Read Online Return to Mystic Lake by Carla Cassidy - Free Book Online
Authors: Carla Cassidy
Tags: ROMANCE - - SUSPENSE
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her fingers around the steering wheel, mentally beating herself up for being so careless.
“Don’t worry your pretty head,” he replied easily. “I didn’t think about it, either. But we have now been warned, and we have to proceed from here with caution. We’re poking somebody and they don’t like it.”
Proceed with caution. The words whirled around in her head. Somehow she felt as if she was already abandoning that idea by inviting him into her home.
Chapter Five
She’d told him her home was small, but when she pulled into the driveway of the cracker box–sized place, Jackson was a bit shocked.
He was by no means a snob, but the size of the house reminded him of his earlier thought that she was making sacrifices to keep her mother happy. The entire house would fit into the living room of his apartment.
As they walked through the front door and she flipped on a light in the living room, the aura of sacrifice continued. The room was furnished with a cheap futon, two end tables and a bookcase that looked as if it had been thrown out on somebody’s lawn for trash pickup. A small television sat on the top shelf, and he would bet his next month’s salary that she didn’t even have basic cable.
“It isn’t much, but it’s home,” she said, as if seeing the room through his eyes.
“It’s just fine,” he assured her. “If you could just show me to my bedroom I’ll stow my things away and then we’ll talk and see what our next move should be.”
“Follow me,” she said. She led him down a hallway that was little more than a few steps and stopped at the first doorway. “This is the guest room, and the bathroom is across the hall.”
Jackson stepped into the room, which was just big enough to hold a double bed, a single nightstand and a chest of drawers. The room was painted a light shade of blue and the spread was a geometric design of light and dark blue. Nothing fancy, just functional. He would have expected nothing more from her.
“This is perfect,” he said as he tossed his duffel bag on the bed. “Do you have a computer and internet connection here?”
“I do. I have an area in the kitchen where I keep my laptop. You’re welcome to use it until you get something to replace your own.”
“I’m not doing anything tonight, although I think maybe a cup of coffee might be in order. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got adrenaline firing through me, and there’s no way I can go to sleep right now.”
“Why don’t you get settled in and I’ll go make half a pot of coffee,” she replied. She got halfway out of the doorway and then turned back to look at him, her eyes simmering with emotion. “Jackson, thank you again for saving my life tonight. When those bullets slammed through the window I couldn’t even process what had happened. If you hadn’t grabbed me...” Her voice trailed off.
He smiled at her. “Darlin’, it was my pleasure.”
Her cheeks dusted with color and she quickly disappeared from his sight. He turned to his duffel bag and unzipped it to begin to unpack.
As he stowed underwear, jeans and T-shirts into the drawers, his mind whirled. Somebody had tried to kill them. Faces of the people they’d interacted with since his arrival in town flew through his head. Had they already made contact with the person or persons responsible for Cole and Amberly’s disappearance, or had small-town gossip let the perp know they were in town and asking questions?
He’d flung Marjorie down and covered her to save her life, and yet as the bullets had flown all around them he’d been far too conscious of the press of her full breasts against his chest, of the sweet scent of her that made him want to press his lips into the hollow of her throat.
He hung the clothes he’d managed to get from the motel closet in the much smaller closet in the bedroom. He then grabbed the small leather bag that contained his toiletries and carried it into the bathroom.
Staring at his reflection
“Don’t worry your pretty head,” he replied easily. “I didn’t think about it, either. But we have now been warned, and we have to proceed from here with caution. We’re poking somebody and they don’t like it.”
Proceed with caution. The words whirled around in her head. Somehow she felt as if she was already abandoning that idea by inviting him into her home.
Chapter Five
She’d told him her home was small, but when she pulled into the driveway of the cracker box–sized place, Jackson was a bit shocked.
He was by no means a snob, but the size of the house reminded him of his earlier thought that she was making sacrifices to keep her mother happy. The entire house would fit into the living room of his apartment.
As they walked through the front door and she flipped on a light in the living room, the aura of sacrifice continued. The room was furnished with a cheap futon, two end tables and a bookcase that looked as if it had been thrown out on somebody’s lawn for trash pickup. A small television sat on the top shelf, and he would bet his next month’s salary that she didn’t even have basic cable.
“It isn’t much, but it’s home,” she said, as if seeing the room through his eyes.
“It’s just fine,” he assured her. “If you could just show me to my bedroom I’ll stow my things away and then we’ll talk and see what our next move should be.”
“Follow me,” she said. She led him down a hallway that was little more than a few steps and stopped at the first doorway. “This is the guest room, and the bathroom is across the hall.”
Jackson stepped into the room, which was just big enough to hold a double bed, a single nightstand and a chest of drawers. The room was painted a light shade of blue and the spread was a geometric design of light and dark blue. Nothing fancy, just functional. He would have expected nothing more from her.
“This is perfect,” he said as he tossed his duffel bag on the bed. “Do you have a computer and internet connection here?”
“I do. I have an area in the kitchen where I keep my laptop. You’re welcome to use it until you get something to replace your own.”
“I’m not doing anything tonight, although I think maybe a cup of coffee might be in order. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got adrenaline firing through me, and there’s no way I can go to sleep right now.”
“Why don’t you get settled in and I’ll go make half a pot of coffee,” she replied. She got halfway out of the doorway and then turned back to look at him, her eyes simmering with emotion. “Jackson, thank you again for saving my life tonight. When those bullets slammed through the window I couldn’t even process what had happened. If you hadn’t grabbed me...” Her voice trailed off.
He smiled at her. “Darlin’, it was my pleasure.”
Her cheeks dusted with color and she quickly disappeared from his sight. He turned to his duffel bag and unzipped it to begin to unpack.
As he stowed underwear, jeans and T-shirts into the drawers, his mind whirled. Somebody had tried to kill them. Faces of the people they’d interacted with since his arrival in town flew through his head. Had they already made contact with the person or persons responsible for Cole and Amberly’s disappearance, or had small-town gossip let the perp know they were in town and asking questions?
He’d flung Marjorie down and covered her to save her life, and yet as the bullets had flown all around them he’d been far too conscious of the press of her full breasts against his chest, of the sweet scent of her that made him want to press his lips into the hollow of her throat.
He hung the clothes he’d managed to get from the motel closet in the much smaller closet in the bedroom. He then grabbed the small leather bag that contained his toiletries and carried it into the bathroom.
Staring at his reflection
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