Surrender to Temptation by Ednah Walters Read Free Book Online Page A

planning on filing a civil suit against Miss Marshal, too, once she’s back on her feet?”
    His Uncle Mo had said Deanna would be lucky to find a job at a fast food joint when he was done with her. Chase wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He’d gone through anger and a need for revenge. Now he just wanted closure. Besides, it was going to take years for Deanna to fully recover and forever to cope with the psychological trauma of her burns. That was enough suffering for one person as far as he was concerned.
    “Still there, Chase?” Kenny asked.
    “Yep, just about to head back home.” He stood and started for his horse. “The answer is no, Lambert. I won’t be filing charges.”

    ***

    Nikki looked around her yellow room and smiled. It was spacious with hickory hardwood floor and timber walls, sunflower and lime-green comforter on a queen bed, and ceiling-to-floor curtains of the same colors on two windows. The sleigh-styled bed had a matching chest at the foot of the bed and two chests of drawers on either side. The end result was comfort and space. A bit of outdoors indoors.
    A door opened to the second floor deck, which had cushioned wicker chairs and a panoramic view of the mountains. Below, Nikki spied a gazebo at the end of the lower deck. She couldn’t see the hot tub, but earlier in the kitchen, she’d seen it in the gazebo.
    She searched the terrain for Chase Fitzgerald. He’d been gone for over an hour.
    Whether she would stay or leave was still up in the air, so she couldn’t start unpacking or call Amelia. But she could tip the scale in her favor by showing him websites she’d created.
    She pulled out her laptop, lifted the lid, and saw the scraped edges. No, no, no! This wasn’t happening. How had she picked up the wrong computer? The software she used to create websites was in her computer, not her sister’s.
    What had she been thinking about while packing? Her mind raced trying to remember. Her mother. She’d been talking to her mother. No, more like dodging her mother’s pointed questions while fighting guilt for lying to her. On top of that, she’d been nervous about her impending trip. She and Dee might not look alike, but her sister could have shown her coworkers family pictures. Nikki had worried that Fitzgerald would take one look at her and recognize her. Thank goodness that hadn’t turned out to be the case.
    The conversation with her mother flashed through Nikki’s head.
    “Why are you taking the computer when you’re going on vacation, Nikki? You need to rest, not work,” her mother had said.
    “I like to watch movies or listen to music when I relax,” Nikki had lied.
    “Why not take some books? You used to love reading when you were young. Now it’s just work, work, and work.”
    Nikki had waved her e-reader. “I have this, Mama. It has all the books I need.”
    “It’s not the same and you know it.”
    She’d bought her mother an e-reader and filled it with historical romance, her mother’s favorite genre, but she’d bet her mother never even turned it on. But she might have removed Nikki’s.
    Nikki dug inside her computer bag and found her Kindle. Going on a hunch, she picked up her cell phone and speed dialed her mother’s cell phone. It was picked up after several rings. “Why did you remove my computer, Mama?”
    “Oh, honey, I was hoping you wouldn’t find out this soon or get angry when you did.”
    “I’m not angry, Mama. I just need my laptop with me.”
      “That’s not a good idea, dear. I heard on the Dr. Phil show how professional young people don’t know when to shut down electronically and how those who love them can help them.”
    Nikki rolled her eyes. Her mother watched way too much TV now that she was retired.
    “I was only trying to help, dear,” her mother continued. “You work too hard. When not at the hospital, you’re on your computer. Computers cannot replace the love of a good man. How are you going to get a man when you go