Hot Touch Read Free Page B

planted when the house was built. The paddlelike leaves of giant magnolias fluttered in the sultry air. Caroline searched for descriptions that would do the old home justice. Provocative. Romantic.
    Then she tried to shrug off such whimsy. At least the lawn was cut—well, in the spots that still had grass.
    “Caroline!”
    She turned toward Frank’s relieved voice. He came across the lawn from a camper’s nightmare of trailers, vans, and utility vehicles clustered among a grove of trees in the distance. Beyond the grove she saw white outbuildings, fences, and pastureland dotted with tiny, striped ponies.
What?
    Near the trailers a few members of the crew had set up a volleyball net and were sweating through a vigorous game. Frank trotted up to her, clapping happily, his sandy brown hair ruffled by a warm breeze. But he looked tense, like the movie producer he was, conscious of the minutes ticking his money away.
    “Caroline, how was your trip?”
    She smiled and returned Frank’s hug. Then she held him at arm’s length and didn’t mince words. “I just met Dr. Belue. He hates me. And I hate him.” She quickly told him about the encounter.
    Frank’s happy expression fell ten feet. Then he shrugged. “I’m surprised it took so long.”
    “Why does he want to get rid of me?”
    “He thinks you’re a waste of time. He thinks his wolf will eat you alive. You’ll have to tread lightly.”
    “I’m not worried about the wolf. I’ll get wolfie back to work for you, Frank.” She patted his back. “Just relax and stop having those migraines. Gretchen’s concerned about you.”
    “I know. I’m overreacting. It has something to do with ten million dollars of investors’ money.”
    “The wolf won’t be a problem,” she emphasized. “But I can’t stay in the same house with the mad doctor. Are you sure there isn’t a trailer available?”
    “Sweetness, I had enough trouble getting the ones we have. We’re not exactly in the middle of civilization, you know.”
    “An understatement. The road signs to this place ought to read
Nowhere
and
Oblivion.
”
    “Very funny.”
    She gestured toward the house. “You said it was charming. So are the ruins of Greece, but I wouldn’t want to live in them.”
    “The torn curtains and peeling paint are our doing. The house was presentable before we dressed it for the film.”
    “Haunted-house theme?”
    “My dear, you obviously haven’t read the script I sent.
The Legend of Silver Wolf
is a kiddie flick about a wolf who rescues two children lost in the swamp. He leads them to this spooky old house where a hermit lives. The hermit is really a sweet, lonely old man. Silver Wolf saves everybody from some villains.”
    She arched one brow. “I met one of the villains a few minutes ago. Terrific casting.”
    Frank laughed wearily. “I like Blue,” he told her. “And I respect him. He’s operating this place on a shoestring. He runs an endangered-species habitat, and except for a few government grants, he’s pretty much self-supporting.”
    “Oh? He protects the declining population of male macho mutants?”
    “Panthers, Caroline. He’s trying to save a rare species of panther. He also works with ferrets and birds, not to mention half a dozen other things. He’s a veryprivate man and he doesn’t like having us around. But he needs the money.”
    The sound of running hooves made them both turn quickly. The chauffeur hid behind a column. A half-dozen llamas trotted around the corner of the house and passed in front of them. A young man in khaki shorts trotted with them, waving a short stick.
    He waved at Frank. Frank waved back. “Hi, Ed.”
    Caroline brushed her hand in front of her face as dust rose in a cloud. “Who was that?”
    “Ed Thompson. Zoologist. Works for Blue.”
    “Llamas aren’t endangered.”
    “Blue sells them as exotic pets. There’s good money in llamas. He also sells miniature zebras.”
    Caroline looked toward the pasture. The striped