Stepping Up To Love (Lakeside Porches 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

last night. He decided not to push it. Let Tony find out.
    He gave Manda the itinerary. “Tony will help you retrieve your things and keep them in his truck until we know where everything’s going. He’ll drop you at the college, where the substance abuse counselor is expecting you. Others at the college are on the hunt for housing for you for the rest of the semester.”
    “Joel, I can’t afford it.”
    He squeezed her shoulders. “You’re not responsible for the tab.”
    “Who is?”
    “It’s being taken care of. Don’t fight it,” he told her.
    She opened her mouth to protest but closed it again. “Thank you,” she said humbly.
    “And if it doesn’t work out living in the dorms, I expect you to tell me. Sooner rather than later. I need you to keep your priorities straight,” he ordered.
    She repeated their agreement. “I will keep my mind on my courses and on my work, and I will stay away from booze in any form.”
    “Good. Go,” He propelled her toward Tony’s battered white truck. “Check in with me first thing tomorrow. Eight o’clock sharp.”
    Manda waved her understanding.
    Joel reached a decision. Whether Lorraine approved his plan for compensating Manda or not, this was his one and only opportunity. As Manda pulled open the passenger door, Joel called back to Tony, “Look for the bike. We can park it here for now.” With that, he hustled back inside.
    Manda contemplated the giant step up into the cab.
    “You okay there?” Tony asked. He held out a big square hand to her. She took his hand and let him draw her up onto the seat. “You know me from the college,” he introduced himself. “Tony Pinelli. I work Security, and I teach the self-defense classes.”
    “Manda Doughty,” she told him. “Your class saved my life last night.”
    Tony had pulled away from the curb, but he slowed at her statement and threw the truck into park. If this woman was lying, he wanted to know it now. He tested, “Should I be carrying?” He saw the fear in her eyes and noticed a bruise on her neck that wasn’t quite covered by the jazzy silk scarf.
    Tony climbed out of the cab, unlocked a box in the back, rummaged through, and tucked his gun under his jacket.
    “Anything else you need to tell me about this mission?” he asked as they resumed the drive.
    “Does your cell phone take photos?”
    He nodded.
    “Unless the cleaning crew has been there already today, you’ll see what I want recorded.”
    Tony maneuvered the truck onto the highway and pressed the accelerator. “Planning to sue the guy?”
    She shook her head. “I want some documentation. I don’t think he’s finished with me, and I need to protect myself.”
    “I’ll bet this cleaning crew knows a few things,” Tony offered. “Any idea who they are?”
    “No, and I’m sure they’re well compensated to keep quiet and remove the evidence.”
    “So, we need a plan for today,” Tony told her. “Joel is sure Kristof is in a meeting at the college until noon. That gives us about an hour.” He was betting Manda didn’t know the level of Joel’s involvement. Nor would he, Tony, clue her in. “That may seem like a long time to grab a laptop, but when it comes right down to it, can you make fast decisions about what’s most important to take and what you can do without?”
    She nodded.
    “Where are we likely to find a bicycle?”
    “Garage. I don’t have a key, though.”
    “No problemo. I moonlight as a private eye.” He finally got a smile out of her.
    “From the looks of this truck, you moonlight as a carpenter.”
    “Joel said you were bright.”
    “Time I started using my brain instead of hiding my head in a bottle of scotch.”
    Tony told her, “We call that denial. It makes everything worse.”
    “You think? I was in deep, and the only part I knew how to handle was studying and working. I just pretended the bad stuff would go away.”
    “How’d that work for you?” Tony said with a knowing smile.
    Manda wasn’t