Where Their Hearts Collide: Wardham Book #2 by Zoe York Read Free Book Online

wanted to be done mid-summer. I want to take a road trip out west before starting...whatever I do next. But for the right job, I could be available any time."
    Mildred nodded and stood up. "You heading to the store now? Or do you want to hang out here for a bit?"
    A wave of relief washed over Karen. She pulled out her e-reader and grinned. "I'm going to hide here, if you don't mind." She'd have to go to the store later, but it could wait until the next rush at Bun. She didn't need to give Carrie an obvious opening. Her friend would find her soon enough.

Chapter Five
     
     
    Downtown Wardham had been a pleasant surprise for Paul. The main drag was only a few blocks long, but it had one of almost every essential service. Karen’s grocery store, Bun, a dry cleaner’s, pharmacy, even a couple of clothing stores and a used bookshop.
    And then there was his destination for the evening, Danny’s. Paul had heard good things about the pub. Cold beer, cheap wings, and like everything else in Wardham, it was only a few blocks from home. Stumbling distance, not that he was going to get blitzed. But it’d been a long week at work, and a short weekend with Megan.
    Night. Not a weekend. Susan had smoothly talked him into taking his daughter back to the city that afternoon instead of the next day, as per their custody agreement. Her family had an annual picnic and she had pressed home the point that Meg didn’t have any family on his side. As if that was somehow in his domain of control.
    Whose fault is it that you’re an island of one?
    A question he’d been asked by Susan, the department psychiatrist, and, when he was being honest, himself more than once.
    He never had an answer, and tonight wasn’t any different. Tonight he just wanted to kick back and relax. Maybe be a bit social. Just a bit. It was all he had in him.
    The pub was long, narrow and surprisingly busy given how few cars had been parked outside. As a law enforcement officer, he was grateful for that fact. He’d been on the scene of too many devastating accidents caused by impaired drivers.
    “Paul!”
    He turned, half expecting the greeting to be directed at someone else—but really, how many people in Wardham knew his name? The obvious answer thudded into his brain at the same moment he found her face in the crowd. Karen stepped closer, dragging a smaller blond woman behind her.
    “Hey, neighbour,” she breathed, then flashed a wide smile. He felt the words as if she’d pressed close and whispered them against his skin, but her expression was straight up friendly, no undercurrent of sexual tension. If anything, she seemed eager to put her friend between them. She pushed the petite blond forward another step.  “This is Evie. She’s got two kids a bit younger than Megan.”
    Evie grimaced at him, then laughed. “And therefore we are going to be the best of friends. Single parents unite.”
    “We can do the secret handshake when she’s not looking,” he said, and chuckled.
    “I didn’t mean it like that! Jeez. Give a girl a break, eh?” Karen blushed and again Paul would swear he could actually feel her flush warm against his own skin. Shared visceral reactions, that was a damn neat trick. He stepped back and shook it off.
    Evie gave him a quizzical look, then invited him to join them at their table. “No pressure, but I don’t think you’re going to find a table all to yourself right now.”
    “Yeah, I see that. Is it usually this busy?”
    She shook her head. “Wing special tonight. It’ll empty out in an hour. People have evening chores.”
    Two hours later, the pub had indeed emptied out. Karen had made sure he’d been introduced to half the patrons, which he could have done without, and he’d thought about heading out a half dozen times. He’d made it as far as the door once, but a tall blond man who looked like he spent most of his days tossing hay bales and herding cattle had chosen that moment to wrap his arms around Karen from behind