Read Online Undercover Love (The Women of Manatee Bay, Book 2) by Jessica Nelson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jessica Nelson
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in high school. Every boy he’d known did. And she’d eaten it up. Not anymore, though. Rachel was all business now. Sometimes he wondered if it was a shield she wore to cover her feelings.
His lips twisted as he opened the truck door and climbed in. Hadn’t some guy dumped her a few years ago? He vaguely remembered Rachel coming home with a city boy on her arm. A slick-faced preacher kid.
He gunned his engine and drove off, refusing the impulse to check his rearview mirror, just to see if Rachel still stood on her mother’s lawn. He pressed down the need to see her again. There was no reason he could think of, only a gut-wrenching desire to see her smile. Something about her smile cut him to the bone, made him remember longings he’d put away while still a boy.
And that was the silliest thing he'd ever felt, but the emotion persisted all the way home.
***
“This is only temporary.” Rachel set her sister’s suitcase on the floor of the spare bedroom later that afternoon.
Maggie nodded, auburn hair falling past her face in a soft wave. She stood in the doorway of the room like a pale shadow, so different from the vibrant cheerleader Rachel remembered.
She patted the suitcase and tried to refocus on the woman her sister was now. “You can help yourself to whatever food you want. I’ve got plenty of Little Debbies and I’m gone every day at work.” She hesitated before plunging on. “No smoking, alcohol or parties.” She expected a dirty look from her sister, some smart-aleck remark.
But Maggie just went and sat on the double bed that served as the main furniture in the room. Though simple in structure, the price tag had been steep. No one had used the mattress thus far. Maggie would be the first.
Rachel sighed deeply, ignoring the dismay that tensed her shoulders. Maggie was in a dark, emotional pit. The furniture would be fine. She wished she would have stayed in contact with her sister now. Felt remorse burning a hole in her heart. Her shoulders straightened. There was no need to feel regret, to feel sorry for distancing herself from Maggie. After Scott . . .
She waited for the familiar bitterness to clog her throat. It didn’t disappoint, but rose up sour and thick. Five years and she hadn’t gotten over things. That was scarier than having Maggie in her house and so she escaped the bedroom, the door clicking behind her.
She grabbed her purse and headed out. She was supposed to meet Katrina today at the animal shelter. The drive took an hour. She spent the entire time trying to figure out why memories of Scott still hurt so much. Thinking about love switched her brain onto a new track. Grant Harkness. It was his smile, the kindness in his eyes when he’d apologized. By the time Rachel got to the shelter, she felt frazzled and unsure.
Her iPhone read a quarter past four. Late. Already Maggie was messing with her schedule.
She checked herself in the rearview mirror, added lipstick for good measure and hurried into the small brick building. She banished Grant to the back of her mind, the same place he’d been for the last few months before he’d started turning nice.
In the waiting room, two orange plastic chairs sat against a gray wall, on which hung at least a dozen pictures. A rectangular glass table stood in front of a line of more chairs. The table was topped with magazines. A lone plant sat sentry in a corner. The room was empty.
Disappointment lodged deep in her gut. She couldn’t expect Katrina to wait for her. She and Alec were here on business.
Rachel walked to the wall and studied the pictures.
Cats and dogs, everywhere. Someone had pasted a label beneath each picture with the animal’s name and age. Poor things. It wouldn’t be so bad to pick one up. Hair could be vacuumed off the carpet. And if she regularly bathed the animal, there’d be no stink. She mulled the idea over, chewing her bottom lip.
It would be nice to have a pet to cuddle with.
“Rachel?”
His lips twisted as he opened the truck door and climbed in. Hadn’t some guy dumped her a few years ago? He vaguely remembered Rachel coming home with a city boy on her arm. A slick-faced preacher kid.
He gunned his engine and drove off, refusing the impulse to check his rearview mirror, just to see if Rachel still stood on her mother’s lawn. He pressed down the need to see her again. There was no reason he could think of, only a gut-wrenching desire to see her smile. Something about her smile cut him to the bone, made him remember longings he’d put away while still a boy.
And that was the silliest thing he'd ever felt, but the emotion persisted all the way home.
***
“This is only temporary.” Rachel set her sister’s suitcase on the floor of the spare bedroom later that afternoon.
Maggie nodded, auburn hair falling past her face in a soft wave. She stood in the doorway of the room like a pale shadow, so different from the vibrant cheerleader Rachel remembered.
She patted the suitcase and tried to refocus on the woman her sister was now. “You can help yourself to whatever food you want. I’ve got plenty of Little Debbies and I’m gone every day at work.” She hesitated before plunging on. “No smoking, alcohol or parties.” She expected a dirty look from her sister, some smart-aleck remark.
But Maggie just went and sat on the double bed that served as the main furniture in the room. Though simple in structure, the price tag had been steep. No one had used the mattress thus far. Maggie would be the first.
Rachel sighed deeply, ignoring the dismay that tensed her shoulders. Maggie was in a dark, emotional pit. The furniture would be fine. She wished she would have stayed in contact with her sister now. Felt remorse burning a hole in her heart. Her shoulders straightened. There was no need to feel regret, to feel sorry for distancing herself from Maggie. After Scott . . .
She waited for the familiar bitterness to clog her throat. It didn’t disappoint, but rose up sour and thick. Five years and she hadn’t gotten over things. That was scarier than having Maggie in her house and so she escaped the bedroom, the door clicking behind her.
She grabbed her purse and headed out. She was supposed to meet Katrina today at the animal shelter. The drive took an hour. She spent the entire time trying to figure out why memories of Scott still hurt so much. Thinking about love switched her brain onto a new track. Grant Harkness. It was his smile, the kindness in his eyes when he’d apologized. By the time Rachel got to the shelter, she felt frazzled and unsure.
Her iPhone read a quarter past four. Late. Already Maggie was messing with her schedule.
She checked herself in the rearview mirror, added lipstick for good measure and hurried into the small brick building. She banished Grant to the back of her mind, the same place he’d been for the last few months before he’d started turning nice.
In the waiting room, two orange plastic chairs sat against a gray wall, on which hung at least a dozen pictures. A rectangular glass table stood in front of a line of more chairs. The table was topped with magazines. A lone plant sat sentry in a corner. The room was empty.
Disappointment lodged deep in her gut. She couldn’t expect Katrina to wait for her. She and Alec were here on business.
Rachel walked to the wall and studied the pictures.
Cats and dogs, everywhere. Someone had pasted a label beneath each picture with the animal’s name and age. Poor things. It wouldn’t be so bad to pick one up. Hair could be vacuumed off the carpet. And if she regularly bathed the animal, there’d be no stink. She mulled the idea over, chewing her bottom lip.
It would be nice to have a pet to cuddle with.
“Rachel?”
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