The Men of Medicine Ridge - Diana Palmer [99]
Kasie averted her eyes. Odd, how much it hurt to see Pauline snuggle close to Gil as if she were part of him. Remembering the hungry, masterful way he’d kissed her in the study, Kasie flushed. She knew things about Gil Callister that she shouldn’t know. He made her hungry. But he was showing her that he didn’t feel the same way. It was painfully obvious what his relationship was with Pauline. Even though she’d guessed, it hurt to have it pointed out to her like this.
She knew then that she was going to have to resign her job when they got back to the States. If he married Pauline, there was no way she could live under the same roof with them.
Gil saw the reaction that Kasie was too young to hide, and it touched him. She felt something. She was jealous. He could have cheered out loud. It didn’t occur to him then why he was so happy that Kasie was attracted to him.
“Who was the man you were talking to on the concourse, Kasie?” Gil asked unexpectedly.
“His name was Zeke,” she replied with a smile. “He had the seat next to mine.”
“I noticed him. He’s good-looking,” Pauline said. “What does he do?”
“He’s a freelance writer for several travel magazines,” Kasie told her. “He’s down here doing a story on a new hotel complex.”
Gil didn’t look pleased. “Apparently you made friends quickly.”
“Well, yes,” she confessed. “I was a little nervous about flying. He talked to me while we got airborne.” She grinned. “Didn’t you hear us all singing the Air Force song?”
“So that’s what it was,” Pauline scoffed. “Good Lord, I thought the plane was full of drunks.”
“Why were you afraid of flying?” Gil persisted.
Kasie averted her eyes to the girls. “My family died in an airplane crash,” she said, without mentioning under what circumstances.
He shifted uncomfortably and looked at his daughters, who were watching for exciting little glimpses of people playing in the surf on the white beaches as they passed them.
“I’m all right now,” she said. “the flight wasn’t so bad.”
“Not with a handsome man to hold your hand,” Pauline teased deliberately.
“He was handsome,” Kasie agreed, but without enthusiasm, and without noticing that Gil’s eyes were beginning to glint with anger. He leaned back, glaring at Kasie.
She wondered what she’d done to provoke that anger. It made her uneasy. Pauline obviously didn’t like it, either, and the woman was giving Kasie looks that promised retribution in the near future. Kasie had a feeling that Miss Raines would make a very bad enemy, and deep in her stomach, she felt icy cold.
Chapter 7
It took an hour to get checked into the luxury hotel. The girls played quietly in the marble-floored lobby with a puzzle book Kasie had brought along for them, while Pauline complained loudly and nonstop about the inconvenience of having to wait for a room to be made ready. By the time the clerk motioned them to the desk, Gil was completely out of humor. He hadn’t smiled since they got off the plane, in fact. When they were given keys to a two-bedroom suite and a single adjoining room, Pauline’s expression lightened.
“Oh, that’s nice of you, darling, letting Miss Mayfield have a room of her own.”
Gil gave her a look that combined exasperation with impatience. “The girls can’t be alone at night in a strange hotel,” he said curtly. “Kasie’s staying in the room with them, and the other bedroom in the suite is mine. You get the single.”
“Why can’t I just share with you, darling?” Pauline purred, enjoying Kasie’s sudden flush.
Gil looked furious. He glared down at her from his superior height. “Maybe you’ve forgotten that I don’t move with the times,” he said quietly.
Pauline laughed a little nervously. “You’re kidding. What’s so bad about two…friends sharing a room?”
“I’m not kidding,” Gil said flatly. He handed Pauline her key and motioned for Kasie and the girls to follow him.
Pauline stomped into the elevator, fuming. She gave Kasie a ferocious glare before she folded her