Twice Shy (The Restraint Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

occurrence. West put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed as he sat down on one of the stools at the bar.
    Moving behind the bar to the open office door, she looked in and saw Mary propped against a stack of crates, sipping a beer. Hopefully it was only the first of the day. Sarge sat behind the desk, leaning back casually, but his neck muscles were corded and his eyes watchful.
    As she leaned against the doorframe, her curvy size-sixteen body blocked Mary’s escape route. Out of the corner of her eye, she felt Sarge turn his gaze on her. Mary looked at her, smiled. “We’re not open yet, hun.” She half-stood, craning her neck. “Sorry, I thought I locked the main door behind me after I came in. Can I help you with something?” She’d used her flirty and charming voice. She hadn’t recognized Stacy. It hurt. Using her cool head, Stacy knew Mary had written her off years ago, and didn’t expect to see her daughter ever again. Plus, she’d changed a great deal in eight years. Honed the curves in her figure so she had a waist now. Tamed her unruly strawberry blonde hair. Found some fashion sense, albeit retro.
    “Hi, Mom.”
    Mary’s pleasant visage changed. She squinted, took Stacy in from top to bottom, and then focused in on her again. She stood, walked over and looked up into her face. Her voice hardened. “So the ungrateful brat comes home after five years. Sarge tole me you were all right and he’s a man of his word. You couldn’t of called? Written?” Mary turned around and flounced back to her beer and seat.
    On the offensive. Mary wasn’t stupid and knew there had to be a reason for this visit.
    “Eight years.”
    “What did you say?” Mary asked.
    “It’s been eight years I’ve been gone, not five.”
    A moment of confusion passed over Mary’s eyes and then cleared. “Same difference. So you obviously didn’t come for money. Looks like you fell on your feet.”
    It was said in a sneering way. Calm, nodding, Stacy said, “I did.”
    The best way not to get pulled into a conversational eddy with Mary was to say as little as possible. Not to let her insults hurt. Not to let the hurt show if they hit the mark.
    “Still fat though.” Years of being called fat by Mary had taken the sting of that insult away. Her counselor had told Stace insults like that usually came from insecure people. She could never see Mary as insecure, but had accepted that she did this to make herself feel superior.
    Smiling at this old trick in her bag, Stacy agreed, “Yep.”
    The smiling was a mistake. Grabbing her purse and standing, Mary said, “Well, it was a nice reunion, but y’all know I love my Saturday and Sunday off.” She turned to Sarge and handed him her paycheck. “I endorsed this, could you give me the cash?”
    Sarge leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “Sit down, Mare.”
    Mary blustered for a few minutes about him blackmailing her with the check. Sarge just sat there, saying nothing. She knew that he didn’t have to cash it for her. She could wait like most people and put it in the bank and wait the three to five days for the cash to clear.
    Moving back away from the desk, Mary asked, “May I at least go to the little girl’s room?”
    Sarge said, “Sure.”
    Mary walked over to the door Stacy was blocking. Sarge said, “No running away, Mary. There’s some things that need to be said ’tween you an’ Stacy. If you run away, Mare, don’ come back.”
    Stacy’s mom’s back stiffened for a moment, and Stacy moved slightly away from the door jamb to make room for the still-petite figure to sashay through.
    Whether she intended to bolt or not before Sarge’s threat, the dyed-blonde bombshell came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and walked back into the office. She sat again. “I want to git this over with. Whatever needs to be said? I never claimed to be a domestic goddess, Stace. Your life coulda been a helluva lot worse.”
    How many times had she heard that one?