Raising Hell Read Online Free PDF Page B

How did you end up in New York?”
    “I guess you could say I escaped to here.”
    “A common tale,” he said.
    “Blond girl comes to the city to be a model,” she said with a wry gin. “I never said my story was original. But it is mine.”
    “So you left home to find fame and fortune?”
    Her brow creased. “I don’t have anything against either, but I really came because I couldn’t stand the thought of living my life without options in Alabama. I wanted more than working in the office at my daddy’s church, answering phones, and calling people to make good on their pledges. And even if I could convince Daddy I didn’t want to do that, well what then? Work at the Piggly Wiggly? My grades weren’t good enough for a scholarship, and Daddy said he wouldn’t pay for anything but the county junior college.”
    “Sounds like a bastard,” he said, and felt a secret pleasure at that. At least the man his father wanted to punish deserved it.
    “He loves me. He just has a different view of the world, you know? Thinks working in the church and getting married and having babies is all a girl should want. But I wanted more.” She drew in a deep breath. “So I decided to be the stereotypical small-town girl and rebel against my daddy.”
    “You came here.”
    “Sure did. I banked on the one thing I knew I had. The one thing that might be worth something.”
    “Your looks.”
    “Everyone has always told me I’m pretty. And I’ve always secretly agreed with them.” Her cheeks flushed.
    “They—and you—were right. You definitely have the looks.” Her decision to rebel against her father impressed him. For that matter, maybe he was even a little jealous of the decision. That, however, wasn’t something he intended to think about.
    She shrugged. “My daddy would say pride’s the biggest sin of all, and I guess he’d be right, since New York pretty much turned its back on me.”
    “It won’t anymore,” he said. “Not if I paint you.” He took her hand. “And you are beautiful. It’s not pride, Delilah. It’s honesty and self-awareness.”
    “Maybe. But it doesn’t matter anyway, you know? Because my looks are what got me here. And now that I’m here, I’m staying. I may not be a model, but I’m going to stay. I can study and take night classes and maybe even get into NYU.” Her chin lifted, just a little. “I can do it, you know.”
    “I believe you.” He did, too. “And you could do it a lot faster with a model’s salary.” He took her hand. “I sense a ‘but,’ though.”
    “You’re either perceptive or I’m transparent. But, yeah. There’s a ‘but.’ Because even if I go to school and become a teacher or an accountant or something, I’m still going to crave this, you know? Because I really did want it. And for more than a way to escape, and for more than just a little rebellion against my dad.”
    “You wanted your fifteen minutes.”
    “No, it’s not the fame. It’s really not. It’s the experience. The whole shebang. Something I can pull out and look at and think, yes. Once upon a time Delilah did something a little crazy. And she had a great time doing it.”
    She tugged her hand away from his, and the heat from her touch dissipated, leaving him cold and hollow.
    “That sounds really silly, doesn’t it?”
    “Not at all,” Nick said. He understood the need to fulfill a wild urge. To let passion rule over intellect. “Was that what you had planned tonight? To go a little crazy?”
    “Hardly.” She grinned, clearly amused by the thought. “Maybe that’s my problem. Even when I want to go wild, I don’t quite know how.”
    Nick shook his head, not understanding.
    “I volunteer at an arts center,” she said. “They have painting, writing, pottery, all sorts of classes. But they also teach basic literacy. Hardly going wild in the big, bad city.” She shrugged.
    “But you chose a little wildness tonight,” he said. “You chose me.”
    Her eyes widened, and