Dakota Home Read Online Free PDF Page B

truck. He turned back, opening the door. To his amazement he discovered Sarah standing on the porch.
    â€œSarah.” Her whispered name caught in his throat.
    She flattened her palm against the screen door, and he saw tears glistening in her eyes.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” he asked, reaching for her, urging her inside.
    She shook her head and stepped back.
    Dennis moved onto the porch with her.
    Wiping her cheeks, she stood on the top step, as if ready to take flight. “I shouldn’t be here,” she murmured.
    He longed to tell her this was where she belonged, where she’d always belonged, but realized that if he did, she would simply walk away. “What happened?” he asked, coming to stand at her side, not touching her.
    She shook her head again. Then she raised her eyes and looked directly at him. She seemed about to make some statement, but when their eyes met, hers softened and she lowered her lashes and bit her lower lip.
    â€œDon’t love me, Dennis. Please…don’t love me.”
    He almost laughed. “Do you think I can stop?”
    â€œYes…”
    He did laugh then, but quietly. “I’ve loved you for so long, I wouldn’t know how not to.” He’d hardly ever seen Sarah weep, and her tears unnerved him. He desperately wanted to comfort her, pull her into his arms and assure her he could fix whatever was wrong, but he knew she wouldn’t allow that.
    Taking her hand, he wrapped his fingers around hers and drew her inside the house. At first she resisted, but then, sighing, she followed him. No sooner had they walked in than he turned her into his arms. They kissed, and as his mouth worked on hers, he unfastened the buttons of her blouse until he’d opened it enough to reveal her breasts.
    â€œDennis…” she objected, her voice trembling.
    â€œShh,” he whispered huskily.
    She buried her face in his shoulder, her own hands busy unbuttoning his shirt. “I didn’t come here to make love.”
    Once again, he knew better than to argue; he also understood, even if she didn’t, that making love was exactly why she’d come. Dennis didn’t care. He loved Sarah, and if all she sought was a few moments of shared passion, then fine. He’d swallow his pride and offer her a small part of his soul, as well as his body.
    Â 
    Thursday morning, as Maddy Washburn was sweeping the grocery store, she found a slip of paper that had apparently been someone’s shopping list. She stared at the sheet and decided that whoever had written it was probably a man. The handwriting was brusque, impatient, and the items listed were without detail or description.
    Maddy grinned. A few months ago she hadn’t been sweeping floors; she’d been cleaning up the messes people made of their lives—and their children’s. As a social worker for the state of Georgia, she’d worked long, difficult hours until she’d finally reached a point of emotional collapse.
    Meeting the Hansens at Lindsay and Gage’s wedding had felt like fate, and even if buying the grocery store was the biggest risk she’d taken in her life, it seemed right to her. Never mind that her mother considered the move too drastic, too outlandish.
    The wedding was actually Maddy’s second visit to BuffaloValley. A year earlier, she had accompanied Lindsay, who’d come to Buffalo Valley to see her grandparents’ house. Like her friend, Maddy had been drawn to the town and she liked to think her encouragement had contributed to Lindsay’s decision to accept the teaching job. Over the next twelve months, Lindsay had kept her updated in an exchange of newsy letters and e-mail messages. Long before she met them at the wedding, Maddy knew many of the townspeople from Lindsay’s descriptions and anecdotes.
    The Hansens had been eager to sell and the terms they’d offered were ideal. She’d spent two weeks with them,