LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT?

**On this sunny April morning, Jenny needed the fresh air of the park. Her computer had been claiming too much of her time lately, and she ached with the confinement.

She pushed her wheelchair along the curving cement sidewalk under a canopy of trees to a place where she could look out over the water.

The hurried sound of approaching footsteps warned Jenny she wasn't alone. She turned her head and saw two men approaching.
The one in the lead wore a red jogging suit. A man in black leather strode a short distance behind. 

Her heart rate accelerated. Silly, of course, since a taser was strapped to her armrest and the extended foot rests on her wheelchair made a fine battering ram. 

Besides, they might just be out for exercise. At least one of them. 

Mr. I-look-good-in-leather seemed to be looking for something or someone. And it probably involved trouble. 

With her gaze focused on the broad shoulders and slim hips of Mr. Leather, she didn't notice the jogger was within arm's reach of her until he grabbed at the pack on the back of her chair. 

"Hey, let go of that!" Jenny spun her chair around sharply, catching the guy right above the ankles with the footrest.

He yelped and stumbled, allowing Mr. Leather time to close the distance between them and knock the jogger to the ground with a shoulder to his midsection. 

The guy landed with an "oomph!" and rolled down the grassy slope. Several yards away, he scrambled to his feet and ran off.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Leather asked.

"He got away." Jenny frowned. 

Up close, the man seemed almost beautiful. Tousled dark hair, a full lower lip framed by a squared jaw, ice blue eyes, and a scowl that drew his dark brows close together as he resettled her pack back on her chair. 

She felt totally comfortable with the man, which irritated her even more. As if by his one chivalrous act, she could trust him with the keys to her kingdom's jewels--or at least a backpack filled with rocks she used to fool potential thieves.

He looked at her as if expecting thanks for his actions. 

However, Jenny merely grumbled under her breath, spun her chair toward the office building and zoomed away from the most irritatingly attractive man she had ever run into.

"You're welcome." Thomas muttered to himself about an ungrateful female and strode after her. Perhaps some of the O'Shea legacy for saving the world--or at least part of it--had rubbed off on him after all. Though the delicate-looking blonde in the wheelchair seemed to have an attitude prickly enough to keep most sane people at a distance. The spring sunshine turned her hair into a golden halo, drawing him like a beacon toward the building where The Wizard was reputed to have an office. 

Thomas strode into the building and marched toward the elevator. The blonde sat in front of the doors, watching the floor numbers tick off. He reached over her shoulder and punched the "up" button again. 

The elevator pinged and slid open. The woman rolled inside without a glance his way and remained stoically silent as the elevator moved upward. 

On the third floor, the elevator stopped, and she rolled out, with Thomas a few steps behind her.

"You don't have to follow me. I'm not helpless." She spared him a brief glance.

"I have an appointment." Thomas snapped back. Or at least I should in a few minutes.

While the blonde continued into an office, he paused at the receptionist's desk to sweet-talk his way into an appointment with The Wizard. However, there was no receptionist. In fact, as he looked around, the entire floor looked deserted. Just a few desks and file cabinets. But no phones ringing or people in the cubicles. 

Only a prickly blonde in a wheelchair with a closed office door. 

**Excerpt from LEGACY OF TRUTH, copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel