Little Red: An Everland Ever After Tale Read Online Free Page A

“My grandfather died over the summer, Mr. Hank. And I think it’s important to tell you everything, because I intend to hire you.”
    Well now. Hank put down his coffee cup, and shifted forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. He tried not to look too rude, but was afraid his disbelief crept into his voice when he asked, “You intend to what?”
    “Hire you. I need to get to Everland as quickly and safely as possible, and you’ve already proven that you’re able to protect me.”
    He managed to contain his snort, but just barely. Protect her? Hell, he’d been one step away from digging his fingers into that mess of hair and crushing his lips to hers. At least, that’d been the direction of his thoughts last night, sitting by the fire with her. Luckily, he’d managed to rein in his arousal before the expectant, breathless look in her eyes had done him in.
    “All I did was pick your fool self up off the ground.”
    It was the wrong thing to say, judging from the hurt in her expression, and the way she lifted her chin stubbornly in reaction. “One hundred dollars, Mr. Hank. Am I foolish to offer you that?”
    His low whistle made her nod, as if to assure him her offer was serious. “A hundred dollars? Just to get you to Everland?”
    “ Safely to Everland. Avoiding the train, I think.”
    “Is that why you left Marston and cut east by horse? What’s on the train that you want to avoid?”
    “Not what, Mr. Hank, who .”
    Hell, he’d been afraid of that. “You got off a perfectly good train and decided to ride a horse to Everland? It’s March, Red. You got any idea how dangerous that is? That horse isn’t even yours, is she?”
    Yeah, she was furious all right, judging from the snap in those deep blue eyes, and Hank found himself wondering how else he might irritate her. She sure was a sight, all riled up like that. But for all the ire in her expression, there was a hint of embarrassment she was trying to cover, too. So he needled her further. “You don’t have the sense God gave an acorn.”
    That did it. With a huff, she stood up, and Hank found himself craning his neck and ignoring the twinge in his shoulder to keep his eye on her. She was either going to cry or explode, and he hoped it was the later.
    Thankfully, she did neither. “One hundred dollars, Mr. Hank. And one of the stipulations is that you stop insulting me.”
    “I’ll stop telling you the truth if you’ll stop running off all half-cocked.” Her lips tightened, and Hank managed not to smile. She sure was an easy one to rile. “You do what I tell you, when I tell you, and we’ll get along just fine.” Was that relief she was trying to hide with her haughty expression? What was so all-fired important in Everland?
    Her hands fisted around the edges of the red cloak, but he couldn’t tell if it was in anger, or frustration, or if she was just cold. Finally, though, she nodded once. “I’ll listen, I promise.” When he watched her speculatively, her chin went up. “What? I can follow directions.”
    “We’ll see about that,” Hank drawled. “You ain’t exactly the kind to look before you leap, are you?”
    Her glare told him that she didn’t appreciate his teasing, so he didn’t chuckle when he poured the rest of the coffee on the fire and stamped it out.
    But it was close.
     

     
    “You going to be all right?”
    Maybe he’d seen her shifting uncomfortably in the saddle, or maybe she’d finally let out one of the groans she’d been trying so hard to keep in; Rojita didn’t know. She’d done her best to hide her discomfort, especially after the way he’d made fun of her that morning. He probably already thought that she was brash and impetuous, and she didn’t want to give him any more fodder for his poor opinions.
    Still, maybe climbing back on a horse after being thrown the day before was a bad idea. Her back ached from sitting upright, and her legs ached from holding on, and her head ached from… well,