Read Online Vicious by Kevin O'Brien - Free Book Online

thirty-eight-year-old. Susan had fallen in love with his thick, wavy salt-and-pepper hair and pale green eyes. He had a scar on his left cheek that looked like a dimple, so it appeared as if Allen were smiling even when he wasn’t. With a pair of tongs, he set four marinated chicken breasts on the grill. That barbecue smell mixed with the crisp, cool night air.
    Susan had Tater Tots and French bread in the oven and a salad in the refrigerator. The kitchen had modern, stainless-steel appliances. She’d been expecting to “rough it” in a squat, rustic, bayside shack. But their rental house was a lovely, comfortable, two-story white wood-veneer house with green shutters. The property was surrounded by trees on three sides—and in the back was this quaint porch. In addition to the barbecue, it had a porch swing and a view of the backyard dock on Skagit Bay. That was where Allen had moored her “surprise,” a beautiful sailboat with an indoor cabin—complete with a small galley, dinette, and V-berth sleeping quarters. He’d rented it from a charter place in town, and tomorrow afternoon, they’d go sailing.
    Mattie was thrilled about it, of course. At the moment, he was in the sunroom, on the other side of the sliding screen door, watching WALL-E on DVD. So much for roughing it , thought Susan, but she wasn’t complaining one bit.
    Susan was wrapped in a russet cardigan sweater. She poured some more pinot noir into Allen’s wineglass, hoping it might take some of the edge off. He seemed far more upset about her Arby’s encounter than she’d been.
    “Actually, this guy seemed perfectly normal,” Susan told him. She spoke in a hushed tone so Mattie wouldn’t hear. “In fact, he was good looking—tall, with dark brown hair. I’d say late thirties, and nicely dressed, too. I would have been flattered if he hadn’t been so overly familiar and pushy.”
    “He didn’t tell you his name or where he was from? Any clue—in case I want to report this to the police?”
    “No, he didn’t say a thing about himself.” She sipped her wine. “But listen, I don’t know about involving the police, Allen. I mean, this man really didn’t do anything wrong . He—”
    “What are you talking about?” Allen interrupted hotly. “The guy followed you all the way to Cullen, and then you got a flat—with practically new tires. We just got them—what—three months ago? I don’t like it, I don’t like it one bit.” With the tongs, he flipped over the chicken breasts on the grill. All the while, he was frowning and shaking his head. “I really wish you’d gotten the license plate number off that red MINI Cooper.”
    “Sorry, it didn’t occur to me,” Susan murmured. “At the time, I just wanted to get the hell out of there.”
    “Well, if you remember anything else about this creep that would help us track him down, let me know.”
    “All right already, I will,” she sighed. “Y’know, I didn’t encourage the guy—if that’s what you’re thinking.”
    “I wasn’t thinking that at all,” Allen replied.
    “Well, you act like you’re mad at me. ” She took her wineglass and retreated to the edge of the porch.
    “I’m not mad at you,” he answered quietly. “I’m just upset thinking about what could have happened.”
    Susan didn’t say anything. She gazed out at the moon and the stars—so bright this far away from the lights of the city. Slivers of white and silver reflected on the bay, and the boat gently rocked in the water. Susan leaned against the railing and heard it creak.
    Grabbing the top rail, Susan gave it a shake. It groaned again, and she could see a gap in the corner between the top-rail beams. “Better not let Mattie play out here alone,” she said. “It’s not safe. This thing looks like it might give way.”
    “Oh, he’ll be fine, babe,” Allen said, focused on his barbecuing. “I’m sure the railing will hold. Besides, the drop’s only two feet. He’d do worse rolling off