Dangerous Tides Read Free Page B

Jackson. Honestly, Elle, how can he be annoying? He never talks, poor man. Illya Prakenskii helped us, Joley, and Frank's in jail paying for his crimes. Inez is hurt, yes, but she's a strong woman and understands that people make mistakes."
    "So who would you send on a rocket to Mars?" Joley prompted.
    "I'm thinking." Libby sipped at her tea, frowning. "There was one nurse who always made fun of me. She said I was flat-chested and not in the least attractive."
    Hannah sat up straight. "Who is she? I'll have a thing or two to say to her."
    The room thickened with sudden tension. Tea boiled in the cups.
    Libby shook her head. "No, poor thing, she had such a horrible life. She has so many problems, it's really no wonder she isn't very nice. I felt sorry for her."
    The Drake sisters blew on their tea before exchanging looks, but Libby was frowning in concentration. "I'll think of someone."
    "Face it, Lib, you can't think of anyone because you just aren't mean."
    Libby ducked her head. "I can think of someone. He went to school with me on and off and was in all the accelerated programs. He even attended Harvard when I did." She looked up at her sisters. "His grades were better than mine."
    Jonas grinned at her. "I'll bet that really set your teeth on edge."
    "It wasn't just that, Jonas, he doesn't believe in magic. He thinks we lie about our gifts and that my family members are charlatans and con artists. He's very arrogant and opinionated."
    "Well, put his name on the rocket to Mars, sister," Elle insisted.
    Libby sighed. "It's just that he has an incredible brain. The world really needs him. He won a Nobel Prize in medicine already. He's very gifted. Not that he does it for the right reasons."
    "He's a glory hound?" Kate asked.
    "No, he could care less about publicity. He's totally a lab rat. All he cares about is the science. Well, science and adrenaline."
    "You're talking about Tyson Derrick," Jonas guessed. "He's crazy. When he isn't working in the laboratory, he's working for the forestry. He's a total adrenaline junkie. Skydiving, racing, motorcycles, white-water rafting, whatever is available, he's the man."
    "He has no right to risk his genius," Libby said.
    "You haven't put him on the rocket," Joley pointed out.
    Libby blushed. Color swept up her neck and into her face, turning her skin bright red. Scarlet. Crimson. It was the bane of her existence, that and being flat-chested.
    "Uh, oh," Joley said. "I think your Tyson Derrick is a hottie. He is, isn't he, Jonas?"
    "How the hell would I know?" Jonas objected. "I don't look at the man unless I'm stopping him for speeding and giving him a ticket."
    "He speeds?" Libby asked, fanning herself and trying to be subtle about it.
    "On his motorcycle or in his car. The man doesn't know the meaning of the words 'slow down.'"
    "He looks good," Sarah admitted, "but he's a pain. The man can't do polite conversation. I've seen him get up abruptly in the middle of a double date with his cousin, and just walk out, no explanation at all, leaving Sam sitting there with two very angry women. He just doesn't care."
    "If he didn't talk, he'd be hot," Libby admitted. She wasn't admitting anything else. She didn't seem to have a normal sex drive. The only time it kicked in was when Tyson Derrick was around and then her libido was stuck in overdrive. She'd never live that one down. So no way was she putting him on a rocket to Mars, not until she had the chance to sleep with him. And that would never happen because he was an obnoxious jerk who thought too much of himself. She would never ever admit to anyone she dreamt of him. It was humiliating to be attracted to a man who treated her so poorly. He was the complete opposite of everything she stood for and valued.
    "So what happened tonight, Jonas?" Elle changed the subject abruptly. "You're upset about something."
    The smile faded from the sheriff's face. "You don't want me to talk about work."
    "This is the best place for it."
    He sighed and