You might fall.”
She started to argue, then realized it would be faster just to grab the tackle box and get down. She turned around with the tackle box in her hand. Al took it, and before she could bend down, he picked her up. She clutched his shoulders and slid down his body, feeling his bare chest against her breasts. Her hair shimmied over one of his shoulders.
She looked into his face, and everything stopped. Her mind, her heart, her breath. Somewhere in her conscience the hint of a melody, stirring and poignant, teased her. At that moment all she could do was stand still inside his arms and watch.
With one arm still wrapped around her waist, he picked up the long lock of hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “It’s so long,” he mused.
Katherine’s mouth went dry. “I—I keep saying I’m going to cut it.”
“No, it’s you. Long red hair, slim little body, lots of warm smiles.”
She sucked in a deep, desperate breath. Laughing nervously, she tried to step back. “How do you know anything about me? You just met me.”
He released her slowly, and she could make out the intent look in his eyes even in the darkness. “You learn by watching and listening. I’ve done both.”
“Oh,” she said. She shook back the distracting hair, relieved to be out of his arms.
“Why are you managing this place on your own?” he asked.
“My uncle had a heart attack. I’m the only one he trusts.”
“But you don’t like it.”
That stopped her. “Does it show that much?” She sighed. “I teach first grade during the school year and head up the children’s programs for Pirate Island during the summer. Jasper’s heart attack caught all of us by surprise.” She shrugged. “I may not be a wonderful manager, but I think with a little help I can hold things together until he decides what he wants to do.”
“It’s a heavy responsibility.”
“Yeah.” Katherine grinned and picked up the tackle box. “But I’m tough.”
He put his hand on hers. “Let me take that.”
“I can handle it,” she insisted.
“I’m sure you can.”
Katherine stared at him to see if he was making fun of her. But his gaze was serious. “Okay. Just put it on the front porch, please.”
She set the barstool back in the kitchen. “See ya in the morning,” she whispered.
“That will be in about two hours,” Al said.
Katherine moaned. “Don’t rub it in.”
After she closed her door and settled into bed, Katherine stared at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure about Al Sanders. Too many things didn’t add up.
Who was he? Why was he staying on Pirate Island? Why did she care? She wrestled with the questions until she finally fell asleep.
Then she dreamed she danced in the dark. She couldn’t quite make out the face of her partner, but his shoulders were broad, his arms strong, and the music she heard touched a tender, vulnerable place inside her.
Chapter Two
Katherine hung up the phone and stared at it. She felt as if she’d just committed a murder.
It was the right thing to do, she told herself. After all, this was Jasper’s third heart attack. The doctor had warned Jasper to cut back on his level of responsibility. Even though her uncle wouldn’t admit it, he had no business managing the campground any longer. By putting the word out that they were interested in selling, she was just making it easier for him. Ultimately the final decision would be Jasper’s. But Katherine reasoned that if she took care of the legwork, selling the campground wouldn’t be so traumatic for him.
Then why did she feel so horrible? It was probably because Uncle Jasper and Pirate Island were the two most stable elements in her life. Since Katherine had turned six, she’d spent every summer with Jasper at the campground. On high school breaks she’d led the children’s programs.
Between her mother’s ventures in and out of matrimony and the corresponding upheavals in all their lives, Katherine had clung to Pirate Island as if it were a lifeline. Now, she was cutting it.
The thought made her sick.
From her disappointing relationship with her father to her publicly humiliating divorce, Katherine’s luck with men had been the pits. The only exception was Uncle Jasper, who’d taught her to fish, encouraged her to go to college, and taught her the value of honesty and stability.
She sighed, wishing there was another way.
“Bad news?” Al asked from behind her.
He moved closer, watching her turn away and give her cheek a surreptitious wipe. “Why didn’t you knock?”
“I did. You must not have heard me.” Alex hesitated, wondering what to do. He’d dealt with teary females before, but in his experience, women usually cried in order to get something. Specifically they cried when they found out he wasn’t going to marry them, and they weren’t going to be the next princess of Moreno.
Katherine, however, appeared genuinely upset, and that bothered him. “You’re upset. What do you need?”
She shook her head and forced a cheerful expression on her face. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Alex narrowed his eyes. “If it’s nothing, then why is your lip quivering?” He reached a hand to her face.
“You’re very observant,” she murmured, moving to the other end of the small office.
“Yes. You didn’t answer my question.”
She made a sound that was half exasperation and half laughter. “You’re also pushy.”
“Persistent,” he corrected. “What’s wrong?”
Katherine rolled her eyes. “It’s none of your business.”
He frowned. No one had ever said that to him. Not his mother, not even Isabella. Katherine Kendall was an irritating feminine puzzle. She’d reluctantly taken him in but kept her distance during the last week. And though she didn’t trust him, she was beginning to rely on him. He was making damn sure of that.
He was curious about her. The way the campground children followed her around as if she were the Pied Piper. She gave smiles away for free, hugs as if they were pennies.
To everyone but him.
He minded being excluded from her smiles, hugs and everything else. He noticed the way she used her petite body carelessly, as if she thought there was nothing sensual about the way she walked, but he sensed something simmering beneath the surface. Her slim waist and full breasts made him want to wrap his hands around
