{"product_id":"rumor-has-it-isbn-9780593641644","title":"Rumor Has It","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn injured soldier returns home and finds a surprising connection with a woman from his past in this Animal Magnetism romance.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eSpecial Ops soldier Griffin Reid doesn’t exactly have happy memories of growing up in Sunshine, Idaho. He’s only come back to recover from a war injury, and while he refuses to admit he’s in a weakened state, he finds comfort in the last person he’d expect.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eKate Evans teaches second grade science in Sunshine, the place she’s always called home. Dreaming of graduate school and a happily-ever-after, she’s desperate to break out of the monotony of Sunshine. Luckily, a certain sexy man has just come back into her life.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTo Griffin, Kate as always been his little sister’s friend, but now he’s finding her to be so much more. As both attempt to forge their paths, they must decide if their passionate connection can turn into something lasting...\u003cb\u003ePraise for Jill Shalvis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jill Shalvis writes with humor, heart, and sizzling heat!”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Carly Phillips\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Clever, steamy and fun, Jill Shalvis will make you laugh and fall in love.”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Rachel Gibson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A Jill Shalvis hero is the stuff naughty dreams are made of.”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Vicki Lewis Thompson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Animals and hot heroes. How can you not love a romance like that?”—\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author Jaci Burton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Exactly what a romance story should be.”—Dear Author\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Romance...you can lose yourself in.”—\u003ci\u003eUSA Today \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eJill Shalvis\u003c\/b\u003e is the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of several popular series including the Heartbreaker Bay series, the Animal Magnetism series, the Lucky Harbor series, the Wilders series, and the Sky High series. Her baseball-themed romances include\u003ci\u003e Slow Heat \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eDouble Play\u003c\/i\u003e, and she also appears in anthologies such as\u003ci\u003e He’s The One\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePRAISE FOR “THE EVER AWESOMELY, INCREDIBLY TALENTED JILL SHALVIS”*\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eANIMAL ATTRACTION\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eANIMAL MAGNETISM\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF JILL SHALVIS\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBerkley titles by Jill Shalvis\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate Evans would’ve sold her soul for a stress-free morning, but either her soul wasn’t worth much or whoever was in charge of granting wishes was taking a nap. With her phone vibrating from incoming texts—which she was doing her best to ignore—she shoved her car into park and ran across the lot and into the convenience store. “Duct tape?” she called out to Meg, the clerk behind the counter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeg had pink and purple tie-dyed hair, had enough piercings to ensure certain drowning if she ever went swimming, and was in the middle of a heated debate on the latest \u003ci\u003eThe Voice\u003c\/i\u003e knock-out rounds with another customer. But she stabbed a finger in the direction of aisle three.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate snatched a roll of duct tape, some twine, and then, because she was also weak, a rack of chocolate mini donuts for later. Halfway to the checkout, a bin of fruit tugged at her good sense so she grabbed an apple. Dumping everything on the counter, she fumbled through her pockets for cash.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeg rang her up and bagged her order. “You’re not going to murder someone, are you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate choked out a laugh. “What?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Well . . .” Meg took in Kate’s appearance. “Librarian outfit. Duct tape. Twine. I know you’re the math whiz around here, but it all adds up to a \u003ci\u003eCriminal Minds\u003c\/i\u003e episode to me.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate was wearing a cardigan, skirt, leggings, and—because she’d been in a hurry and they’d been by the front door—snow boots. She supposed with her glasses and hair piled up on her head she might resemble the second-grade teacher that she was, and okay, maybe the snow boots in May were a little suspect. “You watch too much TV,” Kate said. “It’s going to fry your brain.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You know what fries your brain? Not enough sex.” Meg pointed to her phone. “Got that little tidbit right off the Internet on my last break.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Well, then it must be true,” Kate said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeg laughed. “That’s all I’m saying.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate laughed along with her, grabbed her change and her bag, and hurried to the door. She was late. As the grease that ran her family’s wheel, she needed to get to her dad’s house to help get her little brother, Tommy, ready for school and then to coax the Evil Teen into even going to school. The duct tape run wasn’t to facilitate that, or to kill anyone, but to make a camel, of all things, for an afterschool drama project Tommy had forgotten to mention was due today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate stepped outside and got slapped around by the wind. The month of May had burst onto the scene like a PMSing Mother Nature, leaving the beautiful, rugged Bitterroot Mountains, which loomied high overhead, dusted with last week’s surprise snow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpring in Sunshine, Idaho, was MIA.