Read Online Hometown Hero (Hometown Alaska Men Book 2) by Joleen James - Free Book Online Page A

them in a pile on the floor. He washed up and brushed his teeth before falling onto the bed. Instantly his mind blanked, and the haze of sleep began to soften the edges of his day.
    A sharp ring caused him to bolt upright.
    His phone! Rick shook off the first minutes of a deep sleep and searched the pile of clothes near the bed to locate his phone. Tawney's name lit the screen. He glanced at his clock: three-forty-five a.m.
    He hit the talk button. "Tawney?"
    "Rick?" she said, her tone breathless. "I hear something outside."
    "Hang on," he said, all his senses wide awake now. "I'll be right there."
    Rick pulled on his discarded clothes and ran from the cottage. He scanned the area between his place and Tawney's but didn't see anything.
    "I'm here," he said as he rapped on her door.
    The door whipped open. She wore a blue bathrobe with fuzzy yellow quarter moons all over it. Her hair looked good and mussed, her eyes still heavy with sleep.
    "I heard something. Someone was out here." Her voice shook.
    "Okay," he said. "I'm going to look around. Lock the door behind me."
    She nodded and did as he asked. Rick walked the perimeter of the cottage, using his phone as a flashlight. When he rounded the side he came across a tipped trash can. Relief filled his chest. An animal, most likely a dog. An animal. Not a man.
    Rick righted the can, picking up the garbage and stuffing it back inside. He picked up a lone cigarette butt, adding it to the can. He secured the lid, finding a large rock to place on top.
    Back at the door, he called, "It's me."
    Tawney unlocked the door, holding it open so he could come in.
    "You had a visitor, but it was the four-legged kind."
    "A dog?" she asked, the worry lines on her forehead easing.
    "That's my guess," he said. "Dumped your can over."
    "Oh, my." Tawney sat on the sofa, her hand on her heart. "Woke me up. Scared the crap out of me."
    "I know the feeling. Mind if I wash my hands?"
    She looked at him then. "Of course not. I'm sorry. I don't know why I’m so jumpy."
    He washed his hands at the kitchen sink. "You're a woman living alone."
    She stood. "Can I offer you a drink? I know I need one."
    "Sure, why not. Might help me wind back down."
    She removed a bottle of liquor from the cabinet above the fridge.
    "Tequila?" he asked, amused.
    "I’m not much of a hard liquor drinker, but I like a margarita once in a while. Shot?"
    "I will if you will." He grinned.
    Tawney chuckled. "Remember, I lived in Vegas." She placed two glasses on the counter, giving each one a healthy splash of tequila.
    "Bottoms up," she said, hefting the glass.
    Rick clicked his glass to hers, and they shot the tequila. The liquor burned all the way down, landing hard in his gut.
    "One more?" she asked, her brows raised as if to encourage him.
    She didn't think he'd do it. He could see the amusement in her eyes. He slid his glass to her.
    She inclined her head. Again they shot the liquor.
    A slow buzz vibrated in his body. A dangerous glow.
    "Again?" she asked.
    "Nope, I'm good." Too much tequila and he'd forget every reason he should stay away from her.
    "Me, too, just wondering if you'd do it." She smiled as she screwed the lid back on the tequila.
    He shook his head. She thought he was some kind of goodie-two-shoes and that was fine with him.
    "I feel better," she said.
    "Mellow."
    "Relaxed." She nodded. "I'm sorry I called you. I need to big girl up."
    "Don't be sorry," he said, resisting the urge to touch her. The tequila was making him soft, stupid. He knew she'd bat his hand away if he tried anything. She was a spooked woman. She didn't need him or any man trying to paw her. "That's why I got you the phone."
    "I have to remember where I am," she said. "There are animals here. Nature sounds. Vegas didn't have much nature, not in town anyway. It's rugged here. Untamed in the best sense of the word."
    "I guess it is."
    "Want to sit?" She gestured to the sofa.
    Rick took a seat. She joined him. "How did the job interview