and along came SPIDER ( A Martina Spalding Thriller ) (Spider Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

bartender came her way once
it was certain where she would settle in.
    “What can I get ya,
honey?”
    “Today, I think I’m in
the mood for a beer,” Marti said cheerfully.
    “Do you have a favorite
brand?” the bartender said rather impatiently.
    “Actually, no…  I’m
really not much of a beer drinker.”
    Just then, a guy
farther up the bar she hadn’t noticed until now began tapping a fingernail on a
beer bottle to get her attention.  He then cutely pointed at the label on the
bottle.  “Okay,” Marti laughed.  “Budweiser, then!” 
    The beer came
super-fast and she took it immediately for a long pull.  It felt crisp and cold
going down and Marti nearly belched, just like her father often did after the
first swallow.  But she caught it in time, letting it fume out gradually
through her nose instead.  It burned!
    “The name’s Parker,”
came from behind, and Marti whirled to look up into the brown eyes of the
stranger who had recommended the beer.  Up close she could see he was a little
older than her, rather rugged, with broad shoulders and dusty, dark hair.
    “Spalding,” Marti
played along, giving her last name as well.
    Taken aback by that,
Parker wittily asked, “What are you, a football or a catcher’s mitt?  What kind
of name is that for a girl?”
    “You gave me your last
name, so I gave you mine.”  She turned back to the bar and took another drink
of the beer.
    Parker laughed and
eased up beside her.  “Parker Thomas!”  He stuck out a strong, but clean hand,
unlike his hair.
    “Martina,” she said,
taking the hand for just a finger touch. “Are you married, Parker?”  Maybe that
was a little abrupt, but she couldn’t help but ask, not wanting this to go any
farther if he was.  She was sort of on a mission now and didn’t need to be
wasting time on what would never be.
    “Yeah,” he returned,
“to the St. Louis Power and Light Company.  I just got off a sixteen hour
shift.  I’m a lineman.  Any outage and we’re on, until it’s on.”
    “I’m sorry, you must be
exhausted.”  She looked at him again.  His eyes did look tired and stressed. 
But that was the nurse in her doing a visual examination, she told herself.  He
was handsome, though, in a rustic sort of way.  And, if she was being honest
with herself, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t fantasized about his type before.
    “Just getting started!”
he said sarcastically and smiled broadly, showing near perfect white teeth.
    “I have some eye drops
in my purse…” she remembered and reached to the bar, putting it on her lap.
    “What are you, a
nurse?”
    “As a matter of fact, I
am,” Marti said, then proudly smiled up to him.  “Here!”  She removed the cap
from the Visine and handed it over.
    Parker took the bottle,
squeezed two drops into each eye, and handed it back.  He then wiped each eye
with a napkin from the bar.  “Thank you.”
    “Glad to be of help. 
How do they feel now?”
    “Much better, Doc.”  He
grabbed his beer and drained it.  “Can I buy you another?”
    “No, thank you.  One
beer is my limit.”
    “Something else then?”
    “You can pass me those
peanuts.”
    Parker slid the red
plastic basket of salted, in the shell peanuts her way and signaled for another
round.
    When the beers arrived,
Marti said, “Is there something about no you
don’t understand, Mister Thomas?”
    “I like to pay my
debts.  Good doctoring deserves payment.”  He rested his elbows on the bar and
tossed a smile her way.  Cute.  “I’d tell you how much better I look cleaned
up, but you probably wouldn’t believe me.”
    “Why not?”  Marti
chuckled.  “Just looking, I can see you’d scrub up quite well.  My dad owns an
auto repair shop.  Believe me, I know how transforming a good scrub and a shave
can be.”
    “You’re not from here
are you?”
    “Okay, here it comes!” 
Marti leaned away.  “I was told I’d get a lot of that here.”
    “A lot of