The Wicked and the Wondrous Read Free Page A

turned white. He moved even closer to her, inserting himself between her and the sheriff.
    “She might try a decent one-piece and maybe a robe that went down to her ankles or something. And does she have to strike that stupid pose just to make everyone stare…” Jonas broke off as the wind gusted again, howling this time, bringing whispers in the swirling chaos of leaves and droplets of seawater. His hat was swept from his head and carried away from the group. The wind shifted direction, rushing back to the ocean, retreating in much the same manner as a wave from the shore. The sudden breeze took the hat with it, sailing it over the cliffs and into the choppy water below.
    Jonas spun around and looked toward the large house set up on the cliffs in the distance. “Damn it, Hannah. That’s the third hat I’ve lost since you’ve been home.” He shouted the words into the vortex of the wind.
    There was a small silence. Matt cleared his throat. “Jonas. I don’t think she can hear you from here.”
    Jonas glared at him. “She can hear me. Can’t she, Kate? She knows exactly what I’m saying. You tell her this isn’t funny anymore. She can stop with her little wind games.”
    “You believe all the things people say about the Drake sisters, don’t you, Jonas?” Danny said. He imitated the opening theme of The Twilight Zone.
    Matt stared down at Kate’s hand. The reins were trembling. He covered her hand with his own, steadying the leather reins she was clenching. “I’ll be happy to come look at the mill tomorrow, Kate. Would you like a leg up?”
    “Thanks, Matthew. I’d appreciate it.”
    He didn’t bother with cupping his hands together to assist her into the saddle. He simply lifted her. He was tall and strong, and it was easy to swing her onto the horse. She settled into the saddle as if born there. Elegant. Refined. As close to perfection as any dream he could conjure up and just as far out of reach. “I’ll see you then. Say hello to your sisters for me.”
    “I’ll do that, Matthew, and you give my best to your parents. It was nice to see you, Danny.” Her cool gaze swept over Jonas. “I’m sure you’ll be by the house, Jonas.”
    Jonas shrugged. “I take my job seriously, Kate.”
    Matt watched her ride away, waiting until a curve in the road took her out of sight before turning on the sheriff. “What the hell was that all about?”
    “You know all seven of the Drake women drive me crazy half the time,” Jonas said. “I’ve told you all the trouble they get up to. You’re always grilling me about them. Well—” he grinned evilly as he indicated the truck—“Isn’t this the third accident you’ve had with Kate in the vicinity? You should know what I mean.”
    Jonas had grown up with Matt Granite, had gone through school, joined the Army, the Rangers, and fought side by side with him. He knew how Matt felt about Kate. It was no secret. Matt wasn’t very good at hiding his feelings from his family and friends, especially since Jonas had gotten out of the service two years before Matt and Matt had continually interrogated him about Kate’s whereabouts and marital status. Matt had been home three years and he’d been waiting for Kate to come home for good, too.
    Danny snickered. “You were there back in his college days, Jonas, when he drove Dad’s truck into the creek bed and hung it up on a rock. Wasn’t Kate about three at the time?”
    Matt took a deep breath. He couldn’t kill his brother in front of the sheriff, even if it was Jonas. The time he had wrecked his father’s truck, driving it without permission, Kate had been about fifteen, far too young for a college man to be looking at her, and he was still embarrassed that his brothers and Jonas had known why he’d wrecked the vehicle. Of course he’d known the Drake sisters, everyone in town knew them, but he’d never looked at them. Not in a fascinated, physical, male way. Until he’d seen Kate standing in a creek