Her Sister (Search For Love series) by Karen Rose Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

house, her scarf torn free,
her red hair fiery in the afternoon sun.  And he'd just stood there, a kid with
a hard on, knowing Amanda Fogelsmith sent a shiver through his body that
wouldn't quit, even in ninety-five degree heat.  He slipped back in time to
that night with no reluctance at all.
    It was
almost 6 p.m. when Amanda came around the corner at the barn and caught him
washing off the day's grime and sweat at the water spigot.  The temperature
hadn't dropped a degree.  The barn had been stifling and he'd just needed to
let the cold water cool him down before he went home to stuffy rooms, cigarette
smoke and the vacant sense of despair that always hung there.
    He
heard the soft "oh," before he saw her, lifting his head from the
spigot, not attempting to wipe away the water dripping down his face.  She was
a dream that was too good to be true in a white peasant blouse with flowers
embroidered on the front and jeans that showed off her long legs.  Her hair
looked loose and soft and flyaway, like she'd just washed it, and he could
smell the scent of something like orange blossoms.  She always smelled so
sweet.
    She
made a point of keeping her eyes on his.  "Mama said you're welcome to
stay for supper.  It was a long day."
    He
swept his hand over his face and felt like an idiot, dripping in front of her. 
"I'm not fit company."  He motioned to the T-shirt he'd balled and
thrown on the ground next to the spigot.
    Her
gaze wavered then, dropped to his chest, came back up to his eyes.  "My
dad probably has a shirt he can lend you.  That is if you want to stay. 
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, if you're wondering.  I think
Mama baked a cherry pie, too."
    He
almost laughed.  If her company wasn't enough, she was trying to entice him
with her mother's food because she wanted him to stay.  He could see that, as
plainly as he knew he shouldn't.
    He
couldn't keep the huskiness from his voice as he asked, "And what happens
if I stay, Amanda?"
    She
pretended she didn't know what he meant and shrugged.  "You get a great
meal.  My parents said—"  She stopped.
    "Your
parents said I probably wouldn't get one at home?"
    "No,
I didn't mean—"
    "Yes,
you did.  Yes, they did.  And they're right.  My dad's drunk most of the
time and doesn't care whether we eat or not."
    He took
a few steps closer to her, not sure whether he wanted to intimidate her or make
temptation escalate so he couldn't resist it.  "You didn't answer my
question.  What happens if I stay?"  He brushed her hair behind her ear
and it was just as soft as he imagined it would be.
    "I
don't know," she managed breathlessly.
    He was
breathless, too, just looking at her, definitely from touching her.  "I
don't need a steady girl.  I have plans."
    Her
shoulders squared and her chin came up.  "I have plans, too.  I want to be
a teacher.  I think you're awfully full of yourself to think I'd want you as a
steady."
    His
grin was slow in coming, but it came, as he wrapped his arm around her and
pulled that pristine peasant blouse right up against his chest.  "Let's
just see if we should even consider steady or not."
    There
had been no finesse in that first kiss.  It had been filled with raw, teenage
hunger.  In short of a minute her hands had been on him, his hands had found
her bottom in her jeans and the world had turned into a different place when
they were done.
    That
had been the beginning of him and Amanda.  So very different from the end.
    When
Frank thumped his empty beer mug down onto the bar, he broke Max's fall into
the past.  "How about some of that chili you mentioned.  I'm ready to burn
a hole in my gut.  How about you?"
    Max
wondered if the spicy food could possibly exacerbate the acid that had started
burning there from the moment he'd gotten Grove's phone call.  "Chili
sounds good.  That and the cornbread should hold me until I get home.  I sure
won't get any food on the plane."
    "What
time do you