, you didn’t
    even look in any of the other rooms. You came straight to this one.”
    “Didn’t know I was under surveillance,” she said.
    He frowned, his big brows bending as he studied her. “You weren’t. I don’t believe in that kind of thing. I came upstairs 30 seconds
    behind you to check out the alleged squatter. I wasn’t trying to be sneaky.”
    She sighed, lowering her eyes, looking for a believable story to spin for him.
    “You don’t have to lie to me, Kiley. I’m not gonna judge you.”
    She brought her head up slowly. “I’m not a liar.”
    “Good. I’m glad, because I really believe in honesty. It’s a big deal to me.”
    “To me too.” She bit her lip,
    because she’d just lied to him again, and she hadn’t even meant to.
    “You spent every penny you had on your share of this place. You don’t have anywhere else to stay. Am I close?”
    She didn’t
    know how to respond. Honesty did not come naturally to her. It felt too close to vulnerability. “It’s only a temporary thing. I’ve got
    funds on the way, I uh, just...there was a delay, and I haven’t got a bank account set up here, yet, and—”
    “You have nowhere else to stay.”
    “Not at the moment.”
    “But you never mentioned that when you told me I could live in the house.”
    She shrugged. “I never said you could live here
alone
.”
    He pursed his lips, nodded slowly. “So you’re nitpicking words when we both know what you implied, what I understood? Come on, Kiley,
    you’re too good for that.” He came further into the room, handed her the paper plate that held her untouched slice of pizza. “It’s
    gonna get cold,” he said. Then he manifested two long-necked brown bottles from the back of his jeans, and handed her one of those, as well.
    She took it. “Thanks. And...I’m sorry.” She took a big bite of pizza, and it was delicious, so she took another. Then she twisted the cap
    off the bottle, and washed the bite down with a swig of beer. “This is good,” she said, looking at the label.
    “Algernon West. It’s a little microbrewery out in Tucker Lake. The locals love it.” He took a swig of his own. “So what are we
    gonna do about this?”
    “I don’t know. I really thought I’d have options, but....” She trailed off there, because he was looking at her like he knew she
    was lying. He was good. How did he do that?
    “You have an idea, though,” he said. “You’ve known you had nowhere to go a lot longer than I have, so you’ve had time to
    think on it. Come on, tell me. How was this all playing out in your mind?”
    She blinked three times, and couldn’t find a lie that