Bound to You by Vanessa Holland Read Free Book Online Page A

fought with a hanger to get a shirt out of the closet. “You did not.”
    Bri followed Jenna into the bathroom where she rushed to freshen up. “Okay, I didn’t,” Bri said, “but I wanted to.”
    Jenna tried to remain calm but her bouncing sister made it hard. The closer she moved toward Sam the more her sister seemed like an annoying fly buzzing around her head.
    At the bottom of the stairs, she turned to stop Brianna from tagging along. She didn’t need her energetic sister standing there while she confronted the estranged father of her child. “Go to bed. I can handle this.”
    Brianna’s face fell flat. “Oh, right, I get it. Privacy.” She jogged back up the stairs and Jenna turned into the lighted living room.
    Sam wasn’t there. The room was empty. She’d had such a strong image of him standing at the mantel that she stood stunned for a moment. Then she wondered if Brianna might have imagined him. Annoyed, she turned on the light in the den, found it empty, then went to the front door and looked out. By the porch light, she saw a big green pickup parked in the circular drive. She remembered a red truck, but he’d likely bought a new one in the past three years.
    It had to be Sam’s.
    Her heart began to pound again as she turned around and closed the door. He was in the house, somewhere. She could feel him. Straight ahead, she heard a sound and saw Sam Strickland strolling out of the kitchen, making the hallway seem cramped by his size. Not only with his size, but also his presence, which Jenna found almost overwhelming as his energy rolled toward her and passed over her body like a billowing cloud of hot steam.
    When he came near every muscle in her body seemed to vibrate.
    “ I was just washing my hands,” he said. “Sorry it’s so late. I didn’t even think about everybody being in bed.”
    She glanced at the bathroom door he had passed by to wash his hands in the kitchen, and immediately wondered if he’d been looking for Ethan. Perhaps thinking he could sneak out the back door with a sleeping babe in his arms.
    She blocked the front stairs with her body, trying not to jump to conclusions. Regardless of his motives for this visit, he wasn’t going to get off easy. “I didn’t expect to see you again, the way you ran off. At least not for another three years.”
    He glanced into the living room and then faced her. He crossed his arms, then unfolded them in the same motion and tucked his fingers into the front pockets of his jeans. “Sorry I ran out before, but…. I had to come back. We’ve got some pretty serious things to talk about.”
    She nodded, knowing they did. No turning back now – now that she’d hurled the truth at him like a bucket of ice water. “Do you want something to drink?”
    “ Yeah, maybe something. My throat’s dry.”
    “ Mine, too,” she said in a whisper. In fact, she could barely swallow. He followed her to the kitchen where she filled two glasses with ice and sweet tea leftover from supper.
    She could barely believe he, Sam Strickland, was in her house. In her dreams he had always been cool and confident.
    In reality, he stood awkwardly by the table, and then nodded as he strode toward the back door. “Let’s step outside.”
    Good idea. Fresh air and stars and the chirping of crickets and songs of late night birds for company – much better than the confines of the kitchen.
    The world seemed strange with Sam sitting on her back porch. His presence changed the house, the yard, even the bench beneath him.
    The night was warm with a fresh breeze and the scent of rain in the air. Miles away, beyond the distant hills, the sky occasionally glowed soundlessly with lightning.
    She sat on the railing where she could see him, keep a close eye on him. He took a long drink of his tea and then, with a sigh, set it on the table beside him and leaned back on the bench.
    “ You’ve changed,” he said, breaking through the silence.
    “ Have I?”
    “ When I first