Stone Cold (An Iron Tornadoes MC Romance) Read Online Free PDF

keep myself busy until the fall."  
    Everest chuckles when I stop talking, so I smile at him and ask, "What's funny?"
    "Your version of not really wanting to talk. I wonder what it's like when you spill your guts," he says.
    I mock-punch him in the shoulder and say, "You're not allowed to make fun of me today."
    He tilts his head sideways to get a better look at me and says, "Then I guess I need to come back another day to get another shot at it."
    "I would like that very much," I spontaneously say. I really like him. What's not to like? He's not handsome per se, but he's pleasant to look at, and he seems sweet and caring.
    "The good news is that your mother won't be able to object to your going out on a date with a police officer," he says.
    "Why not?" I have no idea why he's saying that. On the contrary, I believe my mother is going to tell me to stay as far as possible from anyone whose job can get them killed.
    "Seriously?" he asks, and I nod. "I have the feeling you're going to be seeing a lot of Captain Williams. He seems quite sweet on your mother."
    "Wow, I never saw that one coming," I blurt out. The idea of my mother dating or being the subject of a man's attention is so foreign to me that I have to ask, "You're sure?"
    "Why are you surprised? Your mother's a fine-looking woman, and I think she's just about the right age for Steven." He laughs. "Anyway, it's time for me to go."
    He gets to his feet and offers his hand to help me up. His hands are warm and strong. He's really a sweet man. I walk him to the front door, and he picks up a helmet that he had left on the porch. I notice a cool bike parked on the street.
    "Nice ride," I say.
    "You like it?" he asks stepping down from the porch. There's a spark in his eyes when he looks at his machine, as though he's really proud of it.
    "Yeah, I don't know much about engines and stuff; I just love the feeling of freedom you get."
    Memories of crazy rides on the beach with David hit me, and I fight the tears, which are threatening to come back.
    "You have a safe ride now, you hear," I say as I retreat to the house.
    I lock the door behind me and straighten the furniture in the main room. I'm thinking about picking up the rest of the stuff, and then I decide against it. I'm going to leave it there; it will be good for my mother to have something to do tomorrow. I'm just going to load the dishwasher and then lose myself in a good book.
    The second I step back into the kitchen, the back door slams open. It's Brian. He's dressed just as he was when I ran into him at the pharmacy; he's got the total-badass look, and he's just as angry and sinfully sexy as he was that day.
    But today I'm just as angry as he is. Perhaps more. I'm mad because he was a no-show at the service and at the burial. No matter what they fought about when David and he went their separate ways, it's no excuse for not coming to show his respect. And if he didn't care enough to bother attending the funeral, what is he doing here?
    Before I have a chance to ask him, he grabs a beer from the cooler and sits on a stool.
    Looking at the can as he cracks it open, he says, "I thought he would never leave."
    I take a step in his direction to confront him, and then I think better of it. I just ignore him and do what I intended to do in the first place. I load the dishwasher with the dirty glasses. I throw side-glances at him. He's drinking his beer and watching me make a big show of acting as if he wasn't there.
    I know it pisses him off because I've been doing it since I was a kid. Clamming up and sulking is my forte, and it's always driven him up the wall. It used to annoy the heck out of David, too. When I was a teenager, I would still do it every time I got raving mad about something. Instead of telling them what I was upset about, I would act as if they didn't exist until they figured it out.
    Of course now that I'm an adult, I realize it's very immature behavior. It's a lot healthier to spit out what's eating