I Have a Secret (A Sloane Monroe Novel, Book Three) by Cheryl Bradshaw Read Free Book Online

I said.
    He smiled and in a flash was back to himself again.  “The romantic kind.”
    In the looks department, Jesse was the perfect example of what time could do for a person.  The once skeletal, acne-faced boy had turned into a man with flawless skin and a slim body worthy of the cover of GQ magazine.  If only his personality had changed along with the rest of him. 
    “Why weren’t you on the reunion cruise last week?” I said.
    “I was.” 
    I shook my head.  “I never saw you.”
    “I was busy.” 
    “There were plenty of class soirees to attend during the week; I didn’t see you at any of them,” I said.
    “Yeah, well, the poker tables were calling my name.”
    “Every day? You couldn’t come out of hiding to say hello?”
    “ I saw you.  Several times, in fact.  But you were always too caught up with the dude you were with to notice there was life going on around you.”
    “That’s not—”
    “Why are you here, Sloane?” 
    I shrugged.  “I had some free time, and after the cruise I thought—why not come for a visit?”
    He shook his head.  “Your eye twitched.”
    “What?”
    He took his finger and pointed it at my left eye.  “In school your eye always twitched when you were feedin’ me a line of bullshit.”
    That isn’t true, is it?
    He leaned against the door of my car, folded his arms and slanted his head to the side.  “Try again.”
    I wasn’t in the mood to play games, and it was obvious he was keeping me from nosing around at the crime scene.  “Can you move?  I need to go.”
    His backside remained glued to the door.  “Why?  You just got here.  Were you plannin’ on gettin’ a workout in, or did you have an uh, more sinister idea in mind?”
    “Get out of my way, Jesse.  I mean it.” 
    He didn’t budge. 
    “Trista told me you were here.”
    I stepped back.  “So you know?”
    “You’re helping her find the person who supposedly murdered Doug?  Yep.”
    I’d forgotten how hard it was for people in small towns to keep their mouths shut. 
    “And what, you showed up to tell me to mind my own business and offer me a personal escort off the property?”
    He laughed.  “Naw.  I’m here to ask you to dinner.” 
    “What?”
    He leaned forward, shoved his fingers through the belt loops on both sides of my jeans, and yanked my body toward him until our waists were pressed against each other.  “Have dinner with me, Sloane.”
    I wrapped my hands around his wrists and pulled back, but it was to no avail.  “Let go.”  
    “You’re not the only one who wants to know what happened to Doug.  He was my friend too.”
    “You, Doug, Rusty, and Nate.  The four of you were like your own little version of the Rat Pack in school and now two of the four are dead.  Coincidence?”    
    “Look, you have questions, I might have answers.  Did ya ever think of that?”
    I doubted it.  “I’m busy tonight,” I said.
    “How ‘bout tomorrow night?”
    His tight grip on me combined with the rancid odor of his over chewed piece of citrus gum gave me the urge to teach him a lesson he’d never forget, but I resisted.  I needed answers, and it was worth a couple hours to find out what he knew—if anything.  “Dinner.  And it’s not a date.”
    “I know, you’ve got a boyfriend…for now.”

 
    At seven pm I walked into the Tehachapi Cultural Center and sat in the middle of a semi-circular row of chairs.  Men and women flanked both sides of me.  Some smiled and gave a curious nod; others avoided direct eye contact altogether and gazed at the floorboards, their shoes, and any object that allowed them to pass the time in silence without any verbal exchanges. If there was a mood to the room, it was a somber one. 
    After a few minutes, a man emerged from the corner of the room where he’d been in deep conversation with a long blond-haired woman.  He stood at a wooden podium that looked like it belonged in front of a casket at a funeral