Below the Line Read Online Free PDF Page A

imagine it how scary it must have been.”
     
    “It was stupid.” He looked away, a small burst of anger rising up in his chest. “I was one lucky kid. I found a new family, and they did right by me. Now, I’m doing right by them.” He didn’t want to go on so he stood up, essentially stopping the line of thought in its tracks. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry? I could throw some steaks on the grill.”
     
    Recognizing he was done with the topic of his past, Marissa accepted his offer and followed him inside. It was fully renovated, as well. It was beautiful and somewhat masculine with its darker tones of wood and earthy wall colors.
     
    He gave her free reign to explore while he got everything ready, and she took him at his word. The bathrooms were luxurious, especially the master with its huge, two-person shower and claw-foot soaking tub. He hadn’t spared any expense in his personal space. The second bedroom was smaller but still nice with its own bath and miniature walk-in closet. The third bedroom combined an office and a library which surprised her. It smelled of old books and cherry pipe tobacco. She hadn’t expected him to have such a room in his home. Of course, she hadn’t expected him to have a kitchen that would make chefs jealous and a pool, either. He was full of surprises.
     
    They kept the conversation light and meaningless while preparing and eating dinner. She laughed more than she had expected, finding his sense of humor dry and similar to her own. They steered clear of talk about work and their pasts. She admitted to being curious about his time as a runaway and how he had gotten past that kind of horrible experience, but she could resist the need to pry.
     
    He insisted on cleaning up alone, so she found herself back out on the porch swing with her beer and her thoughts. It started to rain softly, taking the last of the humidity out of the air. She was glad that she had taken the chance to come out with him. He’d been nothing but a gentleman, and he could cook to boot.
     
    Pushing off with her foot, she set the swing in motion and leaned her head back. Between her full belly, the sound of the rain, and the couple of beers in her system, her eyelids began to droop.
     
    Nate finished putting the leftovers away and loading the dishwasher. Drying his hands, he went out on the porch to see if she wanted dessert and found her fast asleep in the barely moving swing.
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    Bright sunlight washed over the bed and breached her eyelids. She felt completely rested, her lumpy trailer mattress seeming more comfortable than usual.
     
    Wait, why is the sun shining on me? My crappy trailer doesn’t have a window in the bedroom. Sitting up too quickly had her head spinning. The room was done in white and tans. She was fully clothed, aside from her shoes. A measure of relief rushed through her system. She didn’t remember falling asleep, much less being put to bed in Nate’s spare room. She must have been way more exhausted than she had thought.
     
    The attached bath matched the bedroom. There was a stack of towels on the vanity top along with a toothbrush and toothpaste. She couldn’t stand the thought of showering and then putting her dirty clothes back on so she cleaned up as best as she could and went out to see about finding some coffee.
     
    She didn’t have to look hard, a half of a pot was sitting on the burner waiting for her. She didn’t see Nate around, so she filled a mug and decided to drink it out on the back deck where they had eaten dinner the night before.
     
    It took a moment to register what her eyes were seeing. Last night the pool had been dark, the lights inside turned off. Today it was lit by the sun and sparkling. He sliced through the water effortlessly—and completely nude.
     
    ***
     
    He had spent much of the morning contemplating the fact that he wasn’t quite the player he thought himself to be. Last night, finding her asleep on the porch swing, he