Forever With You (Silver State Series) by Renae Kelleigh Read Free Book Online Page A

remember.  I never met my dad, and my mom dumped me there when I was little because she couldn’t take care of me.  She disappeared for years and years, never even called.  She would send me cards sometimes, at random times, like at Easter or Thanksgiving.  Not on my birthday or anything like that.  She did show up one time during high school and wanted me to move to Oregon with her – like I’d be crazy enough to go anywhere with her.”
    The timer starts beeping, and I pull on an oven mitt and lift the meatloaf out onto the counter.  I use my foot to shut the oven door and turn off the burner under the pasta.  I carry the pot to the sink and dump the noodles in a colander to drain.
    “Anyway,” I continue as I return the shells to the pot and squeeze on the cheese sauce, “I hadn’t seen or heard from her anymore after that, until she showed up again the day of Jared Mink’s party.”
    I pause to concentrate on dishing out the meatloaf and macaroni, and Tawny waits quietly behind me.  I carry two plates over to the table and sit down across from her.  She’s tucked all of her hair to one side so it falls in a curtain over her right shoulder, exposing the curve of her slender neck.  Her face is flushed light pink, and her lips are wet from the beer bottle.  And what’s even more arousing is the fact she has no idea how sexy she looks right now, in this moment.
    I rip my eyes away from her and swallow as I poke at my food with my fork.
    “This looks so good, Kyle,” she says, sounding pleased.  I glance up and see her smiling down at her plate, and I grin back at her.
    “I hope it tastes as good as it looks.”
    She forks a bite of meatloaf, but stops before putting it in her mouth.  “Anyway, you were saying…” she prods gently.
    I take a drink of beer then forge on, eager to get this conversation over with so we can move on to happier topics.  “Yeah, so she showed up that day, obviously on something, and wanted me to go on a trip with her, to which I replied no way in hell.  That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.  She’s just a fuck-up.  Excuse my language.”
    “So then she just left again?”
    “Well, no… She hung around for a couple weeks, claiming she didn’t have anywhere else to go.  About drove my grandma over the edge.  It’s just stressful having her there, you know?  I don’t like being reminded I’m related to her.”
    Tawny gives me a sad smile – I hope it isn’t sympathy I see in her eyes.  “I’m sorry,” she says.
    I shrug and allow a silence to descend over us as we continue to eat.
     
    Tawny – 7:45 PM
    I ’m racking my brain in search of something to say when I suddenly become distracted by a huge, orange cat slinking into the kitchen, grating its arched back up against the doorway as it enters.  Kyle turns around to see what’s captured my attention; he looks back at me with a smile on his face.
    “I hope you’re not allergic to cats.”
    “I don’t think so,” I reply.  “I’ve never really been around them.”
    He gets up and gathers the fat tabby in his arms, stroking its head.  “This is Pumpkin,” he tells me.  “Somebody had already named her when I picked her up from the shelter.  She wanted nothing to do with me at first, but she’s warmed up to me now.”
    I use my knuckles to scratch behind the cat’s ears, and she twists her head, rearing into my hand.  I laugh.  “She likes to be petted, huh?”
    “Yeah, definitely.  She’s a real ham.”  He sets her back down on the floor before taking his seat, and she weaves between the legs of his chair, pushing against the spindles of wood while softly meowing.  “My favorite thing is when she licks.”  He extends his hand down in front of Pumpkin’s face.  For a moment she stares at it as if she isn’t sure what he’s up to, but then she extends her tiny pink tongue and begins lapping the skin on the back of his hand.  Kyle tips his face back up toward me, a huge