The Keeping(22)

“I’m Melody Greene.”

He ignored the implicit social norm that would have him supplying his name in return and glowered at her. “And why, Melody Greene, were you traipsing all over this property?”

“I wasn’t traipsing all over, just walking down the driveway. And I’m here because I want to talk to Ryne Taylor.”

A nod was the only response she got. Not even an eyelash flickered.

Under her breath, she cursed him. Was he, or wasn’t he, Ryne Taylor? His reaction certainly gave no clue either way.

“Why do you want to talk to him?”

Mel noted the use of the word ‘him.’ Ah-ha! So this person wasn’t Taylor. She considered answering his question truthfully, but decided that, no matter how sexy he might be, she didn’t want to share anything with the man. He was just too damn annoying. If he wasn’t willing to even provide his name, then she wasn’t going to give away any extra information either. For all she knew, he even might try to sabotage her attempts to talk to the photographer out of pure spite. “That’s between the two of us.” She added a bit of a mysterious smile and watched with satisfaction as the man’s eyebrows rose in surprise. Make what you want of that, she thought to herself.

Abruptly the man stood and switched topics. “It’s time for you to go.”

“Pardon?” The sudden change left her feeling confused.

“You need to leave. I trust you can make it back to your car by yourself?”

“Well, yes. But...”

He merely extended his arm towards the doorway.

A wave of temper, at his cavalier dismissal, washed over her and she knew her cheeks were flushing. “Fine.” She snapped the word out. Spying her purse lying near her feet, she snatched it and jumped up, only to stagger as her head once again protested the sudden change in elevation.

A gusty sigh filled the room as the man reluctantly caught her and steadied her on her feet. “Obviously, you’re in no shape to operate a vehicle. I suppose I’ll have to drive you home.” With that, he scooped her up in his arms without even so much as a ‘by your leave’ and walked out of the house.

Mel knew her mouth was opening and closing like a fish gasping for air, but she couldn’t begin to formulate the words needed to express sufficiently both her surprise and indignation. Finally, choosing the direct route, she issued a succinct command. “Put me down!”

“No.” He didn’t even look at her and continue to stride down the driveway, his long legs covering the ground at an astonishing pace.

“Let me go!” She struggled, pushing against his chest. He merely tightened his grip. Doubling her efforts, she began bucking and kicking her legs. It made her head throb, but at least he took notice and stopped walking. “Thank you. Now put me down.”

“You aren’t steady enough on your feet to walk the length of the driveway at the speed I want you to go. Nor are your boots suitable for walking on gravel. Now be still, before I throw you over my shoulder. Hanging upside down won’t do your head any good, but if that’s what it takes...” He began to shift his grip on her and Mel had no doubt he’d make good on his threat.

“Fine.” Crossing her arms, she pointedly stared straight ahead, gritting her teeth when she felt his chest quiver against her body. He was laughing at her!

The rest of the journey passed silently. It was strange how quickly he covered the distance, the scenery seeming to fly by her. Probably, it was an after effect of hitting her head. Her visual perception was likely a bit off.

They finally arrived at the gate and he set her down. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the gate, relocking it after they’d passed through. He looked at her rental car and then at her. His hand extended, implicitly asking for the keys. Mel rolled her eyes, but dug them out and handed them over, quite sure that he would have no compunction about taking her purse and rifling through it, if she refused.

Stalking over to the car, she got into the passenger side, put on her seatbelt, and folded her hands in her lap. The annoying man followed at a much slower pace, climbing in, adjusting the seat and mirror, before finally putting the key in the ignition.

“Where are you staying?”

“At the Kennedys’. I’ve rented a cabin from them. If you turn left—”

“I know where they live.” He answered shortly, his lips pressed together, forming a tight line.

After that, the rest of the ride passed by in an uncomfortable silence. When they finally arrived at her temporary home, Mel barely waited to get the keys from him, before jumping out of the vehicle, eager to be away from the exasperating man. She grabbed the bag of groceries from the back seat of the car and hurried towards the cabin, but a sudden thought had her stopping and reluctantly turning around. He was leaning against the car watching her, an enigmatic expression on his face.