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWatching her step on the wet, slippery asphalt, she pulled out her once again vibrating phone just to make sure no one was dying. It was a text from her dad and read: Hurry, it’s awake.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eIt\u003c\/i\u003e being her sister. The other texts were from Ashley herself. She was upset because she couldn’t find her cheerleading top, and also, did Kate know that Tommy was talking to his invisible friend in the bathroom again?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate sighed and closed her eyes for a brief second, which was all it took for her snow boots to slip. She went down like a sack of cement, her phone flying one way, her bag the other as she hit the ground butt first with teeth-jarring impact.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dammit!” She took a second for inventory—no massive injuries. That this was in thanks to not having lost those five pounds of winter brownie blues didn’t make her feel any better. The cold seeped through her tights and the sidewalk abraded the bare skin of her palms. Rolling to her hands and knees, she reached for her keys just as a set of denim-clad legs came into her field of vision.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe owner of the legs crouched down, easily balancing on the balls of his feet. A hand appeared, her keys centered in the big palm. Tilting her head up, she froze.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer polite stranger wore a baseball cap low over his eyes, shadowing most of his face and dark hair, but she’d know those gunmetal gray eyes anywhere. And then there was the rest of him. Six foot two and built for trouble in army camo cargoes, a black sweatshirt, and his usual badass attitude, the one that tended to have men backing off and women checking for drool; there was no mistaking Griffin Reid, the first guy she’d ever fallen for. Of course she’d been ten at the time . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“That was a pretty spectacular fall,” he said, blocking her from standing up. “Make sure you’re okay.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eKeep your cool\u003c\/i\u003e, she told herself. \u003ci\u003eDon’t speak, just nod.\u003c\/i\u003e But her mouth didn’t get the memo. “No worries, a man’s forty-seven percent more likely to die from a fall than a woman.” The minute the words escaped, she bit her tongue, but of course it was too late. When she got nervous, she spouted inane science facts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd Griffin Reid made her very nervous.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m going to ask you again,” he said, moving his tall, linebacker body nary an inch as he pinned her in place with nothing more than his steady gaze. “Are you okay?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eActually, no, she wasn’t. Not even close. Her pride was cracked, and quite possibly her butt as well, but that wasn’t what had her kneeling there on the ground in stunned shock. “You’re . . . home.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe smiled grimly. “I was ordered back by threat of bodily harm if I was late to the wedding.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe was kidding. No one ordered the tough, stoic badass Griffin to do anything, except maybe Uncle Sam since he was some secret army demolitions expert who’d been in Afghanistan for three straight tours. But his sister, Holly, was getting married this weekend. And if there was anyone more bossy or determined than Griffin, it was his baby sister. Only Holly could get her reticent brother halfway around the world for her vows.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate had told herself that as Holly’s best friend and maid of honor, she would absolutely not drool over Griffin if he showed up. And she would especially not make a fool of herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToo late, on both counts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAgain she attempted to get up, but Griffin put a big, tanned, work-roughened hand on her thigh, and she felt herself tingle.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWell, damn. Meg was right—too little sex fried the brain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eClearly misunderstanding her body’s response, Griffin squeezed gently as if trying to soothe, which of course had the opposite effect, making things worse. Embarrassed, she tried to pull free, but still effortlessly holding her, Griffin’s steely gray eyes remained steady on hers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Take stock first,” he said, voice low but commanding. “What hurts? Let me see.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince the only thing that hurt besides her pride was a part of her anatomy that she considered No Man’s Land, hell would freeze over before she’d “let him see.” “I’m fine. Really,” she added.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGriffin took her hand and easily hoisted her up, studying her in that assessing way of his. Then he started to turn her around, presumably to get a three-hundred-and-sixty degree view, but she stood firm. “Seriously,” she said, backing away, “I’m good.” And if she weren’t, if she’d actually broken her butt, she’d die before admitting it, so it didn’t matter. Bending to gather up her belongings, she carefully sucked in her grimace of pain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’ve got it,” Griffin said, and scooped up the duct tape and donuts. He looked like maybe he was going to say something about the donuts, but at the odd vibrating noise behind them, he turned. “Your phone’s having a seizure,” he said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePanicked siblings, no doubt. After all, there was a camel to create out of thin air and a cheerleading top to locate, and God only knew what disaster her father was coming up with for breakfast.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGriffin offered the cell phone, and Kate stared down at it thinking how much easier her day would go if it had smashed to pieces when it hit the ground.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Want me to step on it a few times?” he asked, sounding amused. “Kick it around?