Thy Neighbor's Wife by Georgia Beers Read Free Book Online Page A

you’d
    like.”
    “This is great, Alex. Really. I’m fine. Thank you.”
    Suddenly, Kinsey barked playfully from around the corner of
    the deck and a friendly male voice could be heard talking to him.
    Seconds later, an extremely handsome man appeared to the delight
    of the whole crowd. He was at least six foot three with hugely broad
    shoulders and smiling eyes. He wore wire-rimmed glasses, cargo
    shorts, and a navy blue long sleeve t-shirt. Jennifer couldn’t take her
    eyes off him.
    “Hey, big guy.” Jackie stood up to hug him. She was quite tall,
    but the newcomer’s height made her seem average.
    Alex was next. She practically disappeared in his embrace and
    his face told Jennifer that he cared a great deal for her.
    “Hey, where’s the volleyball net?” he asked.
    Alex chuckled. “It’s still a little early in the season for me,” she
    replied as he made his rounds, greeting the rest of the partygoers.
    “We were just talking about having a practice or two. Think you can
    get some guys together to scrimmage with us?”
    His eyes roamed the deck and rested on Jennifer. She smiled
    around her fork.
    “Sure. Is this our new setter?”
    Alex followed his pointing finger and chuckled again. “Oh, no.
    This is my new neighbor, Jennifer. Jennifer, this is my dear friend
    David.”
    Thy Neighbor’s Wife 29
    David held out his hand and Jennifer took it, her own engulfed
    within his. “Hmm. Nice, strong hands.” He turned back to Alex.
    “Are you sure she’s not a setter?”
    “You don’t play volleyball, do you, Jennifer?” Alex asked play-
    fully.
    “Not in quite a while, no,” she answered smugly. Alex’s eye-
    brows shot up in surprise.
    “You mean you do play?” Jackie looked from Alex to Jennifer
    and back again, her eyes sparkling.
    “Well, I did in school. It’s been a long time and I’m really
    rusty.” She saw where this was going and it made her a little ner-
    vous. She wasn’t a bad player, but she wasn’t an outstanding player
    and she didn’t want to embarrass herself or Alex by claiming to be
    better than she was.
    “Rust can be worked away.” Jackie smiled. “Just needs a little
    elbow grease. Right, Alex?”
    Alex was smiling, too, and Jennifer soon realized what she’d
    just gotten herself into.
    Alex sensed her unease because the expression on her face soft-
    ened and she sat down next to Jennifer. “Why don’t you come to a
    practice? It’s really just recreational. We like to play, but we’re not
    out for blood. We just like to have fun. Come to practice and see
    what you think. Okay?” Her brown eyes were soft and gentle and
    Jennifer felt the complete and total inability to say no to her.
    “One practice.” She held up a finger to stress her point.
    “Terrific.” Alex looked incredibly pleased and Jennifer grinned
    back at her.
    “What position did you play in school?” Jackie asked.
    Jennifer’s grin grew a little wider. “I was a setter.”
    Chapter
    Four
    The following Thursday, the weather didn’t exactly look prom-
    ising. It was warm enough, but the sky was overcast with a few
    threatening, black clouds rolling by on occasion. It looked about
    ready to pour any minute. The impending rain didn’t stop the vol-
    leyball team from having a riot practicing, though.
    They were just about the only bunch of people on the beach.
    Jennifer assumed the smart people of town were actually under
    roofs of some sort. She sat in the sand with Rita and Hannah, alter-
    nating between watching the team practice and helping the little
    blonde toddler build a sandcastle. She was reluctant to jump right
    into the game and Alex seemed to understand when Jennifer told
    her that she’d rather observe for a while. She wanted to know
    exactly where her skill level would fall.
    The team was quite good. Alex and Jackie were definitely the
    strongest players. Jackie had a vertical leap that was shocking and
    her lean, lanky frame was deceiving; she could spike the ball