Let Me Love You Read Online Free PDF Page A

years.”
    “Wow! She’s a trainer now? I bet no one calls her Hefty Hannah anymore.”
    He belted out a laugh. “I haven’t heard that name in years. She never liked it.”
    “I wonder why.” She shook her head as Bon Jovi’s voice oozed through the speakers and into the cab. “Kids can be so mean in school.” Rolling down the passenger window, Lucy stuck her arm out and waved her hand over the wind currents. “How’s your brother?”
    “Which one?”
    She didn’t answer. Had she not heard him?
    “Both,” she said finally. Her voice sounded different than it had moments before. She stared out the window as the forest raced by in a big evergreen blur.
    “Brody lives with my parents in Portland. He’s trying to get on to the police force there. And Dane still works at Brackett Outdoor Sports. Haven’t you seen him around town?”
    “Not as much as I’d like.” She turned to him, dragging red ringlets out of her face and securing them behind her ear. “I stay busy at the winery, but when I do see him, he’s always a sight for sore eyes.”
    Alarms went off in Joey’s head, but rather than asking something that might make her uncomfortable, he shut his trap and turned off the freeway one exit after her winery. The road was paved, but not maintained well enough. They shifted and slid in the cab as the truck dipped in potholes and skidded over loose gravel.
    “I think you might’ve taken a wrong turn. This road doesn’t lead anywhere.” She smiled, holding on to the handle over her head. “Sometimes the trucks take a wrong turn when they’re trying to find the winery. They get stuck and can’t turn around back in here. The road narrows and takes a steep climb—”
    “At the helipad,” he finished for her. “I know.”
    As the road flattened out before the steep climb, Joey grinned and gripped the wheel tight. “Hold on.”
    She gave a little squeal as he shifted the truck into a lower gear and lurched forward, propelling them up the mountain. The road turned to dirt and he picked up speed, finally leveling off at the top a few minutes later. Trees surrounded the helipad with two exceptions: one break in the trees allowed entrance and exit, and the other allowed a clear, unobstructed view of StoneMill Winery below them. The helipad itself was concrete, providing a level place to land a helicopter in an emergency. Joey had seen the landing point countless times as he’d flown over Blue Lake.
    He parked in the center of the helipad and hopped out, grabbing the grocery bags and a blanket from the back.
    “Come on,” he said, dropping the tailgate.
    “We’re really secluded. No one’s around for miles.” She slammed the door closed and joined him at the back of the truck. “Tell me you didn’t bring me out here to hack me to pieces. No one would hear me scream. Is that why you picked this place?”
    Her sense of humor was dry—he’d always known that about Lucy. She was sarcastic and witty, reminding him that he had to be on his toes when he was with her. It was often difficult to tell when she was serious and when she was joking.
    He spread the blanket in the bed of the truck and held out his hand to help her up. “We’re not far from your winery. I’m sure one of your staff would recognize the shrill sound of your voice if you screamed.”
    “You’re probably right.” Still, she smacked him playfully in the shoulder as she stepped up. She settled near the edge, drawing her feet beneath her.
    “I’m not going to hurt you,” he offered to ease her mind. “You’re safe with me.”
    “Believe me, I know that.” She kinked her head to the side. “Besides, I could totally take you.”
    He chuckled and climbed into the back, setting the bag in front of them. Reaching inside, he pulled out two Sierra Nevada Pale Ales and handed her one.
    “I’m surprised, Mr. Brackett,” she said, a sly smile curving at the corner of her lips. “You didn’t bring wine for the winery