Takin' The Reins by Stacey Coverstone Read Free Book Online

crossed one leg over the other knee. His gaze traveled to her tee shirt and down to her bare knees.
    Jordan suddenly became very aware of the way she was dressed—or rather, not dressed. She wondered how noticeable her breasts were beneath her sleep shirt. She crossed her arms over her chest like a protective shield. Wyatt blinked and looked away, but not before his lips split into a grin. She felt her cheeks flame.
    “They won’t be back tonight,” he said with confidence. Slapping his knees and twisting his neck to look into the kitchen, he abruptly changed the subject. “Got any coffee on the stove?”
    Jordan’s mouth gaped. It was a little audacious— inviting himself to stay for coffee—even if she’d had any on the stove. They barely knew each other and it was late. It probably wasn’t smart of her to have invited him in this time of night anyway. But she’d been frightened, and a feeling hinted he was one of the good guys. With trouble long gone, she wasn’t afraid anymore.
    “Nope,” she answered pleasantly. “This café’s closed for the night.”
    “I’ll take a rain check then,” he replied with a smile. Rising from the sofa, he plopped his hat on his head and bent down to rouse the sleeping dog. “Come on, Tag. Let’s go before we wear out our welcome.” Tag opened one sleepy eye at a time and then stood up and stretched his legs. He prodded Jordan’s knee with his nose.
    “Bye-bye, Tag,” she said, rubbing his head. “You can come visit me anytime you’d like.”
    “Does that invitation include his master?” Wyatt asked with a hopeful look.
    She smiled and considered how she was going to get out of the chair in the position she was in without showing him all that was underneath her sleep shirt. The expression on his face let her know he understood her predicament.
    “I’ll show myself out, Jordan.” Tag trotted after him to the door and Wyatt tipped his hat as he filled up the threshold. “Good night. Sleep tight. I’ll check on you tomorrow to see how you’re faring.”
    “All right. If you want.” She felt silly not getting up to see him out the door, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. He’d already seen too much of her. “Good night,” she called.
    “Thank you for coming over to check on me.”
    “Just being neighborly, ma’am. Lock your door behind me. I’ll pick up your trash cans before I leave.”
    “Thanks very much.” He shut the door.
    Jordan could hear his boots crunch across the broken pieces of sidewalk as he strode to his truck. When she heard the truck door squeak open, she stretched out her legs and rubbed her tingling feet, which had gone to sleep. Finally, when she was able to stand, she scurried to the door and locked it. Then she flipped off the living room light and padded back to the bedroom. The old springs creaked under her weight as she crawled into the iron bed. She fluffed up her pillow and curled on her side. Within minutes she was drifting off, secure that she had nothing more to worry about that night, especially with her gallant neighbor keeping an eye out for her. A pleasant image floated through her mind as she went to sleep: a tanned face with sparkling green eyes and a lopsided grin full of mischief.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Five
     
    The house phone rang early the next morning. Jordan awoke with a start. Through glazed eyes, she squinted at the bedside clock. That couldn’t be the right time. Who would be calling at seven in the morning? Remembering the hang-up call from last night caused her to groan. Not another prank call .
    The phone jangled again. She kicked the covers off and rolled over the side of the bed. With the sheet draped around her shoulders and trailing on the floor like the train of a wedding gown, she plodded to the kitchen along the cold tile floor and snatched up the receiver. Hoping to nip this in the bud once and for all, she whispered in a hoarse voice, “Haven’t you ever heard it’s not wise