Charmed (Contemporary Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

damn back weren’t killing me, I’d … ”
    Jamie went inside and began putting groceries away, taking out her frustrations with Joseph on the kitchen cabinets. One of the advantages of moving back to her hometown was being far away from him.
    She remained close to them because she loved Cindy, and for her children’s sake, but Joseph was a constant trial on her patience. He came into the kitchen now, and Jamie braced herself.
    “Look, Jamie,” he began, his gruff voice grating on her nerves. “You think I’m just being difficult, but I’m only trying to protect my grandkids. I look closely at things that just don’t add up about people, like this Dr. Grey. You’d think a board of directors would choose a headmaster with an exemplary family.”
    Jamie wasn’t fond of Nick’s ego, but she did admire his accomplishments.
    “No, Joseph, you’re not being careful, you’re being judgmental. Yes, Dr. Grey became a father at a young age, but by all accounts, he single-handedly raised a wonderful, well-adjusted daughter and completed a PhD while she was still a little girl. That’s admirable.”
    “People’s mistakes speak louder than their achievements.”
    “No, the way people handle their mistakes speaks louder than anything,” Jamie shot back.
    “You’re gullible, Jamie. You’re the type who believes what you want to believe about others because it’s convenient.”
    A cold sensation gripped her chest. The trouble with naysayers was that many times they echoed your greatest fears. She was gullible, and she wished she could tell Joseph how ironic it was that those words had come out of his mouth. After all, he’d raised Scott.

Chapter Three
    The Sunday evening before school was to start, Jamie cooked dinner at her parents’ house with her mom and her niece. Liz, her sister-in-law, just watched. Her brother did most of the cooking over at his house, so she was glad to give him a break, even though she knew he loved to cook, too. They’d grown up far away from their grandparent’s Puerto Rican culture, and food was their favorite way of connecting with their heritage and keeping it alive.
    But no men were allowed in the kitchen while they prepared dinner — it was strictly girl time. The mood was always light, and Jamie had come to relish the weightlessness of it.
    “Are you excited about starting school next week?” Jamie’s mom, Isabella, asked Hannah.
    “Kind of.” Hannah shrugged. Jamie studied her niece, knowing she was equal parts nervous and thrilled over her first day of middle school. “I know Michael and Timmy are excited about their first day. They looked like they were about ready to combust when I asked them about it.”
    Jamie laughed and finished seasoning the pork chops.
    “Speaking of the school, is it true Nick Grey’s losing his hair, too?” Liz asked.
    Her belly dipped the moment she heard his name. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing him again after Joseph’s questioning. The look on his face … “No, he hasn’t lost any hair. That’s just Justin projecting his own frustrations.”
    She’d barely finished her sentence when Justin walked in, looking none too happy. “You’re short, Jamie. You can’t see what I see at the very top of his head.”
    Never one to miss an opportunity to torment her brother, Jamie grinned. “He does have a few stray grays in there, but they don’t really work against him. They just make him look sexy.”
    Hannah grinned. “What about Nick’s massive belly? Dad was going on and on about it last winter.”
    Jamie cocked her head to the side. “Oh, that. Well, I guess your father meant to say massive, solid six-pack, but he just couldn’t bring himself to describe it accurately.”
    “How would you know he has a six-pack?” Justin crossed his arms and raised both eyebrows.
    “You can just tell, you know? I mean, a mere shirt can’t hide perfectly sculptured abs.”
    “You have no sense of family loyalty, Jamie.”
    Jamie popped