Riley's Pond (New Adult Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

you’re closing in on the six foot mark, jumping on a bed could send you through the floor to the basement.
    My thoughts whirled back to present and I reached out to shut the lamp off, tipping over a picture on the dresser, knocking another, until several frames slapped the wood. The last picture I lifted to arrange was of Jaxson, who now had a new nose. Just what he needed—another physical perfection added to his credits.
    Jax could have any girl he wanted…well, actually he had . I hated admitting my girlfriends drooled over him. After spending an hour at our house under Jaxson’s dazzle routine, when it came time for some serious kissing, I didn’t doubt his face replaced mine. Couldn’t complain, though. Make-out sessions always seemed hotter after Jaxson cast his spell.
    “Riley? What are you doing in here?”
    My skin slammed the ceiling and my skeleton flattened on the floor when Dad’s voice suddenly perforated my thoughts. All the pictures I’d just re-arranged flew across the room when my arm jerked. Jaxson’s picture symbolically hit the bedpost and shattered.
    “Shit you scared me!”
    “Watch you language, son.”
    Dad wore his uniform, his sidearm resting in the holster. He didn’t remove the gun to put in the safe, nor did he shrug out of his jacket.
    “You on duty? Where’s Mom?”
    “I’m filling in on another graveyard with Pete. I left your mother at the hospital with Jaxson, but promised to come home and check on you boys. You didn’t answer my question. Why are you in our bedroom?”
    “Turning off the lamp someone left on.”
    Embarrassed, I picked up pictures and haphazardly placed them on the dresser. Dad bent on his haunches, carefully plucked shards of glass out of the carpet, and set them on Jaxson’s face.
    “How is Jaxson?”
    “He’s out of the woods. They were able to save his spleen. He’ll be coming home in a couple of days.” Dad set the broken picture on the nightstand, easing onto the edge of the bed. He patted the mattress to his side. “Riley, sit with me. There’s something I need to tell you.”
    Cautiously, I lowered myself a foot away, hugging the bedpost for support.
    “Riley, we’ve determined there were others in the car with Jaxson. Unfortunately, one came as a surprise.” He regarded me. “Son, Ally didn’t ride in the front seat with Jaxson.”
    “That figures,” I scoffed. “Was she in the back doing Brandon while Jaxson drove?”
    “Honestly, I don’t know where you boys get such a crass attitude. My old man would have paddled my butt for talking like that and your grandmother would have fed me hand soap for a week.”
    “Sorry, but believe me, I’m nothing like some kids I know.” He had no response, so I went back to the accident. “Okay, so Ally wasn’t in the front seat, but did I get it right about her being in the back?”
    “Ally wasn’t in the car, period. Brandon and his girlfriend, what’s her name…?”
    “Jamie.”
    “Yes. Those two were in the backseat fooling around, I suppose, by the undergarments left on the floor. But someone other than Ally rode next to Jaxson, who also left intimate apparel behind.”
    The hair on the back of my neck tweaked. “Okay, so Jaxson has a new girlfriend. Ally will take care of that. Be ready for the chick fight.”
    “Ally’s not the one I’m stressing about over-reacting. It’s you, Riley, I’m worried about.”
    “ Me? Why should I care who Jaxson’s screwing this week?”
    A brow rose in disapproval, but Dad didn’t chastise me. Instead, he pulled a long, breath, letting it out slow. The words he spoke hung in the air, having nowhere to go—too heavy to float away, but too light to be within reach so they could be taken back.
    “Because Jaxson’s date was Kaylee . She wandered off after the accident, disoriented. We found her unconscious under a nearby tree.”
    “Kaylee.” I didn’t ask, just confirmed.
    “Yes, son. Kaylee. She admitted to being in the car at the