Twelve Across by Barbara Delinsky Read Free Book Online Page B

act. If she d set out to find him , she d done it. She was in his cabin, wearing his clothing, eating his food, drinking his coffee. She d even spent the night in his bed, albeit innocently. If she wanted a scoop on Greg Reynolds, she d positioned herself well.
    "Who are you? " he asked.
    Her head shot up. "I told you. Lqah Gates: '
    "Where are you from? "
    "New York: '
    "I don't suppose you happen to work for a newspaper " , he commented, fully expecting an immediate denial. He was momentarily surprised when her eyes lit up.

    "How did you know? "
    He grunted.
    She didn't know what to make of that, any more than she knew what to make of the fact that his lips were set tautly, almost angrily, within the confines of his beard.
    "Have you seen my name? " she asked. If he was a crossword addict, as were so many of her fans, her name inrould have rung a bell.
    "I don't read papers: '
    "Then you've seen one of my books? "
    "You write books, too? " he barked.
    His question and its tone had her thoroughly perplexed. "I compose crossword puzzles. They appear in a small weekly paper, but I've had several full books of puzzles published: ' Crossword puzzles7 A likely story Still, if she was a reporter , she couldn't be an actrqss-which didn't explain why her words sounded so sincere. "Why were you moving up here? " he asked in a more tempered tone of voice.
    "I lost my apartment and wasn't sure where to go, so Victoria suggested I rent her cabin for a while until I decided : She dropped a frowning gaze to the table as she mumbled, " It seemed like a good idea at the time: ' Garrick said nothing.
    In the ensuing silence, Lqah reran the past few minutes of conversation in her mind. Then, slowly her eyes rose. "You don't believe what I'm saying.
    Why not? "
    He hadn't expected such forthrightness, and when she looked at him that way, all honesty and vulnerability, he was the one confused. He couldn't tell her the truth. After staunchly guarding his identity for four years, he wasn't about to blow it by making an accusation that revealed all.
    So he lifted one shoulder in a negligent shrug. "It's not often that a woman chooses to live up here alone. I take it you are alone: ' She hesitated before offering a tentative, "Yes: '
    Gooqi Lord, could she have a photographer stashed somewhere about7 "Are you? "
    "Yes!"

    "Then why the pause? "
    Lqah's eyes flashed. She wasn't used to having her integrity questioned.
    "When you've spent your entire life in New York, you think twice about giving a man certain information It's instinct: '
    "It's distrust: ' " Then we re even!"
    "But you did answer me: '
    "Victoria said you were a Eriend. I trust her judgment. She even gave me a letter to deliver to you: ' He extended one large hand, palm up, in invitation. The smug twist of his lips only heightened her defensiveness.
    "If it were on me, you d have had it by now, " she cried. "It's in my car, along with my purse and everything else I own in the world: '
    "Except for your furniture, " he remarked, dropping his hand back to his thigh.
    She made a little sound of defeat. "Yes: '
    "And you can't get to your car. You may not be able to get there for days.
    You're stuck here with me: ' I. eah shook her head, willing away that prospect. It wasn't that Garrick was repulsive; indeed, the opposite was true. But while there was a side to him that was gentle and considerate, there was another more cynical side, and that Erightened her. "I'll get to my car later. "
    "Unless the rain lets up, you're not going anywhere: '
    "I have to get to my car. "
    "How? "
    "The same way I got here. If you worit drive me, I'll walk: '
    "It's not that I won't drive you, Leah, " he said, using her name for the first time. "It's that I can't. You've arrived up here at the onset of mud season, and during mud season, no one moves. The sturdiest of vehicles is useless. The roads are impassable: Arching a brow, he stroked his bearded jaw with his knuckles. " Tell me. What was it like