Read Online West of Nowhere by K.G. MacGregor - Free Book Online

been as responsible as any adult at sixteen, even before the navy got hold of her. She wasn’t interested in becoming a parent to someone who was old enough to take care of herself and had given away a child of her own.
    And if all that wasn’t enough, there was the fact that Amber, though she’d hinted at the possibility of being a lesbian herself, was likely just an opportunist, seeking shelter wherever she found it. In other words, she was Syd all over again.
    Joy shuddered and drew the sheet up over her head, wishing her eyes had a backspace button. If she could just survive one more night of sharing close quarters, at least she’d get her privacy back…and with it, a chance to release her sexual frustrations.

Chapter Six
     
    “I’m thinking of a person,” Amber said.
    Joy groaned. “Not again. I don’t know any of those country music people. Tug This, Yank That.”
    “Who said it was a country music person?”
    “Is it?”
    Amber smirked. “Yes.”
    Joy beeped the horn twice. “Welcome to Utah.”
    The Rocky Mountains had faded behind them, giving way to a rolling brown landscape, a featureless mix of dirt, rock and dry grass. Too much like Limon for Amber’s taste.
    “I just can’t imagine what kind of people live in a place like this,” she said, answering her own query with the realization that there wasn’t a dwelling in sight. “By the way, I haven’t thanked you today for not leaving me at the Gateway Lodge. I don’t think I ever felt so hopeless in my whole life.”
    “Yeah, I sort of figured that when you wouldn’t get out of the truck.”
    “You think they allow smoking in Utah? I could do with a cigarette, and Skippy could probably do with a bush…if they had any.”
    Joy flipped on her blinker and exited at the Welcome Center. “Pop’s going to start harassing you the minute he gets his first whiff of cigarette smoke on your clothes. Sure you wouldn’t rather be smoke-free when you get there? You said you had to quit anyway.”
    “I’ve been harassed by the best of them. I figure I can wait until he rags on me, and then he’ll get to take credit for it when I quit.” She lit a cigarette the second she hopped out of the truck. “Besides, I still have cigarettes. A smoker can’t quit until they’re all gone.”
    “I can fix that,” Joy said, suddenly snatching the pack from her hand.
    “You wouldn’t.”
    “I might.”
    Skippy growled menacingly at Joy.
    “Sic her, boy.”
    Joy handed them back. “Here, keep your stinky old cancer sticks. And call off your attack dog.” She took the leash and led Skippy to the pet walk area.
    “Everybody has vices,” Amber called loudly before shuffling to catch up.
    “Not me. I like a cold beer every now and then, but that’s about it.”
    “I bet your ex-girlfriend could come up with a better list than that.” Amber had spent much of the morning wondering what sort of girlfriend Joy had been. “Did you starch her underwear? Kick her tires every time she went somewhere?”
    “Very funny. She was navy too so I didn’t have to deal with her sloppy habits. You may not know this—of course you don’t—but responsible people clean up after themselves.”
    “God, I bet a crumb never hit the floor in your house.”
    Amber enjoyed the effect of her teasing on Joy, who played along as if she were indulging a naughty child. It was tempting to terrorize her with more trashy stories about her sexual adventures just for the shock value, but it bothered her a little to think Joy might not have been exaggerating her disgust over the idea that she’d freely slept with both Corey and Rachelle. If she had it to do over again, she’d have kept the details to herself, but thinking before speaking had never been one of her strong suits. She couldn’t count the times her mouth had gotten her in trouble.
    * * *
     
    Joy leaned against the hood of her truck and smiled at the look of childlike amazement on Amber’s face. The Great Salt Lake,