Read Online Riding the Line by Kate Pearce - Free Book Online Page B

other sons. Someone has to try to keep the peace.’
    She touched his cheek and he jerked his head away. ‘Dakota, you can’t be everything to everybody. I’ve tried and it just exhausts you.’
    Anger burnt in his gut and he forced a smile. ‘You’ve tried? Christ, Robyn, you’re probably the most selfish person I’ve ever met.’
    Her stricken expression made him want to punch himself or persuade her to do it for him.
    ‘I didn’t mean that,’ he said.
    She pushed the wet hair away from her face and moved past him to step out of the shower. He waited as she wrapped a towel around herself.
    ‘It’s OK, you’re probably right. I am selfish, but it’s about time. I spent years trying to keep everyone happy and paid the price.’ Her smile was forced. ‘Perhaps I’ve gone a bit too far the other way, but at least I’m putting myself first for a change.’
    She walked into the bedroom and shut the door quietly behind her. Dakota let out a string of curses and smashed his fist against the tiled wall. Would he ever learn to keep his big mouth shut? And what the hell was he doing acting like her moral superior? He had no idea what she’d been through, no idea what had brought those stark shadows to her eyes.
    The thing was, she’d bugged him with her remarks about him trying too hard to keep everyone happy. What else was he supposed to do if he wanted his family to thrive and succeed? He turned off the shower and got out, found a discarded towel to rub himself dry.
    OK, so sometimes he did feel as if he used up all his energy making stuffhappen for other people, but what was wrong with that? His dreams could wait a while. There was no rush or need to be selfish. There were way too many overachievers in his family already.
    He draped the towel over the bath and headed back into the bedroom. Robyn sat on the bed watching the TV, her arms wrapped around her knees, long dark hair now confined in her usual severe braid. She’d put on a new black T-shirt and a pair of shorts that displayed the length of her legs.
    Dakota rummaged in his bag for another T-shirt, clean boxers and then slipped on his jeans. He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be OK, but she’d probably accuse him of trying to make her happy or something. There was no way in hell he was going to apologize again for being who he was.
    ‘Would you like something to eat?’
    She turned her head toward him, her expression polite and neutral. ‘I thought there was nowhere to eat in the evenings here.’
    He picked up one of the bags. ‘There isn’t, but while you were shopping, I picked up some ready-cooked stuffand salad. We can reheat it in the microwave.’
    ‘There’s a microwave?’
    ‘Yeah, in the main office. It’ll only take me a minute to run over there and back.’
    Robyn sighed and uncurled her legs. God, he looked so cute standing there, offering to make her dinner, especially after the way she’d chewed him out. But she wasn’t going to apologize; he was too good to be true.
    ‘What is there?’
    ‘Nothing fancy. Noodles and sauce, Mac and cheese, meatloaf . . .’
    ‘That would be great.’
    He smiled at her properly for the first time since their shower. ‘Which one?’
    ‘Any of them, all of them.’
    ‘OK, I’ll be right back. How about you deal with the salad?’
    ‘I can manage that.’
    He gathered up the bag and left, leaving Robyn staring at the remaining bags. Inside she found a mixed salad with dressing, a carton of orange juice and four tubs of chocolate pudding. Of course there was nothing to put the food on or to eat it with, but she was sure they could manage.
    In Dakota’s absence she decided to sort out the rest of her new clothes and put them into the backpack she’d bought, ready for the morning. She worked her way through the bags, cutting off tags, trying stuffon to check the fit and generally enjoying her cheap purchases. Amazing how much she’d been able to buy with the