Read Online Untouched: 2 (Rough Boys) by Em Petrova - Free Book Online Page A

which was a very real possibility in this remote area.
    She dropped the phone to the passenger’s seat with disgust and absolute despair. Now Mason couldn’t even call her.
    The tears that burned in her eyes finally blurred her vision and spilled down her cheeks. She needed some extra cash, and fast. If she didn’t continue to give half of her pay to compensate for Bill’s crime, she might be able to get back on track. But that meant the black cloud hung over her head forever. And eventually Mason would discover it.
    The total amounted to about thirty thousand dollars. Not much to some, but to her, it was a fortune. Even putting half her check back into the account, it would take her years to pay it off. She couldn’t last years in this state.
    Despite her tears, she carefully guided her car out of the valley and up the steep hill leading home. She racked her brain for a solution to her problem. Whatever way she added it all up, she didn’t have enough—would never have enough.
    She might have to take up her mother on her offer to come live with her in the South. There, she could share expenses. She’d have built-in child care. Perhaps she could continue to pay back Dorsey Forestry from afar.
    Eva heaved a big sigh and headed home. Right now, Mason would be on his way to the hospital with the injured man. Accidents were a part of every logger’s life. They worked in a perilous profession and no matter how many safety precautions they took, sometimes they got hurt.
    She silently thanked God that Mason hadn’t been the one hurt. Besides having affection for him as a friend and her employer, the intimacy they’d shared last night sent new feelings through her.
    Damn, the way he looked at her… She gulped as heat clawed at her insides again. She’d had countless orgasms in the past twenty-four hours. She tried to tell her body she didn’t need more, but it only responded by throbbing.
    She’d taken a chance by coming to the jobsite to find Mason. Relief had flooded her when he didn’t turn her away. She’d been scared witless he’d do just that—tell her thanks, but he’d had his fill. Instead, he’d crossed the clearing and scooped her up, kissing her as if she’d never left his bed.
    She smiled to herself and tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. While she had no clue what was really going on between her and Mason, she wasn’t going to turn away the one man she’d ever hungered for this way.
    Once she reached her house, she sat staring at the rundown façade for long minutes. Her chest burned with tears. There was so much her son needed and she couldn’t provide.
    Milk, for one. She’d been using the leftover cream Mason had purchased for the tartlets, watering it down for her son. And Christmas was quickly approaching. She’d been lucky enough to buy a secondhand bicycle for Brady from a yard sale. She’d had it hidden since summer. It had a couple dings, but he wouldn’t mind.
    She wished she could have a real Christmas for him—one like she and Bill had given him before she discovered her husband’s treachery. After that, things had quickly gone downhill. Finally he’d gone into the woods to hunt and not returned.
    The coroner had ruled his death a hunting accident but he’d told her on the side that the angle of the shot looked deliberate. Either way, Bill didn’t carry life insurance.
    She dropped her face into her hands and drew deep breaths, trying to dispel the fury in her heart.
    There was no choice but to keep running toward her goal. Maybe a shift would open up at the diner and she could pick up some extra cash. And next year, her son would be in school all day, which meant she would no longer be burdened by the babysitter’s fee.
    One more year.
    She got out of the car and went inside the house. Cleaning and doing laundry filled her time until Brady came home. When it came down to it, her son was her universe. She’d do anything to help him grow up to become the man his