August: Calendar Girl Book 8 by Audrey Carlan Read Free Book Online Page B

down to the soles of my shoes, I shook my head. “A good deed is done because it should be, not because it’s being paid for. You’ve already paid the fee to get me here. I’ve sent that to my debt collector. It’s all good.”
    His eyes went from a pale green to a harsh dark forest color. “Debt collector? That money I sent went to a debt? My investigator showed no debt under your name. You had very little in your checking and savings, though checks had been written to a college fund. I figured you were using the money you made for back tuition. That money was supposed to go to you!” His tone bordered on vehement, and he clutched his hands into fists. Not exactly the response I’d expect.
    I groaned. “Look, Max, my debts are not your problem. Hell, they’re not even my problem.” I spoke on autopilot and shouldn’t have.
    “What do you mean? Whose debt are you paying?” He stood and placed his hands on his hips. The sunlight struck his shiny belt buckle, momentarily blinding me.
    “None of your business.” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to avoid the light. That brightness shone as though it were piercing me with much more than a blaze of sunshine, but the truth, right at the heart of its wicked arrow.
    “Of course it is. You’re my sister.”
    “Pretend sister,” I reminded him with a warning tone. The kind that usually made people listen. Not him. He wasn’t fazed by it at all.
    In a flourish, he pulled off his Stetson, set it on his desk, and ruffled his fingers through his unruly hair. When it fell down, all golden blond layers around his ears, he looked beyond familiar. He looked like my baby sister Maddy for the briefest of seconds. Jeez, even he had me drinking the Kool-Aid.
    “Look, I’m not going to go into the debt details. Just know I’m handling it.”
    “But what about college? If you’re here, you’re obviously not in school.”
    I pressed my fists against my eyes. This really was none of his business. Most of my clients didn’t get this close to the personal details of my life this soon. Only Wes, but that was different. In the back of my mind, I knew he was someone more. It just took a while to confirm it. Now, I had this giant cowboy all up in my business, and from the looks of his tight jaw and firm stance, he was not going to budge until he got some answers.
    Taking a deep breath, I leaned forward. “I dropped out of school long ago, Max. The tuition payments are not for me.”
    His hand went to his jaw. “Then who are they for?”
    “My sister, Madison. I’m paying for her schooling.”
    His hand dropped to the desk where he leaned heavily, the wood creaking under the pressure. “You have a sister?” he gasped.
    “Um, yeah, five years younger. She goes to school in Nevada, going to be a scientist,” I said with absolute pride and affection. My baby sister was my one true claim to fame. Everything I did in life, I did for her, because of her. She would have everything that life could offer, and I’d done my best over the years to make it so. Then I laughed, realizing a tiny important detail and taunting the cowboy with it. “I thought your little investigator would have mentioned that.” I wagged a finger at him.
    When our gazes caught, I noticed his eyes were tortured and hardened. He swallowed a couple times, opened his mouth, and then closed it again. “Another sister,” he whispered. “Madison.” He said her name as if it were a prayer, something to be held up high on an altar and worshipped. “Two sisters. All I’ve ever wanted. I’ll be damned.” He shook his head, closed his eyes, and a tear slipped down his cheek.
    What. The. Hell. Just. Happened.

Chapter Five
    “ M ax , what’s the matter?” I asked as he stood, walked over to the window, and ran his monster-sized hands through his golden locks.
    He cleared his throat. “Uh, nothing.” He sniffed, trying to pull himself together. I was at a total loss. He’d gone from talking oil business to