Read Texas Wildcat for Free Online Page B

expect’n anyone, Missy?”
    Kelly shook her head, then glanced at her wristwatch. It was ten-thirty a.m. “No. Were you?”
    “No, ma’am,” she said, marching through the breakfast nook and down the hall to the foyer.
    Kelly’s heart leaped. Sam Tyler? No, it couldn’t be. But…it was his voice! She roused herself and stared down toward the foyer. Concerned, she tugged her apricot-colored silk robe more closely around her and rose.
    Sam’s bulk filled the hall. Kelly smiled, meeting his azure gaze. Her heart lifted in silent joy and she didn’t try to quell the breathless anticipation that filled her. Today he was in a light beige cowboy shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his forearms. His jeans were molded to the length of his legs, accentuating his well-muscled thighs.
    “I happened to be in this neck of the woods and thought I’d drop over and see how you’re coming along,” he said.
    “Hattie, bring Mr. Tyler some coffee, please.” She gestured to the other wrought-iron chair. “Sit down,” she invited. She could feel the heat staining her cheeks, but there was nothing that could be done to hide that fact. It had been years since Kelly had blushed so easily! And yet, Sam Tyler looked so devastatingly virile and handsome that it almost took her voice away. No man had ever affected her so strongly in her life.
    Sam sat carefully in the delicate-looking piece of furniture. He gave her a quick smile. “I haven’t heard from you lately.”
    “I’ve been up to my neck with my father’s business.”
    He gave a casual nod of his head. “Your father was known to be a workaholic. Are you turning into one also?” he probed.
    Hattie brought the coffee and gave Sam a warm smile. “Here you go, Mr. Tyler.”
    Sam took the fragile china cup in his large, callused hands. “Thank you.” He waited until the housekeeper had left. “You planning on working today?”
    Kelly nodded, gesturing toward the pile of documents spread in front of her on the small table. “Unfortunately, yes.” She tilted her head. An inexplicable happiness was bubbling up within her. She could lose herself in the blueness of his eyes, in that crooked teasing smile on his sensual mouth and in the balm of his husky voice. “Why?”
    He shrugged. “Oh, I kind of had other plans for you today,” he hedged, watching her carefully.
    “You did?”
    Sam enjoyed the sparkle that appeared in her jade eyes. She still looked pale and drawn. But that did not mar her attractiveness in the least. The impulse to simply reach over and run his fingers through her silken hair was almost a tangible urge. He forced himself back to his purpose for coming. “We figured since you’ll be coming with us on a call, someone had better acquaint you with the equipment plus other odds and ends.”
    “That someone being you?”
    “Any objections?”
    Kelly forced a cool smile. He had given her a confident grin. One that said: of course you won’t have any objections. “Are you always so sure of yourself?”
    Sam tried to look contrite. “Caught again. What do you have against a man who is sure of himself, Kelly Blanchard?”
    It was her turn to quell a burgeoning grin. “Nothing…everything.”
    Sam toyed with the cup of coffee between his hands. “Care to tell me more about it over lunch?”
    “Is that an invitation or an order?”
    “Where you’re concerned, an invitation.” His blue eyes sparkled with a mischievous glint. “You don’t give orders to redheads and live to tell about it. Strictly an invitation.”
    Kelly rose, her laughter ringing down the hall. My God, how long had it been since she had laughed so freely? The thought made her suddenly sober. Embarrassed that Sam had caught her in a quixotic mood, she swept past him. “I’ll be out in fifteen minutes,” she promised.
    Actually, it took twenty-five. But Sam would understand. She deliberated over what to wear—something she hadn’t done in a long time. Todd hadn’t cared what