Charmed by His Love by Janet Chapman

winter or skiing required completely different muscles than sword fighting. “Wait. You got any coffee left in your thermos?”
    “Not enough to cure what’s ailing you this morning. I do believe I packed a fifth of liquid gold in my duffel bag, though.”
    Duncan waved him away with a snort. “Sure, why not? A shot of Scotch sure as hell can’t hurt. Warm my truck up while you’re at it, would you?”
    “Anything else? Ye want me to crush some aspirin to put in the Scotch, or dab ointment on your boo-boos, or give you a massage … Boss?”
    Duncan stopped looking for his boots and picked up the sword, then took a threatening step toward him. “It’s not getting any colder outside, and I’m not so sore that I can’t still outrun you.”
    “Hell, if I’d wanted this kind of abuse I’d have stayed in my nice, warm, occupied bed,” Alec said with a chuckle, heading outside.
    Duncan closed his eyes on a curse, feeling a really long day coming on.
    And if he’d had any idea how true that was going to be he would have crawled right back in bed, because damn if they didn’t pass Peg’s tired old minivan half an hour later sitting on the side of the road with its hood up about two miles from her house.
    “Keep going,” Duncan said into his radio mike when the trailer brake lights came on ahead of him. “But keep an eye out for a woman and four kids walking.”
    “Our merry widow?” Alec responded way too cheerily.
    “If they haven’t made it home yet, I’m putting her in the excavator and the little heathens in the truck with you.”
    “Since when are you afraid of women?” Alec returned, the radio doing nothing to disguise his laughter.
    “Since I saw this particular woman shoot a deer right between its eyes,” Duncan said, a bit startled to hear the laughter in his own voice. Although it might only be the three aspirin and healthy swig of Scotch making him smile. Damn, he had a thing for stubborn, too-proud women—which usually meant trouble for any stubborn, too-proud man foolish enough to find himself attracted to one of them.
    “There they are,” Alec said, just as the trailer brake lights came on again.
    Duncan keyed the mike. “Swing past them and stop. But stay in the lane,” he added. “The road shoulders are still soft.”
    “Whoa, maybe I will risk limping back to TarStone.”
    “Alec,” Duncan hissed in warning as the excavator slid into the oncoming lane, allowing his own headlights to land on Peg and her four children standing out of the way clear across the ditch.
    “I’m just saying,” Alec continued as he pulled back into his lane and came to a stop. “I don’t have a problem with deer-shooting women.”
    Duncan tossed down his mike and got out of his truck, watching Peg help one of the twins back across the ditch before gathering all four children around her.
    “Do you know what’s wrong with the van?” he asked, stopping two paces away when one of the boys scooted behind her.
    “It might be the alternator.” She lifted a hand to her eyes against the glare of his headlights and he heard her sigh. “Or it could only be out of gas, because I think the fuel gauge might have quit working last week.”
    “Peg, this is my nephew, Alec MacKeage,” he said when Alec walked back to them. “He’s going to be helping me build Mac’s road this summer.”
    “My pleasure, Peg,” Alec said with a smile. He squatteddown. “And who are you?” he asked, extending his hand to the twin Duncan assumed was
not
Jacob, since he wasn’t the one hiding behind his mother.
    “I’m Pete,” the boy said, lisping through a missing front tooth as he shook Alec’s hand. He gestured over his shoulder. “And that’s my brother, Repeat, and Charlotte and Isabel. Will you give me a ride in your evascator?”
    “Well, Pete, I do believe the boss won’t let anyone near the equipment unless they’re at least twenty-five years old,” Alec said, standing up and ruffling Pete’s hair.