Read Online Magnolia Dawn by Erica Spindler - Free Book Online

head. Lifting his hand in goodbye, he started the car and drove off. Anna watched until he disappeared from sight, a strange sensation balling in her chest, at once bittersweet and sad, and yearning.
    Something had been on Travis’s mind—something other than Lowell’s troubles. She’d had the sense that Travis wasn’t happy, that he needed something from her she wasn’t able to give him.
    She frowned. Travis was the most self-assured man she knew. Everything he’d ever wanted, he’d gotten. But today—
    â€œTouching reunion,” Rush said from behind her. “I was moved.”
    Anna whirled around, startled. “I didn’t know you were standing there.”
    â€œObviously.” He dropped a broken drill bit into his pocket. “Did you and your little friend have a nice visit?”
    Little friend? She stiffened. “Yes. Very.”
    Rush tipped his face toward the sky, squinting against the light. “What is he? Some sort of local wheel?”
    Anna folded her arms across her chest, annoyed at his sarcastic tone. “You could say that. He’s one of the richest men in the state. Certainly the richest in the Delta.”
    â€œIs that so?”
    â€œYes.” She met his gaze evenly in challenge. “And everything he’s done, he’s done on his own. His daddy was a field hand who drank more often than he worked. He barely kept a roof over their heads.”
    â€œAn absolute paragon,” Rush muttered, taking a step toward her. “But he doesn’t have everything he wants. Does he, Anna?”
    â€œAnd just what’s that supposed to mean?”
    â€œFigure it out.”
    Her heart began to rap uncomfortably against the wall of her chest. He couldn’t mean that Travis wanted…her? She thought of the look in Travis’s eyes as he’d gazed at her, of the way she’d felt as he’d driven out of sight.
    She shook her head. The thought was as ludicrous as it was insulting. She lifted her chin. “Travis and I are just friends. Good friends. He’s never made advances. He never would.”
    â€œJust because he hasn’t made one, doesn’t mean he hasn’t wanted to.” Rush leaned toward her, so close she felt his breath stir against her cheek. “Better be careful, Annabelle. The guy was practically salivating. But maybe that’s what you want.”
    She glared at him. “What damn business of yours is my and Travis’s relationship?”
    â€œNone.” Rush returned her glare, and Anna had the sense that he was furious. “Just trying to help you out. Thought maybe you’d set your sights on this guy.”
    â€œWell, I haven’t. We’re just friends.”
    One corner of his mouth lifted in a sardonic smile. “Right.”
    Anger and frustration bloomed inside her. She placed her fists on her hips and faced him. “You probably think men and women can’t even be friends because of—”
    â€œSex,” he finished for her. “They can’t. It always raises its ugly head. One or the other of the `friends’ is always hurt.”
    Had she hurt Travis in some way? Was that why Travis had seemed so sad? She narrowed her eyes. Nonsense. Rush Cousins was nothing but a troublemaker. And for whatever reason, he wanted to aggravate her.
    Well, he wouldn’t, Anna vowed. Not this time.
    â€œYou don’t know anything about me and Travis. We grew up together. It was Travis who taught me to ride a two-wheel bike and to drive a standard shift. It was Travis who took me to my senior prom when no one else asked, and it was Travis who held my hand at Daddy’s funeral.”
    â€œI know what I see.”
    The blood rushed to her head, the urge to hit him along with it. She took a deep breath, fighting to keep her cool, knowing she’d already lost it. “This conversation is totally inappropriate. Excuse me.”
    She moved to