Love Rising: Spring (Mandrake Falls Series Romance Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

bathrobe and hustled down the stairs of
the old farmhouse to find her mother in the kitchen making breakfast. Lydia was
bound to know something about this mystery engagement notice. Lydia, unlike
Ryder, had her ear to the ground when it came to the love lives of the locals.
But her info would be sketchy at best. Lydia had missed the reception—they had
all missed the reception. What happened to shove Jocelyn into Jeremy’s arms?
    It could’ve been anything, Scout mused. A person only had to
look at Scout and Ryder to know that anything was possible in Mandrake Falls.

 
    ♥

 
    RYAN MCINTYRE drank his coffee very slowly all the while
pretending he was not bothered by the engagement notice.
    He set his cup down on the table. No one in the diner seemed
to notice he was bothered. He felt bothered, he felt plenty bothered. He had only asked Jocelyn Tate to the
wedding because he thought she had no one to go with. Jocelyn had screwed up in
a way similar to Ryan’s screw-up last fall and people forgave him. He thought
he’d return the favor and give Jocelyn a chance to show her face in public
again. She was too young for him but she was a stunningly good-looking girl,
and not-bad company. She owned a nice little business at the Country Barn. If
she was engaged to another guy, she should have said something for God’s sake.
    He was forced to admit, he would’ve kept the information to
himself too if he were in her shoes. Ryan was a more prestigious date than
Jeremy Marks. To get out from under the cloud, Jocelyn had to be seen with the
most powerful man in town. Ryan understood. He was always playing an angle too.
    Only this time he wasn’t playing an angle and that’s what
galled him. This time he was being a straight-up good guy and look where it got
him. Now the women in town were going to think he was a) the Other Man in a
love triangle or b) Jocelyn needed only one date with Ryan McIntyre to run
howling into Jeremy Marks’ arms.
    Both scenarios sucked and were bound to cripple his love
life. Sawyer would know how to handle this. Ever since his brother married
Shelby Porter, he’d become somewhat of an expert on women.
    Ryan downed his coffee, threw a bill on the table and jogged
across the sundrenched street to the Sheriff’s Office.

 
    ♥

 
    JASON, ANDREA and Trevor took up positions and aimed their
cameras at the same angles they’d used during the wedding. Sunlight streamed
into the church from the high arched windows. Some had stained glass in them
and some didn’t. Patches of color drifted over their faces.
    Andrea set her camera case in roughly the same place it was
during the birth. She couldn’t remember the exact spot. “And Jason, grinding
your teeth isn’t helping me to remember so knock it off. I came down the
stairs, dumped the case and starting shooting. You know what Porter would’ve done
if I didn’t get the shot. She would’ve fired my ass and found someone who could
get the shot. She’s hardcore. Did you see her vault over that pew to reach
Scout?”
    Trevor chuckled admiringly. “Yep, the boss is a pit bull for
a story. But back to our mystery.” He retraced the movements Andrea had made.
“You set your bag down here and then turned away and pushed through the crowd
to get the shot. Who was sitting in the pew?”
    Andrea frowned. “It could’ve been someone sitting in the pew
in front or behind as well. Anyone with easy access. Which means they had to be nearby because with the crowd, access
wasn’t easy. Some people were standing on the pews to see what was going
on. I know I was to get the photograph.”
    “Right. So you set the case down
and turned away. Now try to remember the faces you saw.”
    “ Letitia Murdoch. She was standing
here.” Andrea indicated the pew in front of the case. “Ryan McIntyre was here
with Jocelyn Tate.” She pointed to the seat behind and slightly right of the
case. “And though she wasn’t sitting in this spot originally, when I