Read Online Lights Out by Ruthie Robinson - Free Book Online Page A

around and found Piper was back to teaching her sisters at the counter.
    He’d been impressed with the care she’d shown them. There was more to her than met the eye. He knew her sacrifice first-hand.
    He’d liked her from the beginning, with her smart mouth, sharp comebacks, and lovely body. He just didn’t do more than the lovely body parts these days, not any day, really. She’d been correct in her assessment of him. Women and commitment were roads he didn’t travel much—more like at all—especially now that Shane was a permanent fixture in his life.
    Women. He liked them in bed—loved them in bed—but hadn’t found any he’d wanted to risk more with, so he kept them at a distance. When and if he settled, and he had a huge doubt about the if, it would be with an old-school woman, a partner, willing to put family first. He wanted one who would dig in with him for the long haul, make a life with him, one who had his back and he hers, and honestly he’d given up searching a long time ago. Hadn’t thought they made that brand anymore. Until now. But she didn’t think much of him, thinking back to her words that day. He chuckled. It was an image he’d worked hard to portray, and there was no use allowing his feeling to be hurt now because she’d believed him.

Chapter 5
    First weekend in August
     
    Sunday night, two weeks later, Joe sat in a car parked out in front of Lights Out Coffee, for what he knew to be poetry night. He hadn’t been here in a while—two weeks, to be exact—not that he’d kept track. Work had kept him busy, and he’d decided to let Piper go. Danger lay there. She was more serious than he wanted, so he’d gone back to some of his other coffee haunts. He also acknowledged that her remarks had bothered him, and more than he thought possible. Another surprise.
    She’d been on his mind, even without seeing her daily. Another bad sign. She’d show up at night, mostly before he dozed off, nude, legs wrapped around him. If he felt kinky, she’d show up with her hair in those two puffs and those Ropers on her feet, golden brown skin in between. She was always plaint, pliable, and completely at his mercy. Her eyes were usually closed, mouth parted, pleasure profound on her face as he…
    “Joe.”
    He heard his name and turned to its source: Rachel.
    He was here at the request of Rachel, a woman he’d met from work, his date for the evening. Their third date. He’d found a sitter for Shane, his nephew, and he’d agreed to dinner, but she had a surprise for him she thought he might like. She’d done the driving tonight. Shane’s sitter was late again, so it was faster for her to swing by and pick him up; her suggestion.
    Surprise for him, all right; they were here for poetry night, of all things. He didn’t do poetry. He was nervous, here with a date, worried that Piper might get the wrong impression of him, her words under his skin.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it was a surprise,” Rachel said, looking over at him, reaching for his hand, bringing him back to the here and now.
    “You may like it. And anyway, we can’t sit here all night,” she said.
    Fine, he thought, getting out of the car, walking to the door, waiting for her to lock up her car.
    He and Rachel entered the shop. He was again surprised by the size of the crowd, surprised at the popularity of this place, for any event, it seemed.
    “Isn’t this great?” Rachel asked him, reaching for his hand and leading him toward a booth located near the front of the room. The tables closest to the stage had been taken.
    “Yep,” he said, sliding into one side of the bench, she taking the seat across the table from him.
    “I love this place. I love the new location. The other place is so small. Ever been there?”
    “Nope,” he said.
    “Interested in poetry?” she asked.
    “Nope.”
    “Too bad. I brought some with me that I’d like to share with you,” she said.
    He gave her a nod. It was better than