Head Over Heels by Susan Andersen Read Free Book Online Page B

away.
    Coop watched her go and thought he oughtta feel a sense of accomplishment at how successfully he’d distracted her. So why did he have that old sick feeling in his gut instead, like the one he used to get when his mother looked at him as if he didn’t quite measure up?
    And he knew he’d done everything in his power to prove her right?

4
    â€œA UNT R ONNIE ? D ID YOU KNOW THERE ’ S A MAN IN our house?”
    Veronica pried one eye open. Lizzy knelt at the side of the bed, her freshly scrubbed face so close to Veronica’s own that it was slightly out of focus. “Hmm?” She was not a morning person, so it took a moment or two for the whispered words to sort themselves out in her sleep-muddled brain. “A man?” She squinted at her niece.
    Lizzy nodded emphatically. “A big man. With stickuppy hair.”
    Ah. Coop. “That’s Mr. Blackstock. I told you about him, remember? He’s the man Marissa—” It suddenly hit her that she hadn’t divulged that information, and she pushed up onto her elbow, biting back the cursethat threatened to slip up her throat. “I’m sorry, Lizzy. I meant to tell you about him after we took Dessa and Riley home last night, but then we stopped for groceries, and Mrs. Martelucchi came, and then I had to get ready for work, and…” She shook her head at the futility of trying to explain the unexplainable, then shivered as a chill draft seeped under the covers.
    At least she was covered. Her niece was without a robe, clad only in a lavender-print flannel nightgown, and Veronica lifted the blankets invitingly. “Want to climb in where it’s nice and warm, while Aunt Ronnie tries to explain why she’s such a forgetful idiot?”
    Lizzy scrambled under the covers. “I shouldn’t,” she said, but scooted deeper into the warmth anyhow. “I hafta get ready for school.”
    Veronica peered past her at the bedside clock. “School starts at nine-ten, right?” She drew her niece to lie spoon fashion with Lizzy’s back against her front and covered them both up, then hooked an arm around the little girl’s waist. “Heck, that’s more than an hour away. You can spare a couple of minutes for a quick cuddle.”
    She was rewarded by the feel of her niece snuggling in.
    â€œNow, about Mr. Blackstock,” she said. “Marissa hired him to manage the bar, and since you were living with her and there aren’t a lot of places in Fossil that are available to rent, she rented him the attic rooms here.” Lizzy shifted, and the soles of her feet came into contact with Veronica’s shins. Veronica jumped, and the air left her lungs in an explosive hah! “My God, your feet are like ice!”
    â€œI’m sorry!” Lizzy scrambled to remove herself from range. “I’m sorry, Aunt Ronnie!”
    Veronica tightened her arm around her. “Heyyy. Cold feet aren’t anything you have to apologize for.”
    â€œBut I didn’t mean to put them on you!”
    Veronica laughed. “You’re a female, hon. It’s our God-given right to plant our cold feet on the nearest warm surface.”
    Lizzy glanced over her shoulder, all big eyes. “You’re not mad at me, then?”
    â€œOf course I’m not mad at you.” And damn you, Crystal, if you’re the one who put this uncertainty in her, this willingness to accept blame for every little mishap . “I was just startled. Don’t you have any slippers, though?”
    â€œI have some at my daddy’s house.”
    Veronica knew that sooner or later she’d have to talk to Lizzy about her parents, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do so now. “So, did you meet Mr. Blackstock?”
    â€œNuh-uh. When I saw him in the kitchen, I came up here.”
    â€œWhich is an extremely smart thing to do when you come across a strange man. When in doubt, fade