The Touch (Healer Series) by Allison Rios Read Free Book Online Page A

her heart race and that scared her a
bit. Joseph hadn’t had a body even remotely close to this one and she couldn’t
help herself. She liked AJ’s something fierce.
       Addie got out of Gram’s car, and Gram sped
out of there, hollering from the window, “See you in a bit!” and leaving no
choice but for Addie to drive with AJ.
       “Guess it’s just us,” AJ said, with a smile.
       “Guess so.”
       “I can follow you there in my car if you
want. Or you can give me directions. I’m a little gross and dirty, so I could
meet you over there after I shower.”
       “No can do, bud,” she replied, walking
towards his car. “Pop the trunk, I know you still have clothes in there. You
haven’t pulled anything else out of your car since you got here except for that
one dirty suitcase, and there’s no way someone picks up and moves to a new
place with that little. Gram will have a fit if you don’t come right over. She
has the meal all timed out. You can shower there.”
    “How
do you know so much about what I have in my trunk? You spying on me?” He couldn’t help the teasing tone in his voice and realized it might be
harder than he thought to switch into a friendlier mode.
    “I
guess I just assume you have to have more than cargo pants and tank tops in
your wardrobe.”
    “Don’t
judge me.”
    “Ditto.”
       AJ lifted the trunk and Addie grabbed a bag,
hurrying back to the truck and tossing it in the back. “Let’s go,” she said,
trying to act nonchalant. She was fighting the fact that his presence made her
feel 18 again. Her heart fluttered when the cute guy walked in the room. She
had just booted Joseph so she told herself that she didn’t need another man
around telling her what to do. Besides, she thought, what if he didn’t even
feel the same?
       He climbed in the passenger side, and they
were on their way to Gram’s house. It wasn’t long before they pulled up a long
driveway directly through an apple orchard to an old, beautiful farmhouse
painted a pristine white. Black shutters adorned the windows and Gram was
waiting in the doorway.
       They got out and headed inside, Addie showing
AJ where the shower was. He felt awkward showering at a stranger’s house. Gram
seemed nice enough yet it still felt odd. Then again, a lot about this place
had proven odd so far.
       Addie headed down to help Gram with the food
when she realized she had forgotten to leave AJ a towel. She excused herself
from mashing the potatoes and headed upstairs to try and sneak one of Gram’s
pink fluffy towels into the room without him noticing. As she rounded the
corner of the banister to head in and drop off the towel, she bumped right into
a shirtless, half wet man – and as her hands indicated from the feel, he was at
least wearing his shorts.
       “I’m, oh my God, I’m sorry–”
       “It’s okay,” he laughed, finding it an
icebreaker of sorts. Something had to lighten up the atmosphere given that he
had been feeling completely tense since arriving. He loved getting a rise out
of her. “No big deal. I’m dressed.”
       “Somewhat,” she said, trying to break her
gaze from his body. Inches apart, she looked up at him and thrust the towel up
between them. “I brought this, thought I forgot.”
       “You did,” he said, his voice softer than
before. His brain was shouting at him that he shouldn’t be in this moment, that
he should break himself from it and walk away, yet something stronger was
keeping him there. As he reached for the towel, his fingers brushed hers and
the same feeling of electricity shot through them again, her eyes closing this
time instead of looking at him with fear of the unknown. Visions filled his
head of her and Rose in five years, twenty years – he found that every bit of
his soul wanted to be part of that future. She was laughing and smiling,
running through the fields that surrounded this house. It was a frightening
feeling that came out of