Whisper Falls Read Online Free PDF Page B

frozen in place, crouched down as if hiding, Tessa murmured, “What have you been through, cat?” But then she shook her head. “Never mind—I probably don’t want to know.”
    “If you just leave it, she’ll eat it,” Amy said.
    “I know. I just . . . want to put her at ease, show her she can trust somebody.”
    Amy looked over, surprised. “Since when are you all touchy feely with cats?” It wasn’t that Tessa disliked cats, but she’d never felt strongly about them one way or the other. She’d been raised in more of a dog-loving family.
    Now she just shrugged. “I don’t like seeing anything be scared when it doesn’t have to be.”
    “Speaking of being scared,” Amy said, rising to her feet with an empty box in hand, “any more Lucky Romo sightings?”
    Tessa’s skin prickled as she stood back up, too, but she tried to act cool. “He was out on his deck yesterday.”
    “What was he doing?”
    Watching me sunbathe. “Nothing.” She fiddled with a small jar of ink pens on the counter.
    “Did he talk to you?”
    “Um, kind of. He sort of said hello.” I think he might have flirted with me again. But Amy didn’t need to know any of the stuff she wasn’t saying. Besides not wanting to worry her friend, Tessa couldn’t really explain or justify the fact that she liked him flirting with her. Or that she’d continued lying there scantily clad even knowing he was looking. She could scarcely explain that to herself at moments.
    And it wasn’t that she was any less wary of him or his past—it was, again, simply that he’d made her feel more attractive and alive than anything had in a long time. So, while it would have been a lot more handy if he were Johnny Depp or Colin Farrell, he wasn’t, and she had to play the cards she’d been dealt, right?
    Not that she planned to play with Lucky Romo at all. The very thought of getting any more up close and personal with him than she already had made her heart rise to her throat. He was an unknown quantity and what she did know about him was undoubtedly troublesome. But if he wanted to admire her from afar with his eyes—well, that thought, on the other hand, only made her feel good and kind of warm inside.
    Just then, the bell above the door jingled and Tessa’s mother entered the store wearing a casual skirt and blazer, her gray frosted hair looking stylish in its short cut. She must be on her lunch break—she did part-time administrative work for the City of Destiny, and the offices were located just across the square, behind the police department.
    “Mom—hi,” she said with a smile.
    Her mother flashed a grin. “Well, you must be feeling good.”
    Tessa blinked. “I must? I mean, actually, I am, but . . .”
    “I just don’t think I’ve seen you glowing so much, looking so vibrant, in a long time,” her mom replied, clearly enthused.
    Hmm, she glowed ? And looked vibrant ? Apparently her new neighbor possessed skills even greater than she’d realized. “Have you ever seen me seriously glowing , Mom?” she had to ask.
    Her mother laughed softly. “I just mean you have some color in your cheeks. You look healthy.”
    Tessa simply bit her lip. Was it possible Lucky Romo had actually restored some of her health through the mere acts of ogling her and flirting with her? It sounded silly, yet . . . like it or not, maybe a big, burly biker neighbor with darkly arresting eyes had been just what the doctor ordered.
    A fter getting off work at the bookstore late that afternoon, Tessa came home, turned on the radio, changed into jeans and a tank—with a bra this time!—and stepped out onto the deck. The sun was sinking fast, so despite the gorgeous weather, it would turn chilly soon, and she wanted to plant some seeds in a few terra-cotta pots before it did.
    She’d never been a big gardener until recently—but she supposed all the major changes in her life had altered her in smaller ways, too. Maybe she was trying to get in touch with