Diamond Read Online Free PDF Page A

I feel right now, we both need referees.”
    His gut twisted as her hips swayed seductively with each long stride she took toward home. Her body was a study in rhythm and motion, and he wondered if she made love as slowly as she walked. The thought elicited a groan that made Diamond turn and glare, thinking he’d bumped into something in the dark.
    “Watch your step,” she cautioned. “We don’t have homeowner’s insurance, you know. You fall and bust that pretty face of yours, you fix it yourself.”
    He laughed.
    Diamond frowned again. This was a man to be wary of. It didn’t seem to matter how rude she got. He never seemed to mind. In fact, if she didn’t know better, she’d swear he liked it. She opened the door and walked into the house, leaving him to follow at will.
    “Queenie, look!” Lucky’s squeal at the sight of all that money in the hat was nothing compared to the glare Queen sent toward the tall, dark-haired man who followed Diamond through the door.
    “Who’s he?” she asked.
    Lucky’s second squeal was answer enough. “Ohmigosh! Jesse Eagle!” She tugged at her T-shirt and then shoved her hands into the pockets of her cutoffs, trying desperately not to giggle.
    Queen stood up, willing herself not to overreact to the fact that a very famous man had just walked into their home. But she had an awful feeling about this man and his arrival. She knew what he did for a living. And she knew what a gift her sister had. Please God, not that—not now, she thought. She couldn’t face losing a sister, not this soon after Johnny. And then he spoke.
    “Ladies. I’m really sorry to intrude into your family during your time of grief.”
    “But you did it anyway,” Queen said. “Just what we need, another man intruding when our defenses are down.”
    Diamond interrupted. “Our defenses aren’t quite as down as they were, Queenie.” She grinned as her older sister glared at the use of that nickname. “It seems that Morton Whitelaw had a change of heart. By Saturday noon, we’re each going to be in possession of a cashier’s check for five thousand dollars.”
    “Each?” Lucky staggered backward and landed on the sofa. She didn’t even wince when the curling edges of the middle cushion snagged the tender insides of her bare legs. “Why did he change his mind?”
    “Because I told him if he didn’t, we were going to give the property to the Holiness Church across the hollow.”
    “Those snake handlers? My God, Di! Did he faint or what?” Lucky asked, then started to smile. Just the thought of Whitelaw side by side with Bible thumpers was priceless.
    Lucky jumped up from the sofa and threw her arms around her sisters. They laughed and shouted and did a little dance of jubilation in the center of the room.
    Jesse was forgotten in the tumult, and it was just as well. He wouldn’t have wanted them to see how dumbstruck he’d been by their abandon. Over the years he’d seen a lot of women. Some more beautiful than others. But he’d never seen anything like these three sisters.
    Their height was unusual and as striking as the high Slavic cheekbones shaping their faces. And those matching sets of eyes, as clear and pure a green as new spring grass. But there the similarities seemed to end. A redhead, a blonde, and one with hair as black as coal. Each sister also seemed to have a distinct personality. He stared at them.
    Diamond sighed as she dropped onto the couch and dumped her tips from the hat. “I was scared to death the entire time,” she said. “I just knew I’d have to come back and tell you I’d failed.”
    “Are you ready to listen now?” Jesse asked, interrupting their moment. His eyes never left Diamond’s face.
    His voice was like a splash of cold water. The sisters looked at him with wary interest. All except for Queen, who closed her eyes and waited for the bullet.
    “I don’t even know your name,” Jesse said to Diamond, “but I heard you sing yesterday at your