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21 " Jim Biggers looked down at the puppy playing tug-of-war with one of his bootlaces. “Quit it,” he growled, gently shaking it off. The puppy yapped and scampered away, bumping into Truck’s furry side and bouncing off. The big dog didn’t bat an eye, but he raised his head when he heard a car door slam outside. Another puppy tumbled off his back as he got up.Jim rose too, looking out the window.“She’s here,” he announced, throwing down his pencil.In another minute Kenzie and Linc walked in. One of the puppies ran to her and she squatted down to say hi. “Oh my gosh. You are so cute!”“I can’t compete,” Jim grumbled to Linc.The puppy yapped and ran away. Kenzie went around to the other side of the desk to kiss her boss on the cheek. “Sorry.”Jim grinned. “You’re forgiven. How are you doing, Linc?”He’d noticed that the younger man was still limping. There wasn’t any need to mention it specifically.“Better every day, thanks. How did Truck get stuck with babysitting?”“I promised him half a steak,” Jim said. “He fell for it.”An eager puppy chomped down hard on Truck’s ear, then put his head and paws down in play position, wagging his stubby tail.“Poor Truck,” Kenzie said sympathetically. She looked back to Jim. “Why are they here? I mean, they’re cute but way too young to start with us.”“Merry Jenkins is fostering them for me. But she’s gone for the next two days, so I have them. It’s been fun. I’m seeing plenty of potential.” He glanced at the floor, frowning. “And a few puddles.”He unrolled several sheets from the paper towel dispenser on his desk and let them drift to the floor. A puppy pounced on the white stuff and dragged it away.Jim rolled his eyes. He unrolled more paper towels, and this time he put his boot down on them.“I can’t wait to come back full-time,” Kenzie said.“When you’re ready. Not a minute before,” Jim said sternly. “Everything’s under control. No rush.”Linc looked down. “Am I seeing things?”A tiny kitten was clawing its way up his jeans.Jim harrumphed. “That’s a stray. Buddy and Wells started feeding it, and now it won’t go away.”“Aww,” Kenzie exclaimed. “It’s adorable.”Linc detached the kitten from his front pocket and held it up. The warmth of his hands calmed it, but only for a minute. The kitten stared at him, bug-eyed, then batted at his nose. “Doesn’t seem to be afraid of anything.”“Reminds me of Kenzie. I guess I’ll have to keep it. So where are you two headed?”Linc put the kitten down. Tiny tail waving, it sauntered between Truck’s furry legs. The dog didn’t seem to mind. "
― Janet Dailey , Honor (Bannon Brothers, #2)
22 " So where are you two headed?”Linc put the kitten down. Tiny tail waving, it sauntered between Truck’s furry legs. The dog didn’t seem to mind.“Oh--out and about,” Kenzie said.She and Linc exchanged a look. “You tell him,” he said.“We stopped by to see Christine first. You were next on the list.”“Beg pardon? What list?”“Friends and family.” Kenzie stretched out her left hand and wiggled her fingers. An oval diamond set in platinum caught the sun.Jim’s eyes widened.“Way to go.” He beamed at both of them. “That’s one hell of a rock. You didn’t waste any time.” He gave Linc a nod of masculine approval. “So when’s the big day?”“We haven’t decided,” Kenzie answered.She didn’t want to say that they were keeping a low profile for as long as possible. The media furor over SKC had died down, but they were helping with the ongoing investigation.Life went on. Love had amazing power to heal.Truck picked up on the excitement and edged between the three of them, blocking the hug about to happen.“Routine stuff, Linc. He has final say,” Jim teased.The black-and-white dog took his time about it. Then he sat down in front of Linc, brushing his tail across the floor in wide waves.“He approves,” Kenzie said.“Never argue with a good dog.” Jim laughed. “All right, you two. Get out of here. I have work to do.”Kenzie got a hug in before he went back to his desk.“Congratulations.” He nodded toward the picture of his wife. “From me and Josie. She’ll be over the moon when she hears. "
23 " Linc and Kenzie drove away in his red pickup. The diamond on her hand caught the sun before she reached up to rub his shoulder.“I was thinking,” she began.Linc smiled, enjoying the mini-massage. “Am I being softened up?”“Yes.”“Just tell me what you want, Kenzie.”“Let’s get away somewhere. Really away.”“Name your island,” Linc replied cheerfully.“Is there one called True Love?”He laughed out loud. “Let’s go looking. It has to be out there somewhere. "
24 " Are you sure it’s going to fit? You told me to get a double.”“I did?” She glanced at the platform. “I meant a full. That’s a little narrower, isn’t it?”“I don’t know. I hope they’re the same. Measure twice, move once.”Doubt flickered across Kenzie’s expression. “That’s not how the saying goes.”“It’ll do for now.”“Let’s just try it.” She curled her fingers around a handle and dragged it onward. Linc reached for the other one and helped her flip it down.It hollowed in the middle and hung over the edge. “I’m guessing I got suckered,” he said with annoyance. He looked at the label sewn into the side. “It isn’t a national brand--the measurement sure isn’t standard. The damn thing is about three inches wider than the platform.”“The length is correct,” Kenzie said helpfully.Linc lifted it back up again and leaned it against the opposite wall. “Yeah. Great.”