[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Kendra. Disgusted, he threw his cue down on the table. And you are
not the man I ve always thought you were. He shook his head at Shane
and walked past them to join Matt at the table with Maggie and her
friends.
What did he just call me? Kendra s pretty face was pinched.
-65-
Lauren Dane
Maggie is a friend to some of us. We don t appreciate people saying
nasty things about her. Marc looked at Shane narrowed his eyes,
looking away sadly before heading off as well.
Hey, Maggie, Matt said as he approached the table and sat down.
Listen, I just&
Shaking her head to stay him, Maggie held up a hand. Please. Don t.
It s not your fault. It wasn t like he and I were serious or anything. I was
just mistaken about him being a nice person.
Kyle strolled over then and sat next to Maggie. Hey, Red. My brother
is an asshole. Please don t judge the rest of the Chase men by his
actions.
Maggie stood up. The tears were right there but she d be damned if
she d give Shane Chase the satisfaction of seeing them. I have to go.
She shoved at Kyle until he moved. Liv and Dee stood as well.
Liv handed Maggie her coat. Let s go to my place. I stopped at the
package store yesterday and I have a big old bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold
just waiting for us. Heck, let s get some pizza delivered. I ve got a few
DVDs I ve been meaning to watch, too. I m pretty sure one of them is
Thelma and Louise. She and Dee each grabbed one of Maggie s arms.
Thanks, guys, she tried to say lightly to Kyle and Matt but her voice
broke and she shook her head hard to keep them from saying anything.
I ll see you later. The tears sprang to her eyes, bottom lip trembling as
she hurried out.
Kyle looked at Matt, scowling. I can t believe Shane made her cry.
-66-
Giving Chase
The next weeks went by in a blur. Shane hadn t even bothered to call
to apologize or even to say he didn t want to see her again. She supposed
that was the message he sent by going out with Kendra.
But she d be damned if she d allow that asshat to chase her away
from her own life or make her feel bad for thinking that she deserved to
be respected by her dates. So she held her head up high and continued
her Friday night Pumphouse-with-the-girls dates. Of course, he d shown
up with women. Different ones each Friday but at least Kendra was gone.
For the most part, Maggie just made it her mission to pretend he didn t
exist.
She bumped into Matt at the bank and they d chatted for a few
minutes. She also ended up sitting on the same bench as Kyle and eating
lunch once at the park. He talked her ear off and was friendly and jovial.
Admittedly, she found him wildly attractive. But he was way off the
menu. It still didn t stop her from thinking of him or sneaking looks at
him on Fridays when they were in the back playing pool.
Her life moved into a new stage. One where she was proud of herself
for not letting Shane s actions get her down. For a long time, she d let
people run her over. But no more. From that point on, Maggie realized
she had every right to be treated well. She put the Shane incident behind
her and she d moved on.
One thing that did bother her was seeing Alex lurking around her
neighborhood several times a month. She did her best to ignore him but
she had to admit it did scare her slightly. He usually was doing
something that she d been able to explain away to herself jogging, riding
a bike, that sort of thing but he still gave her the creeps.
Halloween came and went and Maggie worked in her garden all day
the first Sunday of November. She tore out the old beds in the side yard
and finished installing the raised beds she d begun to build during the
early fall. After getting her spring bulbs in the ground, she trimmed her
climbing roses and fertilized her grass and trees. By the end of the day
-67-
Lauren Dane
she d cleaned out her yard and felt like she d cleaned out her life. It felt
damned good.
Sore but pleased with a very hard day s work she showered before
retiring to her back porch with a novel and a cup of hot tea.
Wow, you ve done some major work here.
She turned and saw Kyle Chase standing there, hands in his pockets.
He looked so handsome it took her breath away.
Idle hands and all of that. Her words were wary, even as her pulse
sped at his presence.
He grinned and raised one hand in a casual wave. Now that I ve said,
hey, you gonna invite me up there for a cup of tea? You re a southern
woman after all it s hardwired in your genetic code.
Tea? She began to lose her battle against a smile.
No. Unfailing courtesy, even when you don t want to be courteous.
Laughing, she put her book down. Come on up and sit, then. I ll go
and get another cup. Motioning to the couch she disappeared into her
house.
With a secretive smile of his own, Kyle made himself at home on the
small couch gracing her back sun porch. As a landscaper, he knew just
exactly how much work she must have done to make her yard look so
great. Somehow, knowing she was such a hard worker only made him
want her more.
Within moments she appeared again, carrying a tray with two
steaming mugs of tea and a plate of muffins. She bent to put it down on
the low table in front of him.
He smiled, grabbed the tea and breathed deeply, letting the heat from
the cup warm his hands.
She motioned to the plate of muffins. Blueberry muffins. I ve been
baking for the retirement home. Have one, they re still warm.
The porch was enclosed and had a fireplace at one end that sported a
warm blaze. The popping of the wood accompanied the soft clinking of
-68-
Giving Chase
his spoon against the mug as he stirred in sugar. She looked comfortable
and beautiful as she sat, curled into her chair.
These muffins are criminally good, he said around a mouthful. Hot
damn, was there nothing this woman wasn t good at?
Thanks. Her smile faded as she got down to business. Okay,
niceties out of the way. What brings you here, Kyle?
I don t know. He hesitated. Yes I do. I wanted to see you.
She narrowed her eyes at him. You wanted to see me? she repeated
blankly.
Yes. Maggie Wright, I wanted to see you. I can t stop thinking about
you. I should you know, but I can t.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
