Love Storm by Jennifer McNare Read Free Book Online Page B

least
I’m not out for the entire season.”
    “Any headaches today?”
    “Nope, I feel pretty good actually,” he replied truthfully
as he reclined his seat and kicked up his feet.
    “I’m glad.   I was
afraid some of those rougher trails might have rattled your brain a little,”
she teased.
    “Nah, I think I’m okay,” he said with a grin, wobbling his
head from side to side as if to double check.   “Yep, everything seems to be intact.”
    “Good.”
    “Oh come on, Jackson,” he groaned as the action on the
television drew his attention.   “I could
have caught that in my sleep.”
    Brooklyn had watched more than enough football games with
her brother-in-law to know that she might as well be invisible for the next
several hours.   Whether they were playing
or not, at game time, intensely competitive guys like Wade and Ryan were only
focused on one thing, the game .   “Are you hungry?” she asked.   “I could make us some sandwiches for lunch.”  
    “Sure, that would be great.   There are a bunch of cold cuts in the fridge, and some bags of chips in
the pantry.”
    “Okay.   Would you like
anything in particular on your sandwich?”
    “Nah, whatever you fix will be fine.   Thanks.”

 
 
    After she’d put together their sandwiches, Brooklyn loaded
their plates onto a large serving tray along with two big bowls of chips, a
smaller bowl of mixed nuts and a couple bottles of water, and then carried it
into the family room.   Setting it down
onto the coffee table, she handed Ryan his sandwich.
    “Umm, looks delicious,” he said, taking the plate.   “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” she said, as she sat down on the other end
of the sofa.  
    “The hot chocolate was delicious by the way,” he said,
motioning to his empty mug.
    She picked hers up and took a sip.   “Are the Raiders still ahead?”
    “Yeah, but the Bears just scored on a forty yard run.”   His expression was pleased.
    She nodded, took another sip of cocoa and then set it down,
reaching for her plate.   Taking a bite of
her sandwich, she settled in for what she expected to be a long Sunday
afternoon in front of the television.

 

Chapter 4

 
    As the afternoon slowly turned to evening, Brooklyn’s
thoughts once again turned to the hot tub out on the back deck.   Although she’d spent the majority of the
afternoon on the couch with Ryan, she had meandered off a few times.   On one of
those occasions, she’d snuck into the master bedroom and expeditiously picked
through the closetful of clothes her sister kept at the cabin, looking for one
specific item in particular.   Grabbing a
couple of Kate’s cuter tops, she tossed them over her arm, and then turned to
the closet’s built-in dresser drawers.   Pulling out the second from the top, she quickly pawed through Kate’s
collection of swimwear until she found what she was looking for, a little red
bikini with tiny white hearts embroidered onto the fabric.   Perfect!  
    Although she had packed a swimsuit of her own in case she’d
wanted to make use of the hot tub, she had a feeling that her simple black one
piece wouldn’t have quite the same effect on Ryan as the skimpy red
bikini.   Even though she was still
determined not to be the one to make the first move, she didn’t see anything
wrong with providing Ryan with a little incentive.   
    Now, seated on the sofa once again, she deliberately rolled
her shoulders a few times and then reached up to massage the side of her neck
with her right hand.   As she’d hoped,
Ryan noticed.
    “Sore?”
    “A little,” she said, continuing to massage the area for a
moment, and then moving her hand to her shoulder blade.  
    “Yeah, riding like that can take its toll on the upper
body.”
    She nodded.   “I think
I might take a quick soak in the hot tub, see if I can relax a few of these
knots before dinner,” she said, her tone purposely without inflection as she
tilted her neck from side to side