Dangerous by Suzannah Daniels Read Free Book Online Page A

Then, we walked to the overlook and gazed at the valley below. It was cooler at the top of the mountain, and despite the fact that it was June, the heat wasn’t unbearable as we stood in the shade of two, old oak trees.
    I gazed over the railing at the valley below. Rows of houses were lined along a grid of streets. Patches of trees dotted the landscape, and I saw cattle grazing in a field. Everything seemed so tiny that it reminded me of a model, kind of like the little villages people displayed at Christmas.
    “Do you come here often?” I asked Stone.
    He was fixated on the valley below. “I come here when I want to escape.”
    “Escape what?”
    “You know. The usual shit.”
    He didn’t look at me, and I got the feeling that his answer was more than just a general comment, that perhaps he really did come here to escape something. I studied his profile and found him enigmatic. He never volunteered information, and if I was ever going to know anything about him, it appeared that I was going to have to ask. I was relieved that he was standing a few feet away from me. When he was near, my brain turned to mush, but as long as he kept his distance, I would have no problem engaging him in conversation.
    “Do you have girl problems?”
    He did turn to look at me then and laughed. “No, not hardly.”
    He didn’t elaborate. I decided to offer him some information about me to open things up.
    “My mother abandoned me when I was three.”
    That got his attention. He removed his sunglasses and hung them on his shirt collar. He was definitely looking at me now. I didn’t know why I had started with that tidbit. It wasn’t something that I spoke of often, and there were so many other things that I could’ve said. I removed my sunglasses, too, and hung them from the waist of my jeans. I looked out over the valley, thinking that maybe I should’ve started out the conversation by telling him that I was terrified of water because I couldn’t swim.
    “Seriously?” he asked.
    “’Fraid so.”
    “At school, you always seemed like your life was perfect, like you had everything going for you. I guess I never imagined you’d been through something like that.”
    “You thought my life was perfect? You never even spoke to me, Stone.”
    “I know. It was just my perception. You always seemed so happy. You made good grades, had lots of friends, dated your jock.”
    “My jock? He does have a name, you know.”
    “He does, but it’s not worth remembering.”
    I frowned. “His name is Chance. If you’re going to talk about him, then use his name.”
    “I have no plans of discussing your jock with you.”
    “He’s not my jock.” I blew out an exasperated breath and caught him grinning at me. “Are you always this difficult to get along with?” I asked, giving him a playful glare.
    “My dad thinks so,” he said, then steered the conversation back to me. “Have you seen your mother since she left you?”
    “Not once. I must’ve been a real heathern when I was two. On my third birthday, she took me to my paternal grandmother, who didn’t even know I existed, and just left me, never to be heard from again.”
    “I’m sorry, Dara. I had no idea.”
    “Hey, you called me by my name. I must be worth remembering.”
    He smirked. “I never forget a beautiful girl’s name. Ugly jocks? Yeah. Girls? No.”
    His comment was bittersweet. I was flattered that he insinuated that I was beautiful, but on the other hand, that wasn’t the reason that I wanted him to remember my name.
    “What about your father?”
    His question caught me off guard. “My father?”
    “Yes. You said that your mother left you with your paternal grandmother. What about your father? Do you ever see him?”
    “My father’s dead.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    I tried to smile. “It’s okay. I have Granny.”
    “Granny,” he repeated. “Now it makes sense.”
    “What does?”
    “That freakin’ ugly car you drive. It’s your Granny’s. She