Joker's Wild Read Online Free Page A

whiz with injured plants, but I’ve never tried my skills on a person. Want to be my first patient?”
    Allison shook her head, wishing for a moment that she was back in the gazebo. Nothing was as she’d expected it to be. Maybe she ought to go back and start over.
    Joker leaned over the table and touched her face with his fingertips. “Don’t worry. I promise you that what I have in mind for your leg is something very special. I’m a man of many talents, darling, and I’m going to teach you to appreciate every one of them.”
    There it was again, that tenderness. She’d thoughtshe’d imagined what had happened in the gazebo, but she’d been wrong. He’d kissed her, and she hadn’t protested. Now he was barely touching her cheek, and she felt the promise of his protection as if he were telling her with words. What was there about this man that made her feel warm and secure with only a touch? What was wrong with her that she was allowing it?
    “Don’t. Please.” She pulled herself out of his reach. “Tell me why you would want to live here in our carriage house.”
    “Because”—his gray eyes sparkled as he held her gaze—“the first time I saw this place, I knew it needed me. I’m going to bring it back to life as it was in the gay nineties when Pretty Springs was a famous resort.”
    “I don’t think anybody can do that. In a few more years this whole area will be commercialized.”
    “Bite your tongue. Just imagine ladies in their soft pastel dresses and picture hats, strolling through the gardens arm in arm with dapper gentlemen wearing bowlers and carrying canes. Oh, darling, it will be grand.”
    “1890?” He’d caught her attention, and her question slipped out.
    Joker sat down at the table and picked up his fork. “Did you know that Mark Twain came to dinner here with your great-grandfather? I’ll bet he ate fried chicken too. What do you think?”
    “I think you’re crazy. How’d you find out all that?”
    “Oh, this house is a treasure of history. Have you ever taken a good look in the library?” He took a big bite of chicken and began to chew lustily. “Dig in, darling. I made strawberry pie for dessert.”
    Allison allowed herself to be distracted by his exuberance. The food was good. For the first time in a long time she was hungry. Maybe it was due to Joker. Maybe it was due to being back at Elysium where she felt safe.
    She took a few bites of the fried chicken and considered his question. “No, I guess I haven’t taken a good look at the library. I never had much time for reading. Once I started skating, all my spare time was spent at the rink.”
    “How old were you?”
    “Eight years old and scared silly. Besides that, I had three left feet.”
    “But you learned. You must have figured out how to conquer your fear. That’s good.”
    “Yes, well, it wasn’t easy.” She brightened and gave him a half smile. “I guess I never did get over my fear, but I learned to live with it.”
    “What about friends?” Joker asked with a cautiousness he didn’t understand.
    “There weren’t many. I didn’t fit in. I always had to practice so early in the morning that I couldn’t stay up very late at night. The only time I ever went to a school dance I fell asleep in a corner of the gym and woke up when they were turning out the lights.”
    “What, only one school dance? Well, that will be our second order-of-recovery business. I still have my Elton John records somewhere. How are you fixed for miniskirts?”
    “Elton John? I skated to one of his songs in a local competition. That was when my instructor decided I was good enough and moved me off to Colorado to live with a real coach. After that I never had time for history or dances either.”
    “That’s all right. We’ve got plenty of time. I’ll teach you while you’re getting rid of those crutches.”
    “If you’re a betting man, Joker”—she allowed the pain and doubt to creep into her voice—“you could be