Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger by Lori Copeland Read Free Book Online

the unfairness of the will. "Ah, Jessica, my child," he had answered wearily as he took off his glasses and began to massage his tired old eyes with his wrinkled hands, "few things in life are fair, my dear. That's a sad lesson I'm afraid we all have to learn."
So where did that leave her? she asked herself as she climbed back behind the wheel of the truck, tears welling up in her violet eyes like pools of shimmering water. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

 

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Wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands, she reached down to turn the key in the ignition, issuing a stern warning to the old truck. ''Don't you give me any trouble. I'm definitely not in the mood for it!" It groaned into life reluctantly. She threw it into reverse and shot out of the driveway like a missile. That damn gas pedal again, she thought as she struggled wildly to get the truck under control. To her mounting horror it gave one long backfire, and with a surge of speed that left her breathless, it careened out onto the street backward, heading straight toward one of the late-model pickups sitting idling in front of the feedstore.
Jessica closed her eyes tight and jammed her foot on the brake, but to no avail. She felt the bone-jarring jolt as the truck finally came to a sudden halt, sitting halfway through the side of the dark-blue pickup. She opened her eyes slowly and let out a shaky breath. Not a sound could be heard for a few moments as she sat there trying to gather her wits about her. Suddenly, as if just coming out of a paralyzed state, people around her started moving.
"My lordy, are you hurt, little lady?" cried Luther, one of the men who worked at the feed store, adding in an excited voice, "Boy, we can sure thank our lucky stars there was no one around this here truck just now. Why, when I looked up and saw you a flyin' out of that driveway like a bat out of helloh, pardon me, ma'am, but as I was saying, I looked up, and then I sez to ol' Jason, 'Man, someone's just bought you a new truck!'"
"Jason?" Oh, good heavens, that was all she needed now! Please, God, she pleaded, don't let this be his truck! But the thought had barely left her mind when her eyes caught the figure of a tall, dark, ridiculously good-looking man striding toward her. He stopped directly in front of her old truck, placing the small cheroot he was holding, between his strong, white teeth and putting his hands on his slim hips. Taking one despairing look at his truck, he

 

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turned back around slowly and fixed his brilliant jade-green gaze on her.
Jessica smiled beguilingly at him as her words of long ago came back home to her. She had always vowed that someday she would make Jason Rawlings notice her again. Well, this was the day.
She tumbled out of the truck, her face feeling as red as a beet. How in the world could she have hit his truck when there were so many others sitting around to choose from? By this time Jason was squatting on the ground, trying to see the damage beneath his truck. Jessica could see clearly underneath his truck from where she stood, and she was sure he would not like What he saw. There seemed to be all kinds of odds and ends hanging down.
Jason straightened up and looked over at Jessica, who stood there silently. The humidity of the hot afternoon had plastered her thin blouse to her voluptuous breasts, and his eyes seemed to lock boldly on that part of her anatomy as he said in a dry tone, ''I sure as hell hope you don't teach driver's ed up there in Austin!"
"Of course not," she snapped indignantly, looking around sheepishly to see who was listening to this obnoxious conversation.
"Well," Jason said in a bored tone as he turned his attention back to the truck, "I hope your insurance is good." He looked at her again. "You do have insurance, don't you?"
"Certainly I have insurance, uhI mean, I think I do."
He gave her an exasperated look and said, "Well, when do you think you might knowfor sure, Jessica?"
Jessica took a