Bea Read Free Page A

slithered my way. I’m hell on snakes, ma’am.” He grinned. “You sure you won’t change your mind about kissing them?”
    “Your sense of humor almost redeems you, but not quite. Your sins are far too numerous.”
    “I try.” He handed her a flashlight. “Here. Hold this while I rig up a tow.”
    The chain rattled and clanked as he began to hook it on to the bumper of the Jaguar.
    “You’re sure you know what you’re doing?” She trained the flashlight on his hands.
    “This is not my everyday work, but I’m the best you’ve got, unless you want to wait until somebody better comes along.”
    That was true. She’d waited nearly two hours in the dark while he went to summon help, and not one vehicle had passed her way. It was just her luck to be stuck with the most aggravating man west of the Mississippi.
    She trained the light closer to his work. “Are you sure those chains will hold?”
    “No.” He glanced up with a look as cold as the Arctic. “I’m not sure about anything in life. Are you?”
    “Only the things I’m in charge of.”
    Russ turned back to his work. “Are you in charge of much?”
    “Unfortunately, no. But I will be someday . An advertising firm in Dallas, the best in Dallas.”
    “It figures. You look like the kind who wouldn’t associate herself with anything except the best.”
    The words sounded like a compliment, but the tone sounded like an insult. She didn’t know why she even bothered to care. Once she got to Pearcy, or wherever he’d said the next town was, she’d never see him again. Thank goodness.
    She watched while Russ eased his pickup in front of her Jaguar and hooked the vehicles together. It was an unlikely pairing.
    “All set,” he said.
    She caught the door handle of her car. He reached out and covered her hand.
    “You can’t ride back here.”
    “Of course I can. It’s my car.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous.”
    “I’m never ridiculous.” She opened her car door.
    “Then don’t be so damned stubborn.” He slammed the door shut. “Just what kind of ride do you think you’d have, bumping along back here, chained to my truck? And what do you think you’d do if the chain broke loose?”
    “Well, it looks like it will hold.”
    “That’s all I need. A bossy, stubborn woman.”
    “You make me sound like the plague.”
    “You are.” He caught her wrist and propelled her toward his truck. The door squeaked on rusty hinges as he opened it. “Get in.”
    Common sense told her he was right. But Bea hated being told what to do, especially by a man with his primitive, Me-Tarzan-You-Jane attitude. She favored him with a fierce glare before lifting one foot inside the truck. Her skirt was tight and the truck was far off the ground. In order not to tear the black gabardine, she hoisted her skirt over her knees.
    Russ swatted her on the behind and gave her a boost. “In you go, Toots.”
    “Has anyone ever told you that your kind belongs in the jungle, swinging from vines?”
    “Aren’t you the lucky one? Tonight’s my night off.” He got in himself and started the engine. “I was hoping for a nice quiet night with a glass of coconut juice before I had to go back to the jungle. Instead, I got you.” Easing the truck into gear, he started down the road.
    “I told you I’d pay.”
    “My needs are modest. You can buy the gas.”
    “Deal.”
    They drove along, not speaking, for the next five minutes. The only sounds were the rattle-banging of the old truck and bump of tires along the rutted mountain road.
    “Do you mind if I listen to music?”
    She was surprised he’d asked.
    “A little Chopin might be nice,” she said, goading him.
    Grinning, he turned on the radio. A twangy rendition of an old sob song burst forth from the bowels of the truck. It was country and western at its worst—and its loudest.
    Bea sat stoically and tried not to listen. She’d already let him rile her. What was more, she’d let him see that he’d riled her. Never