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStartled that he’d read her so easily, she snatched the phone. When her fingers brushed his, an electric current sang up her arms and went straight to her happy spots without passing Go. Ignoring them, she turned to her fallen purse. Of course the contents had scattered. And of course the things that had fallen out were a tampon and condom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was how her day was going.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe began cramming things back into the purse, the phone, the donuts, the duct tape, the condom, and the tampon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe condom fell back out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’ve got it.” Griffin’s mouth twitched as he tossed it into her purse for her. “Duct tape and a Trojan,” he said. “Big plans for the day?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Trojans built protective walls around their city,” she said. “Like condoms. That’s where the name Trojan comes from.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis mouth twitched. “Gotta love those Trojans. Do you carry the condom around just to give people a history lesson?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“No. I—” He was laughing at her. Why was she acting like such an idiot? She was a teacher, a good one, who bossed around seven- and eight-year-olds all day long. She was in charge, and she ran her entire world with happy confidence.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExcept for this with Griffin. Except for anything with Griffin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Look at you,” he said. “Little Katie Evans, all grown up and carrying condoms.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“One,” she said. “Only one condom.” It was her emergency, wishful-thinking condom. “And I go by Kate now.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe knew damn well she went by Kate and had ever since she’d hit her teens. He just enjoyed saying “Little Katie Evans” like it was all one word, as if she were still that silly girl who’d tattled on him for putting the frogs in the pond at one of his mom’s elegant luncheons, getting him grounded for a month.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr the girl who, along with his nosy sister, Holly, had found his porn stash under his bed at the ranch house and gotten him grounded for two months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Kate,” he said as if testing it out on his tongue, and she had no business melting at his voice. None. Her only excuse was that she hadn’t seen him much in the past few years. There’d been a few short visits, a little Facebook interaction, and the occasional Skype conversation if she happened to be with Holly when he called home. Those had always been with him in uniform on Holly’s computer, looking big, bad, and distracted.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe wasn’t in uniform now, but she could check off the big, bad, and distracted. The early gray dawn wasn’t doing her any favors, but he could look good under any circumstances. Even with his baseball hat, she could see that his dark hair was growing out, emphasizing his stone eyes and hard jaw covered with a five-o’clock shadow. To say that he looked good was like saying the sun might be a tad bit warm on its surface. How she’d forgotten the physical impact he exuded in person was beyond her. He was solid, sexy male to the core.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis gaze took her in as well, her now windblown hair and mud-spattered leggings stuffed into snow boots—she wasn’t exactly at her best this morning. When he stepped back to go, embarrassment squeezed deep in her gut. “Yeah,” she said, gesturing over her shoulder in the vague direction of her car. “I’ve gotta go, too—”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Grif wasn’t leaving; he was bending over and picking up some change. “From your purse,” he said, and dropped it into her hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe looked down at the two quarters and a dime, and then into his face. She’d dreamed of that face. Fantasized about it. “There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar,” she said before she could bite her tongue. Dammit. She collected bachelor of science degrees. She was smart. She was good at her job. She was happy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd ridiculously male challenged . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGriffin gave a playful tug on an escaped strand of her hair. “You never disappoint,” he said. “Good to see you again.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then he was gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFive minutes later Kate pulled up to her dad’s place. One glance in the rearview mirror at her still flushed cheeks and bright eyes told her that she hadn’t gotten over her tumble in the parking lot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr the run-in with Griffin.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You’re ridiculous,” she told her reflection. “You are not still crushing on him.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut she so was.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a sigh, she reached for the weekly stack of casserole dishes she’d made to get her family through the week without anyone having to actually be in charge. She got out of her car, leaving the keys in it for Ashley, who’d drive it to her private high school just outside of town.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTommy stood in the doorway waiting. He wore a green hoodie and had a fake bow and arrow set slung over his chest and shoulder.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Why are you all red in the face?” he asked. “Are you sick?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe touched her still burning cheeks. The Griffin Reid Effect, she supposed. “It’s cold out here this morning.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe seven-year-old accepted this without question. “Did you get the tape?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I did,” she said. “Tommy—”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I’m not Tommy. I’m the Green Arrow.