Reconsidering Riley by Lisa Plumley Read Free Book Online Page A

heard his
grandmother's oak dressing table being pushed beneath the knob with
a decisive jab meant to secure it against intruders.
    Against him.
    Riley stared at the door. He raised his
fingertips to its surface. He imagined the woman on the other side
of that polished wood—who was, at this moment, probably boring a
hole through the pine with the force of her defensive, semi-nude
gaze. Let's talk later .
    Clearly, Jayne's idea of a truce and his
idea of a truce were a little far apart. Given time, though,
Riley figured he could bring them closer together.
    Much closer together.
    And maybe he could help restore Jayne's
faith in guys like him, while he was at it.
    Sure, he decided as he turned away and
headed down the hallway, a new eagerness to his stride. It was the
least he could do, given what they'd once meant to each other. He'd
show Jayne that not all men were no-good dirtbags like the one
who'd sent her to Heartbreak Camp...and in the process, cure
himself once and for all of his lingering longing for blue-eyed
blonde bombshells from the City by the Bay.
    And his new motto? No point trampling
over the past. It's over with ? Hell, this didn't even qualify.
This was just a favor for an ex. An ex Riley was going to be paired
up with for the next week or so whether he liked it or not. He was
only making the best of things, the way he'd suggested they both
do.
    So long as he could help Jayne without
bringing his own vagabond ways under fire, Riley was perfectly
happy to do so. Mottos didn't come into play. And neither did an
interest in rekindling things between them.
    Not a damned bit.
    He passed by the lodge's office. His
grandfather glanced up. "You've got that foot tappin' again, son.
Who you tellin' a stretcher to now?"
    Hell , Riley thought. Himself, if
he didn't watch it .
    He stilled his foot and kept going, all the
same. He could handle it. And Jayne? Her, too. Just wait and see...
.
     
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    In her room, Alexis flopped onto her bed,
overwhelmed with the unfairness of being on the verge of
womanhood, pinched by her stupid braces, and stuck in the middle of nowhere —all at the same time. The ruffled pink bedspread her
Nana always hauled out for her visits fluffed around her, obscuring
the Cosmo she'd been reading.
    If only Nana and Gramps owned one of those
posh resorts in Sedona, instead of this dump. Then there'd be a
swimming pool. T'ai Chi classes. Ayurvedic facials, like she'd read
about in her mom's Allure . Shopping nearby—even if it did consist mostly of art galleries instead of the Gap.
There'd be things to distract her.
    Things to keep her from thinking
about...Brendan.
    Alexis still couldn't believe he'd treated
her the way he had. Breaking up with her—with a note!—in front of
all their friends at the Cinnabon section of the mall food
court was so fifth grade. So juvenile. So mean.
    So hurtful.
    Closing her eyes tight so she wouldn't cry,
Alexis rolled over and grabbed the Cosmo . She wanted to read
more of that "Fifty Ways To Look Hot" article. She wanted to return
to school after spring break looking so amazing, Brendan would beg
her to take him back. She wanted to make him so sorry.
    She wished she weren't alone. She wished her
friends were here. Her great-grandmother had guessed something was
wrong when Alexis had arrived over the weekend, and she'd tried to
help, but she didn't really understand. She'd been married to
Gramps for decades . Nana didn't know what it was like to
have a broken heart, and Alexis did.
    No matter how much she wished she
didn't.
    Heaving herself upward, Alexis hit the play button on her CD player. The latest dance hit from J.Lo
thumped its way through her room. If she closed her eyes, she could
almost pretend she was back home, with her mom and her stuff and
her cell phone nearby.
    But her cell phone didn't work out here in
the boonies. The canyons messed up the signal. Her stuff didn't
matter as much as being without her friends did. And her