Read Online Along for the Ride by Michelle M. Pillow - Free Book Online Page B

back of her thighs whenever she was sweaty from working out. It matched her overstuffed chair. Posters of 1990 cop movies lined the walls, held in place with thumbtacks. She’d only put them up to cover the yellowed paint. When she first moved in, she had a vague plan to renovate. It never came to fruition. The fact the tacky décor annoyed her mother was just a bonus. Beatrice offered to decorate it for her almost every time she came over.
    ‘Where did I put them?’ Beatrice mumbled, drawing Megan’s attention back to the gigantic purse. ‘Ah, here they are. Look.’
    Megan didn’t move as her mother shook a stack of papers in her direction. Beatrice wasn’t fazed by her daughter’s unenthusiastic response, immediately moving to sit beside Megan, as she flipped through the pile.
    ‘There is horseback riding –’
    ‘Do I look like I’ve ever been on a horse?’ Megan drawled.
    ‘I think you’d like it.’ Beatrice placed a picture on Megan’s lap. It was of a woman and two kids on horseback. ‘You carry a gun and so do cowboys.’
    ‘There is that.’ Sarcasm dripped from her words.
    ‘We can rock climb, ride bikes through the mountains, hike, raft –’
    ‘Get lime disease from the ticks,’ Megan chipped in. ‘Get buried by an avalanche.’
    Her words were a lot nicer than some of the scenarios her cop brain came up with. Seclusion, wilderness, people who lived isolated in the mountains – they were a recipe for crime and militias.
    ‘Don’t be silly.’ Beatrice laughed, though the sound was strained. ‘It is summertime and we’ll have Vincent with us. If anyone knows how to avoid bugs, it’s him. Besides, you will be busy with Ryan.’
    ‘Yeah, Mom, about that . . .’ Megan refused to think about screwing Ryan in the alleyway the night before. She’d spent all morning trying to push the memory from her brain. ‘I have to tell you something about the engagement.’
    ‘Oh, honey, I already know what you are going to say,’ Beatrice said.
    ‘What? The tea leaves?’ Megan asked in surprise.
    ‘No, it’s the mother in me. I know you’re feeling guilty about not telling us you were seeing someone, and for probably ditching us on Sunday dinners to go out with your man, but don’t worry. Daddy and I are happy for you. Actually, I didn’t want to say anything because I know you were busy, but your father hasn’t been feeling very well lately and this news has done wonders for him. He is so looking forward to this trip. I think he’s happy to finally have sons to go on vacation with. This trip is the perfect medicine – family all together and happy, seeing two of our precious daughters happily settled.’ Beatrice gave a contented sigh, placing her hand over her heart as she gazed meaningfully at her daughter.
    Megan swallowed. Her father was sick? OK, no guilt there. Even if her mother did have a tendency to blow certain things out of proportion – like health issues. It wasn’t a far stretch for Beatrice to turn a simple cold into the Ebola virus.
    Beatrice suddenly looked at her watch. ‘Oh, I have to go pick up our tickets at the travel agent. You keep these –’ she handed over the printed brochures ‘– and be ready to leave at four tomorrow morning. We’ll meet at our house and all go to the airport together.’
    ‘Four?’
    ‘We have to get there early. You will be a dear and tell Ryan, won’t you?’ Beatrice asked. ‘I forgot to get his phone number last night when I talked to Kat about the travel plans.’
    ‘Um.’ Megan frowned; she didn’t have Ryan’s number. She didn’t even know where the man lived. Maybe that was a good thing. She didn’t want him along, did she? Her body twinged with a curious sensation. Longing? Disgust? Passion? Disdain? She couldn’t be sure.
    ‘Bye, honey,’ Beatrice said. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’
    ‘Bye.’
    Megan waited until the door closed before pushing the horseback-riding picture off her lap. Trust her mother to