Daddy Wore Spurs (Mills & Boon Cherish) (Men of the West, Book 32) (18 page)

Her sister probably had no idea about McKenzie’s ridiculous
crush on Ben, that when she was younger, she had foolishly considered him her
ideal guy. Just thinking about it now made her cringe.

Yes, he had been gorgeous enough. Vivid blue eyes, long sooty
eyelashes, the old clichéd chiseled jaw—not to mention that lock of sun-streaked
brown hair that always seemed to be falling into his eyes, just begging for the
right girl to push it back, like Belle did to the Prince after the Beast in her
arms suddenly materialized into him.

Throw in that edge of pain she always sensed in him and his
unending kindness and concern for his sickly younger sister and it was no wonder
her thirteen-year-old self—best friends with that same sister—used to pine for
him to notice her, despite the four-year difference in their ages.

It was so stupid, she didn’t like admitting it, even to
herself. All that had been an illusion, obviously. He might have been sweet and
solicitous to Lily but that was his only redeeming quality. His actions these
past five years had proved that, over and over.

Through the open kitchen window, she heard Rika start barking
fiercely, probably at some poor hapless chipmunk or squirrel that dared venture
into her territory.

“I’d better go,” she said to Devin. “Rika’s mad at
something.”

“Yeah, I’ve got to go, too. Looks like the Shelter Springs
ambulance is on its way with a cardiac patient.”

“Okay. Good luck. Go save a life.”

Her sister was a dedicated, caring doctor at Lake Haven
Hospital, as passionate about her patients as McKenzie was about their town.

“Let me know if you hear anything down at city hall about why
Ben Kilpatrick has come back to our fair city after all these years.”

“Sure. And then maybe you can tell me why you’re so
curious.”

She could almost hear the shrug in Devin’s voice. “Are you
kidding me? It’s not every day a gorgeous playboy billionaire comes to
town.”

And that was the crux of the matter. Somehow it seemed wholly
unfair, a serious Karmic calamity, that he had done so well for himself after he
left town. If she had her way, he would be living in the proverbial van down by
the river—or at least in one of his own dilapidated buildings.

Rika barked again and McKenzie hurried to the back door that
led onto her terrace. She really hoped it wasn’t a skunk. They weren’t uncommon
in the area, especially not this time of year. Her dog had encountered one the
week before on their morning run on a favorite mountain trail and it had taken
her three baths in the magic solution she found on the internet before she could
allow Rika back into the house.

Her dog wasn’t in the yard, she saw immediately. Now that she
was outside, she realized the barking was more excited and playful than upset.
All the more reason to hope she wasn’t trying to make nice with some odiferous
little friend.

“Come,” she called again. “Inside.”

The dog bounded through a break in the bushes between the house
next door, followed instantly by another dog—a beautiful German shepherd with
classic markings.

She had been right. Rika
had
been
making friends. She and the German shepherd looked tight as ticks, tails wagging
as they raced exuberantly around the yard.

The dog must belong to the new renters of the Sloane house.
Carol would pitch a royal fit if she knew they had a dog over there. McKenzie
knew it was strictly prohibited.

Now what was she supposed to do?

A man suddenly walked through the gap in landscaping. He had
brown hair, but a sudden piercing ray of the setting sun obscured his features
more than that.

She
really
didn’t want a
confrontation with the man, especially not on a Friday night when she had been
so looking forward to a relaxing night at home. She supposed she could just call
Carole or the property management company and let them deal with the
situation.

That seemed a cop-out since Carole had asked her to keep an eye
on the place.

She forced a smile and approached the dog’s owner. “Hi. Good
evening. You must be renting the place from Carole. I’m McKenzie Shaw. I live
next door. Rika, that dog you’re playing catch with, is mine.”

The man turned around and the pleasant evening around her
seemed to go dark and still as she took in brown sun-streaked hair, steely blue
eyes, chiseled jaw.

Her stomach dropped as if somebody had just picked her up and
tossed her into the cold lake.

Ben Kilpatrick. Here. Staying in the house next door.

So much for her lovely evening at home.

Copyright ©2015 by RaeAnne
Thayne

Don’t miss
REDEMPTION BAY by RaeAnne Thayne,
available
from wherever HQN Books are sold.
www.HQNBooks.com

ISBN-13: 9781460384442

Daddy Wore Spurs

Copyright © 2015 by Stella Bagwell

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