Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux Read Free Book Online

should have felt lonely, but instead of feeling lonely, she thought how wonderful it was to have no duties or responsibilities. Sometimes it seemed to her that she had been taking care of people all her life. When she had been married, there had never been a minute to herself, for her husband was always needing something. If he wasn’t hungry, he was asking her to help him find something, or he needed clean clothes or someone to listen to him describe how miserable his life was.
    At that thought Samantha tightened her mouth. Altogether, it was better not to think about her ex-husband and his “writing.”
    â€œI see you made it to the grocery.”
    At the sound of the voice, Samantha nearly jumped out of her skin, then immediately went from lounging in the chair to sitting upright, her feet on the ground, her hands in her lap. She did not look up at him.
    â€œDid you have any trouble?” Mike asked, looking down at her, annoyed that she seemed convinced that he was an ax murderer with uncontrollable sexual urges.
    â€œNo, none,” she said, standing, then starting back into the house.
    â€œYou don’t have to leave because I’m here.” His annoyance was evident.
    She didn’t look at him. “No, of course I don’t have to leave. I have things to do, that’s all.”
    Frowning, Mike watched her go back into the house, knowing that she was leaving to avoid being near him.
    Samantha went to the rooms her father had chosen, the rooms that reminded her of him, the rooms that made her feel safe, settled down in a dark green chair, and began to read her book. She had all day in which to do exactly what she wanted to do, in fact, she had a whole lifetime before her in which to do what she wanted to do. All she really had to do was serve her sentence in New York, then she’d be free.

    For the next few weeks Samantha enjoyed her freedom with the delight that only one who has not had freedom can enjoy it. Not since her mother died had she had time to sit and read or to just be still and daydream. When she was a child, she used to take long bubble baths, but she had only had time for showers since her mother’s death. Looking down the road at her future life, she saw that she’d at last have time to read all the books she’d ever wanted to read and time to take up a hobby as soon as she found one she liked. Time to do anything and everything.
    Each morning she awoke and looked about her father’s room and smiled, craving the feeling of his being so close and having the prospect of a long, empty day before her. She made a list of books she wanted to read. There were many biographies in her father’s library, and she started on a biography of Queen Victoria that must have weighed four pounds.
    She didn’t leave the town house unless she had to go to the grocery, otherwise, she had everything she needed right in the house. There was a washer and dryer off the kitchen; there was the garden; she had a VCR and exercise videos; she had books; she had a television with cable; she had time. There was no reason to leave the house unless she had to.
    The only disturbing element in her lovely, peaceful life was her landlord. He was true to his word in that he didn’t bother her. In fact, for the first two weeks of her stay, she might have been living in the house alone, but of course Samantha went to great lengths to avoid him. She would have liked to get to know his habits so she could avoid seeing him at all, but as far as she could tell, he had no set schedule to his life. Sometimes he left the house early in the morning, sometimes he didn’t leave until afternoon, and sometimes he didn’t leave at all. On the days when he didn’t leave, Samantha had difficulty avoiding him, for he always seemed to decide to come to the kitchen whenever she went downstairs for food, so she had to run up the stairs to keep from seeing him.
    On the days when he was