Read Online Meant to Be by Terri Osburn - Free Book Online Page A

good towels.”
    Joe and Tom chuckled in unison. “Don’t worry, darlin’. Bar towels are a dime a dozen. Literally.” Tom leaned over her feet again, then looked at Joe. “I could have one of the other waitresses come out and do this.”
    There seemed to be a question in Tom’s words, but Beth couldn’t be sure. Being doctored by Joe did feel odd. Intimate almost.
    “I’ve got it,” Joe said, the command in his voice ending the unspoken debate.
    Tom sighed as he rose to his full height. With a reassuring smile Beth’s way, he nodded. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
    Sliding one of the towels across his lap beneath her feet, Joe reached for the peroxide. “This might sting. I’ll count to three then pour. You ready?”
    Beth nodded then gripped the bench.
    “One, two…” Without saying “three,” he tipped the bottle. The sting made her eyes water.
    “You didn’t say three,” she ground through clenched teeth. “You’d make a horrible doctor.” She refused to cryover stupid blisters, but the tighter she closed her eyes, the more the tears threatened.
    “My last doctoring was done on a turtle. I didn’t hear him complain.”
    The laugh bubbled out before she could stop it. Her shoulders relaxed as the pain faded to a tolerable twinge. “Careful or I’ll start a rumor that you have a sense of humor.”
    “Don’t threaten the doctor while he’s working.”
    Joe dried the peroxide that had run down her foot, his hands gentle as if trying not to cause her any more pain than necessary. “Thank you,” she whispered.
    “Don’t mention it.”
    “I mean for earlier.”
    His hands stilled for a moment, then returned to their ministrations. “Those guys are idiots. I should have ignored them.”
    “What guys?”
    Joe jerked, turning a gentle pat into a rough poke.
    “Ow!”
    “Sorry.”
    “Maybe I shouldn’t talk to you while you’re doing this.”
    “Whatever you want.” He glanced up, met her eyes, then looked away. “Won’t happen again.”
    She considered asking about the guys in question, but decided for the sake of her feet to move on. “I meant back there with Sid. You saved my life.”
    Joe snorted. “Sid isn’t that bad.”
    “She threatened me with a pool stick. Though I’m not sure if she intended to beat me with it or shove it down my throat.”
    “She didn’t threaten you.”
    “I know a threat when one comes my way. That was a threat.”
Blow in my ear.
The nerve. “The woman needs a keeper.”
    “That woman is my friend. You shouldn’t go around judging people you don’t know.”
    The shock of his words hindered her brain function for several seconds. Then the anger came. “You amaze me. Until yesterday, you believed me to be a materialistic blonde bimbo serving as the latest acquisition in your brother’s lifelong goal to collect the most…crap. I’d call that judging someone you don’t know.”
    Joe poured peroxide over her other foot.
    “Good God, just kill me.”
    “Stop being dramatic,” he said, setting the bottle on the porch and dabbing her foot with a corner of the towel. “And I know my brother.”
    “You what?” Beth asked. Chucking the yoga breathing, she started to pant.
    Pulling a bandage from the kit, he squeezed gel from a yellow tube onto a small gauze square. “Hold still while I tape this on.”
    Between the cold gel and the pressure of the gauze, holding still became impossible. “Are you trained in torture methods or just practicing these techniques on me for fun?”
    “That turtle was a better patient than you are. At least he held still.”
    “He was probably moving,” Beth said, biting her bottom lip, “too slow to be noticed.”
    She’d finally gained his attention. “That might be the worst joke I’ve ever heard.” But he smiled. His eyes droppedto her lips, the bottom one clenched between her teeth. Beth’s heart beat an uncomfortable rhythm. “Bite any harder and I’ll have to doctor that lip up next.”
    Beth