Woman of Innocence by Lindsay McKenna

Author:Lindsay McKenna [McKenna, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, General
ISBN: 9780373244423
Publisher: Silhouette Books
Published: 2001-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

I t took everything Jenny had the next morning after they arrived at Black Jaguar Base, to set aside thoughts of the incredible tenderness and care that Matt had shared with her earlier. Her body still sang from the way he’d held her, as if she were a priceless, delicate and beautiful vase that would surely shatter if he clasped her too tightly in his strong, warm arms. Oh, she wouldn’t break, Jenny knew. What Matt didn’t realize was that she had a ribbon as strong as steel winding through her.

Matt was sitting to one side in their small cubicle of an office, sipping his hot coffee, when the first interviewee of the day came to the door. A woman with eyes to match the sable color of her shoulder-length hair came and knocked lightly on the opened door. She was about five foot six inches tall, firmly muscled and with a narrow face. Although she wore no rank identification on her black uniform, Matt knew it was Captain Sarah Klein, the XO—executive officer—of the base. She was Major Stevenson’s right hand, and a big part of why the base ran so successfully. He watched covertly as Jenny stood and offered her hand to the XO.

“Hi, Captain Klein,” Jenny said. “Come in, please. I know you’re busier than a one-armed paper hanger around here. Have a seat and we’ll get this interview done as fast as possible so you can get back to work.”

“Thanks, and call me Dallas, will you? It’s what everyone calls me.” She turned and nodded in Matt’s direction. “Good morning, Mr. Davis.”

Impeccable manners. Conservative and diplomatic. Matt nodded and kept the analysis to himself. “Good morning, Dallas. You had your java yet?” He pointed to the coffee machine located on the sideboard near Jenny’s desk.

Laughing huskily, Dallas said, “Oh, yes. My day started at 0400 when one of our maintenance crews had an unexpected mechanical problem with our Blackhawk. I’m running full bore on my wire-walking coffee routine, thanks. One more cup and you’ll have to scrape me off the ceiling,” she added with a chuckle.

Jenny grinned. She liked Dallas immediately. The XO position required a lot of hard behind-the-scenes work, judging from what Matt had told her earlier on their flight from Agua Caliente to the base. The commanding officer created the orders and the XO catalyzed them and made things happen. It was the hardest job in a squadron, from what Matt had told her. And looking at Dallas, who relaxed, one leg across the other, her long, spare hands in her lap, she could see the care-worn quality to her face, the tiredness lurking beneath her sparkling sable eyes.

Still, there was a softness at the corners of the pilot’s mouth, and Jenny found herself liking the woman without really even knowing why. Dallas inspired her simply with her quiet, easygoing, steady presence. Maybe it was the woman’s face, which was narrow and oval, with a strong chin, aquiline nose and large, liquid, deerlike eyes, that bestowed a sense of calm around Dallas and made Jenny feel at ease.

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