At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

There was no color in her face, making the raised cuts appear worse. Her hair was a muddy mess, and her eyes were huge, still reflecting the horror of seeing her death come so close.
    Glancing away, she started the bath and undressed, wincing when she had to use her left hand. There was no fracture, thank goodness, just a sprain. When the tub was full, she sank into the warmth with a grateful sigh. Resting her head on the back of the tub, she closed her eyes and let herself breathe. She needed her heart to slow down, her body to relax. She tried to remember the mantras from her yoga classes. Yoga was about living in the moment, which was her preference. Seeing the future never seemed to make anyone happy, least of all her.
    But her mind seemed to have other ideas. As she tried to find that peaceful place, Nick Hartley’s face flashed through her brain.
    He was telling her something, but she couldn’t hear him. There was a roaring in her ears. Was it the wind? Or was it her own heart pounding?
    She’d hoped that her earlier visions had been foreshadowing the car crash, in which case they should have stopped. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just the beginning.

T HREE
     
    An hour later, dressed in Joe’s oversized sweats and T-shirt, Isabella sat down at the dining-room table and dug into a plateful of scrambled eggs. “These aren’t half bad,” she said in surprise. Joe had mixed in veggies and had also fried up some bacon. She was impressed with the effort. As her stomach filled, her tension eased. She was clean, warm, and alive, and for now, that was enough.
    “How can you tell how good they are?” Joe asked dryly. “You smothered them in salsa.”
    “Everything tastes better with hot sauce,” she said with a grin, repeating their father’s favorite phrase. “And I love breakfast for dinner.”
    “Then you won’t starve around here.”
    She smiled. “It
is
nice to see you, Joe.”
    “Likewise.”
    “Really? You haven’t exactly sent any invitations to the family to come and visit.”
    He shrugged. “I’ve been getting settled in. But you know you’re always welcome. What’s going on with your work?”
    “My next movie project got postponed until after Christmas, so I have some time to kill.”
    “What about that guy you were seeing? He won’t miss you?”
    “Jarrod and I were over six months ago,” she said with a dismissive wave.
    “I’m sorry to hear that. It’s hard to keep up with your love life.”
    “Why do I feel a big-brother lecture coming on? I haven’t met the right guy, Joe. I know you and everyone else in the family think I need to settle down and pick something—a guy, a nine-to-five job, a permanent address—but I’ll know when I’ve found where I belong and who I belong with. And then I’ll stick.”
    “I wasn’t going to lecture,” he said with a smile. “I actually admire your adventurous spirit and your unwillingness to settle. More people should be like you.”
    Isabella felt surprised and pleased. She’d taken a lot of heat from her parents and her sisters about her multitude of jobs and boyfriends. She’d been out of step with her family for most of her life.
    As Joe lifted his beer for a swig, his face grew pensive, and she had a feeling he was thinking not about her love life anymore but about his own.
    “So what happened with you and Rachel?” she asked. “I didn’t think you two would ever split up. It shocked all of us.”
    “We grew apart,” he said shortly.
    When it didn’t appear that he intended to elaborate, she said, “That’s it? That’s all I get?”
    “What do you want me to say?”
    “When I saw Rachel a few weeks ago, she was really thin, and she looked tired. I asked her how she was doing, and she almost started to cry. I don’t think she’s happy about the divorce.”
    Joe’s jaw tightened. “It was her idea.”
    “If you didn’t want it, why did you sign the papers?” she countered.
    “I don’t want