Page 34 of The Magical Bed & Breakfast

Franklin Worthy dipped his head in acquiescence. “My apologies, I misspoke. Still, you must concede the importance of a father looking out for his daughter’s welfare if she is to make an advantageous match in a few years’ time.”

Cross bristled at the wordconcede. His expression made it clear that he was willing toconcedenothing. “Your daughter, sir, is of marriageable age.”

A long pause ensued in which the figures in the courtyard shifted nervously while the two men took each other’s measure.

“She is merely sixteen, sir, turning seventeen next month.”

“Ah,” said Cross, and smiled an ingratiating smile.

Worthy frowned. “Come sir, let’s go into supper.”

“The scents emanating from your home are enticing.”

“Yes, our cook is quite coveted within the community.” Worthy motioned the British officers inside with but a backward glance of warning to his men.

The scene faded from Rory’s vision when Kate struck a wrong note. A soft, defiant curse floated out to him on a breeze, and he smiled. No doubt if he heard her epithet in the courtyard, it had not been so softly spoken in the front parlor. Rory rose to go join her on the piano.

Chapter Fourteen

Wound up overwhat she had learned about Rory and craving a distraction, Kate settled at the piano to practice. After an hour, she had worked through the entire piece. Granted, it had sounded atrocious, but she now had a sense of the tune and the rhythm. Problem was, after playing it all the way through, she’d discovered it was clearly a duet. Once that realization hit her she had worked through both parts, one after the other, and determined that the easier of the two was for her. Could she convince her classically trained guest turned rock star to play the other part? If she practiced,a lot, maybe she could feel confident enough that they could play it together without her feeling self-conscious.

It did thrill her to have this little puzzle piece of history.

She jumped when she heard someone behind her.

When she realized it was Rory, she placed a hand on her pounding heart. “You came back through the tunnel? I thought you went to get your car.”

“I did. You left the back door unlocked.”

“I did not.” She couldn’t have. She was very security conscious.

Rory shrugged, “Well, it was unlocked, and it’s Hazard. Not much to worry about around here.”

“People always say that about small towns.” But Kate knew even small towns had crime. “And, just because a town is small, that doesn’t mean scary people from the city never travel through.” An image of her demanding visitor came to mind. Kate frowned. Had she really been so distracted that she’d left her door unlocked again? She really needed to pay more attention. She would soon be responsible for the safety of her guests.

“Hey, that’s coming along. I heard you playing as I came in.” Rory nodded at the music sheets in front of her.

“Slowly. You could play it better.”

Rory shrugged, not denying the truth of her statement. “Which part do you like best?”

Kate frowned, “Of course you already knew it was a duet. I prefer the easier one, naturally.” She set her fingers back on the keys and launched into it. Rory slid onto the bench beside her, and she was suddenly aware of the warmth of the strong, very male body brushing against her left side. She struggled to stay focused on playing the piano.

Three measures in when Rory started on the accompaniment, she almost lost her place but managed to keep going and get into the rhythm. It helped having someone with perfect timing. They played several measures together. When Kate hit a wrong note, she stopped and shook her head. “Sorry, I need to practice by myself a lot more, I think, before I’m ready for a duet partner.”

It sounded like a good life principle to her. She needed to learn the score on her own before joining forces. Still, having a hot, lean keyboardist cozied up next to her on the bench—well, she just wanted to stay there, feeling the heat from his body radiating into her own.

*

Rory took abreath, overly aware of the soft, warm woman on the bench beside him. “Sounded good in the courtyard.”

“Until I hit this section.” She waved her hand at the music in disgust and let out an aggrieved sigh. “It’s been so long since I tried to play the piano, but I used to love it.”

Rory took a moment to recenter himself before setting his hands back on the keys. He studied the music before him, gave a nod. Let’s try again. He began to play the alternative line. Coaxing forth notes from the page, he let himself slide inside the music, and everything around him faded except for the feeling of Kate’s hip pressed against his. Warmth and energy from her body flowed into his own, giving him the impetus to make music from a page of black marks.

His playing gained momentum, and Kate placed her hands aside his. They played together, the notes entwining in playful phrasing up and back, dancing as in a minuet, beautifully complementing one another.

The parlor around them faded into a sumptuous backdrop, until it was just the two of them making music as one.

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