Read Online Racing the Hunter's Moon (Entangled Bliss) by Sally Clements - Free Book Online

if we break down?”
    Betty was bent over the map as the road snaked in a long curve around the side of the mountain. “Promise. If we break down, I’ll fix us.”
    …
    It was a glorious day. The sun wasn’t harsh and glaring, like the rays of summer, but bathed the road ahead in a golden glow that painted the dappled undergrowth. There were no distinct clouds in the sky, merely the occasional film of white, as if sprayed by a fine airbrush. Betty’s mood soared like the birds overhead. She cranked down her window a tad, breathed in the crisp air, and let the pure joy of being out in the elements overtake her. “This beats being in the office any day.” She glanced across the car. “In your real life, is carpentry just a hobby, or did you used to work as a carpenter?”
    “I used to make furniture, and fitted kitchens,” Joe said. “But it’s a cutthroat business if you’re doing it for money. There are a hell of a lot of carpenters out there, and there’s no way to compete with the ready-to-assemble sellers. I wasn’t interested in selling something below what it cost me to make it, and I couldn’t live on what I made for my work, so I moved on.”
    “To the FBI.”
    “Yeah.”
    “It’s not a natural progression from carpentry.” She examined his face for a trace of emotion, a hint to what had propelled him into this different career. “Although I guess in both you spend a lot of time alone.”
    “I’m not really a people person. And I guess I like bringing people to justice. There are a lot of con men out there. Charmers is the tip of the iceberg.” His mouth tightened. “Not everyone is capable of the detachment involved in tracking someone. They get emotionally involved, and being invested in the outcome makes them reckless, liable to screw up.”
    His words struck a note, deep within. She’d do anything to get Charmers. The changes he’d wrought in her mother had ignited an anger inside that was all-consuming. “He really did a number on my mother. Before him, she was sort of naive—she believed the best of everyone. I was away at college—I thought she was safe.” Her chest ached. “Now she doesn’t trust easily. She’s guarded. I hate to see that in her.”
    “It wasn’t your fault.” Joe glanced over. “You know that, don’t you? I’ve looked into a lot of his previous scams. Charmers is a master at deceit. Even if you’d been around, you wouldn’t have suspected anything.”
    Her heart tightened. Despite his words she did feel guilty, did in some way feel responsible. There had been only the two of them for years now. She’d been so anxious to get on with her own life, she had been casual about her mother’s. Christine had asked her to come home to meet her new boyfriend, and she’d been too busy. Maybe if she’d made the time…
    “Don’t blame yourself.”
    Ahead, the road snaked to the left. Betty checked distances and ticked off the latest section on the map. “There’s a right turn half a mile ahead. Then we should be arriving at the first control point. We’ll stop and hand the card out of the window to be time-stamped, then we’re on our way again.” She checked the stopwatch, then the speedometer. “We’re running a couple of minutes late, up the speed a little.”
    As many of the cars and owners were older, there was nothing taxing about the first morning’s drive. The rally was more like a huge Sunday outing where enthusiasts took their cars out. By the time they arrived at the end of the first stage, the sun was high in the sky, and she was more than ready for lunch. They got their time recorded on the card, parked the MG, and walked across the grass to the front door of the restaurant that was hosting their lunch.
    A large sign in the lobby proclaimed, “Welcome Meadowsweet ralliers! Lunch is served in the MacKenzie Room.” They followed the arrow pointing the way into a large dining room. A buffet lunch was set up on tables on the right, and