Right Brother by Patricia McLinn Read Free Book Online Page B

of catching up to do. But this afternoon, at your office we’ll talk more.”
    â€œOkay. Have a nice lunch.”
    He had the main door open when her voice came. “One thing, Trent.”
    He looked over his shoulder. She hadn’t moved. “Yeah?”
    â€œYou shouldn’t thank the fates for getting away from Stenner Auto.”
    Ah, here it came. The sentimental pitch that this was as good as a family heirloom. Or he should feel Drago’s version of noblesse oblige to keep Stenner Auto going so citizens had a place to buy cars and get them fixed.
    â€œYeah? Why not?”
    â€œBecause the fates didn’t get you away. You did that. You worked hard to get away from Stenner Autos and you succeeded.”

Chapter Three
    W hy on earth had she opened her big mouth?
    Did she want to scare him off from buying the place?
    No, absolutely not. Even if he did make her uncomfortable, with that direct, penetrating stare, accompanied by a faint air of disapproval.
    She just hated hearing him pass off his success as fate. God knows his brother and father were willing to do that. It seemed wrong that Trent did, too.
    â€¦somebody who spent half his life trying to get away from Stenner Autos and the rest of it thanking the fates he’s succeeded.
    There’d been something in the way he’d said it, something in the way he’d narrowed his eyes until only slits of the pale color showed between the thick, dark lines of his upper and lower lashes, that had made her feel she understood. That she knew his feelings.
    She’d thought when she and Eric went to college in Iowa that it meant they would start a new life, away from Drago. The school had been selected based on the best football program to showcase Eric. There’d been no question that Jennifer would follow wherever he chose to go.
    She hadn’t minded. She hadn’t considered studying anything in particular, just wanted to get a degree.
    She’d figured she’d adapt, and she had. She did okay in her classes, better, actually, than in high school. She’d made friends, especially at the beginning. She would have enjoyed staying on campus, but nearly every weekend Eric hadn’t had a game or practice he’d wanted to return to Drago. “To see what the hicks are doing,” he used to say. So she’d come with him. The friends she’d made on campus found other people to do things with who wouldn’t be gone most weekends.
    Trent had returned to Drago considerably less often. She thought back, trying to remember. He’d graduated from high school when she and Eric got married. The next summer, she knew he was back, because that was right after Eric’s injury. At least one Christmas after that, too, she thought. When Ashley was about two.
    That must be the last time she’d seen him.
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    Pretty.
    The word went so far back in her memory that Jennifer thought it had always been there. It was something people said of her. Something nice. Not like Mark calling her Jenny-Poo-With-Poo-In-Her-Pants.
    Pretty was good. That much she knew.
    Then she’d learned its power.
    What a pretty girl!
    Her father had been holding her hand, trying to find a seat with a good view for one of Mark’s Little League games. Hehadn’t been happy about having to take her, but Mom had a doctor’s appointment. He walked a lot faster than she did, and he tugged her hand when she got behind.
    â€œAlready started,” he’d muttered, blocked by other people climbing the bleachers.
    Then a lady in the front row smiled at Jennifer, and said loudly, “What a pretty girl!”
    Daddy had looked around. First at the woman, then at her.
    For a second she’d been almost afraid, because Daddy’s eyes had that blank look, as though he didn’t even see her.
    But then he did, and slowly, a smile arrived. “Yes, she is. She’s a very pretty girl.”
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    â€œAre you nuts?”