Broken Series Read Online Free PDF

Do you have some free time this afternoon?” he asked.
    I agreed to meet him but never had any suspicion that he was about to change my life.
     
    I stopped at the main entrance of the hospital and turned around, expecting Mallory to be right behind me. She was nowhere to be found. I walked back to the room I’d almost kissed her in and found it empty. I thought maybe we’d missed each other, so I went back to the main entrance.
    I barely made it to the wide glass doors when I saw her car tear through the parking lot. She must have snuck out a side entrance and gone straight to her car, hoping to avoid me. She wasn’t getting away that easily. I ran to my truck and turned the key. The engine roared to life and I was out of the parking lot in seconds.
    There was a trail of dust down the road to her house, so I knew I was on the right track. I whipped into the driveway and turned the wheel, coming to a stop just a few feet away from the porch where she stood. A cloud of dusted erupted as I slammed on the brakes. I jerked my door open, climbed out, and slammed it shut.
    “What the hell are you doing?” she shouted, her hands balled into fists at her sides.
    The dust flew around her. Her eyes were fiery and narrowed at me. I stopped at the hood of my truck, not wanting to get too close. I wasn’t sure I could trust myself where she was concerned.
    “Me? Am I the one who snuck away like a thief in the night and drove like a maniac on back roads they haven’t driven in years?”
    “Don’t act like you give a shit about the way I drive, or the fact that I didn’t want to ride with you. You wanted us to stay away from each other, remember?” she blurted.
    Her cheeks turned red and I knew I must have struck a nerve.
    “Mallory.” I started forward.
    Her words stopped me.
    “No, Luke. You don’t get to just be the victim and keep blaming me for everything. I am not about to take responsibility for the failure of our relationship. We were both accountable. Not only me.” Her voice faltered. “So just stop.”
    She turned away and I took the porch steps two at time. I pulled her into my arms, consequences be damned.
    She didn’t push me away, though. She buried face in my chest and cried. The heart-wrenching sobs had my heart clenching for her. Her tears soaked my T-shirt but I didn’t mind. She needed to let it all out. I stayed silent while she sobbed, recognizing her need for silence.
    After several minutes, she pulled away, her hands swiping at the lingering tears. “Thank you,” she said with a sad smile. “You want a beer?”
    “Sure,” I said.
    I opened the screen door for her and she pushed the main door open and let me follow her to the kitchen. She pulled two beer bottles out of the fridge and handed me one. She leaned her hip against the counter and took a long swallow.
    “I didn’t think city girls liked beer,” I said with a chuckle.
    She grinned wickedly. “I picked up a thing or two in college.”
    I sucked in a breath. If ever there was a double entendre…
    “I don’t doubt it,” I said.
    She raised her eyebrow at me but didn’t respond. She drank more of her beer instead. Her hair was messy and her makeup smudged, but she was still beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
    “I know you care about my dad, Luke, but I’m here now and I am perfectly capable of taking care of him. I’ll hire a contractor to come fix the porch. You don’t need to work on this house for free anymore,” she said, and then paused. “My dad doesn’t need you anymore.”
    Those were the last words I expected her to say. She didn’t understand. Joe never needed me. I was the one who needed him for the last few years. Joe held out hope that one day Mallory would come to her senses and come back to me, but I was more realistic. She was only here now because of her father’s cancer. She hadn’t come back for me.
    As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she was right. I didn’t have any business being