The Man She Left Behind by Janice Carter Read Free Book Online Page A

fingertips pressing gently against her lower back, guided her to a window table at the rear of the café. The gesture reminded Leigh of being guided onto the dance floor at Ocracoke School, the tingling magic of being with Spencer McKay. She shivered.
    “Chilly?” he asked as she sat in the chair opposite his.
    “A bit.” Unconsciously she began to rub the gooseflesh on her arms, but stopped when she caught his grin. Had he read her mind? “The air-conditioning,” she said, avoiding his eyes.
    The woman brought their coffee and took an order for fresh strawberry biscuits.
    “Is she a local?” Leigh asked after she’d left their table.
    “Nah. I think she and her hubby came here a couple years ago from Raleigh.”
    “Yesterday when I was in town, I couldn’t believe how much the village had changed. Even the library’s gone.”
    Spence tore open a packet of sugar and dumped it into his coffee. “Actually the library has only changed location. It’s in the public school now, and the original building is a museum.”
    “At least they didn’t tear it down.”
    “True, though it’s no longer the smallest public library in America.”
    Leigh grinned. “I remember bragging about that to summer kids.”
    “I remember when it was built.”
    Leigh laughed aloud. “You sound like an old-timer.”
    “I feel like an old-timer these days,” he muttered.
    The remark seemed so uncharacteristic of the brash cocky Spencer McKay she’d always known that Leigh couldn’t think of a follow-up. Self-doubt or insecurity had never been a part of the Spencer McKay she’d loved. That Spencer—with the strands of golden blond hair teasing his forehead and the quick knowing smile—had seldom failed to win over anyone. Even the toughest teachers at Ocracoke school had often softened the exasperation in their voices when speaking to Spence.
    Leigh remembered Grandpa Sam once saying that Spence McKay could charm the skin off a grass snake. She had to admit, once bitten by his charms, she’d not taken long to succumb. She was tempted now to outstare him to see if that old charm still had potency, but instead, she stared into her coffee mug until the biscuits arrived.
    They ate in silence until Spence asked, “So you’re putting your place on the market?”
    Leigh swallowed a mouthful of biscuit and nodded at the same time. “That’s why I came to the island,” she explained, knowing she’d already told him the day before and feeling a flare of annoyance. Why else would I have come back?
    “A shame to sell such a beautiful place.”
    Her annoyance increased. “A worse shame to leave it empty.”
    It was Spencer’s turn to stare into his coffee mug. He signaled the woman, now stacking trays of pastries into the display case, for more. When she’d refilled both their mugs and left, he said, “I guess there’s no way you could maintain the place from New York.”
    The absurdity of the suggestion left Leigh speechless for a moment. Then she replied, “Mr. Jensen has been looking after it for the past year and obviously he can’t anymore. There’s no point in renting it out because I’d still have to—”
    “Come back. To check on it now and then.”
    “Right. And New York is a long way from Ocracoke.”
    An expression Leigh couldn’t read moved across his face. “Besides, there’s no reason to come back to Operacoke now that my folks are gone.”
    A stain of red crept up Spencer’s neck. He took a long sip of coffee before saying, “There’s Sam. I know he’d love to have you stick around awhile.”
    “Sam has his own family,” she said, realizing at once how lame and callous the remark sounded.
    “Yeah, some family.”
    The bitterness in the comment silenced her. She was tempted to pursue his lead, but suspected she’d end up on a path to the past she wasn’t yet ready to take. So she wadded up the paper napkin and tossed it onto the plate. “I should get back and shower and...stuff.”
    The bleakness