Texas Wildcat. Lindsay McKenna

of fear in her voice. “Something happened?”

      Kelly nodded. “When I was twelve our house burned, Sam. I can remember waking up in the middle of the night coughing and choking. I could see the red glow outside my bedroom door and I panicked. I remember two firefighters in oxygen masks climbing through a window and finding me hiding in the closet. I was hysterical.”

      He drew in a deep breath. “You’re damn lucky you didn’t die of smoke inhalation. That was a close call.”

      “Too close,” she agreed. Why was she admitting all her worst fears to him? They talked as if they had been friends for a million years. Who was this man who sat across from her? she wondered. “Tell me about yourself, Sam. Were you born in Texas?”

      “Yes, ma’am. Little place in West Texas called Del Rio.”

      “And your family?”

      “My mother’s still alive. I have two younger sisters.”

      “No one else?” Why should she care whether he was married or not? But she did. Unconsciously, Kelly held her breath, waiting for him to answer.

      “There used to be,” he admitted with a sigh. He made a grimace. “Unfortunately, Fay couldn’t deal with my life as a firefighter.”

      Kelly felt guilty for prying that information out of him. Sam Tyler’s personal life was no business of hers. She shouldn’t have forced him to look back on that kind of agony. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me.”

      “That’s all right. I expect a woman like you to ferret out whatever interests her.”

      She lifted her chin, meeting, holding his azure gaze. “Tell me,” she asked, “are you always so gentle with people who have hoof-and-mouth disease?”

      A grin crept back onto his face. “With most people, I am. Why?”

      She gave a small shrug. “I wish I had some of your patience and understanding of people. You had every right to tell me to mind my own business.”

      Sam took the check, pulled out his credit card and handed them both to the waitress. A glimmer of humor remained in the depths of his eyes. “Well, you’re bound to find out sooner or later anyway.”

      Perplexed, Kelly asked, “What are you talking about?”

      Sam signed the credit card receipt and thanked the waitress. He returned his attention to her. “Anyone ever connected with me knows I have a decided weakness for redheads. I love redheaded women.”

      She stared blankly at him for a long moment. Then her lips thinned. “Is that a statement or a challenge?”

      Sam grasped her elbow and helped her to stand. He guided her noiselessly out of the restaurant. Despite the large roughout boots he wore, he made no sound on the tiled floor. “Take it any way you want, Kelly Blanchard,” he taunted, his mouth near her ear.

      Kelly shivered inwardly at the purr in his voice. She pulled her elbow from his grasp, giving him a sharp glance. “Why do I have the feeling you’re the cat and I’m the mouse?”

      Sam laughed softly as he opened the door for her. “I just hope that when the next fire call comes in, I’m chosen for the team. It will be interesting to watch a redheaded woman dealing with that kind of stressful situation. My bet’s on you, by the way.”

      She couldn’t help smiling. His teasing was without rancor. Sam Tyler, in his own special way, was boosting her confidence. If there was a mean bone in his body, she didn’t know where it might exist. He was so different from Todd. Different and refreshing.