Shiver: Psychic Romantic Suspense by Cynthia Cooke

Author:Cynthia Cooke [Cooke, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-11-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The next morning, Riley woke to a loud pounding on his front door. He swore as he stared at the clock: 6 a.m. Who could be here this early? “Hold your horses,” he yelled as the pounding persisted. He climbed out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans, then walked bare-chested to the front door.

He swung it open and was surprised to find his father standing before him, red-faced and steaming. “Dad, what is it?” he asked, instantly concerned. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his dad so worked up, or seen him on his doorstep.

“You got a minute?” his dad asked, his expression hard, his voice cold as he walked into the room.

Riley stepped back. “Sure. Give me a second and I’ll grab a shirt.”

“Don’t bother.”

Riley paused at the acid tone in his voice. “All right. What’s up?”

“I want to know how you can have so little regard for your job and your family that you would bring that woman here.” His father raised a trembling hand and pointed it at him. “I saw you last night all over the woman who could very well have killed your brother’s wife.”

Riley stood dumbstruck. His father had been there last night, watching them? He couldn’t help feeling like a child as the sting of his father’s venom swept through him. He took a deep breath. “Could is the operative word, Dad. She’s innocent.”

“Think with your head, Riley.”

“Why can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt? Trust, for once in your life, that maybe I know what I’m doing.”

“I wish I could, but you always seem to step over the line, to push the envelope, and damn the consequences.”

Riley cringed at his words but knew there wasn’t anything he could say or do to change his father’s opinion of him. There never had been. He held his father’s heated gaze and refused to back down. “I think with my head, but mostly I think with my gut. That’s who I am. Take it or leave it.”

His father stiffened. “You’ve always been like that. Why couldn’t you have learned to stay within your boundaries? When will you ever accept the consequences of your actions?”

“Why don’t you come right out and say it? You think it’s my fault, don’t you.”

“You couldn’t control what Michelle did.”

“I’m not talking about Michelle. I’m talking about Mom and we both know it.”

His father opened his mouth to respond but, at that moment, Tony stepped through the open doorway, a grim look on his face, and a manila folder in his hand.

“Sorry to interrupt. You got any coffee on?” His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes rumpled, and he looked in desperate need of a sharp razor.

Riley took a deep breath and glanced from Tony to his dad, then back to Tony again. “No, but we can fix some.” He turned toward the kitchen.

Unfortunately, his father followed.

“What happened to your face?” Tony asked.

“We had an intruder last night right after you left. He attacked me outside as I was coming back from the barn.

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