Gentle Pirate Read Free Page B

certainly not beautiful face. The soft brown hair was loose tonight because she knew Ben liked it that way. While certain women had made it clear that at her age she should consider getting a cut, men never complained. As there was nothing particularly outstanding about the rest of her. Kirsten decided, she was entitled to the luxury of wearing her hair any way she liked. It was kept pinned up at work, of course, because it gave her what she considered a more professional look that way. With a small grimace she whirled away from the mirror to answer the sudden knocking on the door.
    Ben's happy face when she opened the door was reward enough for the effort she had taken. Apparently she had managed to make herself fairly presentable tonight, Kirsten decided.
    "You're looking very tasty, love," Ben told her cheerfully, guiding Kirsten into his small sports car and waiting to close the door until she had gathered in the yellow skirt. Kirsten knew he was going to say that. He always said it.
    "And you, as usual, are looking too well turned-out for Richland," she grinned back through the open window. It was true that Ben generally looked modishly dressed. Kirsten suspected that a fair-sized chunk of his salary as an engineer went into his wardrobe and the flashy TR7 in which they now sat.
    "I know. I'm wasted on this burg. We both are. What do you say we skip the scintillating evening awaiting us at the River Inn and catch the night flight over to Seattle?" He slid into the seat beside her.
    "You're serious, aren't you?" Kirsten laughed, glancing sideways at his handsome, if somewhat soft, profile. He flicked a quick look back at her while shifting out of the parking lot and she thought she detected a note of speculation in the playful brown gaze. Better squelch that in a hurry, Kirsten told herself. Ben was easy to squelch. "Well, I'm sorry, I can't make it tonight. I forgot my flippers!"
    "It doesn't always rain in Seattle, Kirsten. And even when it does, people ignore it! Part of the mystique of the city, I'm told!" Ben returned his attention to his driving as he pulled out into the light evening traffic. "Why don't we check it out sometime and get a firsthand report?"
    Kirsten hesitated. The invitation was undoubtedly for more than a casual visit to check the weather in Seattle. She had been expecting it and had toyed with different approaches to handling it. But all her answers so far had boiled down to "no." She felt no respect for her late husband's memory, but Kirsten had been too badly hurt, suffered too many doubts about her own judgment, to jump immediately into another serious romance.
    "Ben," she began as gently as possible, only to have him toss her a cheeky grin and take the problem out of her hands.
    "Don't worry, love. I won't rush you. Can't blame a guy for trying, can you?"
    "You know how much I've enjoyed the past month," she smiled back, grateful again for his lighthearted approach to life.
    "And that's good enough for now," he finished. "Come on, love, let's show this town what class is all about!" With that he swung the tiny wedge-shaped car into the parking lot of the sprawling hotel overlooking the Columbia River. It was too dark now to see the wide stretch of water that flowed serenely in front of the hotel, but Ben nevertheless asked the hostess for a window table. He always requested a window table. A very predictable man.
    The attractive dining room with its floor to ceiling windows and soft lighting hummed in a pleasantly busy fashion. Linen and silver gleamed softly as the staff moved efficiently in response to the usual weekend crowd.
    "I feel as if I've memorized the menu," Ben grumbled good-naturedly as he accepted it from the waiter. "It would be worth that trip to Seattle just to eat someplace new!"
    "The town's growing. I see they're putting in a new fast hamburger place just down the road! How can you imply a lack of restaurants? That makes five new fast-food places in the past year, I'm