The Mighty Quinns: Ronan Read Online Free PDF Page B

didn’t grow in a cornfield.
    “No, it won’t,” he said, his voice on edge. “I need the job. I’m just going to have to suck it up and do it.”
    “We wear life vests,” she said. “If you fall overboard, we’ll pull you out. My brothers and sisters fall in all the time.” She paused. “Why are you afraid of the water?”
    “It’s just something from my childhood. It really doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
    “You can tell me,” Charlie said.
    “My parents—they were lost at sea,” he said, turned to her. “They were sailing a yacht across the Pacific and it disappeared. Probably sank during a storm. Or maybe it got hit by a cargo ship. Nobody knows.”
    “Oh, my God,” Charlie said. “That must have been horrible.”
    “After that, I couldn’t bring myself to get onboard a boat and whenever I tried I’d get kind of freaked out.”
    Charlie reached out and took his hand, covering it with hers. “I guess we could work on that,” she said.
    “You don’t have to pay me until I can do the work,” he said. “It’s my problem. I’ll work it out.”
    “Sure. Why don’t we take a little boat ride tonight,” she said. “A test ride, and see how you feel. These estuaries are a lot different than the open ocean.”
    He stared down at their hands, then wove his fingers through hers. When he looked back up, their gazes met for a long moment. Ronan leaned closer and in a heartbeat, his lips met hers in a soft, lingering kiss. He drew back, then decided it wasn’t enough, cupping her face in his hands and deepening the kiss.
    It was so unexpected, but not at all unwanted. Charlie was afraid to breathe, afraid to make a sound for fear that the spell that had fallen over them would suddenly burst. It had been so long since a man had touched her this way, but all the old familiar feelings came back in a rush.
    When he finally pulled back, a long sigh slipped from his body. He pressed his forehead to hers, still holding her face in his hands. “Was that all right?” he murmured.
    Charlie wasn’t sure if he wanted permission or if he was asking for a review of his technique. “It was very all right,” she said. “I—I mean, good. Very good. And all right, too.”
    He smiled. “So I can do it again?”
    “Sure,” she said. “Right now?”
    “Later,” he said. Ronan pushed to his feet, then held out his hand. When she stood beside him, he drew her hand to his mouth and pressed his lips to her wrist. “What’s next, boss?”
    In truth, Charlie would have been happy to continue what they were doing. But maybe later would be better. “I think I’m going to take you home to meet the folks,” she said.
    He gasped. “What?”
    “You kissed me. You know what that means. My mama and daddy are going to want to look you over.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    She laughed. “Yeah. But my dad will want to meet you. He has to meet everyone we hire. He’s the president of the company.”
    “All right.”
    “I won’t tell him about your fear of boats. I think I’ll keep that to myself a little bit longer,” she promised.
    * * *
    “G ARRETT S IBLEY , CLOSE that door! You’re letting
flies in!”
    Charlie’s brother ran down the front steps of the porch, then turned back to grin at Ronan. “It’s Indian food tonight,” he said. “If I were you, I’d turn around and get out of here before she forces you to eat it.”
    Ronan turned to Charlie and she gave him a reassuring smile. “My mother likes to try cooking new cuisines. Don’t worry, if it’s really bad, we’ll get something else to eat later. Just tell her it’s good and eat really slowly.”
    “I like Indian food,” he said.
    “Me, too. But this won’t taste like any Indian food you’ve ever had. Last month, she was mastering German food and everything tasted like vinegar.”
    The Sibley family lived in a sprawling white clapboard Victorian, set on a beautiful tree-lined street in the heart of Sibleyville. It was the