Read Online Shiver by Cynthia Cooke - Free Book Online Page A

the road in silence, hiseyes on the road in front of them, hers focused on the car behind them. At last, the Honda turned off onto a side road and disappeared from view. Tension seeped out of her.
    “Your cat is going to love the ranch,” Riley said. “We have six horses, four dogs, at least three cats and a few ducks.”
    Devra looked at him, her eyes wide. Just where was he taking her?
    “My stepmother, LuAnn, trains horses and I’m afraid she has a soft spot for abandoned animals. She takes them in, heals them, loves them until they’re happy and healthy, then tries to find homes for them. More often than not, she gets so attached she can’t bear to part with them.”
    “She sounds like a very special woman.”
    “She has a huge heart beneath a tough exterior. Mac and I tried everything we could think of to make her life miserable after she married my dad. She never held it against us. Not even after the snake episode.”
    Devra’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m not sure I want to hear about the snake episode.”
    He smiled and as much as she didn’t want to, she found herself smiling back at him. Another one of his tactics, she was sure.
    A few minutes later, they turned right onto a gravel road and drove under a large cast-iron arch that spelled out the word MacIntyres. A huge antebellum home sat back from the road amidst a cluster of guardian live oaks that had to be at least two hundred years old.
    Devra stared at the house, awestruck by the towering columns and wraparound verandah. “I thought you said you lived on a ranch?”
    “I do. This is it.”
    “Looks more like Tara to me,” she muttered. “You actually live here?”
    “Yep. Grew up here, as did my daddy and his daddy before him.”
    “Incredible. I’m afraid Felix and I will probably get lost.”
    “Don’t worry. You’ll be staying with me. I have a much smaller place in back.”
    Devra wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t a Southern mansion and it certainly wasn’t staying in “something smaller out back” with just him. They continued around a barn-shaped five-car garage to a small farmhouse hidden behind a cluster of trees. She couldn’t take her eyes off the old-fashioned front porch offering two inviting granny rockers.
    He parked in front of a massive live oak shading the walk. “This is it.”
    “It’s beautiful,” she said, taken in by the peaceful setting.
    “Wait ’til you see the river behind the house. Do you like to fish?”
    Devra turned to him. “I don’t know. I’ve never been.”
    His mouth twisted into a smirk. “That is a sin against nature. What have you been doin’ all your life?”
    “Not much.” She was embarrassed to admit it. That’s what happened when you lived in fear of people finding out who you were, what you’d done and where you’d been.
    “You had better change that. Life’s too short to let it pass you by without enjoying all she has to offer, and fishing is most definitely near the top of life’s most enjoyable experiences.”
    He was actually smiling at her. “Near?” she asked distracted by the humor brightening his face. It was having a strange effect on her, lifting her spirits and the corners of her mouth. She wasn’t at all sure she liked it.
    “Oh, yeah. You don’t need me to tell you what’s at the top, do you?” His suggestive gaze swept her body, lighting a flame deep in her belly.
    Heat suffused her cheeks. She just kept stepping in it, didn’t she?
    He chuckled and leaped out of the truck. “Come on, let’s settle the cat so we can get some supper.”
    “Sounds good to me,” she said, realizing how hungry she was. And maybe if her mouth was full of food, she’d stop sticking her foot in it.
     
    RILEY TOOK HIS TIME settling his guest in his house. He wasn’t ready to face his family, to see the disappointment and questions lingering in their eyes. He led Miss Morgan through the grounds, pointing out the names of the lush vegetation as they