Obsession (Southern Comfort) Read Online Free PDF

and sauntered away, more holiday snark to dispense.
    Sadie just looked at her over the rim of her mug.   “You know how it pains me to agree with your brother, but for a clever woman, you can sure be dumb.  Hello, Justin.”
    Confused, Kathleen turned to see the man himself, tall and broad-shouldered in his white cable knit sweater, lean cheeks ruddy from the chilly air, holding onto a brightly wrapped package.
    “Sadie.  You’re looking well.”  He planted a smacking kiss on her cheek. “How are you feeling?”
    “Never better.”
    “I guess you’re one of those lucky women with whom pregnancy agrees.  Kathleen.”  He extended the package.  “For you.”
    “What?” She dropped a cheese straw back onto the platter.  “We weren’t supposed to get each other anything.  Were we?”  She did a mental checklist and shook her head.  She never suggested exchanging gifts when she didn’t absolutely have to, because shopping for them made her break out in a rash.  “No, I’m absolutely sure we weren’t. You really shouldn’t have, Justin.”
    “Oh, hush.  Just open it,” Sadie said, and then to Justin “Would you like a drink?”
    “Um, is that eggnog?”
    Kathleen tuned them out while she slid her fingers under the shiny green foil, its dozens of tiny reindeer prancing across fluffy piles of glittering snow, mocking the fact that she’d been channeling the Grinch, and tried to figure out how she felt about the unexpected present.  She and Justin had been friends for – well, several years now, wasn’t it? – and they’d never moved beyond buying each other a round or two on their respective birthdays.  He’d tried to pick up the tab the first time they’d eaten out, but she’d squelched that and ever since then they’d gone dutch.  Maybe he felt bad about her elbow.  Which was just stupid, because he’d been yanking her out of the path of stray bullets and flying glass.  Which, if she really considered it – something she’d been trying to avoid – had chipped her ego along with her elbow.  She was the cop, damn it.  Childish as hell, but there it was.  It wasn’t like –
    “You rat,” she said as she lifted the lid.  A sling sneered back at her.  “What, they were all out of fruitcake?” 
    Glancing up, she met steady gray eyes over sparkly tissue.  “Merry Christmas.”
    “Justin –”
    “You wear it like this.”  Sitting his newly acquired eggnog aside, Justin leaned over her to fit the sling around her arm.  He smelled clean, freshly showered, and reeked of satisfaction.
    “You think you’re clever, don’t you?” she said as he gently manipulated her arm.
    “Well, a man has to be, to outwit you.  There.”  He stepped back, surveyed his work.  “Keep it on as much as possible for the next few days.  It should help counteract the swelling.  You’ve been applying an ice pack?”
    “Every four hours.”  Her tone was falsely sweet.
    “That coupled with the anti-inflammatory should take care of it.  Luckily the fragment was small.”
    “Justin – ”
    His affable tone took on just a thin edge of irritation, but he pitched his voice low.  “If you don’t keep it immobilized until the swelling goes down, you’ll exacerbate it to the point that surgery is the only option.  Then you’ll be on desk duty for a month.  I know you don’t want that.”
    He was right, and it pissed her off.
    “Besides,” he added at normal volume.  “I feel badly enough about this as it is.  Just wear it for a few days.  For me.  Because otherwise I’ll feel like an ass every time I see you grimace.”
    “Oh, you’re good.”  She shook her head as irritation gave way to resignation.  He’d made it seem like she would be doing him a favor, salvaging her pride and getting his way in one simple turn of phrase.   And she’d look both petty and stupid if she told him exactly what he could do with his little sling.  “Or possibly evil.”
    “Life