Read Online The Rebel by J.R. Ward - Free Book Online

it if he’d gotten married. The wedding of someone like him would make it into the papers.
    â€œHe asked about you, by the way.”
    Joy froze. “Really?”
    Frankie nodded and then started saying something about the plumber.
    As Joy looked out of the window, the sounds of her sister and her grandmother talking at the same time filled the inside of the car. Trapping her.
    But when she began to think about Gray, she started to smile.

CHAPTER FIVE
    F RANKIE WIPED HER ARM across her forehead, bent forward at a steeper angle and pushed the mower harder. The blades whirled and grass was kicked up in a green flurry until it covered her running shoes. If she went fast enough, she could probably finish the side-and lake-facing portions of the three-acre lawn by the afternoon.
    â€œFrankie!”
    She lifted her head and saw Joy in a window.
    â€œPhone! It’s Mike Roy.”
    Frankie stopped pushing as her mind jumped to conclusions. Why was her banker calling her in the middle of a holiday weekend?
    â€œFrankie?”
    â€œComing.”
    Leaving the mower where it was, she was heading for the back door when Stu pulled up with his truck full of vegetables.
    â€œI’ll be with you in a minute,” she called out.
    He nodded, lit up a cigarette and seemed perfectly happy to wait.
    As she steamed through the kitchen, Nate looked up from the stove. “The vegetables here?”
    She nodded. “I’ll be out in a—”
    â€œGreat,” he said, heading for the door.
    Frankie paused, wanting to reel him back in. As a homeowner indebted up to her eyeballs, however, her banker took precedence.
    In her office, she straightened her clothes before picking up the receiver, telling herself Mike Roy wouldn’t be able to hear the fact that she was sweaty and disheveled. She grabbed the phone and imagined him telling her he was foreclosing on the mortgage. And selling White Caps to a real estate developer who was going to run two hundred condos with hot tubs up the mountain.
    â€œHi, Mike,” she said. “What’s up?”
    Have you turned into a shark after five years of being a lamb?
    â€œI was wondering if I can bring someone by to visit White Caps. He’s in town over the weekend and I’m showing him around. I can’t very well leave out the place where Lincoln slept.”
    She let out her breath with relief. “Of course, bring him over anytime. We have a guest in Abe’s room but I’ll ask whether he’d mind if you put your head in.”
    â€œGreat.”
    There was a pause. Her stomach clenched. “Listen, Mike, about the mortgage payments. I’d like to come in and show you my plan for covering what I owe.”
    â€œThat’d be great. We’ll meet next week in my office. But I’ll see you in an hour or so, Frankie.”
    As she hung up the phone, she played the conversation over and over again, searching for clues in the man’s intonation and diction. But it was like reading tea leaves, she supposed. Useless and agitating.
    Across the room, she saw the simple black picture frame that held the photo of her family. It was still lying facedown after Nate had picked it off the shelf. She went over and righted it, her thumb brushing over the image of her father.
    Joy put her head through the door. “Frankie? Stu needs a check.”
    She blinked.
    â€œAre you okay?” Joy started across the office but Frankie went back to her desk.
    â€œYes, fine. Tell Stu I’ll help him unload.”
    â€œOh, that’s done.” Frankie frowned while Joy nodded over her shoulder. “Nate took care of it.”
    Frankie grabbed the checkbook and one of the inventory receipt forms she’d created and went into the kitchen.
    Stu and Nate were leaning back against the kitchen counter, both with their arms crossed in front of their chests. Their heads were facing out into the room, which made sense because Stu generally