Taming Tess (The St. John Sibling Series) by Barbara Raffin Read Free Book Online Page B

informed that the only thing they had in common with Penetti's Cab Company was a listing in the yellow pages that served two other small towns. They were both fifty miles away and neither serviced Pine Mountain.
    "Damn you, St. John," she howled. "Leave me here without any way to get to town--without a change of clothes. What am I supposed to do?"
    She could wash her clothes and then walk to town…if she knew the way. Why hadn't she paid attention to how they'd gotten here last night?
    Tess thumbed the thin phone book still in her lap. At least she could call the fire department and find out what conclusion they'd drawn about the fire at her house.
    Fifteen minutes later, she'd concluded her conversation with the local Fire Chief. It hadn't been Roman's cousin's cigar that had started the fire. That news had dropped the floor out from under her. She had only minimal insurance. Anticipating a speedy turn-around on the house, she'd chanced saving money by relying on her contractor's insurance for protection.
    Then came the reprieve she desperately needed. The fire had started as the result of an over-heated electrical cord Roman's cousin Raymond had admitted to using.
    At least those were the preliminary findings. The Fire Marshall still had to investigate for himself and write up his own report. But, with the only Fire Marshall servicing all of Michigan's Upper Peninsula gone on vacation, they'd have to wait for a downstate Fire Marshall to fit them into his schedule. No rush since there hadn’t been any deaths or injuries as a result of the fire. Apparently the entire Upper Peninsula was as remote as small town Pine Mountain.
    Meanwhile, the Fire Chief had said she was free to enter her property . "Just don't go into the area where the fire occurred."
    Don't go into the fire area ? What kind of security was that? Roman and his henchmen could be at The Castle right now removing incriminating evidence. Could that be the reason he’d left her stranded, so he could get into the fire damaged area of The Castle before she did?
    Tess paced the plaid and pine living room, debating whether the man who'd come with a sterling recommendation from her aunt--whether the man she'd come to know during long phone conversations would tamper with evidence. She picked up the photo of Roman's sister and nephew from the end table. Could a man who babysat a preschool nephew--who bought the boy a Winnie-the-Pooh nightlight for when he visited be so dishonest?
    Being a good uncle to an adorable little boy didn't guarantee honesty.
    She put the picture down and faced the fireplace that dominated the side wall of his living room. Made of fieldstone it created a handsome focal point for the room and certainly fit the rustic charm of the cabin. Okay, St. John had some design sense of his own.
    She harrumphed. Having rustic taste didn't negate financial troubles, though. He sure wouldn't want to be found responsible for the fire at her place in that case. Then again, no contractor wants to be found at fault for a fire on his job.
    That had to be his angle, remove all evidence his crew was at fault for the fire. All men had angles. And St. John had plenty…like the angles planing his cheeks.
    She groaned and began searching the collection of photos on the fireplace mantle as though she might find motive among them. There was a five by seven of a long-haired, young man with Roman's coloring and features dressed in knight's regalia and standing in front of two horses. The younger man had a wide grin and lively eyes. Another was of a younger Dixie in Dutch attire complete with wooden shoes, her pose flirtatious in a girlish way, her eyes inviting the viewer to join in her fun. An eight by ten landscape captured four blond-haired, blue-eyed teens in ski clothes on a snow covered mountainside, cheeks wind reddened. Siblings, no doubt. Something in the background reminded her of the Alps, but that couldn't be. World traveler just didn't fit her impression of