Midnight Sons Volume 3 Read Online Free PDF Page A

opportunity.
    “You aren’t looking too happy,” Sawyer announced as he walked past Christian’s desk to his own.
    “I’m fine!” he snapped. The last thing he wanted was for Sawyer to learn about that stupid kiss.
    “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you missed Mariah.”
    Christian snickered loudly. “Have you noticed how well everything’s gone this week?” he asked. He hoped to convince Sawyer that the office had run like clockwork without her. Maybe, just maybe, Sawyer would see reason and agree to do away with the position.
    “It’s been hectic,” Sawyer argued.
    “Well, we’ve been busier than usual,” Christian conceded. “But have you stopped to notice how peaceful it is around here? And how we’ve had no major problems?”
    Sawyer nodded.
    Perhaps this wasn’t going to be as difficult as Christian had assumed. “We don’t need Mariah.”
    His brother sent him a disgusted look. “Don’t need Mariah? Sure, we’ve managed without her, but I have to tell you, this place has been hopping. We’re getting more business all the time. If everything’s running smoothly, then it’s because Mariah oiled the gears before she left. I don’t knowabout you, little brother, but I’m counting the hours until she returns.”
    Christian cursed under his breath. He was counting the hours himself, but not for the same reason.
    “Don’t need Mariah?” Sawyer repeated in the same tone of disbelief he’d used a minute earlier. “Tell that to Abbey and the kids. I’ve been late for dinner every night this week. I don’t like working this hard. I’ve got a wife and family I’d like to see once in a while.”
    The phone pealed, and Sawyer glared at Christian, who was concentrating on tallying a row of figures. “Since you’ve got so much free time on your hands, you can answer that.”
    Christian scowled and reached for the telephone.
     
    “D UKE’S GOT A GIRLFRIEND ?” Tracy Santiago asked Mariah as they sat outside the Kenai Lodge and enjoyed the sunshine. “You’ve got to be kidding.” Tracy didn’t bother to disguise her shock. “What woman would put up with that chauvinistic character for more than five minutes?”
    “I don’t know. I’m just repeating what Christian told me. It’s funny, though,” she said, thinking out loud. “Duke’s never mentioned anyone.”
    Tracy raised her face to the sun and grumbled something Mariah couldn’t make out.
    “Duke’s not so bad.”
    Tracy straightened and sipped her margarita. “The man’s a public nuisance. Let’s change the subject, okay? He has a bad effect on my blood pressure.”
    Mariah lay back in the lawn chair. They’d spent four full days sightseeing. Every minute of every day had been full, and Mariah was exhausted; so was Tracy.
    Now was the time to relax. Mariah didn’t want to think about Hard Luck—and particularly not about Christian. This was her vacation, and she was determined to make the most of it.
    “Mmm, this is the life,” Tracy said, closing her eyes and smiling into the sun. “A woman could get used to this.”
    Mariah smiled, too. Although most of their communication had been by phone and mail, she knew her friend all too well. Tracy would soon grow bored lazing around a swimming pool; before a week was past, she wouldn’t be able to stand the inactivity. She’d be eager to get back to her job.
    “You surprise me,” Tracy said out of the blue.
    “I do?” Mariah asked. “How?”
    Tracy grinned sheepishly. “Well, when your parents first contacted me, they described you as this delicate hothouse flower who didn’t have a clue what she was letting herself in for.”
    “That’s how they see me.” It saddened Mariah to admit that. Her family’s attitude was the very reason she’d left Seattle. They considered her helpless and inept, and if she’d stayed much longer she might have come to believe it herself.
    “You really love it in Hard Luck, don’t you?”
    “Oh, yes. This has been the