Please Remember Me by Wendi Zwaduk Read Free Book Online Page B

we had your siren. We need to get to Clarendon Avenue in twelve minutes and I’m not sure where it is.”
    “The siren’s for emergencies, not impatient drivers.” He pointed straight ahead. “If you take a left at the stop sign and go two blocks, we should be in her neighbourhood.”
    Before long, they sat in front of the powder blue Cape Cod. Her hands went clammy and her throat dry. “Is this it?”
    “Three twenty-two. Yep, that’s it.” Marlon crossed his ankles. His wide smile heated the interior of the vehicle, even if he looked uncomfortable with his knees practically up to his chest. “You’ll get this job, Jaden Marie, I can feel it.”
    Shoring up her courage, Jaden stepped from the car. She glanced down at her clothes—jeans and a hoodie with a long-sleeved tunic underneath. Wrestling the hoodie over her head, she finger-combed her hair back into place. Was that dressy enough? At home she’d had a closet full of baubles to accessorise. Here, she was out of luck except for what she’d tossed into her suitcase. She smoothed her hands over the crinkles in her blouse.
    “You look beautiful,” Marlon whispered.
    “Thanks.” She slid her gaze over his profile and grinned. So tall and strong, he probably feared nothing. With sure steps, she headed up the walkway. A woman with an unnatural shade of copper hair sat on the porch and a white Basset hound with caramel and coffee-coloured freckles lay spread out on the concrete, warming his belly in the late day sun.
    “Are you Mrs Pennywood?”
    When the woman nodded, short locks of hair bobbed. “People call me Judi, so if you’re working for me, then you can, too.”
    Fluttering her hands for lack of something better to do, Jaden inched up the stairs. “You don’t know me and yet you trust me enough to hire me?”
    “I have a great measuring system.” Judi pointed to the dog. “You see, Sparky doesn’t like strangers, but you’re on the porch and he’s not making a sound.” She nodded to the car. “Why don’t you get your gentleman friend from the car? We can talk and get to know each other. I assume he’ll be over quite a bit.”
    Confused, Jaden flailed her hands once more. “Wait. Over? He’s not my… He’s taken. I’m… We’re friends.” Grief. She snapped her mouth shut to stop her babbling. Yeah, she wanted him to be more, and that kiss, those cuddles, seemed like more. But really. Coming to Ohio was supposed to get her out from under Daddy’s thumb and simplify her life—not make it more complicated. And certainly not for a love match.
    Judi smiled. “A nice boy like that isn’t a friend for long.”
    Stunned, Jaden sneaked a glance towards the car. As if he’d known they were speaking about him, probably because he’d overheard the conversation, Marlon was now ambling up the walkway. “Hello, Mrs Pennywood. I’m Marlon Cross. I work with Carol Ann.”
    Judi snickered, just like on the phone. “I thought you looked familiar. You went with my friend Stella’s granddaughter Michelle for a bit, didn’t you?”
    While Marlon fumbled for an answer, Jaden edged forwards to pet Sparky. She held her hand out and allowed the sleepy dog to sniff before she rubbed the top of his head. Brown eyes the colour of a chocolate bar stared at her. A pink tongue sneaked out of the side of his mouth and licked his jowls. She wrinkled her nose. So his breath wasn’t the best and his eyes were a little watery, but weren’t Basset hounds known for their droopy eyes? The more she scratched him, the more attached she became. Maybe being a professional dog walker wasn’t so bad.
    “Do you have a place to stay?”
    Her gaze snapped from the dog to Judi. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
    Another smile crinkled the crow’s feet around Judi’s eyes, giving her a kind Gramma look. “I asked if you needed an apartment. You look a little lost.”
    Easing down onto the concrete step, Jaden glanced at Marlon. Better go with the