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hardly known you for a day, and I’ve been assaulted by a chimpanzee and mistaken for a male stripper.”
    “Those kinds of things don’t usually happen to you?” she asked, straight-faced.
    He looked down at her and chuckled. Her hair was mussed all around her head, and even in the poor light he could see her left eye blackening. She was so appealing, he thought—and she was nervous about standing out there on the porch with him and no chaperone except the trio of jack-o’-lanterns on the steps.
    He wasn’t used to women being nervous around him, but he thought it was probably a very good sign. Or a very bad sign. There was only one sure way he could think of to find out.
    “You’re really something, Kelsie Connors,” he murmured, sliding the gloved fingers of one hand over her hair to cup the back of her head as he lowered his mouth to hers.
    Kelsie would have backed away from him if the doorknob hadn’t been jabbing her in the back. The idea of kissing Alec McKnight scared her silly. In the first place, she hardly knew him, but, more important, it frightened her because she
wanted
to kiss him—
really
wanted to kiss him. The ramifications that kind of wanting couldhave on her already hectic life made her shake all over.
    She’s shivering, Alec thought as he settled his mouth ever so gently against her lips, lips that were even softer than they looked. He drew her against him, sharing his warmth while the kiss lasted.
    Kelsie leaned into him, her hands clutching the waistband of his jacket. For just a few sweet seconds she forgot her fear and indulged herself in the pleasure of a simple good-night kiss. His mouth was warm and pliable and tasted a little like cherry candy. He smelled like leather and musk aftershave, and he felt good against her. Too good.
    “Um—a—” she stammered as he raised his head. “I’d better go in and see if I can find some cheese curds for my eye. Do you think it would matter if they were lightly breaded?”
    “Probably not.” Alec grinned, flashing his dimples at her inane prattle.
    “Good.” She turned, fumbling with her keys, and let herself in. She stood in the doorway, feeling a little safer. “Thanks again for the ride.”
    “You’re welcome,” he said, his gaze holding hers in that way of his that made her so nervous.
    “I’m really sorry about all the confusion.”
    “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s kind of nice to have something weird happen to break up a guy’s evening,” he said.
    “Right.” She tried to laugh. “Good night.” She started to back into the house, but a thought occurred to her, and she poked her head back out the door. “This didn’t count as a date, did it?”
    Alec shook his head, smiling as he hopped down to the sidewalk and started walking toward his car. Her door clicked shut behind him. He licked the sweet taste of her from his lips. “Mmm. We’ll start counting next time, Kelsie. And there will be a next time.”

THREE
    “K ELSIE, IT’S B UCK. I need a weasel first thing Monday.”
    Kelsie sandwiched the receiver between her shoulder and ear as she jotted down notes with one hand and spun the wheel of her Rolodex with the other. “Does it have to be a weasel? I don’t think I have a weasel. I can get you a ferret.”
    “Is that like a weasel?”
    “Sort of. What’s it for?”
    “A magazine ad for farm insurance,” thephotographer said. “‘Weasel in the Henhouse’ is the theme of the thing.”
    “A fox in the henhouse,” she corrected him. “A fox is what you need, Buck,” she said, turning to the name of a small game farm in Waconia that had several hand-raised foxes. “A fox will photograph better anyway—all that bright red hair, bushy tail.”
    “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. What’s a fox going to set me back?”
    “Fifty an hour. Two-hour minimum.”
    Once the details had been discussed, Kelsie hung up the phone and sat back in her squeaky desk chair, pressing a