Angel's Peak Read Online Free PDF

an ounce of humility; he’d always been confident.
    But he wasn’t confident anymore. Now he was frustrated, and he didn’t have the first clue about how to fix it. For once in his life, he didn’t know where to start.
    He went to the second upstairs bedroom where Luke kept his computer. The desk was covered with so many wedding gifts that it was hard to see the computer. He moved a bunch of things out of the way and got the thing turned on. Franci had no phone or address listing when he’d called information, but after spending a couple of hours on Luke’s computer, doing a real-estate property search, he found Francine Duncan had purchased a house. It wasn’t unusual for women to have unlisted phone numbers, but property-title searches were public record. Still, he didn’t think his best idea was turning up at her house uninvited. But what were the options?
    Sean was in the kitchen having a sandwich when Luke and Art came back from the hardware store. Art was such a kick; every time he saw Sean he greeted him as if he hadn’t seen him in months or even years. Art was a thirty-year-old man with highly functional Down syndrome, a kindhearted soul who worked hard to help Luke around the property. And Luke, whom Sean had just barely realized would make a great father, worked hard to be sure Art felt appreciated.
    “Sean!” Art said, beaming.
    “Hi, Art. Go fishing this morning?” Sean asked.
    “No, we had trash to haul to the dump and then we went to the hardware store for stuff. Later I might fish. Did you go fishing?”
    “Sort of. I was looking up stuff on the computer.”
    Luke got out the bread and sandwich makings. “Any luck finding contact information on Franci?” he asked.
    “Got an address, but no phone number,” Sean said. “I did a computer search—and lucky for me, she bought a house.”
    “Do you have a new girlfriend, Sean?” Art asked.
    For some reason, the question embarrassed Sean. The fact that Art, who didn’t really know him at all and was about as worldly as a ten-year-old, would assume that he always had a girlfriend made Sean uncomfortable. Maybe Franci was right about him; she’d said he’d never settle down with one woman because he was all about the chase but not the commitment. It wasn’t entirely true, as he was discovering. He’d settled down with Franci, just not all the way. “Not really,” Sean answered. “I had a girlfriend a few years ago and we lost touch. I want to see her again, talk to her about that, see if we can…date again.”
    “Oh,” Art said. “That’s cool.”
    “And the problem is?” Luke asked.
    “She took one look at me and fireworks shot out of her ears. I think she hates me. At least, she’s still mad. But it could mean she still cares,” he added hopefully. “If I knew where to run into her again, I could try my persuasive charm on her without crowding her. I might’ve tried something like that the first time around. Like being at the officers’ club every time I thought she’d be there, till she got so sick of me shadowing her, she gave in.”
    Luke laughed. “Suave,” he said.
    “Think I should throw myself on her mercy? Nah,” he answered for himself. “From what I saw, she doesn’t have a lot of mercy in her right now. Besides, humility really isn’t my strong suit.”
    Luke laughed at him. “And, God forbid, we manly Riordans always play our best cards.”
    “You know what I mean. What woman wants a man who grovels? Did you grovel? When you and Shelby—?”
    “I hate to burst your bubble, pal, but I said I’d do anything that would make her happy. I know—it’s hard for you to imagine your tough big brother caving like that, but when I got down to it, I was doomed without her. She’s the breath in me.” Then he grinned. “But she doesn’t make me grovel anymore. She lets me pretend to be the big man.”
    “Swell,” Sean said, a long way from understanding all the rules for this game. The part he did almost