Something Different/Pepper's Way Read Free

did, that it was nice to have the Pacific for a backyard. “The owners were temporarily transferred to Europe—six months. I’ll be sitting for them another four months.”
    “I see.”
    He sounded rather faint, and Gypsy looked over at him in amusement. “I’m not quite as disreputable as I look,” she said gently. “I’m dressed like this because I had to take Corsair to the vet.”
    “And the peace sign?”
    His mind obviously wasn’t on the conversation, and Gypsy wondered why. “It was a gift from some friends. Sort of a private joke,” she explained automatically, gazing at him searchingly She thought that he had the look of a man who had bitten down on something and wasn’t quite sure what it was. Odd. Before she could attempt to probe the cause of his strange expression—Gypsy wasn’t at all shy—he was speaking again.
    “Do you live around here? When you’re not house-sitting, I mean.”
    “I live wherever I happen to be house-sitting. Before this, Iwas in Florida for three months, and before that was New England. I like to move around.”
    “Obviously.”
    “Not
your
favorite life-style, I see,” she said wryly.
    “No.” Abruptly, he asked, “Do you live alone?”
    Gypsy thought briefly of all the bits of information a single woman generally didn’t reveal to strange men—like whether she lived alone. However, if she was any judge of character, this man hardly had rape or robbery on his mind. “Usually I don’t. A housekeeper usually lives with me; she’s a good friend and practically raised me. But she’s visiting relatives right now, so I’m on my own. Why do you ask?”
    “Just wondering.” He sent a sidelong glance her way. “You aren’t wearing a ring, but these days asking a woman if she’s single doesn’t automatically preclude a live-in ‘friend.’”
    Gypsy looked at him thoughtfully and tried to ignore the sudden bump her heart had given. She’d been on the receiving end of enough male questions to know what that one was pointing to, and it was not a direction she wanted to explore. As handsome as Chase Mitchell undoubtedly was, Gypsy nonetheless told herself firmly that she wasn’t interested. At this point in her life, a man was a complication she hardly needed.
    And Chase Mitchell would prove to be more of a complication than most, she decided shrewdly. They obviously had nothing in common, and he wouldn’t be the sort of man who could fit in with her offbeat life-style.
    Frowning, Gypsy wondered at the trend of her own thoughts. Why on earth was she hesitating? Usually she disclaimed interest immediately in order to avoid complications before they arose.
    Before she could further explore her inexplicable hesitation, Chase was going on in a smooth voice.
    “Of course, you could have a ‘friend’ who doesn’t live with you.” It was definitely a question, she thought.
    Gypsy answered wryly, “The way I move around?”
    “Some men would consider plane tickets a small price to pay,” he murmured.
    She wondered if that was a compliment, but decided not to ask. With that kind of fishing she was half afraid of what she might catch. Instead, she chose a nice, safe, innocuous topic. “Do you live around here?” she asked casually.
    He nodded, his eyes again on the road. The road was still both winding and tricky, but it no longer bordered on the cliffs. Trees hid the ocean now as they progressed further inland. “I’ve always lived on the West Coast,” he said. “Apart from school years, that is.”
    Gypsy nodded and sought about for more safe topics. “Nice car,” she finally managed inanely.
    “It was,” he agreed affably.
    She shot him a goaded glare and immediately became more irritated when she noted that he wasn’t even looking at her. “I didn’t
mean
to wreck your nice car,” she said with dignity. “And if it comes to that, you didn’t exactly leave Daisy in great shape, you know!”
    “If I were you,” he suggested, ignoring the