The Rain Sparrow by Linda Goodnight

Author:Linda Goodnight
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2015-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

21

The man who can keep a secret may be wise, but he is not half as wise as the man with no secrets to keep.

—E. W. Howe

Carrie eased a glance at the man seated behind the steering wheel of a huge gray Chrysler. His long legs stretched out, hands relaxed on the wheel, confident and easy in his own skin.

Hayden turned his head toward her and smiled.

Something in her chest turned over.

Since the afternoon at the mill, her head buzzed with thoughts of Hayden Winters. Impossible thoughts. Ridiculous thoughts.

He’d almost kissed her, but then he’d backed away. Since then he’d been very careful to keep a friendly distance.

Friendly. But guy friendly. The kind of friendly that opened doors and rested his hand at the small of her back. The kind of friendly that looked at her too long and had her pulse clattering and her brain winging off into fantasyland.

He was here to write a book, not have a fling with the local librarian.

Because of Brody’s and Hayden’s keen use of her library, she saw him nearly every day.

Some days he researched through books or pecked away at his laptop. Notes and photos, quotes and reference links. Several times she’d noticed articles on agoraphobia.

He’d ask her a question, and she’d settle into a chair across from him to answer, though rarely did they talk about anything remotely related to a killer thriller. He asked about the town, the quirky good ol’ boys, Brody and the Riley family. He told of her his apartment in New York, which sounded so glamorous, though the idea of living with strangers mere inches away through a wall gave her hives. He told of escaping to Central Park for quiet moments amid nature. He asked about her family, and she talked until she was sure he must be bored, but he wasn’t. He seemed to lap up the funny memories, the holidays, pressing for more.

His curiosity, as he liked to say, was insatiable.

Very little of this seemed to have a thing to do with writing a novel.

Today they were on their way to pick up Brody for Dad’s birthday cookout. Hayden wanted to meet Clint Thomson.

Carrie didn’t look forward to another unpleasant encounter with the man. Call her wimpy, but having Hayden along for backup felt...safe.

He’d listened so patiently while she worried about Valery, a confidence she hadn’t expected to share with anyone. But she’d felt such relief in the telling.

Then at the mill when she’d fallen. Oh, my. Those moments cradled in his arms had set her head spinning in crazy circles.

When they’d headed back to the inn, Hayden had treated her like a fragile bird with a broken wing, even offering to carry her. Though her leg smarted and she’d laughed at him, the offer seemed incredibly romantic and protective. A man caring for his woman.

For that quivering, glimmering moment, she’d wanted him to kiss her. Had wished they were more than friends. If she wasn’t such a ninny, she would have thrown caution to the wind and done the kissing.

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