Distant Shores by Kristin Hannah Read Free Book Online

twenty-twenty. What he remembered most was the screeching scream of tires and the smell of burning rubber.
    â€œI didn’t hurt anyone,” he said softly, but that wasn’t the point. “My agent kept it out of the papers, but my career was over anyway. After a stint in rehab, the only job I could get was for a local station in Albuquerque. It’s been a long, slow climb back.”
    He looked at Sally and knew that something had changed between them. For the first time, she was seeing beyond Jackson Shore, Football Legend, to the man he was inside.
    He tried to look away. Couldn’t.
    She touched his arm. “This story is going to make both of our careers.”
    Her touch was like an electrical spark.
    He forced himself to look down at the papers spread out between them. He tried to read. Words drifted up to him, meaningless and unconnected. Then he noticed something. “The campus is closing today for winter break.”
    â€œI know.”
    He had to do
something
. Anything was better than sitting here, suddenly aching for a woman he couldn’t have. “What do you say we go back, drive around? The administrators and staff will be gone. Maybe someone will talk when the wardens aren’t around.”
    â€œIt’s worth a shot.”
    Jack paid the bill; then they left.
    Back on campus, they tried all their usual places, looked for all their previous sources. They made themselves impossible to ignore, easy to find.
    Nothing.
    Finally, they pulled into the parking lot and sat in the car beneath a bright streetlamp. A silvery rain beaded the windshield.
    â€œI guess that’s that,” he said at last, reaching for the keys. A glance at the dash clock revealed that it was one in the morning. In a few hours, he’d have to show up for work again.
    A knock at the window shocked the hell out of both of them.
    Jack rolled down the window. There, sidled close to the door, was a uniformed campus police officer, a man they’d tried to interview earlier. Sally immediately reached for a notepad and flipped to a blank sheet.
    â€œYou’re lookin’ for the dirt on Drew Grayland?” the officer whispered.
    â€œYeah. We heard he got picked up for drunk driving last Saturday night.”
    â€œNothin’ new in that. These athletes get away with murder. I’m sick of it. I’ve got daughters, you know?”
    â€œCan you confirm that Drew was arrested on Saturday night?”
    The officer laughed. “Arrested? I doubt it.”
    â€œWhat’s your name?”
    â€œMark Lundberg.”
    â€œCan we quote you on the record?”
    The officer shook his head. “I got two kids to feed. I can’t take on this fight. But I can’t stand by and do nothin’ anymore. Here.” He slipped a manila envelope through the open window.
    Jack glanced down at the envelope. There were no markings on it of any kind. When he looked back outside, Lundberg was gone.
    Jack opened the envelope and withdrew the papers, scanning them. “Oh, my God …”
    â€œWhat is it?” Sally asked, her voice spiking up in anticipation.
    â€œIncident reports. Four women have accused Drew of date rape.”
    â€œAnd he’s never been arrested?”
    He turned to look at her. “Never.”
    Elizabeth checked her to do list for the final time.
    Mail packages
Pick up dry cleaning
Stop mail
Stop milk delivery
Change batteries in smoke detectors
Confirm seats
    Everything was done. By this time tomorrow, she’d be at her dad’s house, with her daughters and family around her, celebrating an old-fashioned Christmas.
    After one last obsessive-compulsive pass through the house, she grabbed her purse and headed for the car.
    But as she stepped out onto the porch, light spilled down from the quilted gray sky in flashlight-bright beams. It was what the locals called a “sunbreak.” Her yard looked magical in this light, like a long-forgotten