Shine On by Allison J. Jewell Read Free Book Online Page B

his bedroom window. She was dressed up for him. He knew it. Damn it. He didn’t have time for this. Silas bent down tied his brown lace-up boots and buttoned his vest. If he could have just kept himself under control a couple of weeks ago he wouldn’t have been in this mess.
    Now he was walking some tightrope between breaking this girl’s heart, which in turn would piss off his cousins, and just trying to get his job done. He was ready to get back to Chicago already. He had been sent down here just to take care of one simple job… one simple task turned into a huge cluster now he was back down here dealing with three-tooth moonshiners for God knows how long.
    And to beat it all now he was going to have to spend the days working at his uncle’s law firm since apparently the family was telling everyone he was down here for work. Not that Silas really minded helping out. He had a degree and everything. It was just that when he spent the day at the office his brain wasn’t always as clear at night as it needed. He couldn’t afford sloppy mistakes.
    Throw that girl into that mix and he was destined for failure.
    “Hello, Emmie.” He gave her an easy smile or tried to anyway. Was she this short two weeks ago? He could have sworn she was taller.
    “Hi, Silas.” She moved past him with barely a look in his direction and walked over to where Ava and the rest of the group stood.
    That went well, he thought.
    Silas reached down and pulled a cigarette out of his vest pocket and lit it, breathing in deeply and squinting to keep the smoke out of his eye while the flame took.
    “Who’s cooking tonight?” Emmie asked, looking around for Ms. Jackson, the housekeeper/cook/everything else that was usually on hand when Ava’s parents were out of town.
    “Oh, Applesauce,” Ava cursed with a wicked smile.
    Emmie’s heart pounded and she turned to look at her friend before she realized Ava was using it as a swear word. Silly flapper lingo nearly gave her a heart attack. She was sure her friend was getting ready to spill her guts about the moonshine applesauce they had just created. Ava always had a big mouth.
    The look in Ava’s eyes said she thought her little joke was funny. Then she continued, “I completely forgot Ms. Jackson is off this week. Well, I’m sure we can throw something together.”
    “Doll, when is the last time you threw anything together in the kitchen?” Gabe laughed.
    “That’s pollywampus. I can do this. We can do this.” She held out a hand to Emmie.
    The girls entered the room twenty minutes later with a couple trays of meats, cheeses, and crackers, after raiding the cabinets.
    “We didn’t have much to choose from. You need to go to the store tomorrow. Or I could bring some things by after work for you,” Emmie said.
    “That’d be great if you wouldn’t mind,” Vince agreed.
    Gabe and Ava went out for a walk after dinner. Vince excused himself to call his fiancée. Which left Trick, Silas, and Emmie in an awkward silence until Trick walked over to the piano. He sat down and became Beethoven Jr. Clearly showing off. It worked.
    “Wow. That is amazing.” Emmie walked over and sat on the bench next to him.
    “Do you play?” he asked.
    “Oh, no. Always wanted to though.” She stared down at his hands.
    “Here you can do this,” he said sincerely. “Just do what I do.”
    He sat on one end slowly playing a couple notes at a time. Then she finger-pecked following his lead, mimicking a nursery song. Silas watched as her brow creased in concentration. Her face was beautiful as she studied his pattern and tried her best to match his brothers’ motions.
    Trick reached his arm around her to correct the finger placement on one of the keys. He left it longer than was necessary. Silas fought the wave of jealousy.
    This shit was ridiculous. He should just leave the room. Go about his business. But he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
    “Attagirl.” Trick bumped her shoulder.
    She threw her arms