Creighton's Hideaway by LoRee Peery Read Free Book Online Page B

He itched to lighten her load.
    She had no place here.
    But there was no reason to treat her as anyone different than a friend. A friend of his sister’s, and Rita trusted him to be decent to Shana.
    She was also here on a temporary basis. Besides, she was out of his league.
    He yanked the shirt free. “I’ve got plenty to keep me busy. I kind of took the morning off, so I’ll catch you later.”
    Shana’s face fell.
    He figured she was going to invite him to eat, prolong their time together.
    Thoughts of how lost she looked when she told him good-bye, obviously puzzled over his abrupt leave-taking, rode with him while he and the quad hummed to his house.
    Man, I’ve got to get into a project. She’s not going to be here long enough for us to know each other well. Besides, I don’t need a woman to mess up my life.
    Yet, memories of Shana wouldn’t leave him. He pictured her mouth as she spoke and as she smiled. Shana’s sweetly shaped lips were full. Natural pink and kissable. Dare he kiss her?
    He parked and turned off his quad, and then pocketed the key, thankful for the action that calmed his wandering thoughts.
    The first thing Creighton noticed when he walked into the kitchen was the light that blinked on the answering machine. He walked by the telephone on the counter and opened the refrigerator. He stood there with the door open, while cold air misted around his over-heated body. He swigged three-fourths of a carton of orange juice. The juice container went back on the shelf, and he shut the door with a swing of his elbow. He swiped the moisture off his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned. The walk with Shana had been all right. Country life seemed to agree with her.
    “If she’d just eat so she doesn’t fall over,” he said to the empty room.
    He turned to access the message. There were two.
    “Hey, Creigh, just checking on things. How’s Shana? Is she eating? Are you keeping her company? She might get down while she’s there. We miss her here at work. It’s tense though, undercurrents for some reason. I gave your number to Professor Arnold. He’s trying to reach her. Guess that’s all. Love ya.”
    “Love you too, sis,” he mumbled as the tape continued.
    “Edmond Arnold here,” an older male voice boomed into the room, “Rita gave me this number. Please have Shana call her parents. We couldn’t get through on her cell. I don’t know what’s up, but I need her to call me about some bank business.”
    Creighton waited for the beep and pushed the button to save messages. He sighed and rubbed his fingers over his eyes. “Can’t I pull myself together before I face her again, Lord?” He splayed his fingers across his face, and then dug them into his hair, trying to ease some of his tension. “Guess there’s a reason for her being here, since You make no mistakes.”
    He considered returning immediately to tell Shana of the calls, but opted for a short detour to make a sandwich. He added tomato juice to the stew he’d prepared earlier. Eventually he grabbed an apple and his cap, and then headed back to his newest tenant’s cabin, walking off some of his frustration rather than taking the quad.
    He continued to fixate on Shana’s features. There was no forgetting that smile. It was so hard not to focus on her mouth. Hers was indeed a mouth he itched to kiss.
     
    ****
     
    Shana glided around the cabin in an attempt to figure out what to do with the pretty brown hawk feather. She recalled her dad saying that Indians believed an eagle’s feather shouldn’t touch the ground after it had fallen and been picked up. She finally laid the feather on the table.
    When Valerie’s arrangement came to mind, Shana grabbed a knife from the drawer and went outside. She wandered a bit. Her eyes rested on the hills each time she stood after gathering varied colored grasses. A stand of crimson-tinted sumac caught her eye, but the crimson leaves rose across the creek, too far to retrieve.
    She