“Sorry,” she offered.He bent over and ran a hand along the platform’s edge, pushing gently on the long wooden bar that kept the mattress in place. It gave at one corner.“Stapled. Not exactly quality construction.” He thumped at it with a closed fist to pry it loose and di the same thing at the other end, straightening with the bar in his hand. He handed it to her.“This can go in the closet. You get to explain to Norm.”“He won’t care. You’re a genius.”Linc hoisted the mattress and flipped it down again. “If you say so.” He grinned. “At least the bed’s flat.”Kenzie rested the bar in a corner and got busy stripping off the plastic while he watched. The luxurious satin top gleamed softly--he’d spent what she’d given him. When she was done, she had an armful of plastic that she stuffed into a bag on top of the crumpled rock-star posters.With a sigh of happiness she sat down on her new bed. “Thanks so much. You really came through.”“I like protecting you from lecherous mattress salesmen. You don’t need to thank me,” he joked.“How about a kiss instead?”Linc was taken aback. He opened his mouth, too surprised for a second to say yes.No never entered his mind. "
25 " Thanks so much. You really came through.”“I like protecting you from lecherous mattress salesmen. You don’t need to thank me,” he joked.“How about a kiss instead?”Linc was taken aback. He opened his mouth, too surprised for a second to say yes.No never entered his mind.Kenzie’s slender arms twined around his neck and she raised herself up on her sneaker toes to make good on her offer. Linc let his hands slide over her body, stopping at the sweet curve of her jeans-clad hips. She flexed, catlike, arching her back to bring herself more tightly against him. Her moves were playful, feminine to the core, instantly arousing him.He kissed her back, gently at first, then with searching strength. She didn’t seem to want to stop. She nipped at his lower lip, then moved back a little, looking up at him with half-closed eyes as her hands moved into his hair.Linc stood his ground, enjoying the stroking caress. One hand moved down to his jawline. Soft and tender. He wasn’t used to her being this gentle.“Nice,” she said softly.He tried to remember how to talk. Too complicated. He hadn’t let go of her waist, but there was more air between them than he really needed.“And enough for now,” she added.He came to his senses. She stepped away from him, not looking at the new mattress that seemed to be the only thing in the room. Linc glanced at the expanse of tufted satin with a flash of regret.“We should think about it, you know,” she said. “We can’t just tumble into bed.”“Oh.” He didn’t need to think, he knew. He wanted her. Bad. “Kenzie…you can call the shots. Just tell me when.”Her mouth curved upward in an indescribable smile Linc would never forget. “Okay,” she said. "
26 " Thanks so much. You really came through.”“I like protecting you from lecherous mattress salesmen. You don’t need to thank me,” he joked.“How about a kiss instead?”Linc was taken aback. He opened his mouth, too surprised for a second to say yes.No never entered his mind. "
27 " He cast a glance at the heavy-metal posters on the walls. One was peeling off at a corner and another had been torn and taped back together.“Norm said I could take those down,” Kenzie told him.“You don’t like them?” he asked dryly. "
28 " Cat replied with a casual wryness. That settled the issue in Culley’s mind; if Chase Calder would oppose her decision, he was for it. The fact that it was what Cat wanted to do only added weight to his reasoning, tipping the scales. “It’s your life. You got to live it as you see fit,” Culley stated, hearing his words and liking the sense they made. “You’re a grown woman. It ain’t his place to be telling you what to do anymore. You can tell him I said so. And if he gives you any trouble, you have him talk to me.” The underlying thread of fierceness in his voice moved Cat. She turned to him with a look of affection. “I love you, Uncle Culley.” He reddened and ducked his head, embarrassed by her simple declaration. “Guess you’ll be sticking around "
― Janet Dailey , Calder Pride (Calder Saga, #5)
29 " He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. He had a habit of running a hand into his hair when he was concentrating hard, which made it spike. Right now he resembled a pissed-off cockatoo "
30 " So what can I do to help around here?” he asked.She stood up and yanked the black sheet off the bed so hard it ripped at the holes. “So much for that,” Kenzie muttered. She threw it on the floor, then bent down with a swoop and balled it up, stuffing it into an empty shopping bag.“Anything else?” he asked pleasantly. “Want to make a Destroy list?”She threw him a fierce look. “I know you won’t believe me, but you wouldn’t be on it.”Her way of saying he was right. Linc couldn’t mess up that small victory with some stupid comeback. "
