Her Name Is Trouble: A small-town contemporary romance (The Daimsbury Chronicles Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

innocence and trust in them settled in his gut like a punch.
    Missy wasn’t hiding, yet she was running away from something. He’d bet his life on that. What to make of her?
    She also concealed a sharp mind behind her klutzy ways—look how she’d rationalised about his position with the line and then given him a strategy to pursue.
    Speaking of that, he owed her thanks. She’d gotten him out of a mighty pickle. Trouble, though, spelled how to get to town. He couldn’t use the crutches over the mile-long distance, and Liam had gone out to work, staying late today at the school for the girls’ football team practice.
    Noise came from the kitchen, and he hobbled his way there. His mother stood at the door, putting on her jacket. She’d be going out for her afternoon stint at the Trammell manor, needing to coordinate dinner for the household seeing how at least one Trammell was in Daimsbury right now.
    “Can you drop me in town?” he asked.
    His mum frowned. “Sure you can go out with that foot?”
    “Perfectly safe. I saw Liz this morning and she said it’s healing nicely.”
    “How will you get back? I won’t return before late evening. Magnus, Agneta, and their mother are at the manor. Tindra and Elin will be over tomorrow and I have to get the rooms ready—”
    “Don’t worry about that. I’ll call Liam and get him to pick me up on his way home.”
    She shrugged. “Fine, then. Hop on.”
    He followed her out and got into her hatchback Ford Focus. After pushing the front passenger seat as far back as possible, he settled in and made the most of the still-non-existent legroom.
    “So, the whole Trammell clan coming down to Daimsbury? How and when did that happen?”
    She rolled her eyes. “Ever since Magnus discovered Megha lived in town.”
    He almost choked on his gasp. “Megha? As in, Megha Saran? She and Magnus ?”
    “Oh, they say they’re just friends, but we’ve all got eyes.” She huffed, then her face grew sombre. “Megha’s sick, you know.”
    He sat up straighter. “Sick how?”
    He’d grown up with the girl, and for a while, had thought she’d become his sister-in-law when she’d dated Liam back in the day.
    “Breast cancer.”
    “But she’s twenty-nine. That’s way too young!”
    “I know.”
    He shook his head. “Is she here? Maybe I should go see her?”
    “She’s mostly in London where she’s getting her treatments. I don’t think she came back to the village this weekend.”
    They’d reached town and she dropped him off in front of Ben&Jari .
    The news of Megha’s sickness still rattled him, and he took a few steps towards the restaurant, hoping to have a word with Jari about his daughter’s condition.
    The sight of Missy seated at a booth with an opened ledger in front of her greeted him inside. She seemed engrossed in her task, brows furrowed, hair pulled up in a messy bun from which poked out a chopstick. The same fuzzy and oversized black sweater covered her form. What was that? Some sort of social uniform for her? Unless that amounted to all the clothing she possessed; he recalled her mentioning she’d lost everything back in London. He couldn’t help but notice how just the tips of her fingers peeked out from the too-long sleeves.
    Missy loved to hide her hands, it seemed. Why? Could she be a former druggie? If so, she did appear on the mend now. He wouldn’t hold her past against her, if she’d changed...
    She didn’t seem to pick up that he stood there, so he went to the booth opposite and slid in while clearing his throat. She jumped in her seat, one delicate white hand with long, slender fingers going over her heart while her eyes grew big in her face.
    “Dang, sugar! You shouldn’t startle a girl like so!”
    Her accent flowed through every word, thicker than usual. Pretty, though. The lilting drawl suited her elfin face and mischievous eyes. And that delicious mouth... He groaned and shuffled to adjust his jeans, careful not to let her see what the