Read Online Torn by Christina Brunkhorst - Free Book Online Page B

nodded, and he watched as she first raised it to about eye level then tilted it so that the lid faced out.
    “I’ll have to call you back. I’ve got a call waiting on the other line,” he said to his wife, then to the woman in his trailer, “Chels, it probably just needs to be held under hot water for a minute.”
    “’Chels’? Who’s that?” his wife asked.
    “Chelsea Morgan. I told you about her, remember? She replaced Vivian.”
    “Right,” Jennifer replied, her voice flat with disinterest.
    Chelsea slammed the heel of her right palm against the bottom of the jar and smirked as the lid twisted off easily in her grasp. She held it up to show him, and Tyler chuckled. She set it on the counter and rummaged around in the drawers until she found one that held flatware. Withdrawing a knife, she began spreading the condiment on the waiting bread slices.
    The phone beeped in his ear, reminding him that another call was still on hold, and Tyler sighed. “We’ll talk later, Jen.” He pressed a button, transferring the call back to Chelsea’s husband, and handed it to her.
    “Sorry, babe. That was Tyler’s wife. I’m on his cell.”
    Tyler resumed the task of making the meal. Chelsea meandered over to the tiny living room, still talking as she stared out the window. From the sound of her end of the conversation, she was visiting with her kids now. A melancholy gust of air escaped his lips. The very thought of children depressed him. Here he was, the oldest of four, and the only one in the family of six who hadn’t contributed to the Benson legacy. The single non-parent. And now, with the way things had been, and the way things were now going with him and Jennifer, it looked like he never would be. Of course, the fact that both of them frequently worked on opposite ends of the world and rarely saw one another didn’t help either. But damn it, he yearned for a family. He envied Chelsea and Jake theirs.
    A gentle nudge had him opening his hand and Chelsea placed the phone in his palm. He refused to acknowledge the tingle that went through his arm when her fingertips brushed against his.
    “What would you like to drink?” he asked, opening the fridge again and peering at its contents. “There’s juice, water, Coke, Mountain Dew…”
    “A Dew would hit the spot,” she said, picking up their plates and bringing them to the pullout table. “I need the caffeine.”
    He brought over two ice-cold cans of the sweet, carbonated beverage, and handed her an apron before sliding into one side of the booth. Chelsea tried to do the same, but found herself stuck as the petticoats under her dress hampered her progress. Grinning, Tyler swallowed a laugh. “You’ll probably have to take them off while you eat. Unless, of course, you prefer to eat standing up.”
    She bit her bottom lip, silently acknowledging he was right. “Do you mind if I use your room to change?”
    Tyler cocked an eyebrow and stared at her, mildly amused by her modesty considering the role she played. “Go ahead. It’s down the hall, on your left.”
    Chelsea hurried down the short corridor, and he couldn’t resist. “Don’t be shy on my account!”
    She looked back over her shoulder and stuck her out her tongue in response. The juvenile gesture made him laugh.
    “Keep dreaming!” she called out before disappearing into the bedroom.
    “That’s all it can be,” Tyler replied to the soft click of the closed door.
     
    ~ *~
     
    “So tell me,” Tyler said as he tucked a stray, dark lock of hair behind one of Chelsea’s ears. He’d wanted to do that since the morning began. “I never asked you. What brings a New Yorker to Montana?”
    Startled by the longing his gesture wrought, she took a swallow of soda and licked her lips before she answered. “It was a man.” She smiled at a memory only she could see. “Jake.”
    “Jake? He was in New York?” Somehow, he just couldn’t picture it. Actor or not, even his imagination couldn’t