Read Online Skinbound by Anna Kittrell - Free Book Online

… Ms. Vaughan’s in loooove !”
    ****
    That evening, Darcy stepped off the porch and jogged to Cabin’s pickup.
    “You’re supposed to give me the chance to be a gentleman,” he protested. “I didn’t even have time to unbuckle my seatbelt.” He pointed to the lever resting against his deliciously snug blue jeans as Lucy greeted Darcy with nuzzles and licks, her big paws thrown over the seat.
    “Maybe I was in a hurry to see you. So, where do your parents live?” She scratched Lucy’s ear as he took the first curve.
    “An old refurbished farm home out in the country, south of Verden. It’s the house where I was raised.”
    Excitement surged through her at the thought of seeing Cabin’s childhood home. As he drove, she watched the sun set through her window and asked him questions about his childhood, listening, almost jealously, to the woes of being an only child. To her it sounded like heaven.
    “Well, here we are,” he said as they rolled to a stop in front of a ranch-style home sporting a wrap-around veranda. Beside the front door, a wooden porch-swing swayed lazily in the breeze.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She eyed the property, amazed, taking in the perfect rows of colorful flowers, the neatly trimmed hedges and, to her disbelief, the white picket fence surrounding it all. “It’s exactly as I pictured the home of a country doctor, a southern ‘lady of leisure,’ and their darling only child,” she teased.
    A hint of embarrassment flashed in his eyes.
    “Oh, Cabin, I’m sorry... I was only joking.”
    “No, it’s okay. It’s been a lifelong struggle. I don’t like being thought of as privileged. I worry people will think I believe it myself.”
    “I would never think that about you. It was a stupid joke, I’m so sorry.” She lowered her head. What an insensitive thing to say.
    He raised her chin with his finger. “It’s all right.”
    Cabin opened his door. Lucy jumped from the cab, then loped through the lush yard, chasing birds to the neighboring pasture. “She loves it out here,” he said, stepping from the truck. After shutting his door, he circled around and opened Darcy’s. He pointed to the foliage, naming various trees and flowers as they strolled up the walkway.
    Cabin’s father met them on the front porch. “Well, hello, stranger.” He squeezed Cabin’s shoulder.
    “Hey, Dad.” Cabin embraced his father and they slapped each other’s backs. “I’d like you to meet Darcy.”
    “Ma’am,” he said to Darcy, tipping his cowboy hat.
    “Nice to meet you, Dr. Creighton,” she said, extending her hand.
    “Please, call me Lorne.” He gave her hand a firm shake, then led her into the house.
    Walking her through the spacious entryway, he stopped to hang his hat on the wall. Then, taking her elbow, he strolled with her into a large living area decorated in shades of sand.
    With Cabin close behind, they entered the dining room, stepped around a table and chairs large enough to seat twelve people, then arrived in the stainless steel-clad kitchen where Mrs. Creighton stood, fussing over a tray of coffee and fritters.
    “Rebecca, this is Darcy, Cabin’s lady friend.”
    Her head snapped up, her gaze crawling over Darcy while Lorne made the introduction.
    “Darcy who?” she asked through pursed lips.
    “Vaughan, Mother. Darcy Vaughan. Remember, on Sunday I told you about our barbeque at the lake, and how taken Lucy was with her?” Cabin crossed the room to kiss his mother’s cheek. She returned his kiss, her fingers still fidgeting over the fritters.
    “Who are your parents, dear?” she asked, rinsing her hands.
    “My mother’s name is Adrian Vaughan, and my father is George Vaughan.”
    Rebecca turned from the sink, frowning.
    “Vaughan, you say?” Lorne asked, perking a gray eyebrow. “I remember your folks. I got to know them pretty well, actually.”
    “Nope, doesn’t sound familiar.” Rebecca loaded cups onto the tray next to the coffee