Blue Twilight Read Online Free PDF Page B

Sighing, she pulled into the driveway and parked her car before letting herself inside. Lisa kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse by the couch, deciding what she really needed to do was take a nap. She stretched out on the sofa and felt herself start to drift off. No sooner than she had shut her eyes, she heard her phone ringing in her purse.
    With a groan, she reached for her bag and pulled it out. “Hello?” she answered with a yawn.
    “It’s a bit late in the day for a nap, don’t you think?”
    She smiled at the familiar voice and sat up to cradle the phone. “Hi, mom. I actually just got home from work.”
    “You found something already? That’s wonderful, Sweets. I’ve been worried about you, though. You haven’t called me since you stopped in Raleigh,” her mom scolded.
    Lisa shut her eyes as the guilt hit her. “I know, Mom, I’m sorry. I’ve just been busy getting the house set up, and then I was lucky enough to find a job and it started today…”
    Her mom interrupted with a laugh. “It seems like you have been busy. So, tell me everything! How’s the house? What’s the town like? Where are you working?”
    Grinning at her mom’s enthusiasm, she launched into an account of the past few days. She told her mom about the hidden studio, the bakery, and finally, about Jake.
    “Well, he sounds wonderful, Sweets. So what’s the problem?”
    Lisa fiddled with the buttons on her shirt and considered that. What was the problem? Was she so hung up on her own issues that she was willing to let a perfectly nice guy walk away? She knew she’d have to take a chance again someday, but after dating Eric for two years and then having him tell her she just “wasn’t what he wanted”, she was scared. What if no one ever wanted her again?
    “Sweets? Are you there?”
    Lisa tried to explain things. “Mom, it’s just that when Dad left, and then Eric…”
    “You stop right there, Lisa Nicole.” Lisa cringed at hearing her middle name, and knew she was in for a lecture. “Your father just didn’t know how to be a dad. It had nothing to do with you. And Eric…he just wasn’t the one, sweetheart. It hurts. I know. But you have to pick yourself up and try again, baby girl. If I had never given Richard a chance, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am now. And, if I’d never given your father a chance all those years ago, I never would have gotten the very best thing in my life, and that’s you, Sweets. Give him a chance, Lisa. Give yourself a chance to be happy.”
    After promising to give it some serious thought, she hung up with her mom. Lisa tried to go back to her nap, but sleep would not come. Pacing in the kitchen did nothing to help her, and she was too lost inside her own head to write. Finally, trying to drown out her thoughts, she switched the radio on and Landslide helped chase the last of her doubts away. She knew what she had to do.
     
    ***
     
    Jake hung up with Hank and then changed into shorts and a t-shirt. Grabbing a beer, he went to sit on the back porch. His day started out as such a success. The meeting went beyond his expectation, and he was excited to start on his next project. But after his disaster of a lunch with Lisa, all he wanted to do was drown his sorrows for a while. It was ridiculous, really. He shouldn’t be this hung up over someone he’d just met. If she wasn’t interested, fine. There were plenty of other women who would gladly take her place. Sighing, he realized that even though that might be true, he wasn’t interested. He’d never been a “love-′em-and-leave-′em” kind of guy. Maybe I should be . Shaking his head, he gripped the bottle a little tighter and took a long pull before settling back in his chair. He had almost drifted off when he heard his phone beep.
    Hank must have forgotten to tell him something. He fumbled for the phone, annoyed, and placed it to his ear. “What, man?”
    “Jake? Umm, hi, it’s Lisa.”
    Sitting up straighter, he asked,