31 " Guess you’re wondering why I wanted to see you,” the lieutenant said.“A little, yeah.” Linc didn’t bother to ask how Warren had gotten his address.“I realized last time we talked that I didn’t know your last name.”“That would be because I never mentioned it.”The other man chuckled. “Right. And I didn’t want to ask the Corellis. So, I, uh, ran your plates.”That was why he’d walked them to the hospital parking lot.“I was curious. No offense, but in this type of case you cover all your bases.”Linc knew what was coming. He folded his arms over his chest, listening more to the birds in the willow tree than to the lieutenant.“I got the basic screen. Full name, address, date of birth. You’re an organ donor. After that, nada. Level Five block. Access to subject information restricted.”Linc sighed.“That’s federal, isn’t it?” The lieutenant looked over at him. “But not the FBI. Those guys comb their hair. You with the agency? The army?”“Want me to lie?”“No, of course not.” Mike Warren seemed awfully pleased with himself. “I did get your last name. Nice to meet a real Bannon.”Linc braced himself, prepared to field irrelevant questions about his brother RJ and the Montgomery case, but the lieutenant seemed inclined to stop while he was ahead.“Look, I know your connection to Kenzie is personal. But that doesn’t mean you have nothing to contribute. Going forward, if you can help, it would be just between you and me. Totally off the record.”Linc knew what Mike Warren was getting at. Different databases, different protocols. Not a lot of sharing. The lieutenant was way out of his league, but he had the guts to ask. Linc respected that.“Happy to,” he replied. “But there are limits.”“I understand.” Mike Warren got up and looked toward Linc’s car. “Okay. I have to get back to the station. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing.”“Sorting socks.”The lieutenant grinned. “My apologies for the interruption. "
32 " I was wondering,” she began as if the argument hadn’t happened. “If I went to buy the new bedding, would you pick out the mattress? It would save time.”“Huh?” His eyebrows went up.“I don’t need to test it,” she said hastily.“Well, I’m not going to be sleeping on it.”Kenzie didn’t respond directly to his faintly mocking comment. “Let me explain. You’re a guy. You don’t know what it’s like to lie down on a mattress with a store salesman grinning at you.”Linc could see her point. It was all too easy to imagine her stretched out on a satin-topped, brand-new double. Fully clothed, of course. But even so.“It’s on Norm.” She reached into her pocket for a handful of hundreds. “Just get whatever mattress seems reasonable, so long as it’s in stock and they can deliver it today.”His arms uncrossed but he didn’t take the money. “Did I say yes to this? I don’t think I did.”“Please, Linc.”He studied her, making her wait. The room was nothing to write home about but she seemed happy here and, all of a sudden, a lot less tense, judging by her body language.He gave in. “All right.”Claws retracted, Kenzie patted his cheek. “Thank you so much.”A while later, he was tying a plastic-wrapped mattress to the top of his car. "
33 " He pushed the coverlet halfway down his body and crossed his arms behind his head. Linc stared at the overhead fixture, his new best friend for the last several days--he’d actually felt like talking to it a few times. "
34 " When the land is abused, nature has a way of striking back. Land will eventually go back to what nature intended, but the cost is high. The land is what it is, no matter what man does or thinks he can do. Benteen Calder knew it, and Webb knew learned it. Hopes die and man moves on, but the land stays. "
― Janet Dailey , Stands A Calder Man (Calder Saga, #2)
35 " Kenzie agreed to meet him at the park in the morning. Early. Linc sat in his car, waiting for her and watching the sun come up. She pulled in less than five minutes later. They ran some laps, and she told him what Jim had said. Then she ran ahead. He lengthened his strides to catch up, concentrating on the running so he could think.She outpaced him several more times.Feeling frisky. She seemed to have bounced back from her near breakdown at the climbing gym over that ugly card.He caught up again and flung himself across an imaginary ribbon. “And the winner is!”“Cheater,” she yelled, laughing.He loped off the track toward the exercise structures and she followed.Linc grabbed the pull-up bar and swung himself up, doing several.“Jim’s not crazy, Kenzie. Five.”The pull-ups hurt his arms, but it felt good. He’d been spending too much time sitting in front of laptops.Kenzie leaned against the metal frame of the structure, looking around absently at the small park.“I guess he was just thinking out loud. I never saw him get that steamed, though.”He let himself down with excruciating slowness and went up again. “Six. You can understand why.”“Yeah, I do.”“Seven.” He went for some fast ones. “Eight. Nine. Ten.” He sucked in a breath, tightening his abs, and let it out with a whoosh. “Going to the media is an idea. I considered it myself. But--eleven--it won’t work for us. Not at this point.”“Don’t forget about Randy Holt. She didn’t want to go public.”“Twelve.” His biceps bulged as he stayed up, swinging a little in midair. He thought he detected a flicker of interest in Kenzie’s eyes. About time. He was killing himself.She swung her arms to warm up. “Are you done showing off?”“Are you impressed yet?”Small smile. Okay, she had a lot on her mind. He wouldn’t push it. Then--Linc almost lost his grip when she walked over and put a hand on his chest.“Don’t forget to breathe,” she said mischievously.Linc gasped. He wasn’t sure whether to drop to the ground and take her in his arms, or lose the challenge.“Thirteen. Fourteen. And…fifteen.” He dropped to the ground with bent knees, more winded than he expected. “Your turn.”Kenzie reached high to grab the bar before he could grab her and did several without breaking a sweat, her ankles crossed. Perfect form. In more ways than one. "
