Be Mine (9 page)

Waving a final farewell to her lifetime habit of detachment, Sabina said, “You may be right. And you shouldn’t even consider letting your talent go to waste.”

“I sure feel better talking to someone besides Eric about this. We’ve worn each other out.” He glanced at the table in front of him. “I’d better hit the books so I don’t flunk that physics test first thing tomorrow. Can you imagine a teacher giving a test the morning of the big game?”

Her concern eased by his return to normalcy, Sabina wanted only to put distance between herself and the turmoil of the Kincaid twins. “Are you a good basketball player?”

“When I’m on, I’m the hottest thing on the floor.”

* * * *

His confident reply rang in Sabina’s ears as she pulled her striped flannel granny gown over her head. Some indefinable quality about the twins drew her, making her care desperately for their dreams. She slipped her feet into fluffy pink slippers. Too much had happened today, and her mind was in a whirl. When had she last been ready for bed at nine in the evening?

A quick rummage through her suitcase located several paperbacks she carried for emergencies. The choice between a romance and a mystery was easy — she could do without romantic stimulation. Chad Peters already stirred her hormones past the comfort zone. Besides, the Dorothy Grimes was one she’d missed.

Curling up on the small couch, she pulled the woolly afghan over her shoulders and tucked it around her lap, then forced her thoughts to the printed page.

Half an hour later a persistent tapping penetrated her absorption. After several moments she pinpointed the source, narrowing it down to the corner of the room. “That must be the private entrance Mrs. Kincaid mentioned. I’ve been so busy I never even noticed that door,” she murmured.

 Clutching the afghan around her shoulders, she padded to the door, certain of her caller’s identity and half afraid to respond. Her heart thumped against her ribs. “Who is it?”

“It’s the Phantom of the Hills.” Chad’s voice was readily recognizable through the double barrier of wood and storm door. “Let me in.”

Mumbling beneath her breath, her hands shaking, Sabina fumbled with the chain and catch. As she eased the door open, Chad stepped inside, bringing with him a gust of frigid fresh air.

“Turning cold,” he said, blowing on his bare hands.

Sabina saw his unrepentant grin. She suspected his visit had nothing to do with the weather, which he probably thought was a credible excuse for his aunt, should she discover him.

“Shut that door before I freeze. What do you think you’re doing, sneaking in the back way?” The flannel gown offered little protection against the cold air. The tremor in her knees had nothing to do with the temperature, yet she forced herself to pretend his presence had no effect on her. She wondered if fate were conspiring with him.

Chad leaned against the closed door as he unsnapped his down vest. “You really know how to make a man feel welcome. I went to a lot of trouble to avoid disturbing everyone else in the house.”

“Particularly since you knew your Aunt Clara would say, `Behave yourself, Chad,’ and particularly since you knew I’d assume there was some important reason for you to come back at this time of night.” Sabina forced herself to meet his teasing eyes coolly. “Is there a change in tomorrow’s schedule?” She watched his comprehensive glance take in the pink-striped gown, saw the incredulous widening of his eyes when he spotted the fluffy slippers. Her fingers clutched the afghan tighter.

“No changes. We’ll still visit that last reclaimed site after breakfast, then finish up in the office. That wasn’t why I came back.”

She had always thought of herself as capable of organized thought. Now her mind was full of wild imaginings. Chad pushed himself away from the door and closed the space between them.

“I came back for another taste. The last one wasn’t enough.” With devastating care, Chad unfolded her clutching fingers one by one from the afghan until it fell to the floor.

He placed her freed hands inside his vest, pressing them against his chest. “This time I’m not in as much of a hurry.”

The sweetness of his brief kiss melted Sabina. She yielded, leaning into the hand which had moved to cup the side of her head, letting her fingers burrow against the knit of his sweater. She nestled against his palm, smiling dreamily against his callused fingers.

“You’re very sweet.”

His softly spoken words had the same effect on Sabina as an ice cube down her back. “What am I doing?” she demanded. She pulled away from him. “I never do things like this! How could I forget I’m here officially?” The golden heat in his eyes told her exactly why she’d committed such a lapse. What she saw there mirrored her feelings.

