Angels in Pink: Holly's Story (Lurlene McDaniel (Mass Market)) Read Online Free PDF Page B

crept into his voice, and his gaze grew mischievous. He was once again the Carson she knew best.
    “That girl would be me, wouldn’t it?”
    He grinned. “None other.”
    “I’ll give you special permission to study harder and longer.”
    He propelled himself across the space between their two beanbag chairs and fell on top of her. “Never!”
    “You’re squashing me.” She twisted, but she was helplessly pinned beneath him.
    “Should I call a paramedic?” He didn’t wait for her answer; he crushed his mouth against hers. Instantly, Kathleen was lost in a haze of heat, with the throb of her own blood running hot and hungry in her veins.
    “You were a fabulous clown and everybody loved you,” Raina said, standing over Hunter, who sat in a chair in her room having his clown makeup removed.
    “But was I sexy?”
    “Amazingly sexy. To me.” She slathered cold cream on his forehead.
    “Was it my red nose or my big feet that turned you on the most?”
    She laughed and wiped wadded tissue over the melting mess of whiteface. “How could I choose? You’ll just have to wonder.”
    “I think I scared one little girl. She took one look at me and started crying.”
    “You weren’t nearly as scary-looking then as you are now.” She stepped aside, and he looked in the mirror and feigned passing out. “Come on. Sit up.”
    “If Stephen King saw me, he could write a book.”
    “Quiet.” Raina worked until the wastebasket was filled with tissue and Hunter’s face was red and shiny from being rubbed.
    “Is there any skin left?” he asked. “How do you girls take this stuff off every day?”
    “Regular makeup removal is a snap. This is heavy-duty greasepaint.” She stepped back. “I think I’ve gotten it all. Go wash your face and let me inspect you again.”
    He stood, ducked into the adjoining bathroom and returned in minutes with the front of his hair damp and a towel hanging around his neck. “All clean,” he said. “Do I get a kiss for bravery?”
    She complied gladly. “You smell like a girl,” she teased.
    “And to think I was going to give you a present before that crack.”
    “A present! I want my present.”
    He went to a duffel bag he’d brought and extracted a handful of thin necklaces that when snapped were chemically activated and glowed in the dark. “Left over from my clown giveaways. All different colors.”
    “I’m touched,” Raina teased. She took a few of the necklaces and looped them over a bedside lamp. “Now you can find me in the dark.”
    He grinned, came back to the bed and leaned over her. “I’d rather feel my way to you.”
    She slugged him playfully.
    He made a face, flopped backward onto her bed, propped himself up on his elbows and cocked his head. “How’s it going with you and your mother these days?”
    Her smile faded. Trust Hunter to bring up the one subject she didn’t want to talk about. “We coexist.”
    “How long are you going to stay mad at her?”
    “I’ve got a lot to be angry about. A baby she gave up for adoption was something worth knowing, don’t you think?”
    “Maybe.” He pulled her down to lie next to him and rolled to one side so that he was looking down at her on the bed. “A lot of women give up babies and never tell the families they go on to raise. It’s their right. If Emma had tracked down your mom asking to meet her biological family, it would have made sense to tell you, but Emma didn’t. And if she didn’t want to know and your mom didn’t want to tell—”
    “But we’re sisters! I should know that I have a blood sister.”
    “Why?”
    His question stopped her cold. “Because,” she sputtered. “Just because.” She turned her head. “There’s the bone marrow thing,” she said, looking back at him. “It probably saved her life because it came from a blood relative.”
    “A great gift you gave her. That’s terrific. You should be proud and happy to have done it.”
    “So what’s your point?”
    “I just