Between Us Girls by Sally John Read Free Book Online Page B

a little smile. “Why could I sleep?”
    â€œYou felt safe here.”
    â€œI felt safe enough in my Valley Oaks studio apartment. I even felt safe at the Marriott. But I didn’t sleep well in either place.”
    Lord, have mercy. The girl couldn’t sleep well in those other places because deep down she did not feel truly safe, not yet. How could she? Six months was nothing. Last night happened only because…
    Well, Liv knew why.
    She jumped in with both feet and tried not to splash too much. “Then maybe you slept here because I prayed a special blessing on your sleep. It had been such a dreadful day for you.”
    Jasmyn inched forward in her chair, no doubt preparing to skedaddle.
    Liv smiled gently. “That sounds zany, I know. But I pray about everything.”
    â€œIs this…” Jasmyn whispered haltingly. “Is this place a, um, a cult?”
    â€œA cult?” Liv pressed her lips together before a burst of laughter escaped.She cleared her throat. “My goodness. I’ve never been asked that before. No, Jasmyn, dear. We’re not a cult. You just happened to catch us at one of our infrequent all-Casa parties. I suppose each of us is a little kooky in some way. No one, though, is what I would call off-the-chart strange.”
    Jasmyn bit her lip and looked down at her mug.
    Liv said, “Maybe you think I’m off-the-chart strange?”
    She looked up, her eyes wide. “I don’t know anyone who prays about everything and gets answers.”
    â€œWell, now you do.” Oops. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
    To Liv’s surprise Jasmyn scooched back in the chair and smiled. “Yes, now I do. So is it all right if I spend another night here?”
    Liv grinned her reply, not wanting to give voice to the thought that was forming in her mind like a video on fast-forward.
    Cottage Eleven was going to be Jasmyn Albright’s new home.

Ten
    Sam parked her black Jeep Cherokee and cut the engine. Despite the ibuprofen she’d taken while inching along the freeway in rush hour traffic, her head throbbed. She removed her sunglasses and covered her face with her hands.
    Typically her days did not end like this. Typically work energized her. She arrived at the office early, left late, stopped off at the gym three days a week, and ran at the beach the other two. She went in on weekends. Her friends were those other people in the office early, late, and on weekends.
    Work was her hobby, her passion, her social life, her raison d’être . She was content and satisfied.
    Until today.
    A sudden rap on her window startled her. She jumped and turned to see Charles Chadwick Rutherford IV grinning like a goofy little kid. Her heart pounded along with her head.
    He mouthed a Sorry and made a rolling motion with his hand.
    She turned the key and hit the automatic button to open the window. “Honestly, Chad!” He went by his middle name. Apparently after three variations on Charles, the family had run out. “What is wrong with you?”
    His grin went sideways and he put a hand to his chest. “Rakish” should have been his middle name. “You know I can’t pass up an opportunity to set you off, Miss Whitley. You are completely irresistible when you’re exasperated. Your eyes are wild and you’re blush—”
    â€œPut a lid on it.”
    The guy was too cute for his own good. Clear hazel eyes that alwaysmade dead-on, disarming contact. Perfectly straight white teeth. Six feet tall. Broad shoulders that made white T-shirts look like haute couture. Slender face. Thatch of unruly dark brown waves. He was textbook material for a men’s cologne ad.
    He leaned on the car, his arms folded on the window opening. “What are you doing?”
    She gave him her best duh stare. “Climbing Mt. Everest.”
    â€œSeriously, Sammi, it’s five thirty. You’re not due home for hours.”
    She glanced