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe nodded. “Green Arrow. Yes, I got the tape, Green Arrow.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I still don’t see how duct tape is going to help us make a camel,” he said, trailing her into the mudroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe refrained from telling him the biggest aid in making a camel for the school play would’ve been to give her more warning than a panicked five A.M. phone call. Instead she set down the casserole dishes on the bench to shrug out of her sweater as she eyed him. She could tell he’d done as she’d asked and taken a shower, because his dark hair was wet and flattened to his head, emphasizing his huge brown eyes and pale face. “Did you use soap and shampoo?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe grimaced and turned to presumably rectify the situation, dragging his feet like she’d sent him to the guillotine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate caught him by the back of his sweatshirt. “Tonight’ll do,” she said, picking back up the casseroles and stepping into the living room.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvidence of the second-grade boy and the high school–junior girl living here was all over the place. Abandoned shoes were scattered on the floor; sweatshirts and books and various sporting equipment lay on furniture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHer dad was in the midst of the chaos, sitting on the couch squinting at his laptop. Eddie Evans was rumpled, his glasses perched on top of his head. His khakis were worn and frayed at the edges. His feet were bare. He looked like Harry Potter at age fifty. “Stock’s down again,” he said, and sighed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince he said the same thing every morning, Kate moved into the kitchen. No breakfast. She went straight to the coffeemaker and got that going. Ten minutes later her dad wandered in. “You hid them again,” he said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe handed him a cup of coffee and a plate of scrambled egg whites and wheat toast before going back to wielding the duct tape to create the damn camel. “You know what the doctor said. You can’t have them.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis mouth tightened. “I need them.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dad, I know it’s hard,” she said softly, “but you’ve been so strong. And we need you around here for a long time to come yet.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe shoved his fingers through his hair, which only succeeded in making it stand up on end. “You’ve got that backward, don’t you?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Aw. Now you’re just kissing up.” She hugged him. “You’re doing great, you know. The doc said your cholesterol’s coming down already, and you’ve only been off potato chips for a month.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe muttered something about where his cholesterol could shove it, but he sat down to eat his eggs. “What is that?” he asked, gesturing to the lump on the table in front of him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A camel.” It had taken her two pillows, a brown faux pashmina and a couple of stuffed animals tied together with twine, but she actually had what she thought was a passable camel-shaped lump.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAshley burst into the kitchen wearing a way-too-short skirt, a skimpy camisole top, and enough makeup to qualify for pole dancing. In direct opposition to this image, she was sweetly carrying Channing Tatum, the bedraggled black-and-white stray kitty she’d recently adopted from the animal center where she volunteered after school. Contradiction, meet thy queen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChanning took one look at the “camel” and hissed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What the hell is that?” Ashley asked of the makeshift prop, looking horrified as she cuddled Channing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Don’t swear,” Kate said. “And it’s a camel. And also, you’re going out in that outfit over my dead body.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAshley looked down at herself. “What’s wrong with it?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“First of all, you’ll get hypothermia. And second of all, no way in hell.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAshley narrowed her overdone eyes. “Why do you get to swear and I don’t?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Because I earned the right with age and wisdom.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You’re twenty-eight,” Ashley said, and shrugged. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re old. Did you find my cheerleading top?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate tossed it to her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAshley turned up her nose at the scrambled eggs, though she fed Channing a piece of turkey bacon before thrusting a piece of paper at Kate. “You can sign it or I can forge dad’s signature.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hey,” Eddie said from the table. He pushed his glasses farther up on his nose. “I’m right here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate grabbed the paper from Ashley and skimmed it. Permission slip to . . . skip state testing. “No.” Skipping testing was the last thing the too-smart, underachieving, overly dramatic teen needed to do.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dad,” Ashley said, going for an appeal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Whatever Kate says,” Eddie said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You can’t skip testing,” Kate said. “Consider it practice for your SATs for college. You want to get the heck out of here and far away from all of us, right? This is step one.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAshley rolled her eyes so hard that Kate was surprised they didn’t roll right out of her head.