In Seconds Read Online Free PDF Page A

I love both places,” he said with a shrug.
    “Will you ever go back?”
    His nicked and scarred hands served as a testament to all he did with them. And they were so large they made his glass appear small by comparison. “No. Marley’s settled here. She’s happy. After she lost her mother, I’d never take her away from her friends. I think stability’s important, don’t you?”
    Very. That was the problem. Thanks to The Crew, stability wasn’t an easy thing for her to provide. “But do you think it’s as safe here as we once believed?”
    Weaving his fingers together, he clasped them behind his head. “You’ve heard about the murder.”
    She’d found the lead-in she’d been searching for. But she was afraid she’d given herself away. He could read people so well. She’d seen him do it many times—watched him step in to defuse a disagreement at the Fireworks by the Lake show last July fourth before it could erupt into a fight, watched him steer various inebriated people away from the bar so he could drive them home before they tried to get behind the wheel, watched how gently he deflected unwanted female attention. He kept his finger on the pulse of everything that went on around him, noticed changes and figured out the reasons for them. And inviting him over had definitely been a change. So he had to be wondering. And watching for clues.
    “I think most people have heard about the murder,” she said. “You know what gossip is like in this town.”
    “I do, which is why I’m curious…”
    When his eyes latched onto hers, she knew he wasn’tgoing to limit his comments to the superficial and polite. And that made her uncomfortable enough to drain her glass. “What?”
    “Why no one ever has any dirt on you.”
    Her stomach muscles tensed, but she smiled. “You’re changing the subject.”
    “Maybe I am. But I can tell my statement doesn’t surprise you. And that makes me even more curious.”
    “I haven’t given anyone a reason to talk,” she countered.
    “Exactly. You don’t flirt. You don’t date. You don’t sleep around. You don’t get involved in church or the school board or the politics of this town.”
    “I take the kids to church on Sundays.”
    “That’s it, though. You rarely even go out for a drink. As far as I can tell, your social life consists of having Claire over to watch an occasional movie and book group on Thursday nights. You live in the background of a place that’s already in the background. Why?”
    Oh, God. She shouldn’t have had him come here, let alone served him a drink. “I’m too busy with my business and raising my children.”
    “You don’t feel the need for intimacy?”
    He wasn’t talking about sex but, thanks to the wine, that was precisely where her mind went. By the time her marriage ended, she’d cringed whenever Tom touched her. But her opinion of making love had improved once she met Rex McCready. Giving pleasure was one thing Rex could do right. “How do you know I’m not in a relationship?”
    “I’d notice if a man came to the house.”
    Was he as preoccupied with her as she was with him? She hoped not. For the past several months she’d beenabsolutely infatuated. He and he alone occupied her thoughts during the long nights when she was too tired to work but couldn’t sleep. Claire was starting to pick up on her interest and badger her about why she kept turning him down.
    More wine. Right away. Getting up, she retrieved the bottle and poured herself another glass. She offered him a refill, too, but he shook his head. “Maybe I had a bad experience, so I’m hesitant to take the risk,” she murmured.
    He ran a finger over his lip in a thoughtful gesture. “Bad in what way?”
    The anxiety that’d been gnawing at her seemed to have lost its teeth, but she held fast to the rules she’d established for herself when she moved here. She was already too close to Claire; she didn’t need to wag her tongue to the sheriff. “I