His First and Last (Ardent Springs #1) Read Online Free PDF

“Lord, give me strength not to dump this woman on the side of the road.” And then: “Champ, you stay here with Rosie. Maybe she’ll let you chew on some of Lorelei’s fancy shoes as a treat.”
    “If that dog so much as slobbers on my shoes—”
    “Don’t get your panties in a wad.” Spencer climbed in and clicked his seat belt. “Champ would go for your underwear first. Your shoes are safe.”
    Lorelei was not about to discuss her underwear with Spencer, so she dropped the conversation altogether and focused on staring at the trees as the truck flew down Pratchett Lane. Not that they were flying very fast. Spencer seemed to have lost his teenage penchant for driving like a maniac.
    Now he drove like Granny headed for Sunday church. Scratch that. Granny drove faster than this. At least he honored her desire to remain silent, forgoing any attempts at chatter until they’d reached their destination.
    The Ruby Theater looked much as Lorelei remembered it. The marquee was empty, which reflected the lack of operation, but the red-brick front looked as sturdy as ever. The box office, centered between two sets of double doors, wasn’t even boarded up.
    Hadn’t Granny said the building was nearly condemned? This looked more like the place needed a good dusting. Lorelei noticed the For Sale sign in the window.
    “You guys didn’t say it was up for sale.” She stepped down out of the truck. “Why don’t you wait until a new buyer takes over and let them fix it up?”
    “No one’s buying,” Spencer said, joining her on the sidewalk in front of the box office. “The current owners keep the sign there, but it’s pointless. They’ve agreed if we raise the funds to do the major repairs, they’ll front the money for the smaller stuff and reopen the doors.”
    “I don’t get it.” Lorelei looked at Spencer, holding her hand over her eyes to block the blaring sun behind him. “Aren’t they losing money by letting it sit empty like this? Why should anyone else have to pay for the repairs if they’re the ones who didn’t maintain it correctly in the first place?”
    Spencer motioned for her to precede him to the entrance. “The building is paid for. All it’s costing them is the taxes, and those are less than what it would cost to invest in renovations. The owners have enough other successful theaters to cover the taxes on this one.”
    As Spencer pushed open one set of doors, Lorelei expected the familiar scent of popcorn to fill her senses. Instead, she was hit by the smell of mildew and something rotten. “What the hell is in there?” she asked, remaining on the sidewalk.
    “The better question is what
isn’t
in there.” Spencer flipped the stopper down to hold the door open. “Try not to breathe too deep. We’re safe enough if we don’t stay long.”
    Not sure she believed him, Lorelei pulled her shirt up over her nose and followed Spencer into the building. The interior stood in complete contrast to the outside. The front concession stand, which had been a fifteen-foot glass display case showing off everything from Jujubes to Whoppers, was little more than a metal frame with small shards of glass sticking up from the bottom every few feet.
    Debris littered the floor, forcing them to watch every step they took. At one point, Spencer reached out his arm, pressing it against her stomach to stop her movement. He held a finger over his mouth, then pointed up.
    Not sure what she’d find, Lorelei followed his directions, only to spot three sleeping bats hanging from the ceiling. She attached herself to Spencer’s back and managed to scream only in her head. As he tiptoed to the doors that led into the screen room, Lorelei moved with him.
    To an observer, they probably looked like a bad sketch from a Stooges film, but she was not about to get separated from him. If thosebats woke up, or if God knew what other wild creature came at them, she was more than prepared to use Spencer as a shield. If something