Rock Solid Read Online Free PDF Page A

from
J-e-n-n-a
.
    After a while, the place was looking better, homier, and the sauce smelled amazing. Hannah felt much calmer. She was looking forward to her dinner in the now-tidy kitchen when someone walked in the back door.
    It definitely wasn’t Brody. Instead, a slim, petite honey-blonde stood gaping at Hannah.
    Wow, this one had nerve, waltzing right in.
    “Can I help you?” Hannah said, offering a cool glance that she hoped cautioned the woman about entering any farther.
    “Yeah, is my brother here? I need to talk to him.”
    “Brody... Um, no, he isn’t here. He left this morning, hasn’t been back. I don’t know where he went.”
    The woman regarded Hannah with open suspicion.
    “Who are you, then, and what are you doing cooking dinner if he’s not here or coming home soon?”
    “We had an argument, and he took off. I’m waiting him out,” Hannah answered matter-of-factly. “But I needed to eat in the meanwhile. And the place was a mess, so I cleaned up a bit.”
    “Okay. That’s either really admirable or really scary.”
    Hannah realized that she sounded like a stalker.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, rushing to explain. “I’m a friend. Brody and I know each other through Reece Winston and his wife, Abby? I’m Abby’s best friend. I don’t know if you know—”
    “I do. I know Reece pretty well, though I only met Abby once.”
    “Brody and I spent some time together last year, at the track, and I was in the area, so—”
    The other woman’s eyes suddenly widened. “Oh, wait, you’re Hannah?
The
Hannah?”
    “I guess. Is there more than one?”
    “Could be. Anyway, I’m Brandi.”
    “Nice to meet you. So...Brody mentioned me?”
    Hannah felt silly asking, but the words slipped out before she could stop them.
    Brandi’s lips twitched as she looped her thumbs in her jeans. “Oh, you could say that. When he was under the influence of the drugs they gave him at the hospital when he fell off the horse, you were a very frequent topic. But I won’t share details since he wouldn’t have, either, except that he was pretty out of it.”
    Hannah’s jaw dropped, her face heating as she tried not to imagine what Brody might have said about her. After a few seconds, she saw the humor in it and started to laugh. Brandi joined in.
    Soon, a more serious thought occurred to her. “Can I ask, is everything okay with Brody? He didn’t seem like himself.”
    “I agree. He hasn’t wanted to talk about much since he retired from the circuit. He just sort of sticks around here and works on the ranch, but doesn’t say anything about what he’s doing next. Believe me, we’ve tried, but it’s like poking a bear most of the time. Our parents think he just needs time and space to adjust, but I’m not sure.”
    Hannah nodded. “I was surprised to hear about his accident, though he seems to be recovering. Still, he does seem...off.”
    “He is. Anyway, I’m sorry I thought you were another, well, you know...”
    “Oh, I know. Believe me. There was someone here this morning, then that pie was dropped off by another young woman, and a few phone messages since... I thought you were, um, a female friend, as well.”
    Brandi rolled her eyes. “It’s as though they come out of the walls. You’d think they would lose interest since he retired, but it’s been even worse. I guess they all want to be the one who finally snags him. The one who brings Wild Brody Palmer to heel. It didn’t help that one of the reporters let leak something about him wanting to settle down.”
    “Oh, I didn’t know that.”
    Brandi grinned. “Believe me, if there’s anyone less likely to settle down on this earth, it’s Brody. I don’t even know why he retired. At first we were glad. It was getting hard on my parents, watching him take his life in his hands every day. Whenever there’s a crash, we all hold our breath, you know?”
    Hannah did know. Being at the track was exciting, but it had also been frightening,