The Keeping by Nicky Charles Page A

verbally sparring with, Ryne Taylor? No, he couldn’t be.
Elise’s name tag had declared her surname was Sinclair and she
seemed like the type to assume her husband’s surname; Kane
Sinclair’s brother would be a Sinclair as well, wouldn’t he? But
then again, there was always the possibility... She sighed heavily
and decided she’d best find out. Starting the introductions, she
stated her name.
    “I’m Melody
Greene.”
    He ignored the
implicit social norm that would have him supplying his name in
return and glowered at her. “And why, Melody Greene, were you
traipsing all over this property?”
    “I wasn’t
traipsing all over, just walking down the driveway. And I’m here
because I want to talk to Ryne Taylor.”
    A nod was the only
response she got. Not even an eyelash flickered.
    Under her breath,
she cursed him. Was he, or wasn’t he, Ryne Taylor? His reaction
certainly gave no clue either way.
    “Why do you want
to talk to him?”
    Mel noted the use
of the word ‘him.’ Ah-ha! So this person wasn’t Taylor. She
considered answering his question truthfully, but decided that, no
matter how sexy he might be, she didn’t want to share anything with
the man. He was just too damn annoying. If he wasn’t willing to
even provide his name, then she wasn’t going to give away any extra
information either. For all she knew, he even might try to sabotage
her attempts to talk to the photographer out of pure spite. “That’s
between the two of us.” She added a bit of a mysterious smile and
watched with satisfaction as the man’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
Make what you want of that, she thought to herself.
    Abruptly the man
stood and switched topics. “It’s time for you to go.”
    “Pardon?” The
sudden change left her feeling confused.
    “You need to
leave. I trust you can make it back to your car by yourself?”
    “Well, yes.
But...”
    He merely extended
his arm towards the doorway.
    A wave of temper,
at his cavalier dismissal, washed over her and she knew her cheeks
were flushing. “Fine.” She snapped the word out. Spying her purse
lying near her feet, she snatched it and jumped up, only to stagger
as her head once again protested the sudden change in
elevation.
    A gusty sigh
filled the room as the man reluctantly caught her and steadied her
on her feet. “Obviously, you’re in no shape to operate a vehicle. I
suppose I’ll have to drive you home.” With that, he scooped her up
in his arms without even so much as a ‘by your leave’ and walked
out of the house.
    Mel knew her mouth
was opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, but she
couldn’t begin to formulate the words needed to express
sufficiently both her surprise and indignation. Finally, choosing
the direct route, she issued a succinct command. “Put me down!”
    “No.” He didn’t
even look at her and continue to stride down the driveway, his long
legs covering the ground at an astonishing pace.
    “Let me go!” She
struggled, pushing against his chest. He merely tightened his grip.
Doubling her efforts, she began bucking and kicking her legs. It
made her head throb, but at least he took notice and stopped
walking. “Thank you. Now put me down.”
    “You aren’t steady
enough on your feet to walk the length of the driveway at the speed
I want you to go. Nor are your boots suitable for walking on
gravel. Now be still, before I throw you over my shoulder. Hanging
upside down won’t do your head any good, but if that’s what it
takes...” He began to shift his grip on her and Mel had no doubt
he’d make good on his threat.
    “Fine.” Crossing
her arms, she pointedly stared straight ahead, gritting her teeth
when she felt his chest quiver against her body. He was laughing at
her!
    The rest of the
journey passed silently. It was strange how quickly he covered the
distance, the scenery seeming to fly by her. Probably, it was an
after effect of hitting her head. Her visual perception was likely
a bit off.
    They