Ever Present Danger Read Online Free PDF

him.

    “What was that for?” he said.

    Carolyn didn’t say anything, certain that Elam already knew the answer.

    Brandon Jones walked in the living room and saw Kelsey curled up on the couch, reading a novel. “You’ve been pouting all day. Are you still mad about Buzz’s comment at breakfast?”

    “What do you think?” Kelsey Jones turned the page.

    “I think it was inappropriate, but that’s just Buzz. He didn’t mean anything by it.”

    “Yes, he did. And everyone who overheard his tacky comment knew exactly what he was getting at. There’s no excuse for him embarrassing us that way.”

    “No one takes Buzz seriously.”

    Kelsey sighed. “That’s beside the point. Why didn’t you just tell him to knock it off?”

    “I thought it was more important to explain the real reason we were late, especially with so many ears around.”

    “Well, after Buzz’s smarty remark about our faces being as red as the Tabasco sauce, I’m sure everyone thinks you made up the whole story about getting a phone call on our way out the door.”

    Brandon flopped on the couch next to her. “Sorry. I didn’t think it was that big a deal.”

    “Maybe it wouldn’t have been if it were just a one-time comment, but Buzz deliberately makes me blush every time we’re around him. And that off-color remark he made about Ivy was uncalled for. I just wanted to slap him. I’ve never appreciated his innuendos or his off-color jokes or the way he tries to make me feel like a prude because I don’t laugh at his locker-room humor. I put up with it only because he and Maggie were so nice to us when we first moved here. But I’ve had it. His comment today was just too personal and too public.”

    “Come on, Kel, you’re overreacting.”

    “I don’t want to be around Buzz anymore.” She turned the page on her book and didn’t look at him.

    “You’d seriously drop the Eastons just because Buzz is a big tease?”

    “No, because Buzz is a big jerk.”

    Brandon reached over and took the book from Kelsey’s hand. “Okay, honey. We don’t have to hang out with the Eastons as a couple. Buzz and I can do our own thing.”

    “I just don’t get why you put up with him.”

    “You kidding? He’s my free ticket to shooting the rapids. I’ve always thrived on adventure. You know that.”

    “There’s plenty to do right here at the camp. How much adventure do you need?”

    Brandon tugged playfully at her sleeve. “Oh, I don’t know. I still haven’t jumped out of an airplane, gone hang gliding, or tried to climb Mt. Everest. I haven’t been scuba diving or bungee jumping. I’ve never hunted for bear. Raced the Indy 500 or the Iditarod. I’ve never applied for a job as a stuntman or gone out for rugby, or—”

    “Okay, okay, I get the point.” Kelsey smiled and leaned her head on the back of the couch, then turned to him, her sleek, dark hair draping her shoulders. “I suppose I should be glad you have a guy friend to do the rough stuff with since I’m never going to enjoy it.”

    “But there’re plenty of things you and I do together that are great fun. I love being with you. And for those occasional timeswhen I need an outlet for this wild and crazy streak of mine, there’s Buzz.”

    “Well, at least he’s good for something.”

    Brandon moved over next to Kelsey and put his arm around her. “What do you say we go take a ride on the snowmobiles?”

    “Now?”

    “Yeah. I thought we could ride up to the Griffiths’ house and see if Ivy and Montana made it in.”

    Ivy Griffith sat at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a mug of hot cocoa, keenly aware that her father seemed to have disappeared after depositing their suitcases outside the guest rooms in the upstairs hallway.

    “Montana and Sasha are getting along famously,” Carolyn said, nodding toward the window.

    Ivy looked outside, hit with a sense of déjá vu as she saw her son riding a sled down the same steep hill she and