Highly Charged! Read Free Page A

the slash of straight, dark eyebrows—the menace of the latter preventing the former from being overly beautiful. In the same way, afull, sensuous mouth rested below the sharp blade of his nose, the whole package starkly appealing.
    â€œNot to knock your efforts,” he prodded, “but at very least, I could finish up the tractor work without putting any wildlife at risk.”
    Recalling the incident with the rabbit, she winced.
    â€œI didn’t see him at first,” she blurted, guilt pinching at the thought of what could have happened if she hadn’t stopped in time. “Thank goodness he was so quick to get out of the way or—”
    She couldn’t finish the thought. Maybe Brad had a point about her not belonging on the heavy equipment.
    â€œI hope the tractor isn’t to blame for the rest of the wounded.” He pointed toward the two cages on the back patio currently inhabited by a chipmunk and a blue jay.
    â€œOf course not. I pulled the bird from the jaws of a tomcat on the front law and the vet says he needs a few days for his wing to heal before I set him free. And the chipmunk—” But did he really need to know all about the strays she took in, just the way Chloe always had? They had been one great big family of strays. A tradition she enjoyed carrying on in Chloe’s absence. “Well, suffice it to say he was injured through no fault of my own.”
    â€œI’m on leave from my job with the navy for a couple of weeks. I work in demolitions—explosive ordnance disposal, officially.” A shadow crossed his expression before he shrugged and she wondered if his leave had anything to do with the mass of bandages on his left leg. There were less than the first time she’d seen him, but they still covered plenty of his lower limb. “I’ve beenclimbing the walls between gigs anyhow. This way I can ensure that my house remains standing through the process and the local rabbits live to tell the tale.”
    Frowning, she peered into the woods, certain that brown bunny had numerous friends and family. She refused to injure any wildlife in the process of renovating the house.
    And she needed to make some progress. If she didn’t get the historical society’s okay, it left the home all the more vulnerable to Chloe’s slew of relatives who didn’t care about honoring their famous kin’s memory. Once she had that protection of the historical designation, she’d have enough security to turn her attention to Chloe’s other request…
    â€œYou must ensure the diaries are published in their original form, Nicole.” Chloe squeezed her hand from where she lay in a hospital bed, her grip surprisingly vital for a woman that doctors had warned repeatedly would not make it through another night. Seven days after entering the hospital, Chloe seemed to be holding her own, her short nails still painted her favorite shade of fire-engine red.
    Nikki admired her so much. It had been a dream come true to meet a literary legend—one who had inspired Nikki on a personal level from the first time she’d read about Chloe’s life as a young girl, getting shuffled from house to house the same way Nikki had. They’d both grown up among strangers. Never knowing a real home.
    Chloe had gone on to create a sense of home no matter where she lived, circling the globe in search of adventure and taking in strays and strangers wherever shewent. Nikki had been pulled into the creative whirlwind of the older woman’s world, but she’d never managed to find the source of Chloe’s strength. Her belief in herself. Even now, battling kidney failure and the symptoms of early dementia in a sterile white room, Chloe remained a fierce, bright light.
    â€œIf they are in the house, Chloe, I promise I will find them.” Deep breaths, she reminded herself. She refused to cry in front of someone so strong. “I will make sure the