Mending Fences by Lucy Francis Read Free Book Online Page B

mare became a much nicer animal when she ate, and promised to take her out for a ride tomorrow.
    She went in through the back door of the stucco and stone two-story house, leaving her wet boots on the tile entry, then made her way through the huge house to her room. She loved this room, with the sea foam green walls and the pale gray carpet. The colors made the room a tranquil place. She’d be content to live here forever if the Campbells didn’t mind.
    After examining the cage in the corner for her rat, finding Sassy sleeping at the end of one of the tunnels, she stripped out of her clothes and slipped into her blue and white chevron-striped swimsuit. She grabbed a towel from the adjoining bathroom, then went downstairs to the indoor pool and hot tub.
    She turned on the stereo, playing the CD already in the machine. Handel’s Water Music. The appropriateness of the music for soaking in the hot tub always made her smile. She turned on the jets and sank into the water. It occurred to her that wearing a swimsuit to use the tub when she was completely alone seemed a bit silly, but the idea of skinny dipping always made her uncomfortable. It just didn’t seem right, especially in someone else’s hot tub.
    The liquid heat soothed her cold, knotted muscles, but did nothing to relax her brain. Her thoughts swung back to the puzzle of Curran’s retirement. He’d lived in the limelight, his picture appearing in tabloids and on news programs almost as often as A-list movie stars. What drove him into seclusion?
    Maybe protecting Kelli and little Rob was a factor—oh, no, wait, he’d moved them here well before he retired and joined them on the ranch.
    She shifted so a jet of water pulsed against her spine. Still, the fact that he went to such great lengths to care for his sister meant something to Victoria. The flash of anger and protectiveness in his eyes when he spoke of Kelli, of her ex-husband…these were not the signs of a man who would hurt her.
    Her brain recognized her fear of him as irrational. Emotionally, she was terrified.
    In the past year, she’d finally dated again. Weak, safe men who didn’t ask anything of her. She wanted to flirt and date. Too many women who’d been through hell became victims for the rest of their lives, living in the shadow of their abuse. Or worse, moving on to another man just as bad as the last. She refused to let Nate continue to victimize her, and she absolutely would not allow herself to continue the pattern of choosing the wrong guy.
    But none of that meant dating was easy. She didn’t dare go out with anyone unless she called all the shots, set the pace, and ended it when she wanted to. Keeping all the control protected her.
    Her stomach growled and Victoria climbed out of the hot tub, wrapping the towel around her shoulders. She couldn’t control Curran. He was way too strong, and she didn’t know if she was up to being with someone who was her equal. Or her superior.
    And then there was the way he made her skin tingle. He sparked her desire, and there was no way she would travel that road again, unless there was a ring on her finger. The consequences were simply too devastating.
    After dressing and feeding Sassy, she grabbed the mail from the box mounted on the wide, covered porch that wrapped across the front of the house and around one side.
    She walked back into the ultra-modern, black granite and stainless steel kitchen, sorting through the stack of mail. A couple of utility statements she was supposed to open, just to be sure the bill had been paid by the automatic bank withdrawal her employers had set up. Junk mail, missing person ad, more junk mail. A credit card bill forwarded from her old address—jeez Louise, how hard was it to get an address changed at that company? Maybe she should switch to online statements.
    Finally, an ivory linen envelope, also with the yellow Forwarding Address sticker on it. The return address and postmark said San Diego. What in the