Stand-In Father (Intimate Moments) Read Online Free PDF Page A

really. “Fun for me is getting the bills paid, keeping the rooms filled, being with Ryan and you. I don’t need anything more than that.”
    “The hell you say, sweetie. A woman needs a man. No child or girlfriend or full house can match that kind of fun.” Grace’s dark eyes danced with excitement, with memories.
    Grace was still a very attractive woman, Megan thought, with her thick auburn hair that she usually wore in a twist during working hours and down around her shoulders when she went out. Which was far oftener than Megan did, even though Grace was on the far side of forty. Odd how the woman was still looking for Mr. Right after two disastrous marriages, the first to a man who robbed her blind and the second a drinker whose reckless antics nearly bankrupted her. Hope springs eternal for some, she supposed.
    But not for her. “No, thanks. I’ve tried that kind of fun and the cost is too high.”
    Grace sobered. “Honey, every man’s not like Neal. Or my exes, for that matter. Somewhere out there is a guy who’ll—”
    “Sweep me off my feet? Whisk me away to paradise? Puhleeze. I’ll leave the romantic daydreams to you.”
    Grace’s unlined face moved into a gentle smile. “I know how you feel, honey. I just don’t want life to pass you by. You’re young. You need something besides working all day. If not a date, then go shopping, take in a movie, get your hair done. You know I’ll watch over things here.”
    Megan shook her head. “I don’t need time off. I need to know that this place is turning into a success, that we’re safe and secure.” A feeling she hadn’t experienced in far too long.
    Grace knew the reasons Megan felt so strongly about hearth and home, so she didn’t argue anymore. “Okay, I give up. I’m going up to my room to watch ‘NYPD Blue.’ That Jimmy Smits makes my juices flow.”
    Smiling, Megan turned out the kitchen light. “Grace, honestly.”
    Grace’s lusty laugh preceded her up the stairs.

Chapter 2
    A lex tossed down his pen and swiveled in his desk chair so he could look out at the sea. The corporate headquarters for Shephard Construction was on the fourth floor of a high-rise on the western shore of San Diego. It was a beautiful spring day, the 27th of April, the sun was beaming down on the breakers, and he could see over a dozen sailboats gliding through the water.
    He ached like the devil to be out there with them, skimming along on his boat, Black Sheep , free as a bird. Alex sighed. Exactly nine months since he’d had his transplant surgery and he was bored out of his gourd.
    He’d been back in his office since the first week of December, though only half days until mid-January. He’d done mostly desk work, leaving the scouting and traveling to Mitch, on doctor’s orders. Benson was as much of an old lady as his father.
    Finally, by March, the good doctor had graciously agreed that he could gradually resume some of his former pursuits, though not too many until he had at least a year or more under his belt. Even so, he’d attached several caveats.
    Don’t overdo, don’t get overtired. Don’t engage in strenuous physical activities. Just don’t do anything stupid. And above all, don’t get an infection.
    He might as well have said don’t live, just exist, Alex thought. Hell, he wasn’t exactly planning to walk a tightrope across the Grand Canyon. He’d gone hiking on Cowles Mountain last month, even though those trails were nothing compared to most others he’d climbed in the past. And last weekend he’d gone exploring in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and even slept out under the stars.
    But he longed for something more challenging, like a week in Death Valley, horseback riding on an open stretch of hard-packed sand, maybe scuba diving in some remote lagoon. However, since none of his friends was available to go on any of these treks with him and he’d decided going alone might be pushing the envelope, he’d postponed any adventurous trips