Second Chance at the Sugar Shack Read Online Free PDF Page B

to see how accessible you are to the freaks among us.”
    “You mean stalkers?”
    “Yeah.”
    It was nice to have a big brother. Even if she saw him more on Monday Night Football than in real life. At least she and her siblings made it a point to chat on the phone once a week. She credited that for keeping them close. “Don’t worry. The only stalker I have is a calico cat that hangs around my condo.”
    “No boyfriends?”
    “No time.”
    “That sucks.” He folded his highly insured hands together and dropped them between his knees. His green eyes darkened. “On the serious side . . . you, Kel, and I all need to sit down tomorrow and talk about stuff.”
    “What kind of stuff ?”
    “Dad stuff.”
    They both glanced over to where their father stood near the kitchen door.
    “He’s going to be all alone now,” Dean said. “How will he run the bakery by himself? Who’s going to take care of him?”
    “That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering.”
    “I’m worried about him.”
    Kate took a breath to clear the clog from her chest. “Me too.”
    “Then together we all need to come up with some solutions. Tomorrow. Okay?” Dean patted her knee and stole her piece of cake before he walked away.
    Eager to sneak out, Kate stood. Since they’d ridden to the funeral together in their mother’s car, Kate glanced around for her sister. She spotted her in a corner talking with the town veterinarian, an elderly man who, judging by his long hair and wooly sideburns, was simpatico with his furry clients. Kate motioned to the door. The almost imperceptible shake of Kelly’s head translated to: I’m stuck. Go ahead without me.
    Across the room, Junior Walker roared into another Letty story that involved an oversized loaf of wheat bread and a raccoon.
    God, she had to get out of here.
    Kate spotted her father still chatting near the kitchen and made her way toward him. The overhead light flashed across his balding head when he nodded at something the man across from him said. When she approached, the men opened up their circle to include her.
    “My little Katie.” Her father gathered her in and gave her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here, honey.”
    “Me too, Dad.” Kate squeezed her eyes shut and hugged him back, glad to be in her father’s arms again. But there was so much inside of her bubbling beneath the surface she could barely breathe. “I’m a little . . . tired. Would you mind much if I went home?”
    “Of course not,” he said. His eyes were rimmed with red. Kate knew he’d been in a state of tears all day. Some from laughter at old memories of the woman he’d loved for more than thirty-six years, some from the unbelievable sense of loss.
    “Are you okay?” she asked, cupping his weathered cheek in her palm.
    He nodded. “You go ahead. I’ll be home soon.”
    “You sure?”
    He kissed her forehead and gave her a smile.
    As she walked away she glanced back over her shoulder. “Bring Kel home with you, okay?”
    He waved his response then turned to rejoin his friends.
    Friends.
    They were what he needed now. Not comfort from a daughter he barely knew anymore.
    Eager for fresh air, Kate pushed open one of the big steel doors and ducked her head against the breeze that had kicked up. Searching through her handbag for the car keys, she stepped beneath the overhang and bumped into something large and immovable. Her heels wobbled in the gravel. A big hand steadied her.
    “Excuse . . .” Her head shot up. Shit . “. . . me.”
    Everything in Kate stopped cold. The blood drained from her head. Her ears buzzed. Her chest tightened the same as it had when she’d seen him earlier.
    Matt’s mirrored shades were gone and she looked right into the ice blue eyes she’d once gone crazy for. The thick fringe of dark lashes surrounding those eyes only enhanced the mesmerizing hue—like arctic icebergs surrounded by a stormy sky. His cheekbones were sculpted, his jawline chiseled in a