Yesterday's Gone (Two Daughters Book 1) by Janice Kay Johnson Read Free Book Online Page B

sharp. “It’s sappy. And, God, so
wrong
, considering what happened. And so wrong for me.” She pointed her thumb at herself. “The me I am.”
    “Who are you, Bailey Smith?” he asked softly.
    Her gaze clashed with his. “I’m not a nice person, in case you haven’t already figured that out. I don’t make close friends. I don’t have boyfriends.” Her warning was clear. “Don’t trust people.” Her tone curdled. “I am what
he
made me.”
    Speaking of bitterness.
    “That’s not true,” he said calmly, reaching for a roll, tearing it open and buttering it.
    Her chin jutted. “You don’t know.”
    “You enrolled in college. Did he have a single thing to do with making you the woman who’d do that?”
    “My major. There’s nothing subtle about that.”
    “No, I guess there isn’t. You’re trying to figure yourself out. Maybe him. But he wouldn’t have liked you doing either, would he?”
    She finally looked away. “No. But my interest is
because
of him.” She didn’t have to say how much she hated knowing that. “If it never happened, if I’d grown up here as sunny Hope Lawson, who knows? I’d have probably gone off to college at eighteen and majored in literature or biology or dance. But psychology?” She shook her head.
    “You’re right,” he agreed. “You’re a more complex person than you would have been. I won’t argue with that. Given what happened to you, I think it’s remarkable what you’ve become.”
    “And what’s that?” she asked, the edge present.
    “A smart, self-aware, poised woman who may claim she isn’t nice, but who was kind today to two people when she didn’t have to be.”
    “Of course I had to be,” she grumbled.
    He looked past her. “Dinner is coming,” he said quietly.
    The diner did decent American basics—burgers, steaks, fries, onion rings, roasted chicken. He’d been glad she didn’t order one of their salads, which he felt sure came mostly out of a bag. He could be wrong, but he didn’t see her as a waitress at Denny’s or anyplace like that. With her looks and air of class, she could make a lot bigger bucks at someplace upscale.
    Once their meals were in front of them, he asked about her job, thinking it might be a good idea to dial back the tension.
    Of course he’d never heard of the restaurant, but it sounded expensive. “Do you get free meals?”
    A surprised smile curved her mouth. His heart skipped a couple of beats.
    “Of course I do. One per shift. Saves me a lot on the groceries, plus their food is really good. And I love Italian.”
    “Me, too.” He glanced down at his steak. “Unfortunately, Stimson does not boast a fabulous Italian restaurant.”
    She chuckled. “Nothing wrong with a hamburger.” She took a big bite of hers.
    He couldn’t remember the last time he’d dined out with a woman who ate with gusto. And red meat and French fries, no less. Apparently she didn’t worry too much about her weight. Not that he saw any reason she should.
    She got him talking about the town and what it had to offer, seeming intrigued once Seth admitted he hadn’t grown up here.
    “City life isn’t for me. I like to hike and I enjoy white-water rafting. I run to stay in shape and would rather not have to pound the pavement or go to the gym.”
    “Do you ski?”
    “Alpine on occasion—lift tickets aren’t cheap. Otherwise Nordic. We don’t get a lot of snow at this elevation, but we don’t have to drive very far to find it.”
    She exercised at a gym. “Actually, the university, now. Saves me having to pay a membership. I do the elliptical, treadmill, swim laps. And most semesters I take a phys ed class. I like to try different things. Spring semester, it was African dance. Which turned out to be really good for the thighs,” she said ruefully.
    He laughed.
    Their conversation was starting to feel as if they were on a date. When she suddenly scowled at him, he wondered if she’d had the same thought and was fighting