Whisper Falls Read Online Free PDF Page A

buddy Duke had sent him a number of customers—he’d have to thank him with a free custom job on the old Harley Panhead Duke had just bought, once it was rebuilt.
    Well, that was at least one consolation about coming back to this area—Duke had relocated here years ago, over in Crestview, and it would be good to see his friend on a regular basis again. And the fact that Duke owned the only biker bar in the vicinity didn’t hurt—besides helping Lucky get to know other riders, it was a good way to spread the word about his business, and he knew it wouldn’t be difficult to rebuild it here. Taking into account the big motorcycle rally about an hour away in Chillicothe each Labor Day, the region had a healthy biker population. And he could do his work anywhere and was good enough at it that bikers wouldn’t mind driving out into the country for it.
    Taking another swig from the Bud Light can in his fist, he shifted slightly in his chair—a breeze had blown some sprouting branches into his line of vision and he found he wanted to see more of his sexy little neighbor’s ass in the hot pink bikini she wore. She remained on her stomach, top undone, and now read a book.
    It was still hard for Lucky to believe he was back here, but he had a good reason—about the only thing he could fathom that would bring him home.
    Destiny . He sighed. For him it was . . . a place of nightmares. The only thing that made it any better was perhaps the fact that he’d found even worse nightmares after leaving.
    Loathe to make his home here again, he’d actually looked for a house elsewhere in the area—in Crestview and beyond—but this had been the only one he’d found in the right price range with a garage big enough to accommodate his paint shop.
    It located him too close to his family, though, and . . . hell, that part of the Destiny equation was a problem. He had no intention of calling them up—he’d worked hard to get over the things that had made him leave home, but he still didn’t particularly figure they’d want to hear from him. Of course, they’d probably learn he was back eventually . . . and while he wasn’t sure what to expect from that, he didn’t look forward to finding out.
    He just planned to keep to himself here for as long as he could, painting bikes and getting the house fixed up the way it should be. After that, it was only a matter of waiting until Sharon decided he was dependable—and then he’d have one more big change in his life, the biggest of all, the reason he’d come back.
    He gave his head a quick shake and let out a breath. He wasn’t sure he was ready for that change, but he had to be. He’d never considered himself much of a stand-up guy, but for this, he had no choice—he had to stand up, he had to get ready.
    He could still remember the moment Duke had called and told him. Something inside him had transformed—in a split second, something had come to life that he hadn’t even realized was there. He’d known immediately that he would close his well-established Milwaukee paint shop and head home to Ohio. He’d shown up on Duke’s doorstep in Crestview around a month later, his Harley Deuce and painting supplies in tow.
    Draining his beer, he crushed the can in his fist and stood up, the chair scraping loudly against the wood as he pushed it back from the rail. The noise made Tessa Sheridan flinch, raise slightly—then apparently remember her top wasn’t tied, so she hugged it against herself. She looked upward toward the sound, toward him. And even over the distance that separated them, their eyes met. And something low in Lucky’s gut caught fire.
    “How’s it goin’, hot stuff?” he called down through the trees. He didn’t smile, though—cute or not, he wasn’t planning on getting chummy with her.
    Then why the hell do you keep calling her “hot stuff”? He quickly decided it was an animal thing—he’d never been able to hold in flirtation with a woman he found