Sophie frowned as he picked up a tall stockpot and held it out to her.
She thought she should tell him to get out and that she never wanted to see him again, but she couldn’t make herself do it. She stepped up on the short ladder and took the big pot.
“I sent the Treeborne cookbook off to a friend of mine who likes to break codes.”
“You did what?”
“I sent the—”
“I heard what you said but what gave you the right to do something like that? I wanted it returned to him. You said—” She broke off when Reede’s phone buzzed.
“Sorry,” he said as he pulled it out of his pocket. “I have to take this. When?” he said into the phone. “Did you tell them not to move him? Meet me at Sophie’s new place.” He clicked off and looked up at her. “It’s Heather with an emergency and I have to go. I—” Reede blinked a few times, then reached up and put his hands on Sophie’s waist and lifted her down. “You’re going with me.”
“I can’t go with you,” she said.
“Please?” he asked. “Let me try to make you believe that whatever I did had no malice in it. If I’d shown you who I was at first you would have slammed the door in my face. You would never have gone out with me that first night. You—Damn! I have to go. It’s an emergency. Please, Sophie. Go with me.”
She was sure she shouldn’t, but his eyes were so compelling that she couldn’t resist. And she wanted so very much to go with him, to hear him out. She gave only the slightest nod and Reede took her hand, pulled her around the counter, and out the front door.
Outside, Heather was getting out of the Jeep and her eyes widened when she saw Dr. Reede holding on to Sophie with a firm grip.
Since the vehicle floor was quite high, Reede picked Sophie up at the waist and set her sideways in the driver’s seat.
She knew she should hold out and say she wasn’t going with him, but the prospect of spending the day putting things away had no appeal for her. And she already knew that when Reede was around exciting things happened. “I’m supposed to drive?”
His look made her swing her legs over the gearshift console and get into the passenger seat. Reede was right behind her.
“I’m no Frazier but you’d better buckle up.”
Sophie had no idea what that meant but she did fasten her seat belt. “Wait! I forgot to lock the door of the shop.”
Reede gave a scoff of a sound, glanced at Heather, and she nodded. He’d silently asked if his medical kit was in the back. “It’s Edilean,” he said as he put the Jeep in gear, flipped a switch, and a siren and red lights went off. When he pushed the accelerator, the vehicle leaped forward.
Sophie held on to the armrest on the door with one hand and the seat with the other. When Reede swerved around three cars, barely missing them, she couldn’t repress a squeal of fear.
“Okay?”
“Yes.” He went over a pothole and she went flying up to nearly hit the ceiling. She knew she was angry at him, and that she had every right to be, but something suddenly hit her. “So what’s the third date going to be?”
The image of her in a red corset, him on a horse that didn’t want to obey, and the two of them walking across a beam high above the floor came to him. Date number one. And this was the second. He jerked the steering wheel to miss a dog that was sauntering across the road, then laughter began to bubble up inside him. In the next second they were both laughing as they held on for the wild ride over what had turned into a dirt road.
“Who? Where?” Sophie managed to say over the sound of the Jeep hitting every hole in the road. Even as little as she knew about Edilean, she could see that they were heading out of town and into the surrounding nature preserve.
“Campsite number eight,” Reede said. “Some guy hurt himself playing with a bow and arrow. Or that’s what I think Betsy said.”
“Is it serious?”
“It depends where it went in. Hold on, as it’s about to get rough.”
“And just when I was getting comfortable,” Sophie said, making Reede smile.
But he didn’t look at her. “See? Even when the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen is smiling at me, I don’t look away from the road. Oops
! Sorry. These roads are bad. Okay?”
“I’m going to need dental work, but I’m fine. Watch that one!” She held on as Reede went onto the bank to miss a six-foot-long rut in the road.
“I’ll get the Fraziers to bring a dozer out here. Sophie, I really am sorry about nearly running you down. I saw the papers and heard your phone crunch but I didn’t see you. I would never—”