On Deadly Ground by Lauren Nichols Read Free Book Online

to make her … react. But somewhere in her mind and heart, the part of her that would always love David still ached when she considered moving on with that “other” aspect of her life.
    She was saved from trying to explain when his expression darkened and he got the message.
    “Then again,” he said coolly, “maybe dinner in town isn’t a good idea. After all, people would see us together, and they might make assumptions. The way gossip spreads around here, it would take weeks to set everyone straight.” He paused. “We wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.”
    A tidal wave of remorse hit her. “Jake, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. It’s not—” How did she say this without sounding positively horrible? “It’s not as though I don’t want to be seen with you, if that’s what you’re thinking. We’re friends.” But while having coffeeor lunch with a vital, good-looking man seemed incidental, having dinner was significant. “I haven’t been to dinner with a man since—” She stopped before she said David’s name and sighed.
    She wasn’t totally clueless. She knew something was happening between them, but she also knew that she wasn’t ready yet. “Will you and Maggie stay for hamburgers and macaroni salad?” she asked gently. “I’d really like that. Besides, there’s something I’d like to talk over with you.”
    He waited for her to go on.
    “Tammy Reston came by to deliver a package this morning and said something that could be important. It might be connected to Tim’s trouble.”
    It took Jake so long to reply that she thought he’d refuse. Finally, he nodded and said, “Sure. Maggie and I would like to stay.” But the warmth in his dark eyes seemed to have dimmed at the same rate as the joy in her heart.

FOUR
    I rritated with himself, Jake roared up his long gravel driveway, ground to a stop beside his log home and cut his vehicle’s engine. If there was anything he hated, it was pretending to be happy. He wasn’t any good at it, and it made his stomach feel like a bag of rocks. His only consolation was Rachel had done her share of pretending, too—and she wasn’t any better at it than he was. He would have ducked out and headed for home a lot sooner if not for their discussion about Tammy and Joe Reston.
    Snatching his duffle bag from the backseat, he climbed out of his truck, slammed the door behind him and stalked up the gravel path to his porch. He was halfway there when he realized he’d left something behind. Scowling, he retraced his steps, let Maggie out and took the path to the house again.
    Why are you so wired? a nagging voice said. You knew how she felt about dating. Over the past six months, she’s let you know she’s still grieving in a dozen different ways. Besides, you’re not looking for an involvement, right?
    “That’s right,” Jake muttered, unlocking the door and stepping inside. “I’m not.” And it wasn’t a date,he grumbled silently. It was just some quick thank-you food she didn’t have to cook herself. What was the big deal about that?
    He dropped his duffle on a brown leather armchair that matched his sofa and looked fairly decent with the wood lamps on his tables. Then he continued into his home office to check his phone messages and see if Outdoor Club adviser Alex Liston had gotten back to him about the club’s field trip Thursday. Hopefully, they’d find a few elk calves to process. Elk mothers were good at hiding their offspring.
    The red light was blinking.
    Jabbing the play button, Jake dropped into the swivel chair in front of his computer hutch. He had two messages. The first call was from his mother—a follow-up call after Julie’s visit to her doctor.
    “Hi, honey, it’s official!” she sang happily. “You’re going to be an uncle. Greg and Julie are due at the end of the year. Maybe we’ll have a Christmas baby.” There was a slight pause—unusual for her because she generally spoke rapid-fire.