Read Online Anything You Ask by Lynn Kellan - Free Book Online Page A

him.”
    “Good.” Hale swiped a hand along his thigh, flicking a wad of mud into the yard. “I don’t want to track this crud into the house. Could you get me some clean clothes?”
    “Okay.” She wiped her eyes.
    “Are you crying, Mom?” Luke frowned at Hale when she snorted.
    “Don’t worry. She should recover in an hour.” Hale pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket, relieved to see it was mostly dry. “She used to do this all the time.”
    “She did?” Drew scratched his head.
    “Sometimes she laughed at the things I did, but mostly she laughed at herself. Silly things would set her off. One day, she mispronounced ‘potato.’ She got the giggles so bad I had to carry her out of the barn. After that, all I had to do was whisper ‘ pototo ’ and she’d lose it all over again.”
    The word hadn’t lost any magic. Danielle laughed so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. When she finally straightened, her angelic face was beet red.
    “Don’t say that again.” She pointed a finger at Hale’s face. “And don’t smile.”
    “That’s hard to do with you in hysterics over there.”
    She backed up to the door, grinning at the mud perched like a sodden ski cap on top of Cocoa’s head. “I’ll get some clothes for you and a towel for your brave dog.”
    After she disappeared into the house, Drew shook his head. “Wow. I’ve never seen her like that.”
    “You’re kidding, right?” When Hale looked down at the boys, he could tell by their baffled expressions they were serious.
    “She doesn’t laugh much,” Luke observed, wiping his nose. “A lot of times, she cries.”
    “Well, that makes sense.” Hale admitted, his levity disappearing with an abrupt snap. “She must miss your dad.”
    “I guess.” Luke shrugged. “But she was sad before he died, too.”
    Hale’s spine stiffened. “She was?”
    “Yeah. Don’t follow her into the cornfield. That’s where she goes to cry.” Luke tugged on Drew’s sleeve and the boys raced to the swing set.
    Hale squinted at the field beyond the barn, wondering what made her cry while Mark was still alive.
    When he felt a soft touch on his shoulder, he turned to find her standing behind him. She offered him clean clothes and an apologetic smile.
    “If you want to leave your dirty clothes here on the deck, I’ll wash them right away so they aren’t ruined.” Her gaze dipped to his muddy jeans. “I’m sorry for laughing at your misfortune.”
    He wanted to tell her he’d much rather see her laugh than cry, but he couldn’t get the words past the knot of emotion caught in his chest. She didn’t seem to mind the silence.
    When she looked upward, her eyes glittered with gratitude.
    She smiled. “Thanks. I needed that laugh.”
    Hale kissed her hard on the mouth and walked away before he told her how much he needed her .

Chapter Six
    Once June rolled around, Danielle often felt left out during the evenings. Her boys were glued to Hale’s side the moment he walked into the house. She lost count of the times she caught them clustered around him, reading books, playing cards, or just horsing around.
    On this particular night, Hale and the boys were sprawled on the couch watching a baseball game. The volume was turned up loud enough for Hale to hear, which made getting any work done in her office difficult. Besides, she was tired of feeling like an outsider, so she turned off her computer and headed into the living room.
    Feeling shy, she stopped by the couch and slid her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. “Think there might be room for me, too?”
    “Yeah.” Hale took his stocking feet off the coffee table and shifted, draping his arm along the back of the couch.
    His hungry gaze dropped to the open collar of her blue blouse. Those keen looks had grown more frequent since he kissed her on the mouth a week ago. The exposed skin at the vee of her neckline tingled when Hale’s gaze lingered there.
    Drew scooted off the couch and lay