Page 11 of Her Delta Force Protector

“You remembered.”

There was so much pleasure in her voice that it made him feel like some kind of hero for remembering she liked them. He couldn’t think like that where she was concerned. He was no one’s hero, just a man trained by the United States government to be one of its elite assets.

“I’m going to take a shower, get the road dirt off, then we’ll talk,” he said when they finished eating.

“’Kay.”

When he came out of the bathroom, she was asleep, and although he didn’t like not knowing what he was facing, she was exhausted and needed to sleep. He wanted to be back on the road as soon as possible, so they’d talk when he got her home. He’d keep her safe, solve her problems, and then send her on her way.

Chapter Five

Harper was exhausted down to her bones. Kade had woken her at sunrise with a cup of coffee and a Danish, and then had stood at the door, anxious to leave. Any other time, she’d enjoy the ride on a motorcycle, but today, she just wanted off the bike.

They came around a curve, and she got her first sight of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. A blue haze hung over the peaks, and she wondered if that was how they got their name.

She’d grown up in Apalachicola, a small town in the Florida Panhandle. Their claim to fame were their oysters. The mountains seemed mysterious to a girl who was raised in a beach town in one of the flattest states in the country.

She wanted to keep going, up to those blue-crested mountains rising to the sky. Would it be easy to get lost in them, to find a mountain cabin, maybe with a creek running through the land, a place where she couldn’t be found?

As the motorcycle cruised along, people in the cars they passed looked over at them, and she imagined they were envious, wishing they were enjoying a ride on a bike on a warm fall day. They would think she and Kade were a couple, and she liked the idea of that a little too much. A girl couldn’t help but appreciate the hard body she was wrapped around.

For a while, until they reached their destination, she let herself pretend they really were a couple out for the day on her boyfriend’s bike. It was a nice dream, but that was all it was. Kade was nothing more than a friend who might or might not help her after he heard her story.

They left the highway for a two-lane country road, and she watched the passing scenery with interest. Kade had told her stories, some hilarious, of his hometown. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Marsville was infamous because of a supposed alien abduction years ago. They even had a UFO museum of all things. She hoped she’d get a chance to see it.

Not long after leaving the highway she saw signs welcoming her to Marsville. The town was just ahead, but Kade leaned to turn onto a cross street. The town looked charming from the brief glimpse she got of the main street. What really stood out were the colorful awnings on the buildings.

A few minutes later, Kade turned the bike onto a private drive that led to a beautiful three-story Victorian-style house. He stopped in front of a four-car unattached garage. Who had that many garages?

Before they could get off, a little girl came running out a side door of the house. “Uncle Kade! Where’d you go? You didn’t tell me! Uncle Tris took Duke to work with him ’cause you weren’t here. He’s not a police dog, Uncle Kade! Only Fuzz is. Can we go get him?”

The girl came to a sudden halt, her eyes widening at seeing Harper. “Who are you?”

“That’s Miss Harper. Harper, this is my niece, Everly, who has lost the volume control on her voice. We’re hoping she finds it again and soon.” Kade stood, his long legs straddling the bike as he held it upright. “You can hop off.”

She swung her leg over, then stepped to the ground. “Hello, Everly. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Are you my uncle’s girlfriend? Are you coming to live with us? My uncle Tris has a girlfriend, but she doesn’t live here. Sometimes she stays here. Do you know her? When my uncle Tris marries—”

“Ev! Give Miss Harper a chance to answer a question before you ask another one.”

The girl sighed. “But I have so many, Uncle Kade. I don’t want to forget one.”

Harper shared an amused glance with Kade. His niece was adorable. Harper guessed her to be around five or six, and she shared Kade’s dark chocolate eyes and dark brown hair.

“I’m not your uncle’s girlfriend, but I am his friend. Is it okay if I stay here for a few days?”

“Do you like pickles?”

Harper managed not to laugh. Was that a condition of staying? This girl was a charmer, all right. “I do like pickles.”

Everly took her hand. “Let’s go have some.”

“You’re now her new best friend,” Kade said. “Go on in with her. I’ll bring your things.”

Harper let her new best friend lead her into a kitchen that was to die for. Kade had told her that he shared a house with his two brothers, each of them having a separate floor. He hadn’t told her that their house could be on the cover ofArchitectural Digest.

“I can have five pickles, Miss Harper,” Everly said. “How many do you want?”

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