Showdown at Lizard Rock Read Online Free Page B

lady in here with me, Chief,” he volunteered with the grace of someone being presented to the queen. “I’ll make sure nobody says nothin’ impolite to her.”
    “Can it, Harold,” the chief muttered. He looked at Kaylyn apologetically. “Sorry, Katie, my girl, but you’re going to have to share the facilities with Harold and Mr. Vandergriff. Don’t think we’ve ever had a woman in here before. Usually take them over to the county jail. We only have the three cells, and Harold always gets the middle one.”
    “Fine, just get me something to wear.” She walked into the cell next to Harold’s and watched the chief lock her door.
    “Somebody handed me these clothes to bring along,” an officer said. Kaylyn recognized them. They were King’s. She glanced over at her adversary. He was being placed in the cell on the other side of Harold. She nodded and smiled.
    “Yes, give me the shirt and socks. The rest belong to Mr. Vandergriff. Thanks, Sergeant Williams.”
    She slipped into King’s shirt and put his socks on. She considered for a moment that she should have taken his trousers, too, but there was something too intimate about that idea. She’d manage without.
    King Vandergriff really wasn’t a savage, she told herself. Savages always ravished their women. King Vandergriff wasn’t even royal, unless you could count calling him a royal pain in the … No. What the man was, was a renegade, strong and lean and locked in on a purpose. She had to admit that he’d looked as if he belonged on the rock. The more she thought about the day’s excitement, the more disturbed she became. She didn’t want him to belong.
    For every move she’d made, he’d made a counter-move. They were probably just about even. She’d failed to change his mind about the springs. She’d failed to convince anyone that his real plans for Lizard Rock and Pretty Springs weren’t pretty at all. And she’d ended up in jail.
    She had also used the nursing home’s van without permission. She’d done that before, but this time she wasn’t sure what the director would say about her escapade. And maybe, just maybe, the picture on the front page of the
Pretty Springs Gazette
would be a bit more sensational than she’d planned.
    After all, how could she have expected King Vandergriff to strip and join her on the rock? Poor Lizard, he’d probably never live this scandal down. A glance across the cells toward King made her wonder if she could manage to vanquish a man who wore red underwear, cowboy boots, and a Stetson.
    If circumstances were different, she might not even want to try.

Two
    “Kaylyn, are you all right down there?” King called.
    “I’m fine,” she lied, trying desperately to keep from scratching the rash that was looking more and more like poison ivy. “No thanks to you,” she added in a low voice. “If I could get my hands on you …”
    “What did you say?” he asked.
    A police siren outside drowned out her reply.
    “She says she’s fine, son,” Harold relayed. “She just wants to get her hands on you to thank you.”
    King peered at Kaylyn through Harold’s cell. All he could see of her was a red-and-tan plaid shirt.
His
red-and-tan plaid shirt. When he’d put on his jeans and boots and had seen that he only had his beige jacket, he’d wondered what had happened to his shirt.
    “Kaylyn Smith, are you wearing my shirt?”
    “Yes, Mr. Vandergriff. Thank you.”
    “So now you’re adding theft to your other charges? I guess I’m going to have to get a restraining order to keep you away from my property.”
    “I guess you’d better. Because I intend to mess with your property every chance I get.”
    “What’d I tell you, boy,” Harold said, chortling. “She wants to get her hands on your body.”
    “Come on, Lady Godiva, accept it. There’s no way you’re going to stop me.”
    “No? I thought you might have learned something today. It isn’t smart to mess with Kaylyn Smith.”
    “Oh, I