Harlequin Intrigue January 2016, Box Set 2 of 2 by Paula Graves

Author:Paula Graves
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459294431
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Amber stood on the back porch, watching the play of lightning across the dark afternoon sky. Heavy rain clouds warned of another storm that would break across the Glades and probably turn the small water inlets into fast-flowing rivers for the next few days.

Dex stood beside her but, instead of watching the sky, he was watching her. “You should be happy,” he said.

“I am. I guess. It’s just so...surprising. Sudden.”

“Sudden? You lived in exile for two years.”

“I know. That’s not what I mean. One day I know who I am and what I’m doing and less than a week later a plane drops out of the sky.” She turned to face him. “And everything changed. Now I have a life again, a future. And I have you to thank for that.” She entwined her arms around his neck and stepped into the cocoon of his arms.

He hugged her tight and rested his cheek on the top of her head. “I still don’t understand. Why did you try to cover for Buddy?”

She tightened her arms around him. “You won’t understand, even if I explain it.”

“Try me.”

She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. “All my life, the only person who ever cared about me—in my family, at least—was my grandfather. And my friend Faye, of course. But my grandfather was the one who was always there for me no matter what. From the time I was little until the day he died. He did everything for me. He basically saved me by bribing my self-centered parents to move away and leave me with him. He gave me security, love, financial stability, and he only asked one thing in return—that I take care of his friend, Buddy.”

“What do you mean? Buddy’s a grown man. He doesn’t need anyone to take care of him.”

She pulled back and looked at him. “Buddy doesn’t need money—he’s got plenty of his own because of some kind of swamp buggy invention. Grandpa just wanted me to always make sure Buddy was okay even after Grandpa was gone. So when he died, and I realized that Buddy may have been responsible—purely by accident—I couldn’t risk him going to jail.”

“So you decided to allow the blame to fall on you. That’s crazy.”

She stiffened and pushed him, but his arms tightened and he didn’t let her go.

“I didn’t say you were crazy, just that the decision you made was crazy. I can’t imagine your grandfather wanting you to sacrifice your future just to keep his best friend from going to jail.”

“That’s because you didn’t know my father,” a voice said from the yard. “He was cold and mean, even to those he supposedly loved.”

Dex and Amber turned to see Freddie Callahan standing at the bottom of the stairs, in pretty much the same place that Buddy had been standing earlier in the day.

“What is it with you people sneaking up on us all the time?” Dex grumbled.

“What do you want?” Amber said, not sounding particularly welcoming, and Dex couldn’t blame her for that.

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