Homesick Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

answering honestly, or if he was feeling something different from what she expected him to feel. He could sense her looking at him, assessing. “Was she okay?”
    “Who?” He knew who.
    “Your wife.”
    He didn’t want to talk about that.
    “She overheard me on the phone, didn’t she?”
    “Yeah.”
    “I’m so sorry. I know I shouldn’t have—”
    He cut her off. “It’s okay.”
    Rae folded her arms tightly across her chest, sending up a fresh whiff of perfume. Did she fold her arms on purpose to make her silk shirt open up more? He could see some of her bra. It looked expensive—lace and ribbon. Bunny wore plain, cheap white underwear she got at the outlet stores. Not that it mattered. He’d seen her breasts a million times, though she didn’t let him touch them much anymore. He loved the creamy slope between a woman’s collarbone and breast, glimpsed in the V of a partially unbuttoned blouse. Rae’s blouse, in this case. Everything she wore looked good to touch: silk, cashmere, soft leather, soft wool. She didn’t have to dress up like that, but she said she had always dressed up in San Francisco and she wasn’t about to compromise her standards now, just because she lived in a small town. He thought she was wasting her time, but he enjoyed the view all the same. Most of the women he saw wore knit pants and blouses. That or jeans. He’d never seen Rae in jeans, but then he’d never seen her anywhere except at work. You’d think he’d run into her once in a while in the Sawyer Safeway or someplace on the weekend, but he never had. Not that he came over from Hubbard much on the weekend. Bunny never wanted to, not even to go to a movie.
    “What are you thinking about?” Rae said quietly.
    “Nothing.”
    “Oh, as though I believed
that
.” She turned abruptly and walked away. He probably should have given her a real answer, but he didn’t know what he was thinking about or if he was thinking at all. He could feel the first gentle pulsing of a migraine.
    He grabbed his leather-look jacket from the coat tree in his office and headed out to the service area to shoot the shit a little with Bob. When he got there, though, Bob’s service bay was empty again. Over at the service desk Francine smiled at him as he came in. She was a big, friendly girl, the kind built for having babies. You weren’t supposed to say that kind of thing anymore, but it was true just the same, and Francine would have probably taken it as a compliment. She and Jerry had just celebrated their first anniversary. Francine still kept a photo album of their Hawaii honeymoon on her desk for people to look through while they waited for their car. First thing you saw after the reception shots was Francine in a tight black bathing suit, posing for the camera like a World War II pinup girl, only heavier.
    “Hey, Hack,” she said. So far she was the only person he’d seen today who seemed genuinely glad to see him.
    “You’re looking mighty good,” Hack said. “You still on that liquid protein diet?”
    Francine flushed with pleasure. “I’ve lost ten pounds already. Jerry can’t believe it. He’s so proud.”
    “You tell him he better watch out. If he doesn’t keep an eye on you, some stud’s going to try and snap you up,” Hack said, because he knew it would make her happy. Even ten pounds lighter, she wasn’t a girl who would turn heads. “Did Bob come in at all?”
    “No. Anita called in for him.” Francine gave Hack a look. They both knew Bob was drinking again.
    “Well, at least things look slow,” Hack said.
    “Yeah. Mr. Vernon isn’t coming in today either.”
    “Good.” If the old man did show up, Hack would tell him Bob had just left for a dental appointment. Marv never worried about the service department, though, unless someone complained. It always made money.
    “Are you going to call him?” Francine said.
    “Guess I’d better.”
    “Well, be sure and tell him there’s a full day of