Without a Past Read Online Free PDF Page A

help herself. She was no great judge of men—as evidenced by some of her boyfriends over the years, but she’d bet the deed to the old bordello that Harley Forester was a decent human being with a past no darker than Andi’s or her sister’s.
    â€œHey, this wasn’t my idea, but it’s a done deal. They’llbe here any minute.” Unable to resist teasing her sister, Andi added, “Unless he’s dissecting Ida’s body as we speak.”
    Kristin hissed with outrage. “You’re impossible. I only called because Jenny told me to tell you that we need to be especially gentle with Ida. Apparently she’s been restless and unhappy all week. Jen said she found her crying a couple of times.”
    Andi closed her eyes and frowned. Gentle was Kris’s thing. Understanding was Jenny’s thing. Andi was pretty sure none of her things —whatever they were—would prove beneficial to Ida Jane’s emotional well-being.
    â€œCould be she’s homesick,” Kristin suggested.
    Andi wished it were that simple, but she’d witnessed a steady decline in her aunt’s mental acuity over the past year. Neither of her sisters believed it was serious, but Andi feared otherwise.
    â€œI’d better go,” Andi said. “If Ida’s feeling depressed, she’ll really flip out when she sees the For Rent signs. We’d planned to talk to her about that when you got here, remember?”
    Kristin, who was due back in town Friday to participate in Jenny’s wedding, said, “You’re right. Sorry. I can’t talk to her right now. I was just leaving the house. I have to go to a…I’ll call later. As soon as I get back.”
    Typical, Andi thought sourly. Kris always seemed to be gone when there was an emotional confrontation of any kind. She’d been running since high school and hadn’t stopped. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle it, provided Harley gets her home in one piece.”
    â€œYou like him, don’t you?”
    Andi jumped to her feet. “No.”
    â€œYes, you do. I could always tell when you liked a boy.”
    Andi made a rude sound and started up the stairs. “Nuuh,” she returned, purposely trying to sound like one of the teenage girls who frequented the old bordello’s coffee parlor. Double mocha freezes were all the rage at the moment.
    Kristin snickered. “You’re attracted to him. But who wouldn’t be? He looks like that actor from Ever After with Drew Barrymore. Do you know who I mean?”
    Just as she reached the basement door, Andi heard the sound of a truck engine turn into the parking lot. Her heart rate went up a notch.
    â€œNever saw it,” Andi lied. She’d rented it twice—for that very reason. And it irritated her to no end that her sister—her beautiful sister—saw Harley as an attractive, sexy man.
    â€œYou should. He’s a cutie. Wish I could remember his name. Oh, well. Gotta go. Good luck with Ida Jane. Tell her I love her, and I’ll call later.”
    Andi quickly entered the kitchen, closing the door securely behind her. She tried to shake off the sense of anticipation at the thought of seeing Harley Forester, as he called himself. A man who—while not a serial killer—was no cowboy, either.
    He was an enigmatic stranger playing at being a ranch hand. Her attraction to him was just a silly diversion, probably the result of too much worry and not enough of a social life.
    â€œI need to get out more,” she muttered as she dashed to the porch. She didn’t want to miss her chance to watch Harley getting out of the truck. He might not be a cowboy, but, damn, he looked good in Wranglers.

CHAPTER TWO
    â€œY OU SHOULD HAVE BEEN here when Andi announced she was joining the marines,” Ida Jane told her dining companion a short while later. “The town was up in arms. You would have thought she’d said she was