River's Escape (River's End Series, #2) Read Free Page B

aimed at the food, not at her.
    “You want some?”
    He grinned, raising an eyebrow. “It’s like you just read my mind. You know it, girl.”
    Her heart flipped like a coin in her chest. Flashing white teeth, he shot her a lazy-eyed grin. Why couldn’t he smile at her like that, instead of her cooking? With what felt like a brick in her lungs, she nodded and added some bacon and sausage to the breakfast. The entire room soon filled with the aromas of hot bacon and fresh coffee. Shane lounged back against the counter.
    “What happened to Lauren and her friend?” Kailynn asked, after searching for something to say. Shane just being there, and watching her, soon had her stumbling over the simplest of chores.
    “Ah, the friend is with Caleb. Lauren had to get home.”
    Before or after they had sex? She bit her cheek to keep from asking such a personal question. A knock sounded on the front door, and she glanced at the clock; it was only seven. Who would come there so early? She wiped her hands on a clean dishcloth before crossing the four feet to the front door. She blinked in surprised when she found Ian standing on the porch. The blinding sunlight made her blink again.
    He could have cloned himself from last night, right down to the black cowboy hat he had pulled down low over his eyes. His jeans were a dark blue, and he naturally had on his signature brown shit-kickers. Ian always wore them. Shane never did, and she loved that about him. The short-sleeved flannel shirt was unbuttoned over his white t-shirt, which fell to his mid-thighs. Last night it was blue plaid; today, however, it was checked, green and black. She raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to speak. She might as well have been waiting to start menopause.
    Finally, she asked, “Why are you back?”
    “Shane still here?”
    She opened the door wider for an answer and stepped back before returning to the stove to flip the sizzling bacon and scoop the eggs out before they burned. Ian just stood in the doorway, his hands on his hipbones, and elbows out.
    “You forget you had a client today?”
    Shane suddenly jerked to attention. “Today?”
    “Yeah, someone waiting down at the ranch; something about his tractor. Says you were supposed to look at it and give him an estimate.”
    Shane swore, and Kailynn kept her back turned. Suddenly, Shane was rushing around the small living room, scooping up his shoes, coat, and keys. “Shit! I swear I scheduled that for later.”
    Ian’s mouth was a tight line of disapproval. “Try writing something down once in awhile. Not too good for business to keep missing appointments.”
    Shane scowled at Ian. “I don’t need the lecture. I’m goin’.”
    Shuffling out the door, his black, biker boots barely on, Shane didn’t utter a word of thanks or goodbye to Kailynn. She stared after him, her mouth open. Now what to do with the pound of extra food? No doubt, her brothers wouldn’t be up for hours. She glanced at Ian. It wasn’t like she didn’t often feed him anyway.
    “You hungry?”
    His gaze settled on her face. She often noticed his eyes, which were a strange color. They looked blue, but then again, not. They were so pale, it looked as if he stared too long at the blazing sun he always worked under. Kailynn thought she was way too tall for a girl, a fact she hated. But Ian was taller than her. Not many men came close to his six-and-a-half feet. He was skinny, reed thin with long arms, long, lithe legs, and a flat stomach. When he walked, his steps ate up the ground in graceful, long strides. He made her feel fat, since he was so skinny; and she was sure she outweighed him.
    If Ian had smiled more, or flirted a bit, or acted at all appealing, perhaps, he could have been a handsome man, assuming one liked his type. He didn’t appeal to Kailynn, however. He was too tall, too skinny, and too red-haired. He had freckles on his face and scattered over his white arms. He wasn’t traditionally handsome, but she