First Visions by Heather Topham Wood Read Free Book Online

“What’s the story then? Why aren’t you saddled down
with a wife? Why isn’t there a little Jared Junior running around
terrorizing the neighborhood?”
    He gave her a thunderous expression and Kate
knew she touched on a sore spot. “Oh, I get it. The other half has
been clamoring for a ring, huh? Why the hold out?” Kate was sure he
would murder her at that moment if he didn’t need her assistance on
the case.
    “That’s completely inappropriate and
irrelevant.” Kate stifled the urge to laugh at his stern cop voice.
“And not true, I might add.”
    She decided to retreat. Despite her better
judgment, she liked him. Teasing him about proposing to his
girlfriend may not be the best tactic if she wanted him to be fond
of her in return. “I’m sorry, don’t be mad. I think I need sleep or
something. My brain is not able to keep up with my mouth. I’ll give
you a call if I see anything else about Cori.” She turned towards
the door to leave.
    “It’s after midnight, Kate. I don’t really
feel comfortable with you driving around alone at night.”
    Whirling back around, she gazed up at him.
Jeez, he was tall, she thought. She’d end up with permanent neck
pain if she spent too much time with him. “I’ll be fine. No need to
worry about me.”
    “Why don’t you just crash here on the couch?
You look exhausted,” he offered kindly.
    “Ha! Talk about inappropriate. Isn’t that
blurring some kind of professional and personal line? Not to
mention I only met you yesterday. How do I know I wouldn’t wake up
in the middle of the night with you on top of me?”
    Although she wasn’t completely sure, she
would turn him away if that did happen. Hell, she might end up
sneaking into his bedroom and seducing him. She really needed to
get out of this dry spell. She resolved to talk to Julie about
setting her up. Otherwise, she was going to have to resort to
trolling the aisles of the local Home Depot. Kate had read
somewhere that was the best place to meet single men—even better
than a bar.
    He didn’t seem overly offended by her tirade.
“You have a hard time letting anyone be nice to you, huh? I’m only
trying to be your friend, I promise.”
    Ugh, a friend? She didn’t know whether to be
relieved or disappointed. “Anyway, thanks for the offer, but
Julie’s expecting me. We’re going to shave our legs and tweeze each
other’s eyebrows or whatever hell it is girls doing during
sleepovers. I’ll be in touch.” With that, she took off into the
night.

Chapter Four
     
    “Is your brain leaking, Jared? I thought I
told you to forget about that girl.”
    Nikki pulled him out of the kitchen and into
the hallway of her parents’ house. He had just finished explaining
to her and the rest of her family about a psychic helping out on
the case. Cori’s mother, Jennifer, was barely coherent, but said
she was willing to try anything to get her little girl home. Her
father, Jacob, seemed dubious and wondered if he should announce a
large cash reward for Cori’s safe return. Nikki had merely sat
there while he talked about Kate’s vision and shot him daggers
across the room.
    “Babe, I wouldn’t hang my hopes on this girl
if I didn’t think she was legit. And I definitely wouldn’t give
your parents false hope. I think you need to trust me where Kate
Edwards is concerned,” he said softly.
    Nikki let out an exasperated sigh and cast
her eyes heavenward. “Jared, I try to be understanding about your
quirks. I really do. I totally appreciate how things were living
with your aunt when you were young. You explained it to me and it’s
no wonder some of her bat shit crazy tendencies affected you…”
    He cut her off, “I never said Aunt Lizzie was
bat shit crazy.”
    “Ok, well I guess it was implied. Anyway,
I’ve heard about this type of stuff happening. A girl from a
wealthy family goes missing and all the con artists come out of the
woodwork. I don’t know what this girl’s angle is, but I’m sure