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

I’m sure you know how stubborn she can be. This is
why I don’t want her upset, angry, agitated, you name it. I don’t want to see
anything that’ll send her blood pressure spiking. Capisce ?”
    She let out a hard breath. Nodded, and said, “ Capisce .”
    He stood then, reached across the desk, and shook her hand. And
said, “Welcome to Two Dreamers Records.”

Harley
     
    Above his head, soft flakes of snow drifted, feather-light, from
the sky. Damned if the Widow hadn’t gotten it right. Was it some sixth sense? 
Or was she like his Granddaddy Atkins, who always swore his right knee told him
whenever it was about to rain?
    He tapped his shoes against the edge of the steps to shake the
snow off. Behind him, Annabel did the same. Together they crossed the porch to
the front door. Harley rang the bell and waited, shifting from foot to foot
like some high school kid on a first date. Beside him, Annabel crouched down to
ruffle Ginger’s fur. He’d intended to leave the dog home, but Annabel wouldn’t
hear of it, had insisted on bringing the damned critter with them. He hoped
Casey wouldn’t mind. She was a dog lover, after all. And Ginger could play with
Paige’s little mutt, Leroy.
    The door swung open, and he found himself face to face with the
ice princess. She glanced past his shoulder at the snow that was falling
steadily, and he could have sworn he saw a smirk of satisfaction cross her face.
“Come in,” she said coolly. “Looks like I’m the welcoming committee.”
    He fumbled with the bottle of Merlot he’d brought, finally managed
to transfer it into her hands without smashing it on the hardwood floor. “I
thought I should bring something.”
    She took the bottle from him, held it gingerly, frowned as she
studied the label. Then said, “This should go to Casey, in the kitchen. I can—”
    “I’ll take it to her,” Annabel said. “Then I’m going upstairs to
find Paige.”
    “Shoes off!” he said. Annabel kicked off her shoes, and dog and
girl trotted contentedly in the direction of the kitchen. He and the Widow
stood in the entryway for a minute, staring at each other, before she seemed to
realize she was still holding the door wide open. She closed it quietly, then leaned
against it, crossed her arms, and said, “You clean up pretty good, Atkins.”
    He wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly. “Pardon me?”
    “I said you clean up pretty good. The dog, the mud…”
    Ah. “The misunderstanding…”
    She turned the color of a ripe peach, and for a flicker of an
instant, he was sorry he’d embarrassed her. “That was quite a surprise,” he
said, “walking into my kitchen and finding you standing at the sink, performing
a household chore I find highly distasteful.”  He studied her face, those blue
eyes that gazed at him impassively. “Maybe I should hire you to do that on a
regular basis.”
    Dryly, she said, “You’re about four hours too late.”
    “Oh?  How’s that?”
    “My brother-in-law just hired me to fill in for Ali until she
comes back from maternity leave.”
    “Well, then. Congratulations on the new job. If, indeed,
congratulations are in order.”
    “I haven’t decided yet. Check back with me in a couple of weeks. I
should have a better idea by then whether or not I’ve made a colossal mistake.”
    “It’s a damn shame. While I’m sure you’ll be a crackerjack
assistant, you would’ve been outstanding as household help.”
    “Why do I not find that amusing?”
    In spite of himself, he grinned, unable to avoid the picture that popped
into his head of her wearing one of those skimpy little French maid uniforms. He
needed to be careful. If he said what he was thinking, he’d be skirting
dangerously close to the edges of sexual harassment. And he didn’t doubt for an
instant that this one would take full advantage of that kind of lapse. He’d
seen her type before, in court, back in the days before he became a corporate
talking head. A woman like