Angel of Smoky Hollow Read Online Free

on the brink of disaster, yet Kirk seemed to know exactly what he was doing. If this was his normal mode of transportation, he was an expert. She couldn’t ease back on her desperate hold, but she could breathe again. And slowly begin to relish the wind racing across her skin, seeping into the helmet. She wondered what it would be like to fly along without the safety helmet.
    Fear faded. He hadn’t crashed, no reason to think he would with her onboard.
    Conversation was impossible. Which was a good thing. She couldn’t think of a single topic of conversation that might interest him. She could hardly ask out of the blue if he were married. She shouldn’t be so aware of another woman’s husband. Her curiosity spiked. Had he always lived in Smoky Hollow? What did he do for a living? He hadn’t been working yesterday. And obviously wasn’t working this morning. Did he have rotating days or something? Was this his weekend? Or was he visiting like she was?
    No, he’d known those men on the porch. Known Sally Ann. So what was a guy as dynamic as he was doing in sleepy Smoky Hollow, Kentucky?
    Maybe he was unemployed. Lot of that going around.
    She could consider herself unemployed. Her last contract had ended and she had yet to sign the new one waiting for her at her agent’s office. She had enough in savings to live quite a while before she needed to find another position. Inevitably,she’d return to New York. What else could she do besides play the violin? She hoped by then, however, that she’d know herself better and be able to withstand the pressure placed on her by others. This was her first vacation ever. She’d gone right to the symphony from the conservatory. Toured Europe when the New York season ended.
    She needed this break, and hopefully the new direction it would give her.
    Today was too awesome to have to consider the future. It was enough to take delight in this moment.
    After being plastered to Kirk’s solid back for the better part of thirty minutes, Angelica was reluctant to move when they reached the hospital.
    He sat for a second after he stopped and then said, “It’s safe to let go now.”
    Burning with embarrassment, she snatched her hands back and awkwardly got off the motorcycle unassisted, almost falling on her face. His arm caught her around the waist while she was still trying to get her legs to move. Heart aflutter, knees wobbly, she pulled back and took off the helmet. She slicked her hands over her hair; it still felt in place. Tied back as it was, it didn’t get mussed often. Though she’d never worn a helmet before.
    He took both helmets and placed them on the handlebars. Then headed for the hospital entry.
    â€œAre they safe here?” she asked, glancing back at the motorcycle in the parking lot.
    â€œSure.” He shrugged. “If someone needs them more than I do, let him take them. I can buy others.”
    She’d never thought about that aspect of theft. “What if they just want to resell for money?”
    â€œAs I said, if they need it more than I do, okay by me.”
    She followed, trying to understand his thought process. Where she lived everyone was out to get ahead, to be the brightest and best, to make more money, to protect what they’dacquired. Now this man seemed totally unconcerned about the safety of his equipment.
    Entering the hospital, Kirk guided her to the elevator and they rose to the third floor. Angelica kept her face forward, denying herself the opportunity to gaze at Kirk Devon. She hoped he had no idea of how edgy she felt around him—so aware of herself as a woman and him as a man.
    Maybe Webb Francis would be well soon enough to help her out. If not, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Having made the break, she did not want to return home without having accomplished her goal. But she hadn’t a clue what she could do in Smoky Hollow waiting for him to recover.
    There