Shadow Creek Read Online Free PDF Page B

celebrating your birthday together.”
    What was he really saying? That he wished he could go back and undo the things he’d done? That all Val had to do was say the word and he’d tell sweet, slutty Jennifer he was sorry but her time was up? That he loved his wife after all? That she was the only woman he’d ever really loved? That he couldn’t imagine going to Shadow Creek without her? That he didn’t want to go anywhere without her ever again? That all he wanted was to come back home?
    “Yeah, right,” Val said, borrowing her daughter’s favorite phrase. Then, “God, you’re pitiful.” Still, she decided as she headed up the stairs, it wouldn’t hurt to put on a little makeup and comb her hair before Evan arrived.

TWO
    Y OUR MOM’S FUNNY,” SASHA was saying as Brianne closed her bedroom door.
    “Yeah, a real bundle of laughs.” Brianne bounced down on her unmade, queen-size bed, next to her empty overnight bag, causing her flowered comforter to billow up around her, like a parachute.
    “This is a neat room.” Sasha glanced appreciatively around the large, lavender-and-white bedroom, equipped with the latest in modern technology: a computer on a modern stainless-steel and glass desk that stood in front of the window, a high-definition TV that was mounted on the wall. “Well, maybe
neat
isn’t exactly the right word.” She laughed, her eyes skirting the pale mauve carpeting that was almost completely covered with discarded clothing, neglected shoes, and the latest celebrity and fashionmagazines. Sasha scooped a well-worn copy of
To Kill a Mockingbird
off the floor, opened it, then laughed. “I see somebody owes the school library some serious change.”
    Damn, Brianne thought. She’d meant to return that book before the end of the school year but had never quite gotten around to it.
    “Have you even read it?”
    “I saw the movie on TV a while back,” Brianne offered, sheepishly.
    “That Gregory Peck was pretty hot.”
    “Kind of old.”
    Sasha’s voice turned sly. “I thought you liked older guys.”
    Brianne felt her face grow warm and tried to brush away an unwanted blush from her cheeks with the back of her hand. Blushing was for silly young girls. Which she most decidedly was not. Not anymore.
    “And speaking of older guys, your dad’s really hot,” Sasha said, absently checking herself out in the mirror on the wall opposite the bed as she lifted a framed photograph of Brianne’s father from the top of the hand-painted dresser.
    “I guess.”
    “Did I tell you he came into the store again the other day?”
    “Did he? Cool. I told him you had some great new stuff he should check out.”
    “He’s really fit.”
    “He works out a lot.”
    “It shows.” Sasha returned the picture to the dresser and picked up a small bottle of Prada perfume. “What’s with him and the girlfriend?”
    “Fiancée,” Brianne corrected.
    “Whatever. She was kind of clingy. Hanging all over him, as if to say, ‘Back off, bitches. He’s mine.’ You know the type. Shewas all ‘What do you think of this outfit, honey?’ and ‘What color do you like better, sweetie-pie?’ Pretty nauseating.”
    “She calls him sweetie-pie?” Brianne fought off the sudden urge to gag.
    Sasha shrugged, returning her attention to her reflection and smiling in silent approval. She sniffed at the bottle of perfume, then opened it, dabbing a few drops behind each ear without asking. “Hmm. This smells yummy. Expensive?”
    “Probably.” Brianne hoped she didn’t sound as guilty as she felt. It was her mother’s perfume. She’d borrowed it without asking the other night and hadn’t gotten around to putting it back.
    “Sooo?” Sasha asked, stretching the word out for several syllables. She swiveled around to face Brianne. “We didn’t get a chance to talk when you were in the store, and I didn’t drive all the way to Brooklyn just to deliver this.” She tossed Brianne’s BlackBerry toward her. “I’m