Sound of Secrets by Darlene Gardner Read Free Book Online Page A

center for troubled teens was so close to his heart that he couldn’t resist rereading.
    Gray and Tyler had come up with the idea over beer and pizza after Danny Peckenbush had been caught shoplifting.
    Gray had theorized that Danny had been more interested in the thrill of the steal, and the alleviation of boredom, rather than the CD he’d stolen.That had led to a discussion of how few resources Secret Sound had in place for teens. From there, the dream of a clubhouse, flanked by outdoor basketball courts and staffed by adult volunteers, was born.
    Secret Sound wasn't exactly filled with mean streets, but Gray knew from personal experience that idle hands made trouble. His own had made plenty and would have kept on making it if the man who had preceded him as the town’s police chief hadn’t taken an interest in him.
    Gray and Tyler had already poured a good chunk of their own money into the project, but they needed much, much more. Today’s article was the second Gray’s father had written about the project. It mentioned that construction had already begun and several townspeople had stepped up with donations.
    Gray couldn’t help smiling.
    At the clacking of heels against linoleum, he lowered the newspaper and swiveled in the chair, expecting to see somebody he knew approaching. Instead he encountered the woman he'd caught screaming at nothing.
    He inhaled sharply, his breath seizing in his throat and the smile dying on his lips. For a moment, his relief at seeing her again was so great that he couldn't do anything but stare.
    She looked different than she had the other day. More desirable, if that were possible. Her hair was caught in a neat French braid, and her lightweight slacks and cotton shirt looked crisp. Chocolate-brown eyes a few shades darker than her hair shone with clarity, intelligence and no trace of the disorientation he had glimpsed the day before.
    She returned his stare, her mouth slightly agape. Something stirred low in his belly, and he realized that it was desire. He had a powerful urge to crush that mouth to his and thrust his tongue inside those parted lips, but that was insane.
    He had no intention of getting involved with any woman, least of all this one. Since Suzy had died, Gray had been even more careful not to get involved. He liked his life uncomplicated and this woman would be a hell of a complication. She kept looking at him as though she expected something. Had she lived, Suzy could have told her that Gray had absolutely nothing to give.
    "Well, well, well. If it isn’t the bat woman," he drawled. "This is certainly a surprise."
    She seemed to have a hard time finding her voice, but when she did she sounded composed. "Yes, it is a surprise."
    An invisible current seemed to flow between them and bind them together. She must have felt it, too, because she took a step closer. Her head cocked. "Are you sure we haven't met before yesterday? This is my first time in Florida, but perhaps you've been to South Carolina?"
    "South Carolina?" So that was the origin of her southern accent. He shook his head slowly. "Nope. Haven't been there. And believe me, if we'd met before yesterday, I'd remember. Yesterday was quite memorable in itself."
    She abruptly broke eye contact, looked down at her feet, shuffled them. He half expected her to disappear again. But then she lifted her head and once more met his gaze head on. "You caught me at a bad moment. I don't usually scream like that."
    He considered her from her neat French braid to the pretty pink nail polish she'd painted on toes that peeked out from her sensible sandals.
    "I don't believe you do," he said finally and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs at the ankles. "Did you have any luck yesterday with your car?"
    "It had a broken water pump, but it's fixed now," she stated flatly.
    "Then why are you still here?"
    "Pardon me?"
    "Why are you still here?" he asked again. "I got the impression that you were passing through town."
    "Then