Protecting the Princess by Cassidy Carla

Author:Cassidy, Carla [Cassidy, Carla]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2005-09-06T05:00:00+00:00

Anna awoke to a dark room. She sat up and gasped as muscles in her arms, her back and even her neck screamed in protest of any movement.

For a moment she was disoriented, then remembered. The gunshot. The danger. She was in the study and must have fallen asleep while waiting for the sheriff to arrive.

She stood and stretched, then checked the clock on the desk. Just after ten. She’d been asleep for several hours. Wondering what had happened while she’d slept, hunger pangs making her aware she’d missed dinner, she opened the door to the study. She nearly screamed in surprise as she saw Tanner seated in the hallway across from the room.

“You scared me to death,” she exclaimed.

He rose to his full height, clad only in a pair of jeans. “Sorry. I was sitting here trying to decide if I should wake you up or just let you continue to sleep.”

“I think if I wasn’t hungry, I would have slept the night away in that chair.”

“Come on, let’s get you something to eat and I’ll fill you in on what’s happened while you slept.”

She followed him through the darkened living room to the kitchen, aware that the tension that had emanated from him before seemed to be gone. “Did the sheriff come?” she asked as he gestured her into a chair at the table.

“Yeah, and he gave us some good news.” He opened the refrigerator door and she tried not to notice that he looked as if he’d recently stepped out of a shower. His hair was tousled and slightly damp, and it made her remember the kiss they had shared in the stable.

“What kind of good news?” She couldn’t think about the kiss. What she needed to think about was the fact that she’d almost been killed this afternoon.

“The mystery of the gunshot has been solved.”

She looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

He didn’t answer immediately, but took a moment to slap together a ham sandwich and place it on a paper plate. He set it down in front of her, then slid into the seat next to her.

“Jeffrey Canfield owns the ranch next to ours. Seems his grandson and a friend were out visiting him today. They snuck away from the house and onto our property and spent the afternoon smoking cigarettes and shooting at old tin cans. One of those shots found us.”

“So, it wasn’t any rebels.” A rush of relief swept through her. She picked up the sandwich and took a bite.

“Jeffrey called and apologized, said he intended to tan the hides off the two boys, but I’m just glad to find out it was all an accident.” His eyes were the dark green of forest moss, and his expression was serious. “But the same rules apply. I don’t want you outside again. We took a chance today and it was foolish, damned foolish.”

For some reason she got the impression he wasn’t just talking about the horseback ride, but might just be talking about the kiss they had shared, as well.

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