Read Online Third Time's a Charm by Virginia Smith - Free Book Online Page B

her head on the sloped rafters, and brushed off her slacks. “You guys do whatever you want with the stuff in that box. I don’t care one way or the other.”
    She didn’t wait for them to say anything else, but hurried down the pull-down stairs into the hallway below. On the way to the kitchen she peeked into the living room. The volume of the television set had been turned down low, the golf game going unwatched. Ken had left earlier to report for work at the hospital. Eric lay back in the recliner, sound asleep with Joanie snoozing on his shoulder. From the basement she heard the quiet drone of Mom’s voice and Gram’s answer.
    Brrring. Brrring.
    She hurried into the kitchen to grab the phone before it woke the baby.
    “Hello?”
    A moment of silence was broken by a throat being cleared. “Is this Tori?”
    A guy’s voice. Vaguely familiar. “Yes, it is. Who’s speaking?”
    “It’s Ryan Adams.”
    She turned and leaned against the counter. “Hi, Ryan.”
    “Hi. Uh, I missed you in church this morning.” A pause. “I mean, we missed you. The whole class.”
    Tori grinned. “Thanks. Trust me, I would have rather been there. My boss called an unscheduled meeting, so I had to go in to work for a couple of hours.”
    “Yeah, that’s what I heard.” Another pause. “Uh, listen. I was wondering. Since you’re in town, do you want to go somewhere? Like, maybe get a cup of coffee or something?”
    Tori glanced at the clock on the dining room wall. Almost four o’clock. “You mean today?”
    “Well, yeah. But it’s okay if you don’t want to. I know it’s short notice and all. I’m sure you’re busy with your family, but I thought maybe if you had a few minutes before you head back home.”
    A scraping noise came from overhead. Joan and Allie were moving boxes around upstairs. Maybe they were moving the box around. Tori’s insides tightened. Suddenly, returning to the attic held little appeal. Who wanted to go through a bunch of boxes of old stuff? No decisions were being made up there. None that she wanted to be a part of, anyway.
    She spoke into the phone. “You know, coffee sounds good.”
    “It does?” Surprise flooded Ryan’s tone.
    “Yes, but I do need to get back to Lexington before too long. When did you want to go?”
    “Well, whenever you want.”
    The eagerness in his voice brought an answering smile to her face. “What about now?”
    “Sure. I’ll come right over to pick you—”
    She cut him off. “Oh, don’t bother. If I’ve got my car I can just head on home from there. How about we meet at The Hub Coffee House in, say, twenty minutes?”
    “The Hub it is. See you then.”
    “By-eee.” She drew the word out into two syllables before she pressed the button to disconnect the call.
    As she returned the receiver to its cradle, a thought occurred to her. Ryan calling to ask her out wasn’t a coincidence. She’d probably just played into her sisters’ hands. She tilted her head to scowl at the ceiling. Well, she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of telling them where she was going. And anyway, Ryan’s call couldn’t be more perfectly timed. It would feel good to spend time with a handsome man who found her attractive, even though there was no way she could consider a serious relationship with him. Their worlds were too far apart. She went to work every day in a business environment, surrounded by professionals. He worked in a hardware store. Their lives and goals couldn’t be more different.
    But what harm was there in having a cup of coffee? None at all.
    Now where was her purse? She’d better freshen up her makeup before she left. After crawling around in that dirty old attic, she probably looked like a homeless person.

    Ryan disconnected the call and tossed his cell phone through the open car window into the passenger seat.
    “What’s The Hub, Uncle Ryan?”
    Cody squatted on the ground beside him, tearing up handfuls of grass to make a pile. His head cranked