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

licked her lips, then closed her mouth. She couldn’t look away, even when he returned his attention to the task at hand. Or foot, as it were. Regardless of how much she provoked, his hands remained gentle.
    “You’re right,” he said.
    “I am?”
    “I shouldn’t have assumed that stuff about you.” He met her eyes again. “But I had my reasons.”
    She leaned her head on the back of the bench. “What reasons?”
    He ignored her question and asked one of his own. “Why didn’t you call me on it?”
    “I told you. I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
    “Why not?”
    She straightened and repositioned herself on the bench. “The reason I’m on this island is to meet Lucas’s family. To make you all like me. If I’d embarrassed you before we’d even been introduced, then you might have never liked me.”
    His brows drew together and his eyes narrowed. “You think Lucas would change his mind if we didn’t like you?”
    “No. But I’m not doing this just for Lucas. I have my own reasons.”
    Joe applied a final piece of tape, then lowered her feet to the floor. “I wouldn’t put the shoes back on. Dad should be leaving soon. He’ll take you home.”
    Tossing the damp, bloodstained towels in the garbage can at the top of the stairs, Joe stomped down the steps and walked off into the night.
    Beth didn’t move. The sound of a motor turning traveled on the breeze, then tires on gravel followed by tail-lights fading in the distance. Something had just happened. Something she didn’t understand. While part of her brain, the rational, practical side, told her not to go there, the purely feminine side sat back with a sigh.
    Joe Dempsey had more layers than he wanted anyone to see. And he’d managed to peel back a couple of hers as well.
Be careful, my dear. You’re walking on dangerous ground.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    B eth saw Joe briefly the next morning, and in the few seconds during which they shared the same space, he refused to make eye contact. Even when he said good morning in his gruff, grunting way, his eyes never met hers.
    Lucas had left a message on the Dempseys’ home phone while Beth was at the restaurant. Exhausted and edgy after a long drive followed by meetings into the night, Lucas had explained that the evidence was worse than he’d expected, which tilted the odds of winning in the prosecution’s favor.
    Though a selfish thought, Beth couldn’t help but be more upset about what the new evidence meant for their vacation. She’d told herself throughout the day that Lucas would return. He’d come to his senses, let the rest of the team handle the case, and be back on Anchor the next night. But with one brief message he’d snuffed any hope of a quick return.
    Patty had announced that morning that she’d be running over to Hatteras for her Sunday grocery expedition and asked if Beth would like to tag along. Since the trip would require riding the ferry, Beth did her best to refuse the offer as gracefully as possible. Which meant breakingout in a sweat and yelling, “No!” Something she was doing much too often on this trip.
    Tom refused her help for the lunch shift, so Beth was once again left to her own devices. Though there were plenty of shops and sights to explore, the place she really wanted to be was hanging out with Lola. Which is why she was now sitting alone in the art store, making jewelry and hoping no one would try to buy anything before Lola returned.
    Lola had needed to run a quick errand and after giving Beth a crash course on the antiquated register, assured her she’d be back in no time. Trusting woman, that Lola. So far on this vacation Beth had waited tables and was now holding down a brief gig in retail. She’d be irritated if she weren’t actually having fun.
    The tips at Dempsey’s were good, and Tom had forced her to keep them. Wanting to put them back in the local economy, Beth browsed Lola’s store, picking out items that spoke to her. The first had been a