Read Mary Wine for Free Online Page B

not just in response to the current problem.” that might not have been the wisest thing she could have said. loren watched the man in front of her as his face went as blank as a granite boulder. not even the hint of an emotion remained. loren felt her own lips twitch up into a grin.
    “you want to know something, rourke campbell? my father was never an officer but he can do that face better than you.” rourke’s black eyebrows rose up but loren decided to finish her thought. “what do you think i am?
    stupid? blind? or am i just expected to believe most people travel around in high-tech helicopters?”
    loren snagged her coffee cup from the counter and headed for the coffeepot. if rourke campbell thought she’d play dumb for him then he was sadly mistaken. wherever they were, it was classified.
    “you can relax, major. i’m not going to run my jaw, just don’t expect me to play the idiot who can’t see what’s in front of her face.” rourke didn’t just want the woman, now he was getting to like her. he didn’t have
    a single use for a game-playing female. the frank honesty loren was slapping across his face suited him exactly right. “deal.” rourke pushed his frame away from the kitchen counter and poured his own coffee. he sent her a wink before striding out of the kitchen on confident feet.
    loren let her breath out in a slow movement. she pulled another deep breath in and held it.
    that had been brazen. tossing out a challenge like that to a man like rourke campbell could have landed her right in a pot of boiling water. instead the man had taken her at her word. that was nothing to sneeze at. the idea that rourke campbell considered her word trustworthy, hit her as a compliment.
    he wasn’t a man who placed his faith in the undeserving. the same nagging idea to trust the man came floating across her brain. loren snorted with distaste. that was something that she could never allow to happen.
    wandering out the front door, she took in the morning. rourke campbell sure did live in paradise. the huge a-frame house was as sturdy as it was practical. they were surrounded on all sides by forest. the trees stretched up the mountains that were in view. it looked like there wasn’t another living soul anywhere to be found.
    the cool mountain air was a little chilly as it hit her thin californian skin. hugging her arms close, loren took another sip of her coffee. a duffel bag had appeared with her clothing in it, but her wardrobe wasn’t up to the mountaintop location.
    loren shrugged. she’d just have to wear layers. the laundry room might become her best friend, but this was only a limited stay. for now, she intended to enjoy it. moving away from the house, she wandered toward the three helicopters that sat rather silently in the clearing in front of the house.
    now what kind of a man had combat helicopters sitting in his front yard? it was extremely strange the way the black machines were just there. well, it was all probably just a precaution against an outbreak of ebola tai forest.
    30

    she should have thought of that sooner. no one just took their helicopters home with them. not even officers.
    well, there was a bright side to the machines being there. her son was in heaven. toby was currently sitting in the front of one of the machines with a laptop computer balanced on his knees and wires running down his legs.
    chris’ face appeared in the open doorway of the aircraft. the mug slipped from her grip and smashed on the rocky forest floor. loren didn’t care. chris muttered something and toby lifted his head to stare at the man. her son quickly returned to his computer and chris lifted his face to catch her watching them. his mouth twisted into a sneer before he resumed talking to toby.
    her hand was frozen over her throat as loren fought the urge to throw herself between them. she couldn’t, mustn’t do that. it was toby’s choice. it had to be toby’s choice because it was her fault chris was his