Read Online Hot and Irresistible by Dianne Castell - Free Book Online Page A

what she was thinking, that he knew her better than she knew herself. And maybe since Brie was adopted and Daddy had been the one who brought her home to Aldeen, he did know Brie better. He and Mama never talked about that time or her life before she came to be BrieAnn Montgomery. Still…sometimes she wondered why she preferred beer to white wine and what made her such a neatnik about her clothes and why was she so driven and why there was a hint of rebellion that sometimes seemed to hum in her veins and wouldn’t go away.
    Brie took the picnic basket from the backseat of her convertible, the handcuffs rattling around in the bottom a reminder of what could have been. But now Mama was playing matchmaker and—
    “Mercy!” Brie gasped, dropping the basket. A young woman sat on the bench she and Mama had just occupied. “I…I didn’t hear you come up the walk. You scared me to death.” A chilling breeze not fit for an April evening in Savannah swirled around the yard, stirring the grass and bushes and making Brie rub her arms for warmth.
    “Heavenly days now, I think you’re quite a ways from death.” The young girl gave a tired smile. She had her auburn hair pulled back into a tight bun, her frame thin and overworked. “It’s going to be a lovely night. Don’t you agree? I just had to get out of the hotel for a spell to enjoy the weather. And I wanted…needed to meet you.”
    “The Magnolia House?” Brie nodded at the stone wall and the line of Savannah Blues separating her backyard from the hotel. “I didn’t recognize your uniform.”
    “Upstairs maid.” The girl fluffed the white apron over the black cotton dress and adjusted her maid’s cap. “Sure wish Mr. Parish would let us wear pants, but I suppose that’s not the thing to do in such a fancy establishment.” She bit at her bottom lip and put her hand to her stomach. “Though just because a place is all ritzy-like doesn’t mean it’s without its own set of problems.”
    She looked Brie in the eyes; the maid’s own were dull and lifeless. “You need to be staying away from that hotel. It’s no good for you. There are folks there not to be trusted. You could be in danger. That’s why I came here, you see, to warn you.” She suddenly looked sad. “It’s a shame how people change. They don’t start out bad, but they just end up that way.” She gave Brie a loving smile, her face suddenly radiant instead of pasty. “You are a lovely girl. Any mama would be proud to have you for a daughter. The judge and Aldeen are fortunate indeed.”
    Brie felt the urge to touch the girl, give her a reassuring hug. “Maybe next time you want to get away you can come over here for dinner.”
    “My, my, I’d like that more than you can imagine.” She stood. “I best be getting back, but mark my words, there’s trouble brewing over at Magnolia House, no one knows that better than me. You and your friends need to keep a good distance.” She headed toward the wall.
    “Wait. What kind of trouble?”
    The woman glanced back. “I can’t be saying. Sometimes there’s no need to have all the facts. What’s done is done and better left that way, but you must take care of yourself now. I’ll be looking out for you as best I can.” She suddenly giggled. “And don’t be giving up on Beau Cleveland just because things aren’t exactly the way you want them to be. The man loves you like crazy.” The woman disappeared though the narrow archway barely visible through the growth of trees.
    “Okay, what in the world was that all about?” Brie said out loud, feeling a little creepy. How’d the woman know so much about her and what was this danger? The missing jewelry that belonged to Charlotte’s parents? Their unsolved murders at the morgue all those years ago? Was the trouble that Donovan McCabe guy who had already turned Bebe’s life upside down? Was he going to hurt her? Bebe had enough hurt for two lifetimes and Brie was not going to let anything