Surprise spread over Chad’s face, almost as if he welcomed her panic. He teased, “You mean you don’t do this with all the mine managers so you can blackmail them?”

“Don’t be absurd. You’re . . . a surprise. Sort of like finding a wild card in a poker hand.” She couldn’t attach too much importance to his kisses; she couldn’t let him know how deeply shaken she was. Telling her quivering insides to behave, Sabina sparred, “I already asked you whether you made a big move on all the deputy inspectors who come your way.”

“You’re the first lady they’ve sent. If there are more who look and smell like you, I might make it a habit.”

“What a comfort. I think.”

Chad’s smile was devastating as he moved closer. “Are you saying you want exclusive rights?”

“Just stay where you are.”

“Shucks, ma’am. You’re no fun at all.”

She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. Sabina had never known anyone could joke about something which had affected her this profoundly, but here she was, quivering within while bandying innuendos — and wearing nothing but a flannel granny gown.

Sabina snatched the afghan from the floor and flung it around her shoulders. “I’ll show you fun if you don’t get out of here this minute. A good shout will bring your aunt on the run. Then what will happen?”

Sighing, Chad re-snapped his vest. “She already suspects I’m past redemption. You tasted even better the second time, you know.”

“Get out.”

“You’re sure you don’t want me to tuck you in?”

Ignoring the wistful expression on his face, she repeated her order. This time he left.

The encounter replayed itself in her mind long into the night. Sabina’s common sense told her she couldn’t get involved with a man who was part playboy, part chauvinist, and a surface miner. Chad was nothing but trouble. Besides, he was probably just amusing himself, livening up a dreary winter.

 She’d go back to Columbus, get on with her job, and forget him. With any luck, a year or more would pass before she was sent back to Calico. By then the situation with the twins would have been worked out, and Chad would have come across someone else to charm.

* * * *

Her abbreviated night’s rest only enhanced Sabina’s pre-coffee grumpiness, so she reacted when she found Chad at the breakfast table. He offered her a steaming mug before she sat down. “Don’t you ever eat breakfast at home?” she grumbled disagreeably.

“My coffee pot’s broken.”

Clara placed a platter of bacon and golden fried mush on the table. “First I heard of it.” She paused on her return to the stove to add, “A’ course, if I’d known he was goin’ to be here again this morning, I’d have told him to bring his toothbrush when he came back last night. He could ‘a slept in the spare room upstairs.”

The blush that swept Sabina’s satin cheeks delighted Chad. Even though his aunt credited him with activities that never took place, he’d never been able to fool her about those that actually happened. Her prescience had unnerved him and Zack throughout their formative years.

His own mother seldom missed anything, but she had been more flexible. She also freely admitted to a far from stainless youth. This admission always brought a knowing grin to his father’s face.

“I had a business question for Sabina about today’s schedule.”

 “Monkey business is more like it. Good thing you didn’t stay longer or I’d a’ come down.” Clara lined up a fresh row of cold, pale slices of mush in the hot frying pan as if for a photograph.

* * * *

The exchange did nothing for Sabina’s disposition; her coffee might as well have been Kool-Aid. She ate silently, chewing each mouthful as if it were a religious exercise. She couldn’t recall ever being so embarrassed. Did these people always bring up everything about each other’s private lives for general discussion? At breakfast? Chad’s entry through the private door last night must be common knowledge. After all, she hadn’t pushed him down the little flight of steps — or even protested.

“I’ll tell you one thing, Aunt Clara. She missed a golden opportunity to flip me over her shoulder.”

“I’d have helped her. All she had to do was call me.” Clara impaled him with an accusing stare.

As much as she relished seeing Chad on the receiving end, Sabina could see he enjoyed the exchange. Before she could steer the conversation a safer subject, the twins entered. Each seemed keyed up, and she was sure Erica had corralled her brother about his mail last night. But that meant they’d . . .

“Did you spend the night, Chad?” Erica’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “I saw your car when I got home, and wondered why you came back. You were driving the Jeep yesterday.”

