Pulse Points

“But you’re capable.”

“Yes,” she admitted tersely, “but—”

“If I’m willing to take the chance, then what have you got to lose?”

Kasey opened her mouth to launch another strenuous objection only to then shut it. Tanner’s business would indeed keep the agency’s door open. Wasn’t that what she wanted? Yes. She desperately wanted to remain here, to make a go of this endeavor for her own sake as well as her son’s.

If only her savior was anyone but Tanner. She should turn the offer down for that reason.

“Kasey, all you have to do is say yes. It’s just that simple.”

A bubble of hysteria almost erupted. Simple. God, any association with him was anything but that. However, he didn’t know that, she assured herself. Her secret was safe forever.

“Kasey,” he pressed.

She took a deep breath. “All right. I’ll do my best.”

Seven

“S o do you have anything in mind right off?” Tanner asked.

“No,” she answered with raised eyebrows. “Surely you didn’t expect me to.”

He shrugged, then grinned, a grin that took her breath. She covered her confusion by saying on a burst of breath, “I don’t even know what you’re running on, what issues you feel strongly about.”

“You mean you haven’t been following my campaign?”

A glint in his eye had joined that grin, and she knew he was teasing her. Possibly even flirting. For a moment, she dropped her guard and took the bait, grinning back. She heard him release a gust of air when their gazes held for several beats.

“So are you interested in hearing what I’m about as a politician?”

Kasey spoke around her desert-dry mouth. “Now?”

“Why not?”

“Fine.”

“Are you going to ask me if I’m a Democrat or a Republican? Or is that something you happen to know?”

“Actually, I don’t.”

“I sure haven’t made an impression on you, have I?”

“Politics and politicians haven’t been high on my priority list.”

Tanner’s lethal grin appeared again, crinkling the skin at the corners of his intense brown eyes. “Please assure me that’s about to change.”

“Absolutely.”

He wiped his brow in a mocking gesture. “Whew, my faith is restored.”

Allowing this light banter to continue between them wasn’t wise. As it was, Kasey had already let it go too far. She was no match for him. In her vulnerable state she had to be careful, or she’d be snared again into that web of charm and self-assurance that was so him.

“So what made you decide to run for office?”

“In other words, why would I want to jump in a fishbowl?”

“Exactly. I can’t imagine living that kind of life.”

Tanner was quiet for a moment. “After the fact, I really think I can make a difference. But I never even thought about running for office until a friend, Jack Milstead, pitched the idea to me.” He paused with a shrug. “He was persuasive, and I needed a new challenge. The rest is history, as they say.”

“Rich and bored, huh?”

It was obvious she struck a nerve, for he stiffened visibly. “Is that your opinion of me?”

“I don’t have an opinion one way or the other.”

His lips relaxed and he cocked his head. “If you’re trying to piss me off because of another attack of cold feet, it won’t work. I’m not letting you off the hook.”

Kasey felt heat steal into her face. “So what are you passionate about? Those passions will determine how I map out the strategy.”

Tanner yanked at the knot on his tie until he worked it loose. “Ah, much better. Now we can get down to business.”

Kasey reached for a tablet, a pen poised above it. “I’m ready.”

“Here goes. I want higher pay for teachers—Texas ranks far too low on the pay scale to suit me. I’ve also devised a more efficient highway system for Texas that will alleviate the traffic problems in and around the major cities. I’m for tightening our borders in order to curb the drug traffic. And last but certainly not least, I intend to put an end to abuse of the elderly, especially in nursing homes. That gets my blood boiling like nothing else.”

“That’s quite an impressive list.”

“So you approve?”

“What’s not to approve, though it will take Super-man to accomplish them.”

He stared at her another long moment. “Maybe you should keep that thought in mind when you map out my advertising.”

In spite of herself, her lips twitched. “I might just do that.”

“Have any ideas jumped to mind?” he asked, grinning.

“Maybe.”

Her hedging wasn’t lost on him. “You’re not prepared to share, huh?”

“Not at this point. You’ll just have to trust me.”

“I do, or I wouldn’t have hired you. I think we’re going to make a good team.”

The room suddenly seemed too warm. Or was it the heat that infused her body under his intent gaze that seemed to peruse her body at leisure? Or was it that she was simply overreacting, reading much more into that look than was there? Regardless, she had to stop thinking about him in any way except that of a client.