A Season for Family by Mae Nunn

not rescue and recover. And this lady is not exactly a damsel in distress, anyway.
    What if she made good on her threat to call Biddle? Yeah, so what? He was the one who’d decided that using a disguise wasn’t necessary on this job. But Biddle didn’t realize that Heath’s alter-ego characters were comfortable inside their borrowed skin, able to wing it no matter what the circumstances.
    Not so for the flesh-and-blood man who couldn’t seem to get his stories straight. He’d just pulled that accident stuff out of thin air. With this new twist to his lies, he’d have to be careful not to slip up.
    â€œWhy’d you get quiet all of a sudden? No more profound wisdom to share with me?” Olivia was torqued.
    He should apologize. Contrition always seemed to make ladies happy.
    â€œI’m sorry,” he made the effort with as few words as possible.
    â€œFor what?” She wasn’t gonna let him off the hook. Her heels may have been propped up on the coffee table, but Heath could sense the mental tapping of her toe as she waited for his answer. She tipped her head to the right and glared his way.
    A few hours ago, in the last light of day, he’d thought her eyes were dark. In this shadowy room they were chunks of coal framed by extraordinary fair skin that any man in his right mind would reach out and touch.
    On second thought, a guy had to be crazy to mess with such an angry woman. And Heath was feeling a little left of sane at the moment.

Chapter Six
    â€œW ell?” she demanded. “Exactly what is it that you’re sorry for?” She reminded him of his weak apology.
    â€œEvidently you have something in mind, so why don’t you tell me?” he improvised.
    â€œLet me see.” She tapped her index finger to her chin, pretending to consider her response. “You should be sorry for shooting your mouth off without having the facts. And you should be ashamed of yourself for focusing on what’s lacking in your life when you have such abundance to be thankful for. And don’t even get me started on the foolishness that landed you in here when there are so many important things you could be doing with your time.”
    â€œYou hit the mark on all counts.” He held his hands up in surrender. “I offered you a potshot and you fired with both barrels.”
    Regret softened the squint of her eyes. “Okay, maybe that was too much.”
    â€œNope, not at all.” He shook his head. Her words were familiar. “It’s not far from what my mom would have said, so I suppose I had it coming.”
    â€œThere’s that parallel between me and your motheragain. You’ve made it clear y’all didn’t see eye-to-eye on much, so I’m thinkin’ that doesn’t bode well for you and me.”
    â€œMy mom and I disagree a lot but I respect her, just as I respect you for what you’re doing with this place.” He swept an open palm toward the room.
    â€œAnd there’s a lot more to do tomorrow.” Olivia stood, the mug cupped between her hands and held close as if she had a chill. “So, I’m going to get some sleep and I suggest you do the same. Remember, you’ve got predawn duties.”
    â€œYeah, Velma gave me the list. I think I can figure it all out on my own.”
    â€œYou won’t be alone. I’ll be down first thing to give you a hand.”
    â€œYou mean to keep an eye on me, don’t you?”
    A wry smile curved her pink lips. Her fingers fluttered a goodbye wave and she shuffled toward the door on fuzzy slippers.
    Â 
    â€œDon’t look so surprised.” Olivia acknowledged Heath’s wide eyes as he entered the kitchen not very many hours later. “I told you I’d be down early.”
    â€œYeah, but early is daylight. This is still the middle of the night.” He pointed to the big round wall clock. It was just after 4:00 a.m.
    She continued to punch