Return of a Hero by Lindsay McKenna Read Free Book Online Page A

asked.
    Morgan looked up from where he was sitting in the sunny breakfast nook. “Yes. Hold on, I’ll help you over to the table.”
    Laura held up her hand. “No, stay there. I’ve got to get around on my own, Morgan.” Smiling, she added, “I feel a hundred and ten percent better! Did I button this blouse right, or is it hanging at an angle?”
    He got to his feet, quietly coming to her side, just in case she stumbled on her way across the kitchen. “You look fine.” Hell, she looked breathtakingly beautiful. She had taken off the bandage and washed her hair, then replaced the dressing afterward. Her golden hair hung damply around her shoulders. The fragrance of orange blossoms filled his nostrils as he remained close to her. The pale-pink blouse was excruciatingly feminine, the ruffles around her slender neck emphasizing her delicate beauty. The mobility of her lips entranced him, and Morgan felt heat uncurling deep within him. A gnawing hunger made him all too aware of how she affected him.
    Making contact with the wooden chair, Laura pulled it out and sat down. “Success!” she declared, laughing.
    “You’re doing fine,” Morgan congratulated her. “Here’s lunch.” He placed the plate with the sandwich in front of her. “I made some coffee. You want some?”
    Famished, Laura picked up the sandwich. “Yes, please.” She smelled it. “Peanut butter. One of my favorites. Thanks for making it.”
    Heat nettled Morgan’s face as he poured coffee into the dainty china cup decorated with pansies. Her gratefulness made him feel as if he’d given her the most beautiful gift in the world. “I’m afraid my skills as a cook are lacking, Laura.”
    “Why do you always belittle what you do, Morgan?”
    Settling back at the table, opposite her, he scowled. “What do you mean?”
    Laura placed the half-eaten sandwich on the plate in front of her, hearing the carefully veiled pain in his voice. “You’re always cutting yourself down in some way,” she murmured. “That self-deprecating humor isn’t deserved.”
    Pushing the cup around on the saucer, Morgan scowled. “Yes, it is,” he said, and let it go at that. One look at her face, however, and he realized she wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. “You’re too damn good at being a writer,” he griped.
    “What do you mean?”
    “You pick up nuances in people.”
    “Does it make you uncomfortable?”
    “Yes.”
    She chuckled. “Why? Because you have something to hide?”
    He winced. She was close to the truth. “There isn’t a human being alive who doesn’t have some secret,” he parried.
    Laura warmed to their conversation. He was so easy to talk to. “And how many secrets are you carrying, Morgan Ramsey?” she teased.
    The china cup looked small in comparison to Morgan’s darkly tanned hands. “More than I’d like,” he admitted hesitantly.
    Sobering, Laura leaned forward. “I’m a great secret keeper, Morgan. Lord knows, when I interview the generals and admirals over at the Pentagon, they sometimes slip and tell me things that could never go into print.”
    He eyed her. “You’re just a regular Pandora’s Box, huh?”
    “You could say that. I’ve been rubbing shoulders with the Pentagon people for the past seven years, and they’ve come to trust me. I hold what they say in confidence.” Laura straightened and grinned. “And those things go to the grave with me.”
    Frowning, he muttered, “Well, you came too damn close to the grave the other day by saving my neck.”
    “I wouldn’t have had it any other way, Morgan.”
    The sudden quaver in Laura’s voice sent a wave of yearning through him. He stared hard at her. There was an underlying strength to her, despite her innate femininity. “I believe you,” he whispered.
    Laura detected an opening in the wall that so thoroughly protected Morgan Ramsey. “When I first came here after graduating from college, I rented this house.” She gestured around the