The Sweetheart Bargain (A Sweetheart Sisters Novel) by Shirley Jump Read Free Book Online

he worries about you.”
    “I haven’t seen my father in six months,” Luke said. “Trust me, it’s better that way.”
    Greta didn’t say anything to that. Luke didn’t have to be able to see clearly to know she was sitting there with her lips pursed, biting back a few choice words for her son. The conversation would undoubtedly boomerang right back to the same place. Edward Winslow didn’t approve of his son’s choices and made his disappointment clear on a regular basis. Joining the Coast Guard instead of the Navy, becoming a pilot instead of a SEAL, living alone instead of creating a legacy of namesakes.
    And the biggest disappointment of all? Getting injured and becoming what his father considered a “drag on society.”
    Luke changed conversational direction. “So, what kind of trouble are you ladies getting into at the retirement home?”
    “Trouble? Lord, I wish there were trouble. It’d give me something to do besides wait for my next colonoscopy.”
    He chuckled. “Give it time. I’m sure Harold Twohig will do something to stir things up.”
    “Stop it. You know the mention of that man’s name gives me indigestion.” She let out a gust. “I swear, he was put on this earth to test me.”
    Luke bit back a smile. Greta’s long-standing feud with Harold Twohig never ceased to amuse Luke. For twenty-five years, they’d lived on the same cul-de-sac in Rescue Bay and argued over everything from the posted speed limit to Harold’s penchant for mowing the lawn at first light on Saturday mornings—and always wearing his short-shorts and no shirt. Grandma had gone to the town council to complain that Harold’s beer gut was an offense against humanity and causing her permanent nausea. When Harold moved into Golden Years and once again became Grandma’s neighbor, the feud began to boil all over again. “And are you passing the good neighbor test, Grandma?”
    “I do believe God still loves a sinner who gets a C.” She leaned forward and crossed her hands on the table. “Anyway, I’m not just here to bring you cookies.”
    “More like bring you cookies. And avoid the doctor’s prying eyes.”
    She waved that off. “That man and his nutritional guidelines. I’m old enough to eat sugar all day, by God.”
    Luke chuckled. “You are indeed, Grandma.”
    “In case you didn’t know, I came by to tell you that”—Grandma’s voice rose into a happy range—“you have a new neighbor.”
    He leaned back in his chair. The sunlight illuminated his grandmother’s face, turned the outline into features. The blurriness eased a bit. For now. “How do you know?”
    “Just because I live in that prison your father put me in doesn’t mean I’m not tuned in to the pulse of this community.”
    “Pulse of this community?” Luke laughed. “More like nosing around everywhere you go. I swear, you were a bloodhound in a former life, Grandma.”
    She raised her chin. “That is how the best information is obtained. Like the information that your new neighbor, who works at Golden Years, by the way, is pretty. And single.”
    Single? He thought of the sassy blonde who’d marched into his yard the other day. She had gumption, he’d give her that. She’d been by several times since, calling for the dog, but he’d stayed inside rather than tangling with her again.
    Still, the thought of tangling with her—in any shape, way, or manner—had put a lot of dark, sensual images in his head late at night. He’d tossed and turned, imagining the lithe figure of his new neighbor riding on top of him, her hair loose and tempting around her shoulders, her hands hard on his chest, her body hot and slick with sweat and desire. Calling out his name, begging him for more . . .
    Damn. It had been a hell of a long time since Luke had been with a woman.
    Over the past few days, he’d found himself wondering about Olivia. Thinking about her when he knew damned well he shouldn’t. Luke knew the reality of his future, and a