Road Rage Read Online Free PDF

skin was warm and taut, slightly pink, and toughened with every step he’d ever taken. The touch sent a thrill of connection through her while at the same time she cringed back, fearing his response.
    He gave no sign he’d felt anything.
    Disappointment settled in her belly. Some sort of reaction would have been nice.
    She thought about attempting something more insistent, like a pinch, but the man finished his push-ups and got to his feet. He moved out of reach and bent at the waist to stretch his hamstrings. On the one hand, being dead sucked. On the other hand, if she got to drool over buns like that as part of her afterlife, she supposed she could make peace with it.
    She gave herself a mental shake. This man needed her help. That had to be why she was here. Therefore she should not be staring at his behind and wondering if it felt as firm as it looked.
    Focus, girlie. Moving on is the name of the game. You don’t want to go back to the fog, do you?
    With a renewed sense of purpose, she watched the man roll his head on his shoulders, stretching his corded neck. Cautiously, she approached him.
    “Why you?” she wondered out loud.
    Predictably, he didn’t answer. He just kept stretching that lickable body.
    A thought struck her with sobering force. Maybe they’d known each other. She doubted they’d been married, since neither of them wore a wedding band and this sparsely-decorated, singly-occupied room paired with the little girl next door screamed divorced dad . Ex-wife was a possibility. But wouldn’t that make her Haley’s mom? While she liked the little girl, she didn’t feel maternal toward her. Not to mention, Haley showed no signs of recent trauma, like losing a parent.
    Maybe she’d been dating the man. If so, that explained the way her body heated at the sight of him. And it explained why he’d looked so somber last night.
    But he didn’t seem overly upset tonight. He had a hard look to him, like he could summon anger with little effort, but he no longer appeared troubled. A pulse of hurt tugged on her stomach. Was it too much to ask for two days’ grief?
    She fisted her hands on her hips. “Either you’re a heartless jerk or we didn’t know each other very well.” Without warning, he pulled on one elbow to stretch his shoulder and she had to duck his loose fist. “Hey! Watch it!”
    He didn’t acknowledge her.
    She folded her arms over her chest and huffed a lock of hair out of her eyes. If not for Haley in the next room, she might throw caution to the wind and try in earnest to make herself known. The thought of taking such a risk sent wonderful, naughty tingles through her.
    She refused to be so selfish. Someone or something had put her here to help this man, and if she did a good job, she might not have to go back to the fog. Patience . If she paid attention, maybe she’d learn what she needed to do.
    The man finished his stretches, used his discarded t-shirt to dab his neck and under his arms, and swiped a hand over the switch on the wall to cast the room into orangey darkness.
    While her eyes adjusted, the creak of floorboards and the rustle of sheets told her he’d gotten into bed. She stood by, ready to offer comfort if he had nightmares again, ready to be whatever he needed.
    While waiting, she paced the bedroom and considered female names. “Katie?” That was a popular one. But it didn’t feel right. She absently flicked at the immovable baseball glove as she went by. “Mary? No. Liz?” She shook her head and kicked off her flip-flops. The hardwood floor felt cool and smooth under her feet, but it didn’t creak for her, even though she paced exactly where the man had walked. One after another, she tried on every name she could think of, scouring her lamentable sense of self for some sort of reaction. Nothing felt right. Nothing felt like her .
    Frustrated, she sat on the edge of the bed. The comforter and mattress welcomed her with tantalizing softness. Her whole body