Paradise for a Sinner Read Online Free PDF Page A

Brinsley?”
    “In the servants’ quarters, I imagine. If you will point the way, I will dispose of my baggage and return to assist the princess in her unpacking.” He addressed Joe and awaited directions.
    “We don’t exactly have servants’ quarters. Take the gray room. Our housekeeper and ranch manager have one of the cottages, but that’s a lot of room for one person. I think you should stay by Anastasia for now.”
    “As you wish.”
    Adam let his burdens fall to the floor with a thunk. “Joe, do you think now…”
    “Would you go downstairs and get Teddy’s duffel bag?”
    “Sure, but then…”
    “Absolutely.”
    Adam gave up and headed for the sweeping staircase. He needed to burn off some frustration. Cleaning up the mess the dog made helped. Placing the broken plate in the sink, he sopped up the spilled milk with paper towels, put the jug back into the refrigerator, and the dog-licked dishes in the washer. Shouldering the duffel, he ran up the flight of stairs only to find Joe gone and Teddy alone in his room.
    “Thanks, Mr. Adam. I don’t got much. Set it down by the dresser, and I can put my stuff away by myself.”
    “You sure?”
    “Yep.”
    Across the hall, Anastasia’s shrill voice corrected, “Not there, Brinsley! My undies go in the upper right hand drawer.”
    Glad to escape, Adam jogged down the stairs again. In the hallway, Joe held a sobbing Nell to his chest.
    “I know Em could be mean and vindictive. She resented all the attention I got because of my illness, all the sacrifices she had to make. We weren’t close, but still she was my only sister and now she’s gone.”
    Over his wife’s head, Joe mouthed, “Not now.”
    Adam nodded and went out the front door. He took his seat on the step again. Macho came over, put his big head in Adam’s lap, and dusted the sidewalk with his tail.
    “You know, I don’t like dogs very much. They bark too often and leave shit everywhere. They make big messes like the one in the kitchen. In America, you can’t eat them, but you’d make a pretty good-sized roast. Still, you seem like a good listener. Here’s the problem. My girl told me she is going to marry my best friend, not me. She held off until we lost the playoff game. Didn’t want to upset me. Ha!”
    Macho tilted his head and scratched his side with a rear paw. He appeared ready and willing to offer comfort and support in time of need. Adam continued with his tale.
    “How can I go back to Samoa when all I want to do is find Sammy Tau and squeeze his neck until he dies? He stole my taupou, a real island princess, not like that kid upstairs who thinks she’s royalty. Where am I going to find another one of those, huh? Everyone in Pago Pago must be laughing at me by now. I mean you can be a big deal in the U.S. of A. and still be nothing in Samoa. I can’t go home. Not now.”
    Adam buried his broad face in his huge hands. Macho tongued the part not covered, then pricked his ears and, barking ferociously, raced toward the front gate.
    “Even you desert me, Macho,” Adam muttered.
    Running alongside another black Escalade, the dog escorted the new arrivals to a parking space and waited eagerly for a door to open. Adam recognized the vehicle and knew it bore a gold cross and a chaplain’s license plate on the rear rather than a red devil. Revelation Jeremiah Bullock, the man he had replaced on the Sinners’ team, had come calling. Adam brightened. Maybe he needed a man of the cloth to listen to his woes more than Joe Dean’s advice.
    Huge, black, and ponderous, the Reverend Rev got out from behind the wheel, and being the consummate gentleman, moved around the front of the SUV to hand his pretty and svelte wife, Dr. Arminta Green Bullock, down from the front seat. She carried a medical file under one arm and smiled brilliantly when she recognized Adam. The Rev opened the backseat door, probably to release his three children, but no.
    He helped a tall, slim, very light-skinned