Key to Love Read Online Free PDF Page B

arrived. The solid weathered gray barn stood peacefully in the wide yard with its twin silos guarding it like sentinels. Rosy warm lights flooded from the two-story house with a wraparound porch complete with a white wicker swing and colorful, floral-cushioned wicker chairs. Off to the right, a spacious farmhouse kitchen ran the full depth of the house. The entrance gave way to a solid oak staircase climbing up to four bedrooms and a glorious bath with an oversized bathtub.
    Elise sank lower in the steaming water, listening to the loud antics of Lucas and her brothers below in the kitchen as they finished off the pizza and what she hoped was no more than a few beers. Beside the tub, Bess, her father’s Dalmatian, was stretched out on a blue throw carpet, patiently waiting for her to finish. The dog had become permanently attached to her the minute she walked through the door, and Elise surmised she was just simply missing her father. Anton had bought the pup eight years ago when Elise was in her third year at the university.
    She heard the front door slam shut and a car roar to life. It would be Thomas, returning to his house in Wilkes-Barre fifteen minutes away. Earlier, he had given her a list of Home Health numbers to call to arrange for in-home help once her father was released from the hospital. In his usual efficient way, he had already enlisted a farmer down the road to tend to her father’s beef cattle. Anton Springer had given up his dairy cows six years ago, when he reached sixty-two. Elise at first thought the transition would be difficult, but he seemed to enjoy the freedom from the strict hours needed to manage milkers.
    Drying herself quickly, Elise pulled on a navy sweat suit and headed for the now-quiet kitchen. Fritz had obviously headed for town as well. Beer can in hand, Lucas stood by the sink and was staring out the window at the inky blackness.
    He turned to face her. “I thought you’d turned in for the night.”
    She went to the counter beside him and pulled out the carafe from the coffee maker. If the number of beer cans littering the counters and table was an indication of how much he had downed, there wouldn’t be enough aspirin in the house to relieve his headache in the morning.
    “If you’re fixing that for me, forget it.” He took a sip of beer, leaning against the refrigerator to watch her work.
    “No, actually, it’s for me,” she said. It was partially true. When she worked late, she often enjoyed having a cup.
    “Caffeine will keep you wired all night.”
    She shook her head. “As a rule, it doesn’t.” In fact, she could guzzle coffee by the cupful and still fall into bed and be instantly asleep. Removing a can of coffee from the cupboard, she measured some coffee grounds into a filter. “So what have you been doing the last twelve years, Lucas?”
    “Did my stint in the army, wandered a few years doing odd jobs, and then settled in Atlanta. I’ve been there ever since.”
    “Why Atlanta?”
    He shrugged. “It was as good a place as any. I picked up a job in a small garage and got hooked on cars.” The barest of smiles crossed his face. “Not that I hadn’t been hooked before, mind you. I got bored with bars and blind dates and took a few night courses at Georgia State.”
    “And?” she prompted.
    “I finally got a degree in business administration.”
    Elise’s head shot up.
    “You seem surprised, Liz. It doesn’t fit the picture, does it? The poor little waif, abandoned by his parents and living with his grandmother, getting a college degree?” His smoke-colored eyes blurred with a trace of bitterness or maybe anger.
    She looked away, steadying her nerves. If he was looking for a fight, she was not about to tangle with someone plied with beer.
    “No, not at all,” she said evenly. She turned on the faucet and filled the carafe with water. “I’m surprised you chose business administration. I guess I always pictured you as the environmental or mechanical