If We Dare to Dream Read Online Free PDF Page A

years that had passed since she had first left the Valley. She should have known then that she was making a mistake. All the warning signs had been present.
    First, her brothers warning her that Clay was not all that he seemed. While she had always had trouble introducing boys to her brothers in the past, this time all four brothers, including open-minded Grady, had not made any effort to like Clay at all. She had disregarded their warnings, chalking it up to the words of overprotective siblings and behaved in typical Jamie manner by rebelling.
    Then, during her final night out with Marissa and Rae, her two best friends emphatically warned her off Clay. Their wise words of not rushing into things and taking more time to get to know him had fallen on deaf ears. She had been so enraptured by his charm and subtle pressure to commit that she ignored their advice.
    The largest and most frightening warning sign fell with the man she met that last night out. Three weeks after she had moved, Marissa had called to tell her who the girl that had nearly vomited all over her had been murdered in a rape gone wrong that night. While she had been a little frightened, when Marissa told her who was arrested for the crime Jamie felt as though the rug had been pulled from her feet. The man they had arrested was the very same man who had followed her home. That charming and friendly guy that she had let her guard down for, had even wanted to know more about, had been charged with the crime and now sat in prison convicted of murder.
    Jamie still went cold as ice thinking about how close she could have been to being a victim herself. He had followed her almost to her development door. What would have happened if he had come closer? Could he have run her off the road in that big truck he had been driving? Had he given up because she was not intoxicated and went instead to someone he knew was? Whatever the case, she had learned a valuable lesson that night. No matter how good a judge of character she thought she was, she was wrong.
    Embarrassed at how foolish she had behaved that night, she never told a soul how close she came. Not even Clay during their happier days. She never told, but she remembered. When Clay had proven that he was not all he seemed to be as well, it had cemented her inability to trust her instincts.
    A knock on her door brought her back to the present. She sat up and wiped at her eyes, calling out to whichever brother it was to enter. The door swung open silently on well-greased hinges and revealed Ian. His close cropped hair was glistening with drops of water, and he had changed from his shorts and t-shirt to a pair of swim trunks. Jamie grimaced when she noticed he was dripping on the travertine flooring. Brothers, she fumed.
    “Don’t you have a towel?”
    Ian glanced down and then shrugged. “It’s white. He’ll never notice.”
    “But I will. Hold on.”
    She slid across the bed and hurried to the bathroom. Finding the box marked ‘linens’, she pulled it open and tossed a towel back at him. He caught it in one hand and shook it open.
    “So are you going to come and join us?”
    “I just needed to be alone for a second…to take a look around and see what needs to be done.”
    His astute and observant gaze told her that he did not believe a word she said. “Whatever.”
    She raised her chin. “Well, I did need time. Having all you guys hovering over me all weekend has left me exhausted.”
    “You and me both,” he muttered.
    He padded over to the refrigerator and pulled it open. Ducking his head inside, he withdrew a moment later with two beers in his hand.
    “Where did those come from?”
    “Courtesy of Grady. Apparently he insisted on hitting the grocery store before we got here. He didn’t get a lot, but at least there’s a few things to tide you over until you get a chance to go.”
    Twisting the tops off both, he handed one to Jamie and took a deep swig of his own. He pulled a chair out from the small