Read Online Redemption Road (Jackson Falls #5) by Laurie Breton - Free Book Online

six strings. He was singing some
vaguely familiar song from her childhood, and she just stood there, mesmerized,
because she’d had no idea the man could sing like this. Danny Fiore had always been
the front man, the singer, the star, and he’d been brilliant. Who knew that Rob
MacKenzie had this sweet, slightly husky tenor that could more than hold its
own?
    The sad truth was that she knew very little about Rob. She knew he
was Casey’s songwriting partner, and that he’d spent years playing second
banana to Danny Fiore. That was pretty much the sum of her knowledge about her
sister’s second husband. As he segued into the guitar solo, making those
strings resonate so sweetly she almost wept, she wondered why he’d done it. Why
he’d remained Danny’s silent partner, a shadowy figure in the background, when
he was so visibly talented. Had Danny simply steamrolled over him, or was there
more to the story? She’d seen the way he and her sister looked at each other. Had
that been part of the reason? Had he made that sacrifice, remained in Danny’s
shadow for years, because he was in love with her sister?
    The idea intrigued her. Colleen had dearly loved Irv, and he’d
loved her. They’d had a good marriage. But they’d never come close to having
the kind of relationship her sister had with Rob MacKenzie. There was something
between the two of them, some connection that was palpable. When she’d heard
that her sister had married her late husband’s best friend, she’d assumed they
had simply been longtime friends who grew close after Danny died. But there was
much more to it than that. Watching them, seeing the way they were together, it
was impossible to miss seeing the truth: these two people had loved each other
for a very long time.
    She tried to imagine her sister cheating on her husband. Sleeping
with his best friend behind his back. But it was impossible. Casey wasn’t that
kind of woman. If she knew nothing else about her sister, she knew that. Casey
hadn’t been carrying on with Rob while Danny was alive.
    But there’d been something between them just the same. Something
stronger, deeper, and more far-reaching than simple friendship.
    He finished the song, looked up, and saw her standing in the
doorway. “Hey,” he said.
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. But the music sounded so nice,
I just couldn’t walk away.”
    “Not a problem. Whether it’s an audience of fifty thousand people,
or just one, it doesn’t faze me. There’s not a shy bone in my body.”
    Her attention was snagged by the huge framed poster on the wall
behind him, of the three of them, Casey, Danny, and Rob, set against a plain
white background, shot from above as they gazed up into the camera. Even in two
dimensions, the bond between the three of them was clear. They all looked so
very young. “Good God,” she said. “You were just babies.”
    He craned his neck and eyed the poster. “In our twenties. Now that
I’m almost forty, with a sixteen-year-old daughter of my own, it feels like a
million years ago. How is that even possible?”
    “Tell me about it. Can I have a minute of your time?”
    “Come on in. Sit.” He swung those long legs off the desktop and
carefully set down the guitar. “You want to talk to me about the job.”
    A wave of relief flowed through her. He’d brought it up first,
making her feel a little less like a beggar. And she’d bet dollars to doughnuts
that her brother-in-law knew that, and had deliberately introduced the topic at
the onset, to oil the wheels of this conversation and make it less painful for
her. For that, she was willing to give him a few Brownie points.
    “Casey told me you just need somebody temporarily, until Ali’s
maternity leave is up.”
    “Three months, give or take. That should work out well for all of
us.” He studied her through soft green eyes. “I don’t really have you pegged as
a long-timer. You’ll be gone by spring.”
    Why did his words make her