Whispers of Home Read Online Free PDF Page A

know did every day. So unless you were some celebrity on the cover of a tabloid you were safe from the gossip mills.
    “I’m a snuggle bear, huh Daddy?” Bobby’s words broke him out of his musings.
    “Yep, you’re my snuggle bear. Now you’re a snuggle bear in a cart.” He pretended to munch on the boys belly. It was a game they played every time they came in to a store. Jaron had started it when Bobby was a baby because he had hated sitting in the cart as a toddler. Jaron had no idea why.
    Jaron had been to the grocery store three times this week. Going only once a week would be grand, but very unlikely to happen apparently. He seriously needed to start making lists every week.
    “I want the little man cookies.” Bobby was practically bouncing in the cart, pointing at an elf.
    “The fudge ones?”
    Bobby nodded his head. Jaron grabbed them off the shelf and placed them in the cart.
    “Good choice,” someone spoke from behind Jaron. The voice was deep and made him moan in appreciation. He turned to put a face to that wonderful voice.
    It was as if Jaron’s thoughts had conjured him up and placed him right next to the Oreo cookies. Travis Heath got hotter since high school. And taller. When did men stop growing? Jaron was probably at the guys shoulder, but it was hard to tell from down the aisle. Travis Heath’s strawberry blond hair was longer than it had been in high school and could be seen curling around the cowboy hat he wore.
    The two women at the end of the aisle clammed up upon seeing him. Jaron didn’t blame them. He wouldn’t want to be caught talking shit either.
    “I haven’t seen you guys in town before.” His smile was kind but his brown eyes—oh God help him—held mischief, as if the guy was up to something.
    That more than anything kept Jaron’s mouth shut to all but basic knowledge. “We’ve only been in town a short time.” He had to give the guy something. He didn’t want to be rude after all.
    “What brings you in town?” Travis said casually, while looking over the crackers in the aisle. “Damn it. Why is it she needs the most obscure friggin’ cracker on the planet,” he said under his breath.
    Jaron’s eyebrows raised, not that the man was looking at him to even see his expression. “What are you looking for?”
    “Wheat thins or something like that.”
    Jaron looked at the shelf and spotted what Travis needed. “What flavor?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “Well, they have two different flavors to choose from.”
    “Where?” he asked, his eyes scanning the shelf, looking for whatever Jaron already saw.
    Jaron picked up a box and held it out. Travis took it from him, looking right into Jaron’s eyes when he did. “Thanks.”
    “No problem.” Jaron cleared his throat and looked away, uncomfortable all of a sudden.
    Travis took his cell phone out of his jean’s pocket and dialed. Before he even started talking, Jaron took off down another aisle and away from temptation.
    “Daddy, you’re driving fast,” Bobby complained.
    “Sorry buddy.”
    They checked out quickly. The cashier rang them up, not saying a word but it was clear from the devious look on the girl’s face that she wanted too. Jaron could just tell she wanted to ask the thousands of questions going through her mind and then relay that information to everyone who would listen. She looked familiar but he couldn’t quite place where he might have met her before. He didn’t really care anyway.
    It wasn’t until they were all checked out and down the sidewalk in front of the store that Jaron saw Travis again. And Jaron was secretly hoping to see Travis again. He was just hoping he wouldn’t get caught looking. Travis was sitting in a black pickup truck with his hand resting on the wheel and the window open. Jaron didn’t even see him until Travis called out, “Hey!”
    He looked up instinctively, raising a couple fingers in greeting, hands full of kid and groceries, taking off around the corner