Read Online Ride the Fire by Jo Davis - Free Book Online Page B

tension inside the SUV rose to a palpable level. As aware as she was of him as a man, she could swear from the almost static current flowing between them that he was aware of her, too, as more than a teammate. Pheromones were a weird thing, so perhaps those were busy tripping her internal alarms. Or maybe it was the set of his shoulders, the tilt of his head. The way he didn’t do more than glance at her when he finally spoke again.
    “How’s your mother?”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Your mom. You said her sink was leaking?”
    “Oh, that. I fixed it.” She shook her head. “Would you believe I caught her under the sink, half inside the cabinet trying to do it herself?”
    “What’s wrong with that?”
    “You sound just like her. You two would get along great.”
    “Is that a bad thing?”
    “Not at all. I love Mama to pieces. She’s simply very stubborn.”
    “You’re saying I’m stubborn, too?” The slight smile gave away his teasing.
    “Yep, through and through. And anyway, she shouldn’t be crawling around on the floor with her arthritis.”
    “That’s right. I remember you mentioning her health. Is she elderly?”
    “No, she’s only fifty-three and she’s quite lovely. I’m a bit too protective of her, I guess.”
    “A person can never be too protective of their loved ones. Time is all too fleeting.”
    Which Sean knew better than most. Dammit, she’d stuck her foot right in it.
    “I apologize—”
    “Don’t, okay? I’d prefer you not guard your words around me,” he said firmly. “Keep it real, because that’s the only way I’ll get better.”
    She relaxed some. “The wise advice of the department shrink?”
    “And some good friends.” He shot her a genuine smile, which she returned. “Your mom must be a special lady, the way you talk about her. Like she’s a queen or something.”
    “She is a queen in my eyes. That woman raised me after my father took off, and did it all alone. She sacrificed everything for me in those awful early years, until things finally turned around.” Eve didn’t bother to keep the pride from her voice. “She’s been an executive secretary in downtown Nashville for the past fifteen years, and her boss already dreads the day she decides to retire. He’d be lost without her.”
    Just like I would.
    “I’d like to meet your mom sometime,” he said casually.
    Her heart gave a leap. “I’d like that, too.” What her mother would think of Sean remained to be seen. And heard.
    “Until now, I’ve never heard you mention your father. Is he still around?”
    She snorted. “According to the e-mails he sends me on Christmas and my birthday? Alive and kicking, with his perfect, lily-white family.”
    “I touched on a sore subject. I’m sorry,” he said, laying a hand over hers.
    She took a deep, calming breath. But it was his touch that settled her. Made her safe. “No, it’s fine. I made my peace years ago with him running off, cutting us out of his life. Or I start to think so and the bitterness comes back to bite me.”
    “Why did he take off? I don’t understand how anyone could do that to their family.”
    “Isn’t it obvious?”
    “Not to me.”
    “Come on, Sean, you’re not that naive.” She sighed at his puzzled look. “My father was white. Attitudes were different thirty years ago. He couldn’t hack the pressure of being the white country boy who’d married a young, pretty black girl. The nasty slurs and the threats. One day, he lit out like his ass was on fire and never looked back.”
    Sean was silent for a long moment, as though weighing his words carefully. “I believe if a man is fortunate enough to be blessed with someone to love, he should hold on to that and fight with everything he’s got. To hell with everyone else. If that makes me naive, then so be it.”
    Warmth filled her soul and emotion clogged her throat. “No, it doesn’t. Just rare.”
    “Not really. I can name a few guys we know who’ve done the