Winter Affair Read Online Free Page A

former milieu, where she would surely hear the echo of happier times. When his wife died, Carter Bradshaw had focused all his energies on his only child, and Leda had spent a lot of time with him at his office. She’d done her homework on his desk and watched television on a small portable set in his anteroom while he took care of business. Once she went away to school she missed the smell of exhaust and engine grease, the heat and bustle of the lab where the technicians tested parts and fuels and lubricants. It would be difficult to go back there now and see it all in the hands of someone else.
    The night was cold, threatening more snow, as Leda drove past the long, low industrial buildings that flanked the airfield. The slate gray structure of the hangar loomed before her as she parked her car and walked through the huge doors toward the office just inside.
    The noise of engines was constant, and deafening. Phelps kept a crew working all night, as her father had done, and the men in overalls scurried about, fueling a helicopter and a Piper Cub from a truck nearby. Frigid air rushed in through the open wall, and Leda hurried across the cement floor, intent on reaching the warmth of the business enclosure. She glanced around for Phelps, and stopped dead in her tracks.
    Bending over the fuselage of the Piper Cub, absorbed in overhauling the engine, was a very filthy Kyle Reardon.

 
    Chapter 2
     
    “Miss Bradshaw?”
    Leda started out of her reverie, turning to face the man who addressed her. “Yes?”
    He was a middle-aged, freckled redhead with an open, engaging manner. He stuck out his hand. “I’m Jim Kendall, the plant manager here. Matt Phelps asked me to meet you. He’s tied up at the moment, but he should be with you shortly. Would you like to sit in the office and wait?”
    Leda nodded, glancing once more at Reardon. He worked on, oblivious of her presence. She shook Kendall’s hand and followed him past the opaque glass partition that separated the administration area from the hangar.
    “I understand your father used to own this place,” Kendall said conversationally as she sat down next to a green metal filing cabinet.
    “Yes, Mr. Phelps purchased it from the estate.”
    Kendall helped himself to coffee from a pot on a warmer near the door. Leda shook her head when he asked her if she wanted any, and he added powdered creamer to his drink as he talked.
    “Your father was a real popular guy around here,” Kendall said. “I ran into some trouble with a few of the workers when I hired that Reardon fella, the one who got into the scrape with that test. He had a rough couple of days when he started, but he’s settling in now. I believe in giving a guy a second chance, and he’s a crack mechanic. It’s quite a comedown for him too, working as a grease monkey, but he’s taking it like a soldier.”
    Leda eyed Kendall nervously, wondering why he was telling her all this.
    “I saw you watching him when I came up to you,” Kendall explained, reading her expression. “I thought I’d better clear it up in case there were any hard feelings.”
    “Mr. Reardon has paid his debt to society. Isn’t that the phrase?” Leda replied stiffly. “You have the right to employ anybody you please.”
    Kendall’s brow furrowed. He obviously wasn’t sure what to make of her comment. He looked up at the clock on the wall and tossed his empty cup into the trash.
    “Miss Bradshaw, I have to go. Would you mind if I left you alone for a little while? I’m sure Matt will be out directly.”
    “Go ahead,” Leda said, relieved that the man was leaving. She was afraid she was in for further discussion of Reardon if he stayed. After Kendall was gone, she sat waiting for about ten minutes, and then, bored with the inactivity, got up to have a look around. Phelps was obviously delayed, and she might as well amuse herself until he showed up.
    She couldn’t quite admit that she wanted another look at Reardon.
    Once back out