"Because people talk to me." His voice was gentle now, and the edge of temper had smoothed out of it. "Margo, Laura, Josh. Because I know how worried and angry I'd be if it was my sister."
"Well, it isn't your sister." The anger snapped back into her voice, but her cheeks stayed white. "I'm capable of dealing with this. Josh has enough on his plate without being guilted into taking this on."
"Do you really think guilt has anything to do with it?"
She fumbled, recovered. "Don't twist my words around, De Witt."
"Those were your words, Powell. Now, if you've finished with your tantrum, we can discuss this."
"Tantrum—"
"I'd heard you were good at them, but now that I've had a firsthand demonstration, I see the reports were understated."
He'd never thought that dark, glossy brown could turn to fire until he watched it happen in her eyes. "I'll show you a tantrum." With one swipe she sent most of the papers on his desk flying, then raised her fist. "Come out from behind that desk."
"Oh, you tempt me." His voice was ominously quiet, his eyes dangerously cool. "I've never hit a woman in my life. And never have I found it necessary to make that statement before. But you tempt me, Katherine, to break all kinds of records. Now either sit down or get out."
"I'm not sitting down, and I'm not getting out until we—" She broke off,
strangling a cry as she pressed a hand under her breasts.
Now he did come around the desk, cursing all the way. "Damn it. Damn it! What are you doing to yourself?"
"Don't touch me." The burning pressure made her eyes water, but she struggled when he led her to a chair.
"You're going to sit down. You're going to try to relax. And if you don't have your color back in thirty seconds, I'm hauling your skinny butt to the hospital."
"Just leave me alone." She fumbled out her antacids, knowing it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a water pistol. "I'll be fine in a minute."
"How often does this happen?"
"None of your business." She yelped in pain and shock when he pressed two fingers to her abdomen.
"Do you have your appendix?"
"Keep your hands off me, Dr. Feelgood."
He only continued to frown and moved his fingertips to the inside of her wrist. "Been skipping meals again?" Before she could evade, he caught her face in his hands and took a long, objective look. Her color was seeping back, slowly, and her eyes were filled with temper again rather than pain. But he saw other things. "You're not sleeping. You're tired, overstressed and undernourished. Is that how you're handling this?"
Her stomach quivered, an echo of pain and nerves. "I want you to leave me alone."
"You don't always get what you want. You're exhausted, Kate, and until you start taking better care of yourself, someone else will have to do it for you. Be still,'' he ordered in an absent murmur, holding a hand on her shoulder as he checked his watch. "I'm tied up here until after six. I'll pick you up at seven. Will you be at the shop or at home?"
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere with you."
"I realize I'm annoyed with myself for handling this matter badly. You do seem to bring out the worst in me," he added, mostly to himself. "So, you're going to get a decent meal and the opportunity to discuss these gripes of yours in a civilized manner."
It was frightening her, the casual manner he assumed, the glint of heat in his eye that warned he could shift out of casual mode at any moment.
"I don't want to have dinner with you, and I'm not feeling civilized."
Considering, he rocked back on his heels, so that their eyes were level. "Let's try it this way. You go along with this or I pick up the phone and call Laura. It should take her about two minutes to get up here, and when she does, I'll tell her that twice now I've seen you go white and double over."
"You have no right."
"No, Kate, what I have here is the hammer. That beats the hell out of rights." He checked his watch again. "I have a conference call coming through in about five minutes, or we'd finish more of this now. Since the reasonable thing for you to do is go home and get some rest, I assume you'll go back to the shop. I'll pick you up at seven."
Trapped, she nudged him aside and got to her feet. "We close at six."