Read Online Larkspur Road by Jill Gregory - Free Book Online Page B

crying infant burst from upstairs. Sophie jumped up, her face tense, and rushed into the hall.
    “Give Aiden a kiss for me,” Mia called after her. “I hope he feels better soon.”
    Sophie was already racing up the steps.
    On the front porch, as the summer sun slanted down, she paused at the sight of Grady gathering sticks near the edge of the woods. Travis’s son glanced at her, then quickly away, back to his task as the dogs dashed in circles all around him, trying to grab the sticks he was collecting.
    He looked to be about nine or ten, close to the age of most of her students. With his slight build, tousled light brown hair, and solemn eyes, he looked nothing at all like Travis, but then, they weren’t biologically related, so why would he?
    She knew Travis had married a woman in Phoenix and adopted her young son. She’d also heard they’d later divorced.
    None of it was any of her business.
    And neither was this lonely-looking boy.
    But the divorce might explain that moment of tension she’d sensed between Travis and his son. Grady had wanted to ride Pepper Jack right that minute. And had clearly resented it when Travis said no.
    Of course, Grady was nearing those ever-so-tricky tween years, the time when kids started inching toward independence, pushing their boundaries. That was probably all it was. She dealt with children that age from September until June, and she knew it was a time of emotional ups and downs, a long season of push and pull.
    She waved to the boy when he glanced up again as shestarted toward the Jeep, but he returned the gesture halfheartedly and immediately went back to trying to pry a stick away from Tidbit.
    There was a melancholy twist to his mouth even as he played with the dogs. Backing out of Sage Ranch’s long paved driveway and back onto Squirrel Road, Mia refused to let herself wonder why.

    Travis yanked on an old navy blue T-shirt and swiped a comb through his hair. It was clear Mia had been anything but thrilled to see him, and she’d seemed to have no difficulty forgetting he was even at the ranch the instant Sophie showed up.
    Still…
    In all his years at the FBI, Travis had learned to trust his instincts. And now, as he sat down on the bed and pulled on his boots, those instincts told him that whatever had once been between them might not be gone for good. He’d felt something the moment he looked into Mia’s eyes. And he’d be damned if she hadn’t felt it, too.
    Not that she’d ever admit it.
    He couldn’t blame her. After what he’d done…and the way he’d done it…
    Hell. He never wanted to hurt her again. He needed to be damned careful. And sure. Sure of how he felt, sure of where things were going. If they got going at all.
    Part of him still thought it best to just steer clear. Another part couldn’t forget how good it had felt to actually be close to her and talk to her again.
    Hearing the sound of a car’s engine revving, he strode to the window in time to see her Jeep backing out of the drive below. He stared down at her profile, at those high sharp cheekbones and her delicately sculptured jaw, his gaze drawn to the firm set of her beautiful, kissable mouth.
    He wanted to watch until she disappeared, but then hecaught sight of Grady, sprawled on the grass near the front porch, throwing sticks for the dogs to catch and retrieve.
    Waiting for him.
    Travis strode to the door and tried not to think about the girl he’d left behind, as he went downstairs to join his son.

Chapter Seven
     

    Mia turned off Sweetwater Road and drove slowly along the lumpy heap of gravel that passed for a driveway leading to her aunt’s cabin. Parking a dozen yards from Winny’s ancient Ford pickup, she gazed at the tiny log dwelling practically teetering on the hillside.
    Could her aunt possibly have found a lonelier spot? Surrounded by towering peaks and ponderosa pines, the cabin was a humble speck on the hip of the mountain. A hawk circled through the sapphire sky