Read Online A Family Affair: Summer: Truth in Lies, Book 3 by Mary Campisi - Free Book Online

apart a carburetor faster than an Indy pit crew and had known all about pistons and spark plugs. Ripping apart cars and rebuilding them was his passion until Tess Carrick came along and became his ultimate passion.
    Nate moved into the room, glancing at the row of pla ques on the dresser. He didn’t have to study them to know they were all related to marksmanship, a sport that had become Cash’s specialty. And music? The guy could name the tune in less than three notes and mouth the words. No singing, though, because Cash Casherdon was not a singing kind of guy.
    Nate didn’t know what kind of guy his old friend was anymore. Hell, he doubted if anybody knew. He turned toward the bed and almost wished he could have postponed the inevitable a few seconds longer. Cash looked washed out and beat-up, his features drawn, his face a close match for the hospital-white sheets. His longish curly hair brushed his neck and was perhaps the only true reminder of the old Cash. The forearms were still large and much darker than his face, but Nate guessed they were not as toned as they’d once been. His gaze shot to Cash’s shoulder and chest, covered by a navy T-shirt.
    Would he be able to rejoin the force? Live a normal life? Nate yanked back the last thought because, hell, what was a normal life? Did anybody fall back to “normal” after something like this?
    “You really don’t und erstand what ‘no visitors’ means do you?”
    Nate swung his gaze to Cash’s and shrugged. “I’m not a visitor; I always kind of thought of myself as a friend.”
    Cash scowled. “As a friend, you damn well ought to know I mean what I say.”
    Nate eased into the recliner next to the bed and ignored the “I’m in charge” look and said, “You always did think you had answers for everything, even when you didn’t know what the hell you were talking about.”
    “You’re really going to try and pull that ‘get him pissed, get him talking’ routine on me? Not going to happen. I just want to be left alone .”
    “I’m sure you do. Unfortunately, you’ve got an aunt walking around with rosary beads in both hands and a frown that’s etched on her face. Okay, maybe the frown isn’t your fault, since your aunt doesn’t know how to smile, but the town’s starting to think there’s a corpse in here instead of a breathing man.”
    “ So tell them the truth; I’m a breathing corpse.”
    Who the hell was this guy in Cash Casherdon’s body? The guy that Nate had known would kick the crap out of this bellyaching one. “I’m sorry about what happened in Philly.” He hesitated a second, almost adding, And what happened between you and Tess , but decided against it. “Sometimes life really sucks.” And then, because he had no idea what else to say, he threw in a bit of personal commentary. “You know, I’ve had my share of off days.”
    That perked him up. “Off days ? Off years is more like it.”
    Nate shrugged. “Yeah, well.”
    Cash shot him a look. “I hear that’s all changed.”
    Nate’s lips twitched and his voice took an involuntary dip when he thought of Christine and the baby. “ You could say that.”
    “I hear she’s Charlie Black sworth’s daughter.”
    Was that a glimmer of interest? Charles Blacksworth still had people talking, even from his grave. “Her name’s Christine.”
    “You hated that guy’s guts. Putrid, black, decimating hate. What happened to change all that?”
    Christine happened. She ’d walked into his life and, despite the fact that Nate had acted like a miserable sonofabitch to her, she’d seen something in him.  She’d made him want to be a better person and for the first time in his whole life, he believed in love, believed, too, in second chances. How to explain that? He couldn’t find the words for those feelings, so he simply said, “I met Christine.”
    “She must be a saint.” Cash paused and added, “Or one hot babe.”
    Nate stared at his old buddy, his voice turning hard.