But he made her nervous. With his sandy-blond hair, gray-green eyes and a voice so smooth and penetrating it affected the functionality of her kneecaps. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be anywhere near him. Marty had been dark and dangerous. Sam was everything Marty wasn’t. He looked like the boy next door on steroids. His rugged outdoor tan and muscles would be enough to make her heart leap if she weren’t still grieving for Marty. Okay, so the pain of Marty’s death had faded quite a bit, but that didn’t mean she was ready to jump back into the meat market of dating.
No. Being around Sam would not be good for her at this time. She’d been too vulnerable for too long. A place she hated being. Vulnerability wasn’t something Jenkinses did well.
“You kinda like him, don’t you?” Paul asked softly, grinning.
“No.” But her no wasn’t quite as definitive as before. She jerked her hand free of her brother’s. “I have to get back and help Vic with the dogs. Call me when they have you all patched up and ready to come home.”
“What?” He raised his hands. “You’re not going to stay and hold my hand through the trauma of getting a cast? What kind of sister are you?”
She picked the paper cup off the floor where it had landed earlier and threw it at Paul’s head. “Your worst nightmare.”
“I knew that.” His easy grin spread across his face. “But you’re going to do the race.”
The man was obviously high on some kind of painkiller to think she’d jump into a race she hadn’t trained for. She left the room in such a hurry, she bumped into Sam on his way in.
Her face flamed and she cursed herself, knowing how red she could get. She ducked her head and turned her back on Sam. “Tazer, you ready to go back to the house?”
“Whenever you are,” she said, her posture as relaxed as it was poised to handle anything.
“Oh, I’m ready, all right.” Ready to get away from her brother and the man who’d gone into the room after she left. So what if he might be in trouble and needed her kind of protection. “What part of off duty doesn’t he understand?” she muttered.
“Are you expecting an answer?” Tazer glanced down at her perfect nails. “Because if you are, the answer is an S.O.S. agent is never off duty.”
Trust Tazer to put it all in perspective. Kat rolled her eyes. “Thanks.” She layered a boatload of sarcasm into the one word.
“You’re welcome.” Tazer stared across the shiny tiled floor at Kat. “I haven’t seen you this animated in a long time.”
“Comes from being surrounded by crazy Alaskans and an insane brother.”
“He’s kinda cute, isn’t he?”
Tazer’s sly smile sent warning signals through Kat. “He’s my brother.”
“Yeah, him, too, but I was thinking more of Sam.” Her gaze pinned Kat’s.
The woman was fishing. But she wasn’t going to catch anything in this pond. “If you like the boy-next-door look. Me, I prefer a man with more mystery.”
“So, does that mean you’re finally thinking about other men?”
The spunk went out of her spine and Kat sagged against the wall. “No. I’m not thinking about dating other men.” Although Sam sprang to mind, uninvited.
“I didn’t say date. I said ‘thinking about.’” Tazer’s lips twitched.
Kat sighed. “Think…date…whatever.”
“Look, Kat, you’re intelligent, pretty and too young to give up on love. Don’t let Marty’s death take you out of the running completely.”
“Says the woman who swore off men even before she graduated high school.” As soon as the words left her lips, Kat regretted them.
Tazer straightened, her lips firming into a tight line. “I have good reasons.”
“I know.” Kat pushed off the wall and laid a hand on Tazer’s arm. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Tazer had been raped when she was only sixteen years old. Not many people knew that. Tazer had sworn from that point on, she’d never be in a position where a man overpowered her again, and she’d lived up to her own promise.
Kat squeezed her arm. “You deserve to find love more than I do. I had it once.”
“This isn’t about me.” Tazer shrugged off Kat’s hand. “It’s about you. Don’t think you can sidetrack me into discussing my love life.”
Kat snorted. “Or lack thereof.”
“You took the plunge once. It was good, but he died.”
Kat winced. “Could you soften it up just a little?”
“No. You need the cold hard truth. Just because Marty died doesn’t mean you have to die with him. He was full of life and excitement. He’d want you to go on.”
The back of Kat’s throat closed and she fought for control. “I know. Just don’t push me. I’m not ready.”
Tazer’s gaze softened. “Fair enough. I’ve been known to be pushy on occasion.”
Kat barked a shaky laugh. “Try all the time.”
“I wouldn’t be such a pushy bitch if I didn’t care.”
“I know.” Kat smiled. She couldn’t ask for a truer friend.
Tazer was known for her straightforward, call-it-like-it-is lack of sugarcoating. But she was there when Kat needed her. “What’s the doctor’s verdict on your brother?”
“He’ll live, but he can’t race on Saturday or anytime in the next six weeks.”
Tazer frowned. “I guess that means you’ll be taking up the reins or whatever it is you call the steering wheel on a dogsled, huh?”
“Handlebar,” Kat answered automatically before she thought through what Tazer said. She threw her hands in the air. “What’s with you and Paul thinking I’m ready to jump into the race from hell after barely arriving in the state?”
“Look, sweetie, you can deny it all you want, but you know you love it. That’s all you used to talk about when you first came to the agency.”
“Was I that bad?”
“Worse.” Her smile softened her words. “I learned more than I ever wanted to know about dogs, sleds and mushing. If you don’t do this race, I’ll kick your butt from here all the way back to D.C. Besides, it’s your duty to be there in case tall, blond and gorgeous gets into trouble.”
“If I do this race—and I’m not saying I will—it’ll be because of the sabotage, not because I want to race.”
“You say potato, I say potahto. As long as you get the job done. I’ll let the boss know you’re on the clock.”
“Great, one more person to twist my arm on this.”
“You don’t need to race.” That deep voice that made her knees act funny spoke from the doorway behind her. “You haven’t been training. It wouldn’t be advisable.”
Kat spun to face Sam, her heart hammering faster than was warranted. “You don’t think I can make it?” Wobbly knees stiffened and her jaw firmed.
“Paul should know better than to throw you into a race you’re not ready for.”
Her hackles rose but she kept her face pokerstraight. “Don’t you think I’m capable of making my own decisions?” She planted a sweet smile on her face, ignoring the scent of his aftershave, a tantalizing aroma she tried to tell herself she didn’t even like. But she’d