The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johansen

Author:Iris Johansen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Contemporary, Revenge, Romance, Suspense, Attempted murder, Romantic suspense novels, Fiction
ISBN: 9780553097146
Publisher: Bantam Books
Published: 1996-04-01T05:00:00+00:00

Here." Tanek tossed a large package on the couch beside Nell. "A present."

Nell looked at him in confusion. "I thought you were going over to the other ranch to see your foreman."

"I did. I swung by town on the way back. Open it."

She fumbled with the tape on the package. "Peter hasn't come back from the ranch yet."

"He won't be coming back. Jean has taken a liking to him and gave him permission to stay a few days. If he works out, Jean may take him to the high country when he goes to bring the sheep in."

"Will he be safe?"

"Safe enough. He was crazy to go. Dogs and sheep."

She could see how that would prove irresistible to Peter. She began to tear off the brown wrappings. CanT vas, easel, sketch pad, pencils, and a box of paints. "What is this?"

"You said you wanted to paint Michaela."

"That's not what I said."

"But you do."

"I'll be too busy."

He snapped his fingers. "Ah, yes, I forgot the mayhem. Well, I've decided to charge for lessons. I need some paintings to decorate my walls."

She asked sarcastically, "To hang beside your Delacroix?"

"Local art. My people, my mountains."

The same possessiveness she had seen in him when they'd arrived. She set the canvas on the floor. "Hire someone else to do it."

"I want you. One hour of violence and mayhem for every two you spend on my paintings. Deal?"

She turned to look at him. "What is this? Am I supposed to undergo some miraculous metamorphosis from this half-baked therapy?"

"Maybe. I figured it couldn't hurt."

"It can waste my time."

"At one point in your life you didn't think it a waste of time." He met her gaze. "I'll keep my promise. You'll get an hour of training every day from me regardless of whether or not you paint. But the only way you'll get more is to give me what I want."

"This won't do you any good."

"It won't hurt me." He smiled. "And it won't hurt you, will it?"

She slowly shook her head.

"Deal?"

Why not? It would be a way of controlling the tempo of her training without having to ask Tanek. She glanced at the canvas and felt a faint stirring of excitement. Her gaze went to the direction of the kitchen, where she could hear Michaela preparing dinner. That wonderful face...

"If you can persuade Michaela to let me paint her."

"I never try to persuade Michaela to do anything. You want her, go after her."

"More therapy?"

He smiled. "Terror. She scares me to death."

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.