Chasing the Runaway Bride Read Online Free PDF

be nice to him.”
    “You also better be careful.”
    “Careful?”
    Lonnie didn’t answer right away. When she did, it was quietly. “From what I’ve heard from my mom, the whole Donovan family is falling apart. My mom says Devon’s going after their dad big time in the divorce, looking to get half his money.”
    Expecting Lonnie to continue to disparage Cade, Piper was surprised that she’d more or less changed the subject. “My mom says that, too.”
    “My mom thinks they made up the whole beating story for leverage in the negotiations.”
    Piper winced. “That was the gossip at the drugstore, too. Except half the town is on LuAnn’s side, saying it’s crap.”
    “Well, whatever the case, be careful.”
    “I will.”
    “And call me. I wanna know everything.”
    The light finally dawned for Piper, and she gasped. “Knowing where Cade is and how much he makes, you can sue for back child support!”
    Lonnie unenthusiastically said, “Right.”
    “I mean it.”
    “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Piper. I’ve been supporting Hunter on my own for years. I also haven’t had any interference on how I’m raising him. Sometimes I think no dad is better than a crappy dad.”
    Piper said nothing.
    Lonnie groaned. “Oh, geez, Piper. I didn’t mean that as a slur against your father.”
    “It’s fine. I actually understand. After my dad’s heart attack, my mom and I became a team. We had fun.”
    “And that’s what Hunter and I are doing. Adding a third party into the mix would only confuse him. We’re settled now. We don’t need or want Cade Donovan in our lives.”
    “Okay, then I won’t spy on him for you.”
    Lonnie laughed. “I’ve gotta go. I work at four. But you call me tomorrow night after your first day.”
    “Okay.”
    “And Piper…congratulations.”
    Piper grinned.
    She disconnected the call, made three turns, and kept going until she reached her mother’s cute little white Cape Cod. Blue shutters matched the bright purple petunias that poured from the blue window boxes, giving the house the look of a fairy-tale dwelling where Snow White or Cinderella might live.
    And that’s how she’d thought of her childhood. Two girls going shopping, having lunch, making dinners together, ultimately sharing the chores like roommates. Not that her mom didn’t have rules or wasn’t strict. But the sense that it was the two of them against the world had sort of caused Piper to grow up quickly.
    To behave.
    To always do the right thing.
    And then—positive she’d missed out on zing, romance, sexual attraction—she’d ended up leaving two grooms at the altar.
    Deciding not to think about that, she got out of the car and walked to the back porch and the kitchen door. Opening it, she called, “Mom!”
    No answer.
    She ambled through the kitchen into the hall, past the stairway. “Mom!”
    Wearing old jeans and a ratty T-shirt, Karen O’Riley rushed down the steps, her short red hair hidden under a scarf, the way she always “protected” it when she was cleaning.
    “Piper! What are you doing here?”
    “I have some news.”
    “Well, the Dinner Belles are scrubbing the church hall this afternoon. I have to be out of here in ten minutes.”
    “It won’t take me ten minutes to tell you that I inherited half of O’Riley’s.”
    At the bottom of the steps, her mom stopped dead.
    “I got called to Jeff Franklin’s office. Apparently they’re reading Richard Hyatt’s will today. I only got to hear the provision that applies to me, but I get half the store.”
    “Oh my God! We got the store back?”
    “Half.”
    Her mother’s mouth fell open. “I don’t even know what to say. There are so many things.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “First, this is so good for you! You won’t just have a job, you’ll own a business.”
    Piper laughed. “I know!”
    “Second, Richard virtually vindicated your father!”
    “I think so, too.”
    Her eyes filled with tears. “Giving you