Read Online Secret Valentine by Marissa Dobson - Free Book Online Page B

arrived, Gran was just leaving for Bingo. “Bye girls, have a nice time. Dinner’s in the oven.”
    Kasey laid her coat on the back of the couch and we hollered. “Bye, have a good time!” As the door shut, I let out an impatient sigh and asked. “Have you any ideas yet?”
    Kasey wasn’t her normal bubbly self. “No, I was up all night thinking. I came up with a small list but no one I think would do this.”
    “I know,” I added. “I was up half the night doing the same thing. It wasn’t until this morning that I thought to get out our old yearbooks and see if that jogged my memory. Come on, they’re in the kitchen.”
    “Want to hear my best and worst guesses?”
    Grabbing two sodas out of the fridge, I looked at Kasey, “Sure. Hopefully they aren’t the same as mine. I wasn’t too keen on my list.”
    She leaned against the counter and released a short chuckle. “Best guess would be James McDan and worst would be Curtis Adams.”
    “You can’t be serious. You think that cowardly Curtis would do something like this? When I left he couldn’t even make eye contact.”
    She laughed. “Okay, maybe you’re right. He’s still as backward as ever, but he made the list because he’s single.”
    I chuckled and rolled my eyes. “Wouldn’t have guessed he was still single.” I said in a sarcastic tone. We burst out laughing. This was the most fun I’d had since arriving back in town.
    Over dinner we narrowed down the list to our top two suspects. James, who was a doctor at Cedar Grove’s Hospital, and Drew Spencer a firefighter with an amazing body.
    “Now what? How do we figure out who it is?”
    Before we could make a plan the doorbell rang. “You start thinking and I’ll get that.”
    I opened the door to find another delivery man holding a large vase of lilies.
    “These are for Ms. Ashlyn Brooks,” he said and shoved them into my hands.
    As I looked at the flowers trying to find a card, I thought, How rude! Shoving the flowers like that. He didn’t seem to like people, so why would he get a job where he had to deal with people all the time? I was then reminded of my sour mood a few days before.
    Before I could give it much thought, Kasey called from the kitchen. “Who is it?”
    I carried the vase to the kitchen. “A delivery man with flowers for me.”
    She stopped making notes and looked up, her eyebrows arched. “Uh oh. Who are they from?”
    I set the flowers on the kitchen counter and spied the card sticking out of the top.
     
    In school we were both outgoing.
    Yet I was shy and couldn’t tell you how I felt.
    Now, I’m putting it all on the line to show you how I feel.
     
    I handed it to Kasey. “I guess that puts out James. He was always quiet and friendly, but I wouldn’t say outgoing.”
    “True, but do you really think it’s Drew?”
    I sat down with a huff. “This is crazy. First thing tomorrow morning I am going to call the flower shop and demand they tell me.”
    “Come on Ashlyn, if you do that you’ll spoil the surprise.”
    “Kasey, I don’t know about this. I just got out of a messy divorce. Maybe this isn’t the best time to have a secret valentine. Romance and I just don’t work out. I came back home to escape, not to find love.”
    “Ash, I know. But you can’t hide yourself away and become an old maid. You’re young. Be courageous and live for the moment. Who knows, maybe mystery man is your knight-in-shining armor. Give it a chance and let it play out. That’s all I’m asking.”
    * * *
    The next day when I arrived home from shopping, Gran was sitting in the living room watching one of her soap operas. “Child, there’s a package for you on your bed.”
    Something else?
    “Thanks Gran,” I hollered and headed up stairs, my arms full of shopping bags. I figured, since I was making a life change, why not get a whole new wardrobe? My purchases, however, weren’t the first thing on my mind at that moment.
    I dropped the bags near my closet and looked