Absolutely, Positively

“Absolutely.”

    “Saturday night?”

    Molly started to accept and then recalled that she had other plans. “I'm having dinner with my aunt and her fiancé.”

    Harry accepted that. “I'll be out of town all day Sunday. I'm driving to Hidden Springs to see Josh's grandfather.” He hesitated. “I don't suppose you'd like to come with me?”

    Molly shook her head. “Thanks, I'd love to, but Kelsey leaves for California Sunday morning. I'm going to take her to the airport.”

    An unreadable expression came and went in Harry's eyes. “Hidden Springs is only an hour's drive. I can wait until you've seen Kelsey off.”

    “Take him up on it,” Kelsey advised. “You could use a day off.”

    “All right.” Molly smiled. “Can we go to the fair while we're in Hidden Springs? I haven't been to one in years.”

    “Why not?” Harry said.

    “Sounds like fun,” Kelsey said. “When was the last time you rode a Ferris wheel or ate cotton candy, Molly?”

    “It's been years,” Molly admitted.

    Harry looked pained. “Please, anything but cotton candy.”

    Molly laughed. “Okay, okay, I'll stick to popcorn. But only if you'll promise to win me one of those big stuffed animals.”

    “No problem,” Harry said. “As long as we play a game that's operated by one of my relatives. Without an inside connection, the probability of winning a large stuffed animal approaches infinity.”

    “Are those carnival games all rigged?” Kelsey asked.

    “Let's just say they're not set up to favor the players,” Harry said dryly.

    Molly batted her lashes. “I bet you could win, regardless, Harry.”

    The momentary humor disappeared from his harsh face. His gaze grew disturbingly intent. “Remember the hours of boredom before you get too excited about the other stuff.”

    “I don't bore easily.” Molly felt her pulse beat strongly in her veins. She looked into Harry's eyes and was suddenly light-headed. She said the first words that came to her. “If worse comes to worse, I can always amuse myself.”

    Harry's smile was slow and infinitely seductive. “I trust it won't come to that.”

    Saturday morning Harry stood alone in the cool, hushed darkness of the Seattle Aquarium. He frequently came here when he wanted to think.

    He watched an electric eel as it dozed on the bottom of its tank. The creature fascinated Harry. He found it almost as strange and improbable as the fact that he had asked Molly to go with him to Hidden Springs.

    Half an hour ago, driven by a deep restlessness that had made it difficult to concentrate on his work, he had walked down to the waterfront. He needed to think about what he had done the previous evening.

    He had intended to keep his relationship with Molly separate from the complications of his family life.

    The feud between the Strattons and the Trevelyans rarely broke out into open conflict for the simple reason that Harry made certain that the two clans never came into contact with each other. Harry was the only connection between the two families. Both sides had made it excruciatingly clear that they wanted the situation kept that way.

    The Strattons considered the Trevelyans, with the exception of Harry, a lower from of life. They had never forgiven Sean Trevelyan for daring to marry Brittany Stratton, the family princess. The fact that Brittany had run off with Sean of her own free will did not seem to make any difference to the Strattons.

    The Trevelyans took an equally dim view of the Strattons, whom they considered patronizing, effete snobs. In their considered opinion, it was the Stratton influence that had caused Harry's father to turn his back on his family.

    When Harry had initially planned the affair with Molly, he had never intended to expose her to his difficult relatives. He did not understand the impulse that had made him invite her to Hidden Springs, and that worried him. He had spent a good portion of the night thinking about it.

    His brain usually worked in clear, crisp, orderly patterns. The sole exceptions were his occasionalinsights . The realization that his feelings for Molly might be as inexplicable as those rare, traumatic flashes ofknowing disturbed Harry.

    A menacing shiver went through the eel. The creature's cold, emotionless gaze met Harry's through the glass barrier of the tank. Harry contemplated the primitive evolution of the eel's brain with something that could have been envy.

    Nothing was complicated for the eel. There were