Broken Wings Read Online Free PDF Page B

no one takes you seriously because of your beauty, so you work even harder to be seen as woman of intelligence. You’re suspicious of strangers, probably a vegetarian.” He playfully raised his eyebrows. “And you don’t like asking for help, even when you need it.”
    “Congratulations, you have probably just described half of the female population in the United States.”
    “Not the half I’ve known. And none of them have been like you,” he said as he inspected her again with his dark eyes.
    “Your bedpost must be quite the con versation piece,” she remarked.
    He smirked at her. “I’ve been around enough women to know when they are looking for a savior, a father figure, a sinner, or a saint. Most women want help, especially from a man. You seem to resent help from men.”
    She turned around, picked up the white slip of paper from the end table, and walked over to him.
    “Is that your expert opinion? How comforting it must be for you to know that all of your horizontal study has afforded you the opportunity to pass judgment on me.” She watched him take the signed form from her hand.
    “I wasn’t passing judgment, just making an observation,” he calmly stated as he folded the form and put it in his pocket. “And I’m not an expert on women. No man will ever accomplish that feat,” he added with a grin.
    She raised her chin defiantly to him. “So how do a few random one-night stands give you insight into what a woman wants or needs from a man?”
    He peered into her eyes. “I can usually figure out what a woman wants from me within the first few seconds. They all have a pretty damn predictable set of criteria, or at least I thought so until today. But you aren’t looking for anything from anybody. You only show your emotions to your animals, don’t you?”
    Pamela kept her eyes on his. “In my experience, animals are safer to care about than people. My mother was one of those women who always required help from other people, especially men. She spent her entire life looking through the bottom of a vodka bottle for someone to make everything wonderful for her. The only problem was, by the time she sobered up and figured out that only she could make her life wonderful, she died.”
    Daniel sighed as a ripple of regret passed through him. “How old were you when she died?”
    “Thirteen.”
    “What about your father?”
    “My father was the one who raised me. My mother wasn’t exactly the maternal kind.”
    He gazed about the living room. “Is that why I don’t see any family pictures on the walls?”
    “What are you, a shrink?” She went around him and made her way to the front door. “I want to thank you for coming out and helping us. If I ever need your services again, I’ll let your probation officer know.”
    He followed behind her. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I told you I would be back to fix up your place.”
    She turned back and glared at him. “I don’t want you coming back.”
    “Afraid I’ll steal the family silver?”
    “Something like that, yes,” she replied as she opened the front door.
    He came up to her. “For a woman who doesn’t like being judged, you are sure quick to judge others.”
    “One of my many, many flaws,” she asserted with a sarcastic smile.
    “Fine,” he said as he walked out the door. “Perhaps you should start taking chances on people, Ms. Wells, instead of always taking chances on animals.”
    “Duly noted. Thanks for coming, Mr. Phillips,” she stated, and then slammed the door behind him.
    Pamela went back to the couch and plopped her aching body down on the soft fabric. Looking over at Louis in his cage, still munching away on his pecan, she wished at that moment that she could be like her squirrel. She wanted to be left alone, unperturbed by the world around her, and able to find pleasure in the taste of a simple nut.

Chapter 3
     
    Three days later Daniel returned. The back of his Jeep was crammed full with roofing