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.Her stomach felt tight with anticipation and nerves, but she couldn’t back away.Better to apologize and let him deal.She pulled on the door and heard the familiar jingle of the bells that hung from the hinges.Most times the sound of the jingle had everyone in the restaurant looking to see who’d come.But today, the bells didn’t attract any attention because there seemed to be some kind of commotion by the register.Without even realizing she’d moved, Sarah stepped inside and stood gaping at Dodge, his shoulders back, his face flushed, his voice a loud boom of disputation.“I’m sick to death of all of you.” He waved his arms around to encompass the whole restaurant.“I wasn’t the father of that girl’s baby.I didn’t have anything to do with her death and you people need to get over it.”He turned and stormed out of the diner, all but knocking Sarah out of the way in his haste to leave.She followed him out.Although she thought he hadn’t noticed her standing in the doorway, he stopped on the sidewalk and turned to face her, pushed his finger in her face.“Not one word,” he said in a voice she’d never heard him use.“Not one single word out of you.”Chapter 16“Tom Thornton.” Tommy answered his phone late Friday afternoon.His receptionist had left for the day at 3:00, as was their deal on Fridays.“Tommy?” said a voice he couldn’t place.“It’s Kimberly Weston, Connie Weston’s daughter.Do you remember me?”It took a moment for Tommy to connect the sexy voice with that of his young cousin, but he figured it’d been a few years since he’d seen her.She’d obviously matured.“Yeah, yeah, Kimmie.How’s it going?”Kimberly chuckled into the phone.“It’s Kimberly now.No one calls me Kimmie but my mom.”Tommy felt old thinking of his cousin out in the world known as Kimberly.It seemed too sophisticated for a young farm girl from Bellingham.“Kimberly,” he said and tried not to let the snotty undertones hang in the air.“What can I do for you?”“Well, I…I’m not sure how to begin.” She cleared her throat.“I can be in Hailey within the hour and I’d like to meet with you.It’s important, Tommy, or I wouldn’t ask on such short notice.”“Ok,” he said.He wondered just what his cousin could sound so serious about.“Do you want to come here, to my office?”“No.There’s a place just outside of town, a little bar called The Stand.It’s a hole in the wall near the--”“I know where it is.” Tommy interrupted.Was she old enough to get in a bar?“I’ll meet you there in one hour.And Tommy, don’t tell anyone we’re meeting.” When Tommy didn’t respond, she added, “Please Tommy, I promise I’ll explain.”“Ok, Kimberly.I’ll see you in an hour.” He hung up, gingerly placing the phone on its base, and sat back into the leather chair.As he rocked back and forth he had to wonder what the hell his little cousin Kimmie wanted to discuss with him that was so secret they couldn’t talk on the phone or tell anyone about their meeting.The world just kept getting stranger and stranger.###Tommy hadn’t been to The Stand in years.He didn’t have much use for bars, between working long hours and keeping a watchful eye on his mother.The only thing he felt when his dad finally passed had been relief.Ever since his death, he’d made it a practice to visit his mother every other night.Depression hung over her like a thunder cloud and threatened to rain down on her when he spaced his visits out any more than had become his routine.He figured his mother was as much the reason he remained single as his receding hairline and expanding belly.But he certainly didn’t feel as though visits to The Stand would increase his chances of finding someone to love.He parked in front of the dingy cinderblock building and took a quick survey of the cars and trucks in the lot early on a Friday evening.He recognized a few of the trucks, but none of the cars as they typically belonged to women.He raised an eyebrow at a sporty little convertible tucked between two Chevys that could have competed in the world’s dirtiest pick-up contest.The sun had just settled between the mountains when he slipped inside the gloomy bar and stood to give his eyes time to adjust.The place looked exactly as he remembered, dark and cheap, smelling of stale beer and cigarette smoke.Old Stan Trippington still worked behind the bar, after all this time.He’d just stepped to the bar to say a quick hello to Stan when a gorgeous blonde walked out of the restroom.Every person in the bar, man and woman, watched her amble with a feline grace straight for Tommy.He almost fell over when he recognized his cousin, aged like a fine wine to perfection.“Uh…Kimberly?”“Tommy, thanks for coming.”Her voice sounded even sexier in person; her breathy whisper spilled from the upturned lips of her porn star mouth.Hell.His cousin was a knock out.He needed to remember she they were cousins, blood relatives.He did recall a 20/20 special on married cousins with normal kids… He shook his head to clear his thoughts and followed her to a booth near the back, the most secluded spot in the bar.Candace Downing sauntered over to take their order, curiosity written all over her sun scorched face.Kimberly ordered a white wine, a risky choice for The Stand, while Tommy went for the safe bet--bottled beer.Kimberly watched Candace walk away before speaking.Her clandestine moves had Tommy’s interest peaked almost as much as the rest of the bar, most of whom stared from a distance.“It’s been awhile,” Kimberly said and nervously chewed her bottom lip.Tommy nodded and wondered how they’d come from the same gene pool.Candace came back in a flash with their drinks, hoping to overhear their conversation.She drifted toward the closest table with a rag in hand and failed miserably at trying not to appear to listen.Kimberly, on the QT for eavesdroppers, lowered her voice.“You probably don’t realize we’ve spoken rather recently.” Her large eyes, the color of the sea, blinked at an unusually fast rate [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]