Darkness Bound Read Online Free PDF

plopped already buttered toast and two muffins beside the bigger plate. Deftly, she swooped honey, jam, and marmalade from a serving trolley.
    “Thank you,” Leigh said. “It all looks wonderful.”
    Sally wiped her hands on the apron and nodded. “Got ’em ready to go right after Gabriel went to get you from the office,” she said. “It’s a good thing you came back to Chimney Rock.”
    “A good thing?” The comment confused Leigh.
    “It’s always best being where you belong.”
    No less confused, Leigh studied her food. One of the first things that came to her mind when she woke up that morning was that she felt right—comfortable, despite some misgivings about the big dog’s visit and the difficult memories of Chris. The sensation, when she isolated it, had felt very strange. Sally’s remarks sounded as if the woman had some way of knowing what Leigh felt.
    She drank more coffee. Jazzy would make short work of the sausages but Leigh would have difficulty not leaving most of the rest of the food on the plates.
    “Cliff here decides what we’re doing for each meal,” Sally said in a hoarse voice. Except for the roots, her curly hair was white blond and she applied makeup with a lavish hand. “Can’t have a big variety. There’s not room out there. Cliff’s clever at making a few choices sound like a lot. But if there’s something special you fancy, just give me the word.” She nodded and returned the way she had come, disappearing behind the log wall loaded with shelves of spirits that backed the bar.
    “Well, I’ll be,” Cliff said quietly. “She’s taken a shine to you. Sally never says that much to anyone she doesn’t know.” He followed Sally, muttering to himself.
    The logs were stripped raw on the inside as well as the outside of the building’s walls. Leigh liked the way it looked, and the snug atmosphere in the place. Last night might not have been easy, but with each passing hour she felt hope grow.
    What Sally had said was a coincidence.
    The front door of the bar opened and two men walked in. Niles and another man, who was just as tall but leaner. The second man also had a visibly powerful physique beneath the wool jacket he wore open over a T-shirt. But Niles’s musculature seemed more massive, more powerful, as if he was no stranger to physical work. The second man wore thick, dark blond hair pulled straight back in a band.
    Niles saw her and nodded. She waved and he hesitated before heading for her table. He said something to the other man, who followed but looked reluctant about it.
    “You’re an early bird,” Niles said. “Got your breakfast already, huh?”
    “Mine and six other people’s,” Leigh said. She had hoped to see him today and ask him about a possible stray dog. The stranger with Niles made her less comfortable about asking questions.
    Two unsmilingly watchful, very noticeable men, standing close beside her, didn’t make for a relaxed feeling, yet when she looked directly at their faces, they weren’t actually watching her at all.
    Leigh cleared her throat and said, “Would you like to join me? It’s nice by the fire.” Despite his seriousness, seeing Niles again pleased her. He felt familiar.
    Niles sat down at once, tipped his chair onto its back legs, and gave her a slight smile.
    He did have the bluest eyes, and one of those rare male mouths you couldn’t look away from. Niles had a habit of keeping the edges of his top teeth pressed into his bottom lip. Leigh raised her eyebrows. She was surprising herself. It had been a very long time since she responded to a man but she was very aware of Niles.
    His companion shifted from foot to foot a couple of times and remained standing.
    “This is Sean Black,” Niles said. “He’s our next closest neighbor. His place is in the forest—literally. If you didn’t know where to look you’d never find it.”
    Sean’s quiet, unreadable expression didn’t suggest he cared if no one ever found his house,