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTommy bounced into the room. He took one look at the camel and hugged it close. “It’s perfect,” he declared. Then he promptly inhaled up every crumb on his plate. He smiled at Kate as he pushed his little black-rimmed glasses farther up on his nose, looking so much like a younger, happier version of their dad that it tightened her throat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA car horn sounded from out front. Kate glanced at the clock and rushed Tommy and Ashley out the door. Ashley got into Kate’s car and turned left, heading toward her high school. Tommy and Kate got into the waiting car, which turned right to head to the elementary school.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir driver was Ryan Stafford, Kate’s second-best friend and the principal of the elementary school.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd her ex.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe must have had a district meeting scheduled because he was in a suit today, complete with tie, which she knew he hated. With his dark blond hair, dark brown eyes, and lingering tan from his last fishing getaway, he looked like Barbie’s Ken, the boardroom version. He watched as Kate got herself situated and handed him a to-go mug of coffee.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“What?” she said when he just continued to look at her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You know what.” He gestured a chin toward the cup she’d handed him. “You’re adding me to your little kingdom again.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“My kingdom? You wish. And the coffee’s a ‘thanks for the ride,’ not an ‘I don’t think you can take care of yourself,’” she said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRyan glanced at Tommy in the rearview mirror. “Hey, Green Arrow. Seat belt on, right?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Right,” Tommy said, and put on his headphones. He was listening to an Avenger’s audiobook for what had to be the hundredth time, his lips moving along with the narrator.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRyan looked at Kate. “Thought you were going to talk to him.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe and Ryan had once dated for four months, during which time they’d decided that if they didn’t go back to being just friends, they’d have to kill each other. Since Kate was opposed to wearing an orange jumpsuit, this arrangement had suited her. “I did talk to him,” she said. “I told him reading was a good thing.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“How about talking to himself and dressing like superheroes?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate looked at Tommy. He was slouched in the seat, still mouthing along to his book, paying them no mind whatsoever. “He’s fine.” She took back Ryan’s coffee, unscrewed the top on the mug, blew away the escaping steam, and handed it back to him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You going to drink it for me, too?” he asked. He laughed. “Just admit it. You can’t help yourself.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Maybe I like taking care of all of you. You ever think of that?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Tell me this, then—when was the last time you did something for yourself, something entirely selfish?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Ryan, I barely have time to go to the bathroom by myself.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Exactly,” he said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Exactly what?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow she laughed. Ryan shook his head and kept driving. They passed the lake just before the bridge into town. The water was still and flat in the low light. On the far side was the dam that held back the snowmelt, controlling the volume feeding into the river so that Sunshine didn’t flood. Along the very top of the dam was a trail, which Kate sometimes ran on the days that she wanted to be able to fit into her skinny jeans. Up there, at the highest pool was an old fallen Jeffrey Pine. On its side, battered smooth by the elements, it made a perfect bench.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was her spot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe went there to think or when she needed a time-out from the rest of the world, which happened a lot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You get a date for the wedding yet?” Ryan asked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo. She’d put that particular task off, and now, with the wedding only two days away, there was only one man who’d made her even think about dating. But tall, dark, and far-too-hot Griffin Reid was way out of her league. In fact, he was so far out of her league, she couldn’t even see the league. “Working on it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRyan made a sound of annoyance. “You’ve been saying that for months.” He glanced at her over the top of his sunglasses. “Tell me it’s not going to be me.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hey, I’m not that bad of a date.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe slid her another look. “You going to put out afterward?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate whipped around to look at Tommy, but the kid was still listening intently to his book. “No,” she hissed, and smacked him. “You know I’m not going to put out. We didn’t . . . suit that way.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Well, I’m hoping to . . . ‘suit’ with one of the bridesmaids.” He glanced at her again. “You ought to try it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Sorry. The bridesmaids don’t do it for me.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe smiled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Stop picturing it!”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRyan’s smile widened, the big male jerk, and she smacked him again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“All I’m saying,” he said, “is that you should stop treading water and try for some fun. Live a little.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“You think I have no life.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRyan blew out a sigh. They’d been down this road before. “You know what I think. I think you do everything for everyone except yourself. Look at your track record. You’ve had exactly one boyfriend in five years, and you’re still making him coffee every morning.