Daniel grinned mischievously. “He didn’t come in while I was awake. Was he here to see you, Sabina?” He threw his two hundred pounds of youthful energy into the chair beside hers.

Sabina felt overwhelmed by masculinity. Chad, his smile wicked and mature, on her right, and Daniel, still short of his potential, sprawled on her left. She wished herself a million miles away.

“Children, children. Don’t you know it’s rude to pry?” Chad’s teasing reply answered neither question.

Sabina’s mind reeled. Would he come right out and tell them he’d come back to kiss her? No one had any secrets around here, she thought, forgetting the twins’ confidences. Scrambling frantically to establish her innocence, she said, “Chad had a few changes in today’s schedule he wanted to alert me about.”

“Hmmph. I never saw anyone turn beet red about a schedule before.” Clara slapped more crisp mush on a platter and thumped it into the middle of the table. “Eat, Erica. You’ll be late.”

As he filled his plate, Daniel leaned toward her and whispered, “I knew you two had a little something cooking. Go for it.”

Help came from an unexpected quarter, saving Sabina from another monumental blush. “You were up pretty late the night before a big game, weren’t you, Daniel?”

“He waited up for me, Chad. I . . . I had some notes for the test this morning I’d forgotten to give him.” Erica completed the rescue, avoiding forbidden territory herself.

“I remember being too wired about a game to sleep,” Chad reminisced. He watched the covert glances the twins exchanged, and reminded himself to get to the bottom of their secret. Something was cooking. But later, after the stress of the tournament. After the inspection. After he had settled things with Sabina. The twins’ problems and the solutions were his responsibility, one he couldn’t turn over to anyone else, but this time they had to stand in line.

This time he had his own dilemma. He hadn’t been searching for someone like Sabina; he hadn’t even been sure someone like her existed. The differences between them weren’t insurmountable; they had more in common than Sabina would admit. All he had to do was convince her, which would take time. Time, which was always in short supply.

 Remnants of exhilaration from the night before had brought him to his aunt’s early this morning. Chad knew Clara was secretly pleased when he joined them for meals, no matter when. As if unable to stay in her chair any longer, Sabina drained her coffee mug and stood, announcing, “I’m going to load my car and follow you to the office this morning, Chad. I’ll head straight home when we’re finished so you can leave for the game.”

She yearned for the privacy of her car, where she could regroup. Ever since she’d come to this place, control had been taken out of her hands. Sabina didn’t like the unexpected, and her feelings for Chad were unnerving, unplanned. Surely the burning attraction she felt would fade when she put sixty or seventy miles between them.

“Good idea,” Chad said. “That way you won’t be stranded if I’m called away.”

* * * *

“Blast him, he didn’t have to sound so pleased with himself,” Sabina raged as she stuffed her toothbrush into its case. “He acts as if he knows something I don’t.” Sabina snatched her driving coat and dress boots from the closet. Getting back into civilized dress for the drive home would be a relief. The hard-toed boots were necessary in the field, but wearing them elsewhere offended her feminine instincts.

Loading her car took only minutes. All that remained was settling her bill with Clara Kincaid, a task that was every bit as difficult as she’d expected. “You’ll never make any money at this if you tell perfect strangers you were just glad for their company. Besides, the state expects me to turn in a voucher for my expenses,” she said.

“You’d better get out your receipt book, Aunt Clara. You could be accused of furnishing hospitality to the person who puts us out of business. She might think it’s a bribe,” Chad teased. “I guess I can say who I charge and who I don’t. It’s been a real joy to have you, Sabina. Are you sure you have to pay?”

Sabina felt a stinging sensation behind her eyes. She would miss the homey comfort of the Kincaid household. Not the home, but the people. She’d probably never see them again. Clara’s no-nonsense warmth would be extended to the next person offered the comfort of the tiny suite. Sabina Hanlon would be forgotten.

She should be glad to escape the tentacles of involvement Chad and the Kincaids had wrapped around her. Everyone here would have to solve their own problems and live with the results. They had no bearing on her. She was going back to Columbus and her job. Just because for once she’d come across people who cared enough to mine properly didn’t mean there weren’t others out there who were careless, and she intended to track them down.