Read Online A Reason to Love by Alexis Morgan - Free Book Online Page A

to see her father’s truck parked on the street in front of the house. She hit the brakes and waited for her pulse to slow down. In her head, she knew he’d sold that red pickup right before he died. But for a few seconds, her heart had forgotten. She’d spent so much time talking to his memory, it was as if her father was really back.
    After dragging a deep breath into her lungs, she wiped her sweaty palms on her slacks and drove the rest of the way down the block. She had heard Leif Brevik had bought the used truck, so it meant he was waiting to see her.
    She spotted him leaning on the railing at the far end of the porch. Normally, she liked the man, but today he looked pretty grim. No surprise after what had happened last night. Having Spence show up unannounced must have thrown him for a loop, not to mention Nick and Callie. Some wedding gift that was!
    He’d spotted her and straightened up. There was no way to avoid him now, but this was not going to be any fun. She waved as she drove past the house to park in front of the detached garage in back. She figured Leif would follow her around to the patio. If not, she’d let him in the front door after she got the groceries inside. She grabbed the bags out of the trunk and started toward the house.
    Leif was waiting for her by the bottom of the steps. “Here, let me take those for you.”
    She handed off the bags and led the way up the stairs and into the house. “Just set it all on the counter. Help yourself to a beer if you’d like one.”
    She made quick work of putting the perishables away and then fixed herself a glass of iced tea while Leif stood at the window, staring out into the yard. “Want to sit out on the front porch?”
    He turned to face her, his dark eyes flat and his usual smile missing. “Sure. I stopped by because—”
    She cut him off. “You’ve got questions about Spence and want to know if I have answers.”
    “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
    The chairs on the patio out back were more comfortable, but she chose the front porch to give Spence some warning if he were to show up early. He might not be ready to face his friend again.
    As she and Leif walked through the house, she was uncomfortably aware of the unhappy man walking right behind her, the sound of his footsteps uneven as he favored his left leg. From what she understood, he’d almost lost it at the same time Spence went missing. All three men carried scars from their time in the army.
    Outside, she plopped down in the closest chair and motioned him toward the other one. Instead, Leif leaned against the railing right in front of her. He stared down at her for several seconds before twisting the cap off his beer. After taking a quick swig, he set it on the railing and crossed his arms over his chest.
    “How long have you known Spence was alive?”
    He packed a lot of suppressed pain and more than a hint of angry accusation into that one question. She understood how he felt, but none of this was her fault.
    “I didn’t, not before last night. I was at the cemetery to take a picture of my father’s headstone for my mother. She wanted to make sure it had been done right. She’s still at her sister’s in Portland and was worried about it. I e-mailed it to her.”
    Okay, she was babbling. Leif didn’t care about any of that. “I was about to leave for the wedding when I spotted a soldier standing over where Mr. and Mrs. Lang are buried. I thought he might be another member of your squad in town for the wedding who had stopped at the cemetery to pay his respects to Spence. I walked up behind him and offered to show him the way to the church.”
    “Son of a bitch!” Leif winced. “Wheels saw his own headstone?”
    Assuming Wheels was a nickname for Spence, she nodded. “Yeah, he did.”
    And she’d nearly fainted once he turned around and she recognized him. Luckily, Spence had caught her in his arms and held her close until her head cleared, but that would be their