Read Online Tonight and Forever by Brenda Jackson - Free Book Online

sanity.
     
    “So…” Mama Nora poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table to join Lorren. “Have you finished unpacking?”
    Lorren nodded. “Yes, except for the boxes that arrived this morning. I really appreciate your letting me use the lake house while I finish working on my book. The seclusion helps me concentrate.”
    “Mmmm.” Mama Nora sipped the coffee she had poured into the cup. “And just how long will it take you to finish this book?”
    “No more than two to three months at the most. Then I’ll begin looking for a place to live somewhere in town before beginning a new book.”
    Mama Nora nodded. “I’m still not crazy about you being out there alone. But I feel a lot better, though, knowing Justin isn’t far away.”
    Lorren leaned back in her chair. “You really like him, don’t you?”
    “Who? Justin? Sure I do. I’ve known the Madaris family for a long time. They’re good people. Roman and Justin’s daddy were roommates in college.” Mama Nora took another sip of coffee before she continued. “Justin turned out to be a fine young man, even with all the pain he’s suffered. He’s worked hard over the years to mend that hole in his heart.”
    “Did you know his wife?”
    “No, but I understand she was a sweet little thing, and that he simply adored her. It was sad how she died and so young.” She shook her head. “I can remember his mama telling me how hard Justin had taken her death. For a while his family thought he’d never recover, that he had hardened his heart and would be a loner forever. But he pulled himself together and came around.” Mama Nora swept a strand of gray hair over her left ear. “Yep, there’s no doubt in my mind that one day he’ll remarry.”
    Lorren refrained from making eye contact with Mama Nora. Instead, she fingered the pattern of the tablecloth. “Yes, he’s said as much,” she replied softly. “He certainly has an optimistic view on life. He claims he’s waiting for fate to bring this special woman to him.”
    Mama Nora took another sip of coffee. “So I’ve heard. I hope it happens soon, and he gets just the kind of woman he needs. A good man like him shouldn’t go to waste.”
    Lorren’s head shot up. “Surely you don’t believe in this fate stuff?”
    “Me? Naw. But evidently Justin does, or at least he’s convinced himself he does. People who have encountered pain in life will use just about anything as a safety net.” She stared at Lorren. “You and Justin are alike in a way. Both of you are people made for love.”
    “Love? Me? Not hardly. I prefer just living, and to me living and loving don’t necessarily go hand in hand. This business of love and marriage may be a turn-on for Justin, but they’re a definite turnoff for me. I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over what Scott put me through…supposedly in the name of love.”
    Mama Nora touched Lorren’s hand. “Believe this, child, all our hearts have been wounded in some kind of way. A person has to be able to dust herself off after a fall and move on. Somehow you got to get on with your life and not look back.”
    The words penetrated Lorren’s mind. That was the whole idea of her moving back to Ennis—to get on with her life. And a man like Justin Madaris was too dangerous to the life she wanted. Whenever she was around him, she found herself thrown into one episode of blank-minded tizzies after another. He had the ability to stop her from thinking straight. She was determined more than ever to get him out of her life.
     
    “Mmmm. Something smells delicious,” Justin said, entering the house carrying a bottle of wine in one hand and a gym bag in the other.
    Lorren’s pulse quickened and her stomach fluttered nervously as she gazed up at him. Could she pull off what she’d planned? If so, before the evening was over she would scare the pants off him. Well…she really didn’t want to go that far. The thought of Justin without pants was too much to