Surrender To Sultry Read Online Free PDF Page A

breakfast. It’s already late.”
    “Sorry, hon. His loss.” Daddy caught her hand before she could get away. He gave a
     playful tug, trying to lighten her now sour mood. “If you’re cookin’, I’ll have a
     bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit.”
    Leah laughed without humor. “Well, that’s not what you’re gonna get.” Not on her watch,
     anyway. “You’ll have oatmeal.”
    “Aw, come on, Pumpk—”
    She silenced him with a flash of her palm. “There’s what we want, and there’s what’s
     good for us. The two are almost never the same.” Boy, had she learned that lesson
     the hard way. “It won’t be so bad. I’ll add some cinnamon and vanilla.”
    “And chocolate chips?”
    “Nope.”
    “Syrup?”
    “Unh-uh.”
    “Brown sugar?”
    “No deal.”
    “Need I remind you that I’m the head of this house?” Daddy asked.
    “You know what they say, Daddy.” Leah strode into the kitchen, calling over her shoulder,
     “You’re the head, but I’m the neck. I’ll turn you whichever way I want.”
    But despite her tough words, Leah pulled a tub of raw honey from the pantry when she
     gathered her ingredients. In her heart, she understood how it felt to choke down life’s
     bitter lumps, and she couldn’t deny her daddy a little sweetness.
    She grabbed a pot and stood before the old stove, its electric burners scrubbed to
     a dull black and revealing gleaming silver bowls beneath. Daddy’s kitchen was cleaner
     than she’d expected. Too clean. No traces of dried tomato sauce or smudges of grease existed anywhere except
     the inside of a white microwave oven that stood in odd contrast to the original harvest
     gold appliances. That’s how she knew Daddy didn’t cook for himself. A well-used kitchen
     was never this spotless. If she had to guess, she’d say he subsisted on Hungry-Man
     dinners and takeout. To test her theory, Leah took three steps toward the fridge and
     tugged open the freezer door. A waft of cool air greeted her, along with two dozen
     boxes of Salisbury Surprise, Mexican Fiesta, and Pub Favorites.
    Mmm-hmm. Just as she thought.
    Shaking her head, she returned to the stove, where she combined two parts skim milk
     with one part rolled oats. She added a teaspoon of cinnamon and vanilla, and before
     long, the mixture had come to a rolling simmer. Moist steam swirled up from the pot,
     smelling of bland, watery grain, and eliciting a frown in response. Leah would never
     admit it to Daddy, but she didn’t like oatmeal either. In fact, she detested it.
    She hated everything about oatmeal—the dull flavor, mushy texture, the way it lingered
     in her stomach like mashed lead. What she really craved was an ooey-gooey chocolate éclair with an extra-thick layer of fudge icing.
     Richman’s grocery made them fresh, right down the street, and she still remembered
     the culinary ecstasy of sinking her teeth into one. Her toes almost curled when she
     imagined the way that sweet custard would burst across her tongue when she’d take
     a big, sinful bite.
    Oh, heavens. Was she drooling? Sadly, yes.
    She wiped a hand across her lips and returned her attention to the oats before they
     stuck to the bottom of the pot. Like she’d told Daddy, what she wanted and what she
     needed were two different things.
    Or at least she’d always thought so. These days, she was beginning to wonder.
    For the last ten years, she’d forgone happiness in the interest of doing what was
     right, hoping the Lord would reward her sacrifices. Even her relationship with Ari
     had started that way. They’d been friends at first, and she hadn’t wanted anything
     more. But when the spark behind his eyes had told her he felt differently, she couldn’t
     turn him down, not after his father had taken her in and given her a new life. Besides,
     Ari was a genuinely wonderful person, so she ignored the way his thin lips had never
     fit against her own, or that his embrace didn’t set her insides on fire. She