Reilly's Woman Read Free Page A

against it. She was too intent on reaching her destination to concentrate on reading.
    The airplane levelled off. Grady partially turned in his seat. "Want to sit up front with me for a while, Leah?"
    "Thank you, yes," she agreed readily. Conversation would make the time pass faster.
    As Leah unbuckled her seat belt, Grady smiled crookedly at the man sitting next to her. "You don't have any objections to the switch, do you, Reilly?"
    "None at all." There was a faint mockery in the reply as silently laughing green eyes flicked a glance at Leah.
    Briefly she wondered if Reilly Smith thought she was making a play for the pilot. Surely he could see that Grady was old enough to be her father.
    "Don't bump into any of the controls," Grady cautioned as Leah crouched in a half-erect position to negotiate the tiny aisle way to the empty front seat.
    A helping hand gripped her elbow. With faint surprise, she realized it belonged to Reilly Smith. His touch was pleasantly strong and reassuring, but brief.
    Dodging the control panel near the floor, Leah slid on to the right front seat, straightening her skirt over her knees. The change of seats had been accomplished without mishap despite the close quarters.
    "Thank you," she offered over her shoulder for the steadying hand. "I hope Grady and I talking won't disturb your work, Mr. Smith."
    "As a matter of fact, I think I'll quit for a while and get some sleep." The snap of the briefcase lid followed his statement.
    When the reading light went off, Leah fleetingly wished she had not moved from her seat. She would have liked to satisfy some of her curiosity about this Reilly Smith.
    "It's amazing." Grady shook his head, a wry smile on his face.
    "What is?" Leah returned blankly.
    "Him." With a backward nod of his head, the pilot indicated the man in the seat behind Leah.
    Self-consciously she was aware that Grady's voice carried easily to the man. She glanced over her shoulder to see Reilly Smith's reaction to the comment. He was leaning back in his seat, eyes closed. His chest moved in an even rhythm.
    "He's already asleep," Grady sighed. "He just closes his eyes. No tossing, no turning, just sleep."
    "Must be nice," Leah agreed, settling back into her seat. She glanced around at the instrument dials illuminated by the infra-red light. "Is the plane on auto-pilot now?"
    "Yup." But Leah noticed the automatic way Grady kept checking the panel. "Have you ever been in the front seat of a private plane before?"
    "My dad has taken me up several times, but never in anything as sophisticated as this," she admitted.
    "Modern avionics courtesy of the computer age." Grady smiled. "It does everything but land the plane, and nearly does that. It's great, but all equipment breaks down eventually. Let's not talk about flying, though—I hear that all day long. Considering your young years and the length of this flight, I think there's time for you to tell me about your childhood."
    "It won't take long," Leah laughed softly. "My brother and I were Air Force brats." She added a sketchy outline of her childhood life, moving from air base to air base.
    "How in heaven's name did you wind up in Las Vegas?"
    "The usual way. Dad was transferred to Nellis Air Force Base when I was in high school. I had graduated and just started a secretarial course when his orders came through for Alaska. I wanted to finish my training, so for that reason, and because it was time to leave the nest, I stayed."
    "The lure of the bright lights?" Grady mocked.
    "Not a bit. I'm very happy being a secretary," she stated positively. "I have no desire to be an entertainer of any sort. The work is too hard and the hours are too demanding."
    "That's true enough," he agreed. "Are you like the rest of the Las Vegas residents, rarely stepping inside a gambling casino unless you work there?"
    "Exactly!" Then she qualified her answer. "When new shows open or a favorite celebrity of mine is appearing, I do go then. But on the whole, I leave