FLOWERS and CAGES Read Online Free PDF

Who expected a famous musician to pull his outrageously expensive sports car into the parking lot of Dole's Body Repair ? Things like that just didn't happen. Add her sore thumb, the heat, and her frustration with life in general to the surprise factor. Was it any wonder she hadn't recognized him?
    Not that those things kept her from flirting. She had been distracted—not dead. It had been awhile, but Colleen recognized the zing—the zip of awareness—immediately. And felt his interest in return. Strangers were in short supply around Midas. Ones who looked like Dalton? Colleen smiled, turning her face to the spray of water. Nobody looked like Dalton—stranger or otherwise. His short dark hair and that crazy, sexy beard. On top of a long, lean body. It made Colleen tingle when she thought that not long ago, he stood close enough to touch.
    The entire episode had been odd—and exhilarating. The fact that Colleen had offered to rent Dalton her car—her baby—said it all. Nobody touched the T-Bird except Colleen. From the moment she polished the final piece of chrome, it had been off limits. Maybe it was the heat. Or her hormones. Or finding out the man standing less than three feet away was a certified superstar. She preferred to think it was the promise of some easy money. Whatever the explanation, she had promised Dalton Shaw the use of her car. He hadn't given her time to change her mind. He had taken out his wallet, removed a wad of cash that made her jaw drop, and peeled off two thousand dollars without a second's hesitation.
    Colleen hadn't expected things to move that quickly. Who carried that kind of cash around? She thought he would need to visit a bank—fifty miles down the road in Phoenix. Faced with handing over the car keys, a case of nerves hit her—hard.
    "I understand." Dalton had smiled. It was a killer smile. "All you have is my word—"
    "And your money," Colleen added, fanning herself with the stack of hundreds.
    "And my money. If you need more, that's not a problem."
    They stood in one of the few patches of shade. Though Colleen always covered her car with the protective tarp, this spot under an old, ragged strip of awning was unofficially hers. No one bothered her baby back here—not if they knew what was good for them.
    "It isn't the money." Colleen laughed to herself. She was fairly certain it was the first time that combination of words had left her mouth. "I know it's just a car, but…"
    "I understand. You put a lot of yourself into restoring it. Not simply your time and effort. Your heart. And a bit of your soul."
    "Yes." Colleen was surprised that Dalton understood—nobody else did. Not her mother. Not her friends. It took a stranger to see what she hadn't been able to put into words. Her heart and a bit of her soul . How did he know ?
    As though he heard her thoughts, Dalton answered. "It's a little like writing a song. There is always a bit of me in it."
    Colleen wasn't proud of what happened next. It made her seem like one of those women she always ridiculed. Dalton reached up and removed his sunglasses. That was all it took. When he turned his blue eyes her way, every last bit of doubt melted away. It was crazy and illogical and so not her. But there it was. Proof that Colleen McNamara was no better than a giggly, empty-headed teenager. A sexy smile and a pair of the deepest blue eyes God ever created, and she was putty.
    Five minutes later, Dalton drove away. He had been the one who insisted on signing a quickly put-together receipt—something that had flown out of Colleen's mind.
    Turning off the water, Colleen stepped from the shower. She didn't think Dalton Shaw was about to abscond with her car. In all likelihood, he would return it without a scratch. However, if something did happen to her sweet ride? It was exactly what she deserved for turning into a huffing, puffing, blithering fangirl.
    Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Colleen dramatically clasped her hands to her