The Gunny & The Jazz Singer (Birchwood Falls #1) by Jane Leopold Quinn Read Free Book Online

stop her from putting her arms
around his shoulders and giving him a good squeeze. He didn't want to stop her,
choking back emotion, not wanting to blubber in front of her.
    "You still a Marine?" She
let him go but hustled him to a nearby table and ordered him to sit.
    "Yeah."
    "What can I get you to eat? I
bet you're hungry. Can't say that you look skinny, but I bet you can still eat."
    "I wouldn't mind something,"
he responded, glancing toward the kitchen in the back. "Are you working
here alone? Where's Mr. Banning?"
    "Oliver's at a Rotary meeting.
We don't usually serve anything to eat, as you should well remember, until
about four o'clock. Mike's home by then and helps out. He'll be so happy to see
you," she repeated.
    "Is he married yet? Any kids?"
    "Nope, darn it. You?"
    "No, thank goodness." He
laughed.
    "Ha, the two of you better
settle down soon. You're not getting any younger."
    Marc just shrugged. He wasn't ready
for that. He ended up joining Mrs. Banning in the kitchen while she grilled him
a burger which he ate with complete and utter joy. Good memories of B Falls
were coming back to him, and he didn't feel so alone.
    Giving her another hug and peck on
the cheek, he promised to come back later to see Mike and his dad.
    "You'd better, buster. Say,
are you staying at your old house?"
    He shook his head. "I'm on
Linden Lane for right now. I promise I'll be back later. Thanks so much for the
burger. I really missed those."
    ***
    Where
the hell had the day gone? Enjoying his full stomach, he walked down the
highway—now it finally had a sidewalk on both sides—toward his house, reveling
in the pleasure that came from small-town America. Full green trees shaded
clean sidewalks. Church bells chimed the hour. It had been so long since he'd
been back home, not able to bear the pain of memories of happier times.
    Running straight into enemy fire
had been easier than remembering the tragedy of the night his parents were
killed.
    Gazing up into the leafy boughs of
a white birch tree bordering the church's parking lot, he pressed his palm
against the horizontal bark lines. They were a part of his childhood, and he'd
always loved these trees. They were a luxury he now appreciated after so many
deployments in the Middle East. He'd hated everything about the town after his
parents were killed. Struggling to finish high school, knowing it was his
ticket into the Marines, he couldn't wait to graduate and leave.
    His gaze roamed over the highway he
walked along. Anyone who'd driven through any number of American small towns
passing from farmland to streets winding between tree-sheltered houses knew
speed limits quickly dropped to thirty or twenty miles per hour. God, I've missed this.
    And striding toward him was
something else he'd missed. Damned if it wasn't Phoebe Barnes looking like a
hometown sprite instead of the sultry jazz singer of last night—slim denim
skirt teasing him with a sweet view of her shapely thighs, a short-sleeved
cotton blouse, a straw hat atop her dark hair with its bright-pink bangs. She
was a sight for sore eyes. When she glanced up and spotted him he made no
attempt to hide his smile of male approval.
    Painful memories left him and
tension of a different sort gripped his belly. Phoebe was one tasty dish, and what
he'd tasted had been tempting but too short-lived. He leaned a shoulder against
a tree, crossed his arms over his chest and just gazed. He could see the warmth
in her green eyes watching him right back. Her fair cheeks flushed, and her
lips opened. To say something? The movement made him want to claim those lips,
press his own against them, explore her mouth, play with her tongue.
    It had been so long. His cock
hardened. A bed. Fresh sheets. Willing
woman. Soft flesh. Hers. Their limbs entwined. He wanted his bigger, harder
body molded to hers. He wanted more of those kisses. Wanted to slide his aching
cock into her sweet body. Ram it in hard and long. Sweet and sensual.
    Her eyes flashed