The One Safe Place Read Online Free Page B

your guests.
    But, when Reed walked outside, he saw immediately that it wasn’t a fox.
    Instead, it was a skinny little boy and a shaggy little dog.
    And it was also a beautiful, dark-haired, well-dressed woman who had kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse at the edge of the grass and now seemed to be playing a peculiar game of tag with the other two.
    As best Reed could tell, the dog had started it. Just a puppy, really, he was racing up and down the length of the pond, trailing a long, limp leash. He was having the time of his life, his pink tongue flying as he ran, barking incessantly, clearly intoxicated by the power of setting the ducks into a noisy flutter.
    The little boy was chasing the dog, making periodic futile attempts to snag the leash. His pinched face was as serious as a judge, and he never took his eyes off the puppy, as if his life depended on catching him.
    The woman was chasing the boy, stumbling over clumsy ducks who waddled into her path. “Spencer! Tigger! Stop! Please, sweetheart. Stop.”
    At the same instant, Reed observed his friend Parker rounding the corner, his arms full of suitcases, which he promptly dropped when he spied the chaos before him.
    â€œSpencer, don’t,” Parker called out, echoing the woman. Then he noticed Reed standing at the clinic door and gave him a sheepish grin. “This isn’t exactly how the introductions were supposed to go, butthat great-looking lady down there is your new housekeeper.”
    â€œSo I gathered.”
    Parker’s grin deepened. “Well? It’s your pond. Your ducks. And you’re the superhero in this story. You’re the gallant protector.”
    â€œDamn it, Parker, I knew you had a hidden agenda here. I am nobody’s superhero, and you damn well know it.”
    â€œOkay, okay.” Parker looked meek. “But you’re in your work clothes, while I, unfortunately, am wearing Sarah’s favorite overpriced suit. Maybe you should…um…do something?”
    With a dark glance at Parker—a glance that reminded him whose idea all this had been in the first place—Reed moved toward the pond, which seemed to be churning with wings and webbed feet.
    Suddenly, without warning, the dog took a flying leap into the pond and began to paddle furiously toward the nearest mallard.
    Without a moment’s hesitation, the little boy barreled in after him, making a hell of a splash.
    And, of course, the woman followed frantically.
    She probably thought the boy was in danger. She couldn’t know, of course, that the pond was a mere two feet deep. The puppy was the only one who couldn’t touch the bottom quite easily.
    Reed started to lope toward them, but Faith looked over, her lovely mouth pressed tight, her wide gaze embarrassed. She shook her head.
    â€œNo, please,” she said. “It’s okay.”
    He stopped. Her voice was low and pleasant, a little husky—the kind of voice that drove men wild without even trying. But it was emphatic. She was already embarrassed, and she did not want to be “rescued.”
    So he honored that, standing at the edge of the pond, watching in case anyone slipped on the way out.
    Now that her clothes were drenched, he couldn’t help noticing that her body was spectacular. He glanced at Parker suspiciously, wondering if his friend had known that Faith Constable was a bona fide beauty when he decided she should hide out at Autumn House. It would be just like him to try a little matchmaking.
    But Parker looked every bit as mesmerized as Reed felt. Parker might be happily married, but that didn’t mean he was blind. And, even soaking wet—maybe especially soaking wet—this woman was enough to drive an army to its knees.
    â€œPlease,” she called out again. “I don’t want you to get wet, too, Dr. Fairmont. We’re fine, really.”
    She was holding out her hand to stop him, and Reed realized he must have