Read Online Hideaway Hill by Elle A. Rose - Free Book Online

had caused them to break up a couple
of times. One thing Blake loved about Lindsay was her straight
black hair. It was always shiny, and he loved to run his fingers
through it. He hated to admit it, but it was the same texture as
Veronica’s. Besides that, the ladies had nothing else in common.
Standing next to Hayley, the women looked about the same height, so
Lindsay couldn’t be more than five foot three. She had soft, dark
brown eyes and a good head on her shoulders. However, she too, at
times seemed quick to want to please him. Having this discussion
with Miller often—Miller had always thought it was wonderful that a
woman would want to do anything to make him happy—Blake liked to
have more of a challenge. He didn’t want a woman to give him
everything he requested with no consequence to herself. Lindsay was
a year older than Veronica and a year younger than him, so they all
went to high school together. When they first started to date, she
insisted on knowing all the details of his and Veronica’s
relationship. Lindsay claimed she was worried that he wasn’t over
Veronica yet, even though it had been years since Veronica zipped
out of town. No matter how many times he tried to explain he was
over Veronica, he knew Lindsay never quite believed him. Veronica’s
first night back in Surpatch, and Blake’s reaction to seeing her,
confirmed Lindsay’s suspicions.
    With Veronica back in town and Lindsay on
the defense, Blake felt off-kilter. He was now working overtime.
Besides trying to run a town, Blake spent most of his days fighting
the battle between hating Veronica, and just trying to be her
friend, and the other half, trying to figure out a way to show
Lindsay that he did care for her. She wanted to get married, but he
didn’t think marriage was the answer for them yet. They still had a
few more hurdles to jump before he knew he could ask her to be his
wife. While at the Watering Hole, after Veronica stormed out, Blake
did his best to make Lindsay believe seeing Veronica had done
nothing to damper his mood for the evening. It was a Friday night
so a lot of the tables were put away to open the floor up for
dancing. Though Lindsay was skeptical, she eventually loosened up
and they had a good time.
    Blake walked into Zimmerman’s Bakery and all
happy thoughts of how he and Lindsay were going to spend the
weekend, after his parents’ thirty-fifth wedding anniversary went
out the window. Being the only bakery in town, Zimmerman’s was
opened Monday through Friday. His mother’s favorite bread came from
the bakery, so Blake figured he would swing by and pick some up for
their family dinner that night. It was lunch time, and he was
surprised the bakery wasn’t packed. He also was surprised to find
Veronica standing at the counter placing an order. She hadn’t
noticed his entrance. This gave him time to gather himself.
Approaching the counter, Leo Zimmerman called out to him.
    “ Hey, Mr. Mayor, I’ll be
right with you.”
    As Leo announced Blake’s
presence, Veronica’s back straightened. She turned and flashed him
a brilliant smile. His heart stopped beating. Why did she have to smile? Blake
needed to keep a clear mind. He swallowed and adjusted his tie
before speaking.
    “ We just keep running into
each other, don’t we?”
    His composure was failing. A nervous chuckle
rumbled in his chest as he placed his hand on the counter. Her
smile dimmed a little bit, but she chuckled too.
    “ Yes, we do. How are you
today, Mayor?”
    Blake liked the way ‘Mayor’ sounded coming
from her lips. As Veronica called him by is title, her lips pulled
into a smirk. Without thinking, his gaze shifted to her cheeks. He
heard both stories in the last few days. The one Parker told him
through Hayley, and the one his mother called to tell him. Blake
couldn’t see any bruises, and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. With
all of his heart, he wanted to believe Hayley’s story was true, and
that a box hit her, yet his mother