Love Is a Battlefield Read Free

be back.
    â€œThe twenty-five-minute movie will begin in five minutes. Please make your way to the theater and be seated.” Owen’s booming voice was magnified by the loudspeaker. He gave Kristy a wink as she grabbed the remote for the movie. He knew how much she hated making announcements into the microphone. She guessed he must be trying to make up for her lousy morning.
    Kristy ushered the last of the visitors into the theater, pressed Play on the remote control panel, and closed the door. Finally. For the first time all morning, things felt almost back to normal. But her resolve faded completely as she came around the corner and saw the job stealer behind the desk with Owen. They were talking and laughing. Like buddies already.
    betrayal stabbed her gut, even though she knew it was ridiculous to expect Owen to ignore someone out of loyalty to her. She forced herself forward. She’d been hoping to put off meeting the new guy until she’d adjusted to the fact that someone had come in and taken over her job. It looked like she was out of time, though.
    As Kristy made her way to the spot where the men were standing, she couldn’t help but take note of her replacement’s appearance. His chiseled jaw gave him the air of someone accustomed to being in charge. Tanned skin and muscled forearms indicated time spent in the great outdoors. As she got closer, she could see the flecks of gold in his dark brown eyes, watching her with interest as she approached. But no matter how nice he was to look at, he had her job. That was a permanent strike against him in her book.
    â€œKristy, have you met our newest employee?” Owen slipped into his “good ol’ boy” routine and gave the new guy a hearty slap on the back.
    â€œNo. I haven’t had the pleasure.” she was determined to be a grown-up about this. But did they have to introduce themselves? They wore name badges after all. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be a way around it. At least, not a polite way.
    She held out her hand and flashed the brightest smile she could muster. “Hi. I’m Kristy O’Neal. Nice to meet you.”
    His handshake was firm, just as she’d expected it to be. “Ace Kennedy. And the pleasure is all mine.” His lips turned upward in a slow grin as he held on to her hand just a second longer than she would’ve liked.
    You can pour on all the charm you want to, mister. But we’re not going to be friends.
    â€œKristy, will you be up for a bus tour tomorrow?” she could tell Owen was trying to be a nice guy and give her some more time to herself if needed. But she didn’t want to be given special treatment just because of what she’d been through. And she especially didn’t want Ace to think she was a weak female who let her personal life interfere with her work.
    Except that if she hadn’t let her personal life interfere with work, she never would’ve let Mark talk her into quitting her job to marry him and move away . My dream job. Why did I ever think a life with Mark was worth giving up something I love so much?
    â€œA bus tour sounds great. Who is it for?”
    â€œit’s a group from a senior citizens’ center. They want a brief tour. Maybe a couple of hours.” Owen made a note on the daily schedule. “There’s nothing else going, so I think we can spare you to do it.”
    Kristy loved to lead bus tours. And once the summer season got going, a ranger-led bus tour would be almost unheard of because things would be too busy in the visitor center. So she was thrilled that Owen would let her lead what was likely to be the last one for several months.
    â€œIf it’s okay, I’d like to go along on the tour.” Ace directed his comment to Owen, but he glanced at Kristy out of the corner of his eye.
    Suddenly, the bus tour felt a lot less like a gift and a lot more like a burden.
    â€œThat’s fine.” Owen