He stopped and turned. Sounds good.
Then he strode away, his long legs eating up the ground while she watched the casual, controlled grace with which he carried himself.
Jessica shook her head and looked away. She had an eye for beauty, that was all. And the way Sam ORourke moved was a precise, powerful, beautiful thing.
She didnt need to be thinking of him as sexy. And she certainly didnt expect him to be her savior. Sam ORourke was just the hired hand. He had his own problems to deal with.
Harry whimpered, drawing her out of her depressing funk. She clicked her tongue and urged him to his feet, kneeling down and hugging him tight around his sturdy neck, finding strength in his unwavering loyalty. Finding comfort in the one male shed let herself trust.
I bet I can find a slice of turkey with your name on it in the fridge. She stood up and rubbed her nose against his damp one. Shall we go inside?
The dogs ears pricked up with excitement at the teasing tone in her voice. He ambled along beside her as she headed up the steps and into the house.
She tried to latch on to the dogs joy at a potential treat and ignore her lingering thoughts.
Sam ORourke wasnt looking for a relationship and neither was she. Besides, if he could dredge up one ounce of charm to go with that body of his, he could have any woman he wanted.
And he wouldnt give a skittish recluse of a woman like her a second glance.
Chapter Three
Jess. The name had slipped out as naturally and familiarly as if hed known her for years instead of fewer than twenty-four hours. Hed shouted the word as if he had the right to personalize a nickname for her, a right to care about the deathly pallor and stark terror hed seen etched across her face.
Sam breathed a sigh that did little to ease his frustration and guilt.
Jess Taylor was afraid of cats.
Interesting.
Not that shed admit it, and it wasnt terribly helpful to his mission, but it was an interesting tidbit of information to add to her file.
Sam rolled the dusty, grit-filled wheelbarrow over to the hose and spigot at the west side of the cabin and turned on the water, letting it run until the sun-warmed water ran cold. He was starting to learn all kinds of interesting things about his eccentric employer, few of which were any help in tracking down Kerrys killer. But he took note of them, all the same.
Like the fact she cooked food as if she was feeding an army of gourmands. Her idea of throwing together sandwiches for lunch had been a mouthwatering, deli-style feast, complete with homemade sourdough bread, deviled eggs and pecan pie.
Hed also learned that her legs were about a mile long, and shed dangled them off the edge of the porch with an abandon that left him fantasizing about what theyd look like in something besides a ratty pair of work jeans. Something short. Covered in shimmery stockings. Or in nothing at all.
Damn. Sam shook his head to dispel the image of long, shapely legs waltzing through his weary imagination. He squirted the hose into the air and let the cold water spritz across the sticky bare skin of his back and shoulders, easing the ill-advised heat that had been building inside him all afternoon. The unseasonable seventy-eight-degree weather and demanding physical labor werent the only things that had him all fired up.
His fingers had itched inside his work gloves, longing to sift through the casual curls of Jesss hair to see if it was as light and silky as it looked. And her own hands were part earth mother, part artist. Long, strong fingers that moved with elegant ease through whatever task she undertook. The thought of her touching him with the same fine-tuned confidence with which she stroked her dog or curled them around the trigger of a shotgun had him breathing deeply and praying for a break in the muggy heat even now.
But despite his bodys stirring interest in her long, leanly curved shape and soft blue eyes, Jessica Taylor was a woman who required a patience and expertise he didnt possess. Not in the relationship department, at any rate. He hadnt been with a woman since before Kerrys death. He hadnt even gone on a date. Hed lost his ability to connect with his heart that night hed IDed his sisters body at the morgue.
The only emotions hed been able to feel with any conviction were anger, sorrow and guilt.
Tenderness and compassion were foreign to him now.
The victim of a brutal rape would need both in abundant supply.
Sam sprayed the water across his shoulders again and tried to get a decent drink from the end of the nozzle. He had no business thinking personal thoughts about his new boss. She wouldnt be interested in any kind of intimacy with himwith any manright now. And as much as he would love to hear that hot, steamy voice of hers couched in a seductive whisper, he wasnt the man with the skills to make it happen. He couldnt afford the distraction from his real purpose. His only purpose.
He had less than a month left on his leave. Less than a month to find out the truth. Less than a month to mete out the justice his baby sister deserved.
Thoughts of vengeance cleared his mind and tamped down his libido as nothing else could.
Sam turned the jet of water onto the wheelbarrow and rinsed it out. If only he could cleanse his soul of its guilt, his heart of its anger and sorrow so easily. Hed give Jess a couple of days to get used to having him around. And then hed start a subtle push for informationand a not-so-subtle search of the place the minute she was gone. She must keep a journal or a planner or something that would give him a lead on the bastard whod attacked her and killed Kerry.
Of course, there wasnt just Jesss distrust and stubbornness to get around. There was that damn mutt. Hopefully, Harry stayed by her side even when she traveled. Hed have a hard time explaining a drugged dog or a nasty bite if she left the Shepherd mix to patrol the premises while she was gone.
And hed already learned that Jessica was protected by the watchful eye of the local sheriff. Curtis Hancock might be down-home-country personified, but Sam wouldnt underestimate the portly mans intelligence or skill as a law enforcement officer. This was his territory. He wasnt afraid to ask questions, and he picked up quickly on local gossip. Would he pick up on Sams secret intentions as well?
Sam flattened his mouth into a determined line. The sheriff might be smart, but he was smarter. He wouldnt let Curtis Cow Pie or anyone else stand in the way of finding Kerrys killer.
He tipped the barrow over and attacked the wheel with the water, grasping the hoses gun-shaped nozzle between his steady hands and taking certain aim at each glob of dirt and grime. Yeah. Poof. Just like that. Smack. Right between the eyes. Bang. Dead center in the
Youre pretty good with that thing. I dont suppose I should have you water the garden, though. The tomatoes would never survive.
Sam tensed at the sultry, smart-aleck voice behind him. He quashed the instinctive urge to spin around and point his facsimile weapon at the woman intruding on target practice. He wasnt sure how to respond to Jessica Taylors ribbing sarcasm. He hadnt expected humor from her. He hadnt expected the urge to toss back a comment as if shed made some type of flirty come-on instead of an astute observation.
Not that it mattered. How the hell had she gotten the drop on him? He couldnt blame it on the force of the water pinging against the wheelbarrows metal frame. Hed been off his game. Hed been so focused on not noticing her that he hadntwellnoticed her.