Green Fire Read Online Free Page B

the kitchen she came to a halt, silently studying the scene before her. Zipp was seated on the windowsill, watching with interest as Flint systematically created chaos. Cottrell was working hard at the project. A wide assortment of utensils and bowls dotted the countertop. Two frying pans had been set out on the stove. A carton of milk stood open, and the lids were off the canisters that lined one wall.
    Flint himself was standing in front of the open refrigerator, examining its contents as if he were plotting an assault strategy. He was dressed for attack in an olive-drab fatigue sweater and a pair of jeans. Like the jacket he had worn last night, both garments looked as if they'd been around a long while. The income of an itinerant handyman-gardener was probably rather meager..
    Rani propped one hand against the doorjamb and drummed her fingers meaningfully. "If you'll give me a minute, I'll find you an apron."
    Flint didn't glance up from his serious perusal of the refrigerator's interior. "That's okay. I don't need one."
    "Are you sure?" she asked dryly. "You appear to be about to cook breakfast for a battalion."
    He looked around when she said that, his green eyes moving with interest over her bright robe and sleep-tousled hair. "No. Just you and me and the cat."
    "Really? I'm included? To what do I owe the honor?"
    "I got the refrigerator going but there isn't any food in the other cottage," he explained simply, still looking at her. "I felt like pancakes."
    The intentness of his stare was beginning to ruffle her composure. Rani resisted the urge to clutch the lapels of her robe more tightly closed. She was decently covered. There was no reason to let him unnerve her. "I see. So you just decided you'd break into my kitchen and make yourself a batch?"
    "I haven't had pancakes for a long time."
    "That's certainly a valid explanation for all this." She waved a hand at the clutter on the countertop.
    "I just felt like pancakes," he repeated stubbornly.
    "Do you make a habit of invading other people's homes when you feel like helping yourself to something they lave?"
    Flint closed the refrigerator door and leaned against it, his arms folded across his chest. "This house and the cottage seemed to be part of the same package rental. I sort of think of it as all one territory. After all, I'm going to be working on both as well as the garden."
    Rani straightened away from the wall, no longer making any pretence of controlling her irritation. Her normally well-ordered life did not allow for this sort of disturbance. "I think we should get something clear between us, Flint. You are installed in the small cottage. I am renting this house, you will enter my portion of the 'territory' only upon invitation. We are not all one big happy family vacationing under the same roof. If I remember that letter from the Andersons, you are the hired help. Nothing more. Do you understand the situation now?"
    He watched her through slightly narrowed eyes. "I understand," Flint said softly. "I just felt like having pan-cakes. I told you, there isn't any food in the cottage."
    Rani gritted her teeth and waved one hand in a gesture of frustrated disgust. "All right! You can have your pan-cakes. But this is my kitchen and I will make them. You will kindly get the hell out of here until I call you for breakfast. Go pluck weeds or something."
    Flint ran a hand around the back of his neck. "What I'd really like is a shower. The one in the cottage wasn't work-ing."
    Rani glared at him, appalled at the new direction of the conversation. "Not my bathroom! You're surely not suggesting that you have access to my bathroom."
    "Just the shower. The rest of the plumbing in the cottage works fine."
    "I don't believe this."
    "Don't worry, I won't use all the hot water."
    "I'm not taking my chances." She whirled and stalked back down the hall. "I'll take my shower first. You can have whatever hot water is left over. In the meantime, don't touch another thing in that