Last Kiss Goodbye Read Online Free PDF

face flashed in his head. She had been so little then, just a scrawny, knock-kneed kid with a gap-toothed, crooked smile. But now she was a woman.
    His sex stirred again just thinking about Lily Stanton. Would Ivy be as tasty as her mother had been?
    He cursed himself, fighting the desperate urge to find out. He couldn’t think with his dick right now. His future might be in trouble.
    And he’d do whatever necessary to make sure it didn’t explode in his face.
    IT TOOK MATT A WEEK to start acclimating into the world, renew his license, buy an SUV and track down Ivy Stanton. Apparently she worked at a small magazine called Southern Scrapbooks, a publication that showcased regional and small-town folklore, sites, restaurants, entertainment venues and other unique attractions, especially mysteries or oddities associated with small Southern towns.
    As he knocked on the door to her home in downtown Chattanooga, he studied the Victorian house she’d rented near the river. The scenic, homey-looking place robbed his breath for a minute. A fall wreath made of fake leaves decorated the door, while a bird feeder swayed in the breeze in a nearby dogwood tree. White wicker rocking chairs flanked the doorway, and a chaise sat kitty-cornered beside a tea table, as if inviting someone to lounge for a lazy afternoon with a glass of sweet iced tea beneath the twirling ceiling fans on the porch.
    Bitterness swelled inside him.
    The beauty around him once again reminded him of the life he’d been denied. Latching onto his anger, he knocked on the door a second time, but no one answered. Irritated, he climbed back in his car and drove toward the magazine office. It was only a few blocks away, a nondescript, small building that was much older than Ivy’s house, tucked in a historic area that held many small businesses.
    Five minutes later, he sucked in his breath as he strode into the office. A hum of voices swirled from a back room. In the outer area, a rail-thin brunette leaned over a table studying what seemed to be a photograph layout of restaurants and cafés.
    He cleared his throat. “Excuse me, but where can I find Iv—Ann Ivy?”
    The woman pursed her lips and glanced at him, and he was grateful he hadn’t completely slipped and used her name instead of the pseudonym she’d adopted for the magazine.
    “She’s not here. I’m Miss Evans. Can I help you?”
    “I really need to talk to Miss Ivy myself,” Matt said. “When will she be back?”
    “I’m not sure. She went out of town to research a story.”
    He chewed the inside of his cheek. “She contacted me about an upcoming issue, and I need to discuss some layouts with her.”
    The woman’s cell phone rang, and she glanced at it, then back up, looking harried. “Listen, I’m really busy—”
    “If you can just tell me where she went, I’ll track her down.”
    “She’s on assignment. Some little Appalachian town called Kudzu Hollow.” Miss Evans reached in her pocket and handed him a business card. “Here’s her cell number.”
    He pasted on a phony grin, then thanked her and left, his stomach churning.
    Ivy had gone back to Kudzu Hollow. That was the last place he’d expected to find her. Why had she returned home now? And why would she do a story on the town?
    Unless she’d seen the reports of his release…
    Had she actually returned to talk to him?
    Or did she believe he was guilty? If so, was she trying to find a way to put him back in prison?
    His chest tightened at the mere thought. He’d die before he’d go back inside.
    An hour and a half later, he was coasting up the highway toward eastern Tennessee, growing nearer and nearer his destination. A few phone calls, and he’d discovered Ivy had rented a cabin on the mountain. He’d reserved a cabin beside her.
    Horns blared, a siren wailed in the distance and rap music pounded through the speakers of the black pickup in front of him. An eighteen-wheeler nearly cut Matt off, boxing him in next to a