Read Online Till I Kissed You by Laura Trentham - Free Book Online

it. Ms. Martha’s obviously passionate about her business. It’s her life’s work. Who knows how far she’d go to protect it.”
    â€œI’ve wracked my brain to think of why she would keep a gas can in her storage area.”
    â€œWhat was in it?” He tapped a finger on the table.
    â€œI’m assuming gas?”
    â€œBut was it regular unleaded or kerosene?”
    â€œI’m not sure I could tell the difference. Anyway, right after I noticed the can, she invited me into the shop for a tea, and I had no excuse to go back into the storage area.”
    â€œIt could be for her car, but she drives a reliable sedan even if it has some years on it. The city takes care of the landscaping, right?”
    â€œRight. So no need for a weed eater or lawn mower.”
    â€œA generator? Or a space heater for winter?”
    She bit her bottom lip and wrapped both hands around her sweating can. “I didn’t see a generator, but her storage area was pretty packed. A space heater would make sense.” Now that Sawyer was shooting holes in her theory, her embarrassment factor was rising.
    â€œDo you think she saw you?”
    She shrugged. “I have no clue. I wasn’t snooping for dirt on her. I’m being silly and paranoid, aren’t I?”
    He sighed and rubbed his cheek. Was the hair coarse or soft to the touch? She tightened her hold on the can and took a swig.
    â€œDon’t get mad at Monroe, but she mentioned the weird letter you got.”
    She tore her gaze away from his beard. Monroe was going to get an earful. “I told her that in confidence. Just to get her opinion.”
    â€œAnd what was her opinion?”
    â€œShe thought I should turn it over to Chief Thomason.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you?”
    â€œBecause the letter didn’t make specific threats. It was childish even. While an anonymous letter is unusual, I get hang-ups and irate phone calls on occasion. I get that I can be aggressive and my plans have peeved some people off, but I’m going to keep Cottonbloom alive, Sawyer Fournette. Watch me.” She jabbed a finger in his direction.
    Instead of firing back, a slow smile spread across his face. “I always loved to hear you talk like that, Regan. I thought you’d change the world.” His smile crumpled into a more complicated expression, and an unspoken question seemed to fall from his lips. What happened?
    Her high school dreams had included world travel followed by world domination. She’d planned to graduate with her political science degree, become a Rhodes scholar, spend a year studying abroad, and go to Washington. None of that had happened. She’d ended up with a degree in interior design and back home in a town that most people couldn’t locate on a map.
    â€œMaybe I won’t change the world, but I can make things better here, can’t I?” Emotion roughed out the stridency in her voice.
    â€œYou sure can.” Was that pity in his eyes? “Do you still have the letter?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œCan I see it?”
    â€œI suppose. Although, I don’t know what good it’s going to do.”
    â€œHumor me. Is it at the shop or at your house?”
    â€œShop. It was delivered to my house mailbox, although it wasn’t in an envelope.”
    â€œThis person knows where you live?”
    â€œMost people know anyway, but a thirty-second internet search is all you need.”
    He muttered a curse that would have her cotillion teacher clutching her pearls. “Do you have a security system?”
    â€œAs a matter of fact I do.” While technically true, she hadn’t actually contracted a firm to monitor it, so it was useless, except for the sign informing any would-be intruders that one existed. She hesitated, knowing another can of worms was about to be spilled. “I got another letter.”
    He straightened. “When?”
    â€œThis week.