Lake of Tears by Mary Logue Read Free Book Online Page A

weighed a ton.” He said it like he was talking about more than boots and gear.
    Meg wanted to steer the conversation away from the war, so she asked the first question that came to her mind. “Did you work today?”
    “No, it’s my day off.”
    “I don’t even know where you work.”
    “Oh, I thought you knew. I work with your mom. I’m a deputy at the sheriff’s department.”
    “My mom?” Meg was having trouble taking this in. She was going out with a guy who worked with her mom. Not only had he been a soldier, but now he was a cop. This was starting to feel like a really bad idea. “No, I didn’t know that.”
    “Does it matter?” he asked.
    Meg shrugged, trying to sound easy. “I suppose not.”
    “You don’t sound so sure.”
    “Kinda weird.” She rested her head back and looked out the window. The leaves were coming down. The day was on the edge of warm, but soon it would turn cold and the trees would be bare. Hopefully by the time snow fell, she would be going to school in Madison.
    “Well, I didn’t think Claire was old enough to have a daughter your age. How old are you?”
    Meg thought of lying, she really did, but then admitted. “Eighteen.”
    “Shit, no kidding. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to swear.”
    “Hey, these ears are not virgin. Not around my mom and dad.” She looked over at him. “Is that a problem?”
    “I had no idea. You seem much older.”
    “How old are you?”
    “Twenty-six.”
    “Not that much difference.”
    He laughed. “Well, at least you’re legal.”
    “Yeah, I can have sex, get married, but I can’t drink. That’s what’s really weird.”
    “I know what you mean. You can be a soldier, kill someone, but you can’t drink either. What’s that about?”
    Neither of them said anything for a while, absorbing this new information about each other. Meg was really starting to wonder if this date with Andrew was a good idea. She couldn’t imagine what her mom was going to say. Andrew turned off the highway, and they drove up through the tall cottonwoods and black walnut trees that lined the bluffs, then came out on top in cornfields.
    “At the next road, turn to the left, obviously toward the bluff. It’s not marked or anything. But there’s a parking lot,” she told him.
    “I don’t think I would have found it on my own. Just looks like any old country road.”
    The parking lot was where the old farmhouse had been. Meg loved the enormous maple trees that must have sheltered the house, given it shade. In the country, you could always tell where the farmhouses had been for the troop of trees left behind.
    Andrew leaned toward her. “Listen, this doesn’t have to get serious or anything. Let’s just have a good time.”
    “Sure. It’s not a big deal, you know, about you working with my mom or anything.” She smiled at him. She loved his dark blue eyes.
    He reached out a hand and touched her hair.
    She didn’t know how it happened. One minute they were smiling, facing each other, and the next moment, Andrew had wrapped a hand around her neck and pulled her close. She fell into him and their mouths came together.
    So this is what it’s like to kiss a man, she thought, no hesitation, no uncertainty. Just pure desire. When he touched her, it was as if all the doors in her body flew open. He came at her so hungry, she had felt no urge to resist. All she wanted to do was give him what he wanted. If she could.

    “I’m sure the boyfriend knows something,” Amy said as she crawled into bed next to John. All she could see of him was his head peeking out above the quilt. “Hey, give me some covers.”
    “No talking about work. That’s the rule, remember. Once we hit the bed, all talk of crime and punishment ceases. Come over here and get some covers if you want them.” He held the quilt open for her.
    She slid in next to him and noticed he wasn’t wearing anything. That usually meant something. “I won’t talk about work, but I just want it duly