Just Down the Road Read Online Free PDF Page A

Strange that such a cold woman would pick a profession like doctor, or maybe it was just him she was so cold toward.
    She didn’t ask which house was his. She just drove through the night as he leaned back and wished everything and everyone would go away.
    When she pulled up in front of his place, she stopped and said, “You need any help getting in?”
    “No,” he snapped as he fumbled for the door.
    It took every ounce of his concentration to make it out of the car and up the steps. He heard her drive away as he opened the door and moved inside.
    Tinch made it two more feet before he crumbled to his knees. He didn’t cry or scream or cuss. He just leaned forward, his head in his hands, and wished for the thousandth time that he could stop breathing.
    A mile away Addison pulled her BMW into the dilapidated garage and walked across the darkened yard to the house she’d rented. As always, she’d forgotten to leave the porch light on. Her only excuse was she’d never lived anywhere but the city. She’d never known such blackness on moonless nights before.
    Her body felt numb, she was so tired. When she stepped on the porch, she looked back south toward Tinch Turner’s house. She could barely make out the outline of his place against the sky. He hadn’t turned on a light either. Maybe, like her, he liked the shadows now and then. Stepping inside, she walked across the living room and into her bedroom, stripping off clothes as she moved. By the time she bumped into her bed, she wore only a T-shirt and panties as she tumbled into the unmade bed she’d left almost twenty-four hours before.
    “Sleep,” she whispered, knowing that tonight, finally, she would.
    Hours later, a knock on her door woke her. For a minute, Addison couldn’t figure out where she was, and then she told herself she was safe. She was in control of her own life. No one was pushing her. Her family didn’t even know where she lived.
    When the knock came again, she wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and went to find the noise.
    A tall man wearing a western shirt, well-worn and well-fitting jeans, and a cowboy hat stood on her porch. Without the blood and dirt, she almost didn’t recognize Tinch Turner, the bothersome neighbor she’d treated last night. The thought crossed her mind not to answer, but since she hadn’t even latched the screen door last night, and the wooden door stood wide open, it would have been hard to act like she wasn’t home. All he had to do was turn around and he’d see her standing on the other side of the screen.
    While she thought about what to do, he shifted and she couldn’t help but think that he was a man built in balance. He was tall, but not lanky, slim, but not thin, with shoulders that looked strong from work and not from pumping iron. He might spend his nights drinking and getting into fights, but he spent his days outside.
    Before she could move, he turned and faced her.
    She froze, unsure what to do.
    His piercing blue eyes drank her in with a slow movement from her toes to her hair.
    “What are you doing here?” Addison pulled the blanket closer, as if it offered her some protection.
    “I came to say I’m sorry for not thanking you for bringing me home last night.” He smiled, showing straight white teeth, which surprised her. If he’d really been in as many fights as Nurse Veasey claimed, he should have been toothless by now.
    “Forget it.” She expected him to turn away, but he didn’t move. Maybe her one neighbor was one too many, Addison thought.
    He finally shifted. “I was wondering if I could ride into town with you next time you go. I need to pick up my truck. Ten miles is a little far to walk.”
    “Why don’t you call someone?” She didn’t want to get to know Tinch Turner. They had nothing in common, nothing to talk about. With her work schedule she didn’t have time to make friends, and the last thing she wanted was a man in her life. Between a demanding father still trying to