From Kiss to Queen (33 page)

Told by one of the female babysitters who knew she was only drunk?

Finally resigned to the fact that he was only digging up more questions instead of getting answers, Gunnar had hopped in his jet and continued on to Spellbound Falls, Maine, to establish himself as just another one of the firefighters two full weeks before Katy MacBain was supposed to start her new job as a paramedic.

He'd swear it had been the longest two weeks of his life waiting for her to show up, with him not taking a decent breath until the computer hacker he'd had keeping
watch finally texted him the night before last with the news that Katy MacBain's cell phone was pinging loud and clear in Boise, Idaho. Which meant instead of pointing that rental truck east two weeks ago, the woman had headed
away
from Maine. More texts had come in throughout yesterday stating the phone signal kept going off only to start up again in another city, his tech guru also discovering that Miss MacBain was making her way to Maine by buying tickets—
finally
using her credit card—on standby, resulting in a zigzagging series of flights heading east.

Gunnar had known down to the minute when Katy had landed in Bangor, but he didn't dare celebrate until she'd checked into the campground south of Spellbound Falls last night at nine thirty—which was about the same time the skies had opened up and the station alarm had gone off for an injured hiker some fifteen, almost straight-up miles away on a nearby mountain. It had also been a mere three hours after he'd walked out of the town council meeting carrying a badge that said he was the new—interim—fire chief.

Suddenly realizing the guy in the mirror was glaring, Gunnar shot him a derisive grin, unable to blame the poor bastard for being in a foul mood. He'd not only run an entire gauntlet of emotions over the last two weeks—from frustration to anger to relief then back to anger—he'd nearly dropped to his knees at the sight of Katy MacBain finally standing in front of him looking beautiful and vital and seemingly fully recovered from whatever in hell had sent her on that three-week side trip to Idaho.

So okay, then; he guessed it was time to get out there and see if this harebrained little fantasy would net him a Maine wilderness angel of his very own, or if he was going to spend the rest of his life rotting in a palace dungeon for throttling a busybody, matchmaking queen.

Janet Chapman
is the
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance novels, all set in the state of Maine, where she lives with her husband, surrounded by wildlife. Best known for her Highlander series, including
Tempting the Highlander
and
Loving the Highlander
, and her Spellbound Falls series, including
The Highlander Next Door
and
Courting Carolina
, Janet also has several contemporary series set on the coast and in the mountains. When she's not writing, Janet and her husband are camping, hunting, fishing, and generally rubbing elbows with nature. Visit her online at janetchapman.com and at her Facebook page, “Janet Chapman, Author.”

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