The Inn at Dead Man's Point Read Online Free PDF Page B

school.
    It had been so long since a man had touched her and kissed her. Brian drifted in and out of her life as though he had a right to be there, and he did, for Katie, but not for her. She’d purged herself of him years ago.
    She couldn’t help but compare the two men. Al was better looking these days, he had a successful career, and there was an air of confidence about him that he didn’t have before. Brian didn’t finish college, he didn’t work much, and he thought the world owed him a living. But the biggest difference was that Brian had never grown up, and Alessandro Donatelli had. And he’d done a fine job of it, too. Boy, had he ever!
    She’d been waiting her whole life to find a man like Alessandro Donatelli, and now that she had, she knew she didn’t stand a chance with him. He hated her.
    And she didn’t blame him.
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    Jenna brought Mattie home from the hospital that afternoon and Al walked out to meet them. He opened the car door and helped Mattie out. “Hey, Mattie, you’re looking good. Glad to have you home again.”
    Jenna walked around the car. “Why did you sell the inn to him, Aunt Mattie? Uncle Charlie said it would belong to me someday.”
    “What else was I supposed to do? I didn’t have the money for the taxes.”
    “So you sold your share?”
    “ My share?”
    “My parents owned half of the inn.”
    “Nonsense. This place belonged to me and my family. It was never yours and it never belonged to your parents.”
    “But what about—”
    Aunt Mattie turned on her, her voice filled with rage. “Your parents put fifty thousand into this place, and we spent twice that much raising you and getting you through college, so don’t you go getting on your high horse, young lady. All that money we spent on you, and then you go out and get yourself pregnant. The least you could have done was marry Katie’s father. Or does he already have a wife?”
    “I don’t date married men,” Jenna said through clenched teeth.
    Al cleared his throat. “Have you ever met Katie’s father, Mattie?”
    “No.”
    “He’s not the kind of man I’d want my sister to marry.”
    “If he was good enough to get her pregnant, he’s good enough for her to marry.” With that said, Mattie walked into the house. “What’s that smell?”
    “Furniture polish,” said Jenna.
    “Well, I don’t like it.”
    Of course not. She didn’t like anything.
    Jenna brought Katie inside, got her aunt settled, and went to the kitchen to look for something to fix for dinner. She had to go grocery shopping, but she didn’t have much money left. The mood Aunt Mattie was in, she didn’t dare ask for money now.
    She looked over to see Al watching her rummage through the cabinets, looking for something to eat. He handed her a twenty dollar bill. “Order a pizza.”
    “Thanks. Do they deliver out here now?”
    “I think so. If they won’t deliver, I’ll go pick it up. Whatever kind you like.”
    “Okay. Thanks.”
    Now Al understood why Jenna hadn’t been around the inn lately. The old woman was brutal. Had he made a mistake in letting Mattie stay in the inn? Jenna looked beaten down already, and Mattie had just gotten home. What would it be like next week and next month? Would Jenna stay that long? Why would anyone hang around to be badgered and belittled?
    Listening to Mattie rag at Jenna made him thankful for the way he’d grown up. He didn’t have a father, but his mother dished out love and encouragement like spaghetti. Instead of criticizing Jenna, Mattie should be thanking her. If not for Jenna, she’d probably be in a nursing home by now.
    It was hard to look at Jenna without remembering high school. She was nice to everyone in the ninth grade, but halfway through the next year, she began to change. She dumped her friends and started hanging out with Brian and his crowd. She was probably just trying to fit in, but she went about it all wrong. Brian had always had a cruel streak, and he manipulated