Read Online I've Been an Awful Good Girl by Cheryl Gorman - Free Book Online Page A

started.”
    Emma
settled back in her seat with a sigh of satisfaction. “The guy, whoever he is,
won’t know what hit him.”
    *
* *
    A
strong male hand gripped his right shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re back, son.”
    Cameron
Fletcher gave his father a smile and hammered another nail into a two by six.
“Glad to be home, Pop.”
    “Your
mother worried herself to death while you were over there. She was on her knees
praying every day for your safety.”
    Hell. His freaking safety. Her prayers worked because he
came back after two tours in Iraq without one scratch. While he dodged bullets
like Superman, a lot of his platoon were wounded or killed by enemy forces and
road side bombs. Guilt weighed down on him like the pack he used to carry in
country . He’d come back looking pretty much the same as when he left with
the exception of losing a few pounds. Sometimes he wished he could have traded
places with any of his men to make sure they returned to their families instead
of him. So many men with wives and children were killed on the battle field and
wouldn’t be coming home.
    Since
returning to Colorado a couple of weeks ago, he’d gone to work for his father’s
construction company and had been trying to adjust to civilian life. He inhaled
a breath of frosty, pine-scented air into his lungs. He stood in what would
eventually be a family room with a stone fireplace and a large bay window. The
new housing development in the growing suburb of Highlands Ranch wouldn’t be
completed for another six to eight months, and he was thankful for the work.
    “Hey,
Cam,” one of the workers said. “My sister has a friend if you’re looking to
hook up.”
    He
considered the man’s offer for about a half a second before he remembered the
last time he’d gone on a blind date. It had been a disaster. “Thanks, Frank,
but I’ll pass.”
    “Okay,
suit yourself.”
    Sweet
Jesus, he would like nothing better than to wrap his arms around a soft,
willing woman. His only companions for months had been fellow soldiers and
granted a few of them had been women, but those women were strictly off limits.
Officers never got involved with enlisted personnel. When and where he chose to
get up close and personal with a woman, would be his decision.
    At
five o’clock they knocked off work and everybody headed home. Soon he was
tucked into one of his mother’s home-cooked meals in her kitchen. He dug into
the mashed potatoes and pot roast, relishing the savory flavors melting on his
tongue. “Delicious, Mom. Thanks.”
    His
mother beamed. “My pleasure. It’s nice to be cooking
for you again.”
    “And
it’s real nice to see you sitting at this table again,” his father added.
    Reaching
across the small kitchen table, his mother squeezed Cam’s hand as her gray eyes
filled with tears. “I missed you so much,” she said in a broken whisper.
    “I
know, Mom. I missed you too. But please, don’t cry again, okay?”
    She
threw him a watery smile and dotted her eyes with her napkin. “I won’t, I
promise.”
    His
father rubbed a hand on his mother’s arm. “There now, darling, the boy’s home
safe and sound.”
    Safe
and sound while a lot of his platoon members came home without an arm or a leg.
The food suddenly stuck in his throat. After wiping his mouth, he laid the
napkin on the table and started rising from his chair.
    “Don’t
tell me you’re full already,” his mother said. “You haven’t eaten very much
since you got home. Are you sure you aren’t taking sick?”
    Cam
patted his stomach. “I feel fine. Lost some pounds over there so my stomach has
shrunk that’s all.”
    “I
bet you aren’t too full for a slice of chocolate cake. Your
favorite.”
    If
he refused it would hurt her feelings because he knew she’d baked it especially
for him. He smiled. “Bring it on.”
    Even
though the cake didn’t go down well, he’d scraped the last bit of chocolate
icing from his plate to please his mother. Then he