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“And you’re still driving me to work so I can fill you in on the school gossip without you having to actually pay attention in the staff room,” Kate said more mildly than she felt. Maybe because she heard the underlying worry in Ryan’s voice, and she didn’t want anyone to worry about her. She was fine. She was great. “We use each other. And we’re both fine with that.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRyan reached over and pulled out the fancy, thick white envelope with the gold embossing sticking out of her purse. “Fourteen more days.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Hey,” she said, trying to grab it back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe waved it under her nose. “Treading water, Kate. And the proof’s right here. Just like it was at this same time last year. And the year before that.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAgain she tried to grab back the envelope.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Why do you carry the offer around with you when you know damn well you aren’t going to go?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe wanted to go. But . . . “It means a whole year away from here.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“And?”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eShe blew out a breath.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“It’s a dream come true for you,” he said quietly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt was. Being offered a full scholarship to the graduate program for science education at the University of San Diego—a world away from Sunshine, Idaho—was her dream. It would take a year to complete, an entire, glorious, science-filled year. With the degree—and the grant that Ryan promised to get her if she finished—she could bring a new and exciting science program to the county’s school district. It was something she’d wanted for a long time. Some women wanted a spa week. Kate wanted to go dissect animals and work with scientists whose work she’d admired for a long time. Yes, it would be great for the school, but the truth was that Kate wanted it for herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBadly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“I was thinking maybe I’d accept and go this time,” she said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“But?” he asked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“But,” she said. “Next year is crucial for Ashley. We have colleges to decide upon . . .”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Uh-huh,” Ryan said. “And last year it was Tommy’s health.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“He had pneumonia.” Snatching back the envelope, she shoved it in her purse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd they didn’t speak again for the rest of the ride.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrif drove through town, attempting to keep the memories at bay. He’d been gone a long time, and the places he’d been in the military were just about as far from Idaho as one could get.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe’d once hated Sunshine, but that’d been from a wild teen’s perspective, one who’d grown up chafing at the bit. To that kid, the small ranching community had felt like iron bars. Being destined to run his dad’s ranching empire had been a death knell; one Grif had gotten away from by running off and joining the army.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHis father still hadn’t forgiven him, though their problems had started far before that. With the dubious years of maturity now on Grif’s side, he hoped to change that. But it wasn’t his dad he was thinking about now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat honor went to Kate, in a prim blouse and cardigan sweater, a cargo skirt with lots of pockets, and thick tights. The capper had been her snow boots, untied as if she’d just shoved them on in a hurry. She was a five-foot-four bombshell with showstopping curves stuffed into an elementary teacher’s wardrobe, and she’d effectively done what nothing else could—she’d taken his mind off the discomfort of being home. She was a paradox, Little Katie Evans. An adorably sexy, tousled, slightly repressed hot mess of a paradox.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd she wanted to be called Kate. Kate was a woman’s name, and she most definitely fit the bill there. She had all those soft flyaway strawberry blond waves layered around her face, highlighting mossy green eyes, and the sweetest mouth known to mankind. He wasn’t sure exactly when his perception of her had changed or when he’d become so aware of his need to touch. But the sensible attire on that heart attack inducing bod combined with the one-hundred-mile-per-hour brain and sweet disposition was sexy as hell. And irresistible.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot good, because his sister, Holly, was extremely protective of her best friend. And although Grif had all the muscle in the family, muscle meant nothing when butting up against the sheer brick wall of his sister’s stubborn will.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHolly wanted him safe and happy, but she absolutely did not want him within twenty feet of Kate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHell no.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd Holly had a way of getting what she wanted, which was why he was still awake after a red-eye flight and too many sleepless nights in a row now. She’d wanted to meet for breakfast, away from the family ranch, presumably to get a good look at him before anyone else. That was what nosy sisters did.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe parked at the\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Berkley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301093462245,"sku":"NP9780593641644","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780593641644.jpg?v=1767735968","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/rumor-has-it-isbn-9780593641644","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}