Hell Yeah!: Gun Shy (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read Online Free PDF

something for myself anyway.”
    “It was still thoughtful. You will have to let me repay you.”
    “You don’t have to repay me,” he growled. For some reason, her suggestion annoyed him.
    “I know. But I would feel better if I did.”
    “But—”
    “Shut up.”
    She froze the second the words came out of her mouth. Oh, hell. She would never have been this flip with Baron. She didn’t know why she’d sassed Andrew. Didn’t know why she’d done so without a thought to the consequences. But now he would retaliate. He would—
    Laugh.
    Was he laughing?
    She stared at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it didn’t. He was genuinely amused by her attitude.
    Of their own volition, her lips quirked.
    Man, how wonderful would it be to say what she liked without worrying about infuriating someone? It had been a long time since she felt she could be herself.
    She might actually enjoy this friendship.
    “So,” she said, taking another sip of coffee. “What are your plans for the day?”
    It was such an utterly domesticated scene it made her want to laugh.
    “Well, first I want to have that look at your car. Then I thought I’d go check out my father’s house to see what condition it’s in.”
    “Oh,” she sighed. “I always loved that house. What are you going to do with it?”
    “I don’t know. Bulldoze it?”
    She gaped at him. “Why?”
    But he only shrugged.
    “I always thought that was a perfect house,” she said.
    “Perfect?” She didn’t understand the bitterness in his tone.
    “With the columns. The bay windows. The whimsical lattice. That old oak in front. Very evocative.”
    “Maybe it will sell quickly.”
    “You’re going to sell it?” Damn. She wished she had the money to buy it.
    For some reason he glanced at her before responding. “Not sure yet.”
    “Not sure if you’re going to sell it?”
    “Not sure if I’m staying here.”
    The thought of him leaving town and never coming back filled her with an unaccountable sadness. She had no idea why. “When will you know?”
    “When I know.” He smiled at her to soften his words.
    She was intuitive enough to see that he didn’t want to discuss it, so she blew out a breath and said, “I just can’t imagine anyone not wanting to live in that house.” It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She remembered driving past it on the way to church on Sundays thinking it looked like a fairytale castle. Of course, she’d only been a child then, but it still stood at the forefront of her mind as the height of perfection. All other houses had been measured against that one.
    “There are…bad memories there.”
    She flinched as she remembered. His brother had died there. Not in the house, but in the barn, which was close enough. Everyone in town had been stunned when it came out that Danny Grant had taken his own life. “I’m sorry. I forgot.” She toyed with her napkin. “But there must be some happy memories too.”
    Andrew nodded, but looked away. “Yeah. Sure.”
    “Do you…” She broke off when she realized the impudence of her question.
    “Do I what?”
    “Nothing. It was stupid.”
    “There’s no such thing as a stupid question,” he said.
    “You haven’t heard the question yet,” she quipped.
    “Try me.”
    With a heavy sigh, she blurted it out. “Would you like me to go with you when you visit the house?”
    He didn’t respond, other than to stare at her with an intensity that made all her nerves prickle. She was about to withdraw the offer when he swallowed heavily and said in a choked voice, “I would love to have some company, Melissa. Thank you for offering.”
     
     
    It was the hardest thing he’d done in a while, driving up that familiar drive to the house he hated. He was so thankful for Melissa’s cheerful presence at his side. It was as though she chased the darkness away.
    She’d been so thrilled that he’d fixed her car—though it had only been a couple of loose spark