On Her Father's Grave (Rogue River Novella Book 1) by Kendra Elliot Read Free Book Online

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” He took a swig of beer, and Bruce elbowed him in the ribs.
    “Knock it off,” whispered Bruce. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.” His brown eyes shot a concerned look her way, and Stevie froze mid-sip.
    “What’s going on?” She glared at James, who’d suddenly developed a deep interest in the ribs.
    An Irish setter came around the corner of the house and rushed up the stairs to the deck, toenails sliding on the wood as she tried to stop in front of Stevie. “Hey, Trina-girl.” Stevie bent to rub the setter’s ears.
    Footsteps on the stairs made her look up.
    There’s James’s surprise.
    Eric Hearne stopped his climb, his gaze locked on her. He held a wet tennis ball gingerly with two fingers. Stevie sighed. Eric looked as good as ever. They’d dated for two years in high school, and she’d thought he was the love of her life. Separation for two months at different colleges had been too much for him, and he’d broken it off. He’d eventually married, but James had told her a few years back that he’d gotten divorced. She’d bumped into him a few times over the years, but they hadn’t done more than chat a bit. She glanced over her shoulder and saw her two brothers watching with speculative grins. She glared at them.
    “Hi, Stephanie. Good to see you.” Eric flashed his quick grin.
    No one called her by her given name except Eric. And a few of her schoolteachers who could never remember that she preferred Stevie. Her name had been a compromise between her parents. Her mother had wanted her to simply be Stevie after Stevie Nicks, but her father had felt it was too masculine and pushed for Stephanie. Patsy had agreed and then promptly called her Stevie.
    “Hi, Eric. How’ve you been?” She gave Trina a last pat on the head as Eric approached. He was a good guy. As far as she’d seen and heard, he was a solid member of the community and had been kind to his ex-wife. He was simply a bit boring in her book. Dependable, but boring.
    I could use a big dose of dependable in my life.
    She took a harder look at him as he accepted the beer James offered. He’d always been close friends with James and clearly her brother felt he was worth keeping around. Some of her brothers’ friends had been useless deadweight that they’d sloughed off over the years. The guys they’d stood by were usually the good ones.
    She mentally forgave James for inviting Eric. For all she knew, Eric had been attending her mother’s big dinner gatherings for the last ten years.
    She’d been out of the loop.
    “Let’s eat, let’s eat!” Patsy came out of the house with three large bowls of different salads. Carly trailed behind her with a pitcher of iced tea and a basket of rolls. Carly’s young daughter, Brianna, carefully carried the butter. “Stevie! We can’t eat without utensils!”
    The men jumped to help her mother and pull the ribs off the grill. Stevie ducked back in the house and found James’s wife, Debra, washing her little boys’ hands at the kitchen sink. She handed the boys a towel and gave Stevie a hug. “Good to see you, hon. I’m so glad you’re back to stay.”
    Debra had been tight with Stevie and Carly since high school. She’d told them her sophomore year that she intended to marry James one day. The sisters had thought that was disgusting. Didn’t Debra realize James never changed his socks and left the toilet seat up?
    Tonight Debra’s eyes were red-rimmed, making Stevie take a second look at her. “You okay, Deb?”
    Debra rubbed at her nose. “Yes, just my damned allergies.” She didn’t look Stevie in the eye.
    Stevie nodded. If Debra wanted to share, she would. When she was ready.
    Stevie pulled open the utensil drawer and started counting out forks, spoons, and knives. She followed Debra out to the deck. Her little boys sat at the side table with Brianna, who instantly went into little-mother mode even though she was only two years older than