Read Online Faded Cotton (Erotic Romance) by Lara Sweety - Free Book Online Page B

beach.
Laurel was glad to see Jen relaxing and opening up.
    “Oh?” Laurel turned her head toward Jen.
    “I need to find out who is responsible for my
parents’ death. It’s the cold case I’ve never been able to
solve.”
    Laurel waited to see if she had something
else to add, then asked, “I know I’m no detective, but I do like
details. Do you want help? We could work on it while we are here. I
think I can get ‘ Navy ’s’ cooperation.” Laurel smiled, and
she thought of mystery books she’d read as a child.
    Jen nodded, “Sure.”
    She thought of herself for a moment as a
detective. It would be nice to be of help and to have an adventure.
They were interrupted by a Navy administrative clerk who
approaching them stiffly.
    “At ease, soldier. We are in the middle of
the frickin’ Caribbean!” Laurel’s saucy side was showing again.
    The clerk acknowledged her, tipping, his hat.
“Ma'am.”
    He let a slight grin creep in. “Your presence
is requested,” he noted while handing envelopes to both her and
Jen.
    Laurel read the note and looked at Jen.
“Shall we?”
    Jen nodded.
    “Dinner is at seven o’clock. Have a good
afternoon.” He tipped his cap again and went on his way.
    “Private dinner—the four of us. Huh. Wonder
what that’s all about?” Jen mused. Laurel laughed, “Jen, have you
not seen the way Adam looks at you? I know I’m his mother, but—are
you blind girl?!”
    “It would never work,” Jen dismissed the
thought.
    “Why? Sweetie, if you always run from the
possibility of getting hurt, you are going to miss something
amazing, I promise you. Besides, I know Adam would never hurt you,
at least not on purpose. He’s like his fa—, like his daddy.” The
verbal trip didn’t go unnoticed.
    “Your turn.” Jen prompted Laurel attempting
to change the subject.
    “Huh?”
    “Yesterday, I told you about myself. Now it’s
your turn.”
    “What do you want to know?” Laurel hid behind
her sunglasses.
    “Just start,” Jen pushed.
    Laurel shrugged her shoulders. “Well, Grandma
Maralee always did say, ‘...the beginning, honey, just start at the
beginning...’.” Really, though, there isn’t anything exciting or
fabulous. Just regular folks. Life.”
    “Okay. Derrick, then. You said his story was
for another day. It’s another day.” Jen chirped.
    “Well, Derrick came to stay with me about a
year after Jahn died; it was around the middle of May, about nine
years ago....” Laurel looked off into the distance, searching for
the pieces of her life in the deep blue water.
    __________________________

Chapter 14
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Smiling, she’d watched the house disappear in
a cloud of dust, behind the Chevy 4x4, as she turned onto Siddy
Creek Road. The lilacs in the drive were in full bloom and the
scent had filled the cab of the truck. The oaks were leafing out
and everything was turning green. The fields held the promise of
future champions with new foals and calves everywhere.
    Getting away for an afternoon was nice, but
coming back would be even better. The year’s foal crop was playing
tag in a lush green pasture below the horse barn. Mid-Missouri
couldn’t have been more beautiful. The homestead had a view that
her grandmother had said would, “...stop a city boy and make him
cry...”.
    It had been Grandma Maralee, who’d told her
about the magic of the big red barn. Laurel choked up a little as
she realized how much she missed her grandmother. Grams, as Laurel
so affectionately referred to her, had told her the love story of
her and Siddy when Laurel had been of age.
    From her children’s births, all the way back
to her days as a bubbly teenager and back to the day she met Siddy,
Grams would jump in time, but you could always follow her
stories.
    Grams was a free spirit and believed in
passionate living and loving; it was part of what Grandpa Siddy had
found so wonderful about her. She didn’t mind talking about love,
sex, and relationships; her