Her Secret Wish Read Online Free PDF

Face burning, Rachel let him scoot the chair under her butt. “Thank you,” she murmured.
    Dean sat across from her and the chair actually creaked. His eyes flicked to hers and he widened his eyes theatrically. “I’ve only destroyed one chair in my life, I swear!”
    Rachel laughed and looked away, entirely too charmed by him. “It’s stronger than it looks. Though you are a big dude.” She took the excuse to look him up and down.
    He wore a soft blue button-down shirt, short sleeves revealing his muscular biceps and forearms. Dark blond hair covered his tan skin and her gaze could trace the length of his veins down his arms. She wanted to trace those same veins with her fingertips.
    Dean leaned his head down to catch her gaze and Rachel felt her skin heat again. Shit, he’d caught her gawking at him. “Yes?”
    He tipped his chin toward the white Styrofoam container in front of her. “I ordered chicken fajitas and enchiladas. Which would you prefer?”
    They both sounded good. Hunger was suddenly overriding the nausea. “Can we split them?”
    Dean’s perfect smile spread and he nodded, putting her request into action.
    “Where are you from, Rachel?”
    “I’m from a little bit of everywhere. My dad’s in the Marines, so we bounced around a lot. I’d been to more countries by the age of twelve than most people see in their lives. My dad is getting ready to retire in a couple years. He’ll probably stay in Pensacola, where he’s stationed now.”
    “With your mom?”
    Rachel stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. “No, my mom committed suicide when I was about ten.”
    Dean cringed and reached forward to rest his hand on hers. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
    The touch of his cool fingers on hers made her appreciate him all the more. “She got tired of the life, I think, though she never told Dad that. We were getting ready for another move out of the country when she swallowed a bunch of sleeping pills.”
    Though she didn’t say it out loud, she had been the one to find her mother, of course; lying on her bed as if nothing were wrong. It was not unusual for mother to take a lot of naps, which when she got older Rachel realized was a symptom of her ongoing depression. But Mom had always been good about getting up to make dinner for her daughter and husband. That night she did not.
    “Did you have brothers or sisters?”
    “No, just Dad. But after Mom…left, he was a very different man. She had been the central support of our family and when she left things fell apart. My dad used to be a steady fixture in my life, but he couldn’t stand to be at the house without Mom in it. He got the acceptance he needed from the Marines, and I mean that literally. He was on base as much as possible.”
    “I’m surprised you weren’t a little resentful of them, then.”
    Rachel nodded. What an interesting insight. “No, not resentful. I graduated high school and joined the Marines myself as soon as I could. For a while I found that acceptance, too. Dad was proud of me for a while. There’s nothing like knowing the guy next to you will take a bullet for you.”
    Dean lifted his brows at her as he shoved a forkful of food into his mouth.
    “Oh,” she laughed. “I guess you do know. How about you? Do you come from a long line of cops?”
    Dean tilted his head. “You know, I didn’t used to think so. My dad is a carpenter and all of my uncles did construction work, but a few years ago I learned from my mom that her family had been heavy into law enforcement. That must be where I got the urge.”
    “And does your family live around here?”
    He nodded. “My dad’s been having health issues so I moved back here to be close to them.”
    “Where were you before?”
    “California. I had gone to college out there, loved it, and never left. One of my workout buddies was an Anaheim cop and everything he did sounded fascinating. So, though I have a degree in computer programming, I