What If (Willowbrook Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

field of tulips.
    She grabbed the bunch and headed to his gravesite. On her knees, she spread the tulips across the granite marker. “For you, Dad. I miss you. Every day.” Emma started to get up, but something silver in the overgrown grass caught her attention. A silver chain . She held the chain in her hand then pocketed it. On the chain was a key. A key for my heart, Drew , she remembered whispering to him as she’d stuck her hand out, unfolded her clenched palm and had shown him the way to her heart. She reached inside her shirt and felt the coolness of the heart-shaped lock. Apparently, Drew didn’t want his piece of her heart.
    Numb, she walked back to the house. Inside her place, she sat on the couch and turned on the television. She didn’t hear the words or see the images. Everything was silent. Everything a blur.
    In the grand scheme of things, the finality of her breakup with Drew was small. Sandy’s little boy has leukemia for goodness sakes.
    Her mind made up, she texted Eve. Sure, she’d love to head the reclusive guy retrieval team. Keeping people safe was her business.
    With broken wrists and having his man friends hold his junk while he peed . . . well, Drew definitely wasn’t safe living by himself.
     
     
     

Chapter Six
    “Why do I have the gut feeling this idea of yours is really, really bad?” With her hands on her hips, Emma looked from Eve to the two-story house. She’d always thought the wrap-around porch and picture windows were downright homey. Too bad she currently didn’t like the home’s owner.
    “You said you’d help.”
    “Help put together a plan,” she reminded Eve. “I’d be central command while you, Asa, and the guys are my troops. Get it?”
    Eve’s arched brows pulled together. “What’s the harm in ‘dropping by.’” Eve gestured with air quotes.
    “I wanted to head and command from a distance. Not be in the same space with him, alone.”
    Eve leaned close to her. “If it’s over, then there shouldn’t be any feelings for Drew, right?” Her voice had fallen to a whisper as though someone might be listening in on their conversation as they hid behind the trees surrounding Drew’s place.
    Tipping her chin toward the woods behind the house, Eve scrunched her face into an expression Emma could only guess was determination. “Out here, it’s just you and him.”
    Emma rolled her eyes. “You’re starting to sound like one of those narrators from a horror movie right before someone gets axed to bits.”
    Eve pouted. Maybe with a guy, it’d have an effect, but not on her.
    “The mardi gras party was a disaster.” She eyed the house. “And he’s moved on.”
    The front pages of the tabloid magazines had Drew and Tess plastered on them. From the way the magazines flew off the local store’s shelves, the townspeople were very interested in Drew’s business. She didn’t blame them for being curious. After all, Drew hadn’t been around town in months. Well, since Emma had broken up with him. They must wonder about his sudden move to the Bay area and why he kept the old, but charming house in the woods.
    When she’d seen the headlines and speculation about Drew and the “stunning” redhead, Emma was glad she wasn’t in Tess’ place. However, at night, alone in her bed, she envied Tess for having what she lacked—courage. It took guts to be scrutinized under a media microscope day in and day out.
    The rumbling of a truck cut into the silence and yanked her out of her thoughts. They both turned toward the noise. Eve started to do a dance of sorts with the swing of her hips and a wave of her arms. “They’re here.” She jumped up and down.
    Lucas and Drew . Lucas’ Ford F150 truck drove up the dirt road and parked at the bottom of the slope to the house. Emma’s heart raced. Breathe, Emma . The driver’s door opened. From her vantage point on the slope, she watched Lucas get out of the truck. The passenger door opened. She began to break out in a