Read Online In the Arms of a Stranger (Entangled Ignite) by Virginia Kelly - Free Book Online Page A

leaps of faith from the moment their paths had crossed. But she still didn’t completely trust him. Especially not with her son.
    Did she really think he’d hurt the boy?
    Reluctantly, Cole took her hand. They walked through the barn, a calico cat winding between their legs, making it impossible for them to hurry. Abby bent and lifted the cat, whispered something to her, then put her back down with a gentle rub along her back.
    This was his chance . While they were gone, he could walk away. Disappear. She’d never find him. And he’d never have to hurt her by revealing what he did know about Wade.
    If Wade had never told her what he did, why he was gone for months at time, he’d had a reason. Maybe she was the kind of person who’d be horrified if she knew what it took to serve their country.
    Hell, be honest, Blackmon. What she thought of Wade doesn’t matter to you. You just don’t want her to know about you.
    But he didn’t leave. Instead, he watched mother and child walk out of the barn into the bright light of day. He had no choice. Before he left, he needed to find out every last detail she might know—even if she wasn’t aware of it herself. Anything that might help his search for the truth.
    If he didn’t, he could kiss his life good-bye.
    …
    Abby rummaged through the supplies Sam kept stored in the workshop so he wouldn’t have to drive all the way back to his office on the other side of the county. She grabbed what she thought she might need, along with antibiotics in tablet form, all the while reminding herself to slow down, to calm her chaotic emotions.
    Now she could get her answers, explanations, something to prove she was right about Wade. That Brooks was dead wrong.
    “I got carrots, Mommy,” Cole announced from behind her. He loved to feed them to Buck.
    Back outside in the increasingly hot morning, he ran ahead, disappearing into the barn just as she reached the wide double doors. It took a second for her eyes to get used to the dark, then another second to realize JP had vanished. Again .
    She blew out a frustrated breath. “Seriously?” she muttered.
    “I’m here,” he said, stepping out from behind a large support post.
    Frustration was instantly replaced by relief. He hadn’t left after all. But the intensity of his gaze gave her an odd sensation. Something like a prickling of…what? Danger?
    No, not danger.
    Feminine awareness .
    “Carrots for Buck!” Cole shouted, running toward him and waving them in the air.
    As the little boy reached him, his attention shifted to her son. She shook her head to clear away the rampant confusion. Something about him, about the way he’d looked at her just then, had sent puzzling signals to her overwrought emotions. She crossed her arms over her chest, recognizing a stab of desire, hot and heavy, in her breasts. No. No way this could happen. She dragged her gaze away from him, embarrassed by her body’s response.
    You’re a widow. You’re entitled , she told herself.
    Cole held a carrot up toward JP, offering him the treat of feeding the horse.
    “Cole,” she said, gathering her wits, “why don’t you get…Mr. John a Coke from the refrigerator?”
    “But we have to feed—”
    “We’ll wait for you,” JP said.
    Cole smiled up at him. It was an amazing smile. How could a man neither of them knew get such an unguarded, joyful response from her son?
    “Sit down over there, let me take a look,” Abby ordered JP, her voice thick with shame at her jealousy.
    JP sat on a bale of hay and unzipped his windbreaker, revealing the holster and gun. They suited him. A gun suited him . She should be scared, but she wasn’t. That said more about her than about him.
    When she saw the blood-soaked, makeshift T-shirt bandage, she fought back a momentary panic. “Maybe you should lie down.”
    “No,” he replied quickly. “No. You can get to it just fine with me sitting.”
    All right. Maybe that was too much familiarity for him. Or