Forgiving Patience by Jennifer Simpkins Read Free Book Online Page A

sleeveless black dress showed off her milky,
smooth arms, and the crimson heels showed she was definitely not boring. She
looked like a mixture of level-headed woman who wanted to look presentable at a
fancy party and a wild cat burning to come alive. He knew she had a wild side
because he’d seen a little bit of it earlier when she’d laid into his ass. He
usually didn’t enjoy being handed his ass by anyone, but it wasn’t so bad with
Anna. She made a good butt-chewing downright sexy.
    He had every right to be concerned
for any woman who was in his friend’s line of vision.
    “Today. She claims I tried to run her
off the road.”
    “Let me guess? You didn’t, though?”
    “No, I didn’t try to run her off the
road,” Jake answered, giving the other man a hard look, as though to question who
do you think I am?
    “Come on, Lawrence, we all know you
have become obsessed with speed.”
    Jake couldn’t say much. It was true.
He loved to feel free and get that adrenaline rush while going almost ninety
down a country road. But, he wasn’t out to hurt anyone. The loss of his dad in
a car wreck caused by a drunk driver taught him to always be aware when
driving. It was pure coincidence that he had driven up on Anna. Why did she buy
a sports car if it was only to poke around like she was in the middle of a
school zone? A car like that was meant to be driven hard and fast.
    “Why, look at that. I lost my darn
chance. It looks like the guitar player is making a move on Ms. Kelly,” Tex
said, not looking too upset. The guy would have another woman to dance with in
a matter of seconds. Poor woman.
    Jake snapped his head over to stare
at the man standing by the table where Anna and Jesse were seated. He was
bending down, brushing back some strands of hair that had fallen into her face,
and whispering something into her ear. Whatever the man said made Anna blush
and glance toward her new friend. Stupid Jesse—of course she would be the one
to sway her toward a man who was twice Anna’s age. He had to be almost fifty.
How dare that old man prey on a pretty woman he didn’t stand a chance
with—besides this one dance.
    The geezer took Anna by the hand and
led her to the dance floor. Jake could tell by her stiff posture she was a tad
uncomfortable, but probably because she was nervous. Then a smile broke out on
her face, followed by loud, carrying laughter. She looked happy with the guitar
geezer.
    Well, this is just damn perfect.
    Jake set his beer bottle on an empty
nearby table, fearful he might break it with only his grip, and clenched his
fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white. He knew what anger felt like.
It was a feeling that could carry a man away and swallow him up. Jake didn’t
like the emotion, but he couldn’t exactly wish it away. If he could, he
wouldn’t have spent years of his life swallowed up.
    What to do now? Only thing to do was
wait and see how far this dance lasted. The guy has to
go back and play with his bandmates sometime. He knew the party wouldn’t end for
another several hours. Good plan—just wait.
    What’s
wrong with me? I
should care less who Anna decides to dance with. Right now he just had to be content with watching
her. If he were honest, he would have to admit he’d watched her most of the
night. In the beginning she looked almost scared at being around all the people
she hadn’t seen or probably talked to in over a decade.
    Her entire face lit up at the sight
of her—well, technically— his elderly neighbor. Jake knew Anna had an unspoken bond
with Edna, which was hard to form. He had tried visiting the grouchy woman, but
all she’d had to say was “Lawrence,” which amused him and forced him to reply,
“Edna.” When she didn’t say anything further, he gave her a friendly wave and
headed back across the field. The woman actually scared him a little.
    Anna looked more relaxed after
sitting with Jesse. Probably because of the glasses of wine Jesse kept