Read Online Predator (Copper Mesa Eagles Book 1) by Roxie Noir, Amelie Hunt - Free Book Online
Authors: Roxie Noir, Amelie Hunt
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driveway, then parked her truck.
Seth was already waiting for her on the porch, and she took a deep breath before getting out, not really knowing what to expect.
Did I fuck up last night? She wondered. Did he? Are we just friends now?
As she walked up, Seth started smiling, his dimples sinking into his face. Jules found that she couldn’t help but smile back.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey yourself,” she said.
They looked at each other for a long moment, both smiling but wary.
“Are we okay?” he asked, finally.
Jules closed her eyes and took another deep breath.
“Did you only take me on a date because you wanted info about the mine that’s on your property and you thought I’d give it to you if I had a good time?” she asked, all in one breath.
Jules opened her eyes to see Seth looking horrified.
“No,” he said. “Not at all, not even a little. I asked you out because I really, really wanted to see you again.”
Jules pressed her lips together, trying not to cry, and Seth took a step forward, taking her face in his hands.
“I really like you,” he whispered. “When you laugh it feels like the sun is shining right onto my heart.”
“So like you’re having open-heart surgery?” she whispered back.
“Outdoors open-heart surgery,” Seth clarified.
They looked at each other for a moment.
“Well, kiss me,” Jules said.
He did. His lips were warm and just a little rough, and when she moved her hand gently to his waist, she could feel the heat radiating out from his hard muscle, and deep inside she felt a funny twisting feeling that she’d never felt before.
When their lips separated, Jules looked into his eyes, flashing gold, and smiled.
“Would you accept help with the mine anyway?” she asked.
Inside the house, the dining room was a flurry of papers: some old, some new, some handwritten, some printed. In the middle of it sat someone who was obviously Seth’s brother. The two men had exactly the same eyes, though the brother’s hair was lighter and shorter, his nose different.
“I’m Zach,” he said, standing up. He hopped from where he’d been sitting to another bare spot on the floor, and shook her hand.
“I’m Jules,” she said, and thought she caught Zach exchanging a glance with Seth.
Did Seth tell him about me? She thought.
The thought of boys shouting I love you like plants love the sun down the halls of her high school flashed through her mind, but she forced it out.
“So what’s the news?” Zach asked, friendly but all business.
Jules told them the whole thing, about the deeds probably not existing, and then about the archives burning down. By the end, Zach was sitting on the floor again, his head on one hand.
“Maybe we never owned it,” he said, tapping the eraser end of a pencil against a sheet of paper.
“Mom was so sure, though,” said Seth, who’d pulled out a dining chair and sat.
“What if she was wrong?” Zach asked. “What if she just thought that because her father told her that, and his father, and so on? What if they all just thought there was a deed, and there never was?”
“When did this highway go in?” Jules piped up. “Did the state of Utah have to buy any land from your ancestors? Maybe we could use that bill of sale to prove that at least they owned it then. Or the state considered them the owners.”
“Or when they put in the electricity?” asked Seth.
For hours, they tossed around ideas. Around eight, the three of them stopped and Seth made them peanut butter sandwiches, and they chewed in silence.
It’s not going to work , thought Jules.
Chapter Seven
Seth
Seth stared into the center of his sandwich as he squeezed the edges, making the jam squeeze out and then recede. He tried to think about the deed, or receipt for payment on it, or anything that might prove their claim.
Instead, he was thinking about the dream. He’d had it again last night.
Ever since he could remember, Seth had had the same dream. He’d
Seth was already waiting for her on the porch, and she took a deep breath before getting out, not really knowing what to expect.
Did I fuck up last night? She wondered. Did he? Are we just friends now?
As she walked up, Seth started smiling, his dimples sinking into his face. Jules found that she couldn’t help but smile back.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey yourself,” she said.
They looked at each other for a long moment, both smiling but wary.
“Are we okay?” he asked, finally.
Jules closed her eyes and took another deep breath.
“Did you only take me on a date because you wanted info about the mine that’s on your property and you thought I’d give it to you if I had a good time?” she asked, all in one breath.
Jules opened her eyes to see Seth looking horrified.
“No,” he said. “Not at all, not even a little. I asked you out because I really, really wanted to see you again.”
Jules pressed her lips together, trying not to cry, and Seth took a step forward, taking her face in his hands.
“I really like you,” he whispered. “When you laugh it feels like the sun is shining right onto my heart.”
“So like you’re having open-heart surgery?” she whispered back.
“Outdoors open-heart surgery,” Seth clarified.
They looked at each other for a moment.
“Well, kiss me,” Jules said.
He did. His lips were warm and just a little rough, and when she moved her hand gently to his waist, she could feel the heat radiating out from his hard muscle, and deep inside she felt a funny twisting feeling that she’d never felt before.
When their lips separated, Jules looked into his eyes, flashing gold, and smiled.
“Would you accept help with the mine anyway?” she asked.
Inside the house, the dining room was a flurry of papers: some old, some new, some handwritten, some printed. In the middle of it sat someone who was obviously Seth’s brother. The two men had exactly the same eyes, though the brother’s hair was lighter and shorter, his nose different.
“I’m Zach,” he said, standing up. He hopped from where he’d been sitting to another bare spot on the floor, and shook her hand.
“I’m Jules,” she said, and thought she caught Zach exchanging a glance with Seth.
Did Seth tell him about me? She thought.
The thought of boys shouting I love you like plants love the sun down the halls of her high school flashed through her mind, but she forced it out.
“So what’s the news?” Zach asked, friendly but all business.
Jules told them the whole thing, about the deeds probably not existing, and then about the archives burning down. By the end, Zach was sitting on the floor again, his head on one hand.
“Maybe we never owned it,” he said, tapping the eraser end of a pencil against a sheet of paper.
“Mom was so sure, though,” said Seth, who’d pulled out a dining chair and sat.
“What if she was wrong?” Zach asked. “What if she just thought that because her father told her that, and his father, and so on? What if they all just thought there was a deed, and there never was?”
“When did this highway go in?” Jules piped up. “Did the state of Utah have to buy any land from your ancestors? Maybe we could use that bill of sale to prove that at least they owned it then. Or the state considered them the owners.”
“Or when they put in the electricity?” asked Seth.
For hours, they tossed around ideas. Around eight, the three of them stopped and Seth made them peanut butter sandwiches, and they chewed in silence.
It’s not going to work , thought Jules.
Chapter Seven
Seth
Seth stared into the center of his sandwich as he squeezed the edges, making the jam squeeze out and then recede. He tried to think about the deed, or receipt for payment on it, or anything that might prove their claim.
Instead, he was thinking about the dream. He’d had it again last night.
Ever since he could remember, Seth had had the same dream. He’d
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