Read Online Audrey's Promise by Susan Sheehey - Free Book Online

loved to talk and flout her southern style, but she wasn’t a gossiper. It was Adam and Adelaide who concerned her most.
    Besides, if Ethan intended on interviewing her siblings as well as the whole town, Audrey wanted to be there right beside him and monitor his ridiculous questions. Make him keep his promise. The story was on Audrey, no one else.
    ****
    Adelaide’s constant chattering from the backseat was a relief for once as Audrey drove down Main Street. Spilling the beans to Ethan on her life in high school and pageant escapades meant Audrey could relax just a hair. But it was only a matter of time before Ethan asked the probing questions. Either way, Adelaide was a minor and he couldn’t quote her without her parents’ consent. Still, it would give him ammo for everyone else in town.
    “What do you think of your sister running for senator?”
    Yep, predictable as pumpkins in October.
    Adelaide smiled at Audrey in the rearview mirror. “She’ll do great! The only one with enough guts to tell the president how to do his job the right way.”
    Audrey bit back a laugh. “The governor, Addy. Senator for Texas Senate. I won’t be anywhere near D.C.”
    Audrey threw a glance at Ethan, who strangely studied her with a weird grin. What she wouldn’t give to find out what thoughts ran through that sneaky mind of his.
    “Oh. Well that’s a little less glamorous.” Adelaide’s dejected tone was hard to miss. “But she’ll kill the election anyway.”
    The grocery store came up on their left, a few cars scattered in the parking lot for last minute Thanksgiving feast items. But Audrey kept driving.
    “You haven’t been away that long to forget where the store is.” Adelaide laughed from the back seat.
    “We’ll get there. First things first.”
    “The only things out this way are the library and motel.”
    Ethan started laughing. “I hope not in the same building. Disobeying your mother? Audrey, shame on you.”
    “There’s no harm in asking.” Audrey shrugged and flipped on her blinker to turn into the small motel’s parking lot. Half of the modest two-story building was covered in tarp and flimsy construction platforms. The other half’s faded paint and rusted windows needed renovations as well.
    “Mom will tan your hide with a belt if she hears you even thinking about putting Ethan in the motel. Besides, this place is shabby and Adam’s room is so much more comfortable.”
    “You won’t be staying here, Addy. Just Ethan.”
    “You wouldn’t want your precious hide tanned because of me,” Ethan mocked, leaning against the passenger door.
    Audrey parked in the only available spot, as the rest were occupied by beat up pickups and dooleys. Her hopes for an open room dwindled, but she wouldn’t give up yet. Better a tanned hide from her mother than a shattered career from Ethan.
    They all climbed out of the car. Ethan and Adelaide started to walk inside, but Audrey waited by the trunk. “You’ll need your suitcase.”
    Ethan turned and shoved his hands in his coat pockets, wearing that conceited smile that became more irritating every second. “Not if they’re full.”
    “They’ll have a room.”
    “Let’s just check first.”
    Everything started to itch. Her neck, arms, eyes, and throat as they battled each other with their stares. The undercurrent of heat from his laughing eyes hinted at other ideas probably probing around his brain, standing outside a motel. If she weren’t so struck by the glimmer in those gray irises and nonverbal challenge, she’d be offended. Adelaide stood next to Ethan, a ridiculous smile growing on her cheeks, clearly amused by their childish display.
    “Fine.” Chin strong and high, Audrey tossed her hair over her shoulder and marched past them.
    The motel lobby had seen better days, but knew nothing of contemporary furnishings. Floral wallpaper faded to a muted brown with paper-thin carpeting that made psychiatric hospitals more inviting. An occasional orange