Physical Distraction: A Sinful Suspense Novel by Tess Oliver Read Free Book Online Page A

I told him my last name. I was used to the reaction, although his seemed a little stronger than most.
    “Tash Younglove,” he said with a tilt of his head. He had snow white hair and blue eyes that sort of twinkled from behind his round cheeks. I hadn’t imagined the shake in his hand. I wondered if it was Parkinson’s or some other malady. “Both names are certainly original. I think I’ve only heard Younglove one other time.” He seemed to ponder that probability for a second and then his wide smile returned. “Well, I know Everly made you a sandwich.” He glanced at my duffle bag. “You look like a hungry, weary traveler. Are you just passing through?”
    Everly huffed. “Uncle, I told you she’s staying here. I’ve invited her to stay with me.”
    “Guess I wasn’t listening well. I thought she was only here a few days.” He looked at me as if he couldn’t figure out why the heck I would be staying in his town. It was the same reaction that I’d gotten from Jem Wolfe. I was beginning to wonder if the townsfolk were just really particular about letting strangers live in their town.
    “That’s what we term as selective hearing, Uncle.” Everly motioned for me to follow her.
    “Nice meeting you.” I nodded toward her uncle.
    “You too. Enjoy your sandwich.”
    Everly led me to three small round tables in a corner behind a pyramid shaped display of granola bars and snack foods. Everly tilted her head toward the geometric tower of boxes. “Impressive, huh? I was bored, so I got creative with the Nature’s Bounty snack food boxes.”
    “Wow.” I reached down for a box at the bottom. “Oh, look, these are my favorites.”
    She gasped.
    I laughed. “Just kidding.”
    “You got me. The good news is that we’ve been kind of slow today, so my uncle is going to let me have the evening off. That way we can walk out together and get you settled in at home.” She pointed to a table that had a brown wrapped sandwich and a drink. “I took a chance and picked cream soda.”
    “Perfect. Thanks again for everything, Everly. And thanks for making me feel so welcome. That seems a little hard to come by out here.”
    “Are you kidding? I should be thanking you. I’m thrilled to have someone new to talk to.” The front door opened just as she pulled out a chair for me to sit. Her gaze shot to the front of the store, and her bottom lip rolled as if she had sucked on a lemon. “Yuck, I hate it when those guys come in.”
    I glanced toward the door. Two men, one with thinning hair and an amazingly long ponytail at the end of it, and one who was limping so profoundly it made my leg hurt just to look at him, stepped into the store. It took only seconds for them to spot Everly and me in the corner. The one with the ponytail grinned at us. Everly looked away. “Just ignore them. They’re just a couple of goons. My uncle will have them out of here fast.”
    Right on cue, her uncle barked angry words at them. “You two, find what you need and be on your way. Don’t need you two milling about the store.”
    The one with the limp smiled back at Landon Gregor. “We’re just here for some goods, Mr. Gregor. No need to be so inhospitable.” He said the retort in an almost sing song voice as if the whole exchange was merely a joke to him.
    Everly drew my attention away from the front of the store by tapping the sandwich. “Eat and I’ll finish sweeping the stockroom so we can get out of here.”
    “Right.” I opened the wrapper and took my first bite. My eyes watered, a testament to how good it tasted and how hungry I was. As I gobbled down the chicken salad sandwich, I watched the two questionable looking men fill their arms with beer and snacks. They carried their load up to the counter. More than once, they cast a creepy glance my direction. I feigned extreme interest in my sandwich to avoid their attention. Landon Gregor, who had seemed gentle and polite, morphed into a gruff grizzly bear as he rang up their