A Promise Of Home (A Lake Howling Novel Book 1) Read Free Page B

would pop into his head when he overhead someone talk about an injury or medical condition. It drove him crazy.
    Throwing the pickup into reverse, he spat out a few curses, then turned into the overgrown driveway. He’d see if Branna O’Donnell was okay, then leave. He could be nice if he had to; it just wasn’t something he was too good at anymore.
    He’d spent a bit of time at Georgie’s, as had most of the kids in town. She’d been a woman with a large heart and a huge capacity for giving. She had tutored kids who struggled to read, and helped others learn to spell. Pulling to a halt behind a white van, he climbed out. The place was overgrown now. Georgie had been in the hospital for a few months before she passed away and while the town had tried to keep it tidy, it had slowly started to get out of hand. Looking at the shed behind the house, he wondered if it still housed the Mustang. He loved that car.
    Knocking on the door, Jake spent a few minutes surveying the weatherboards. They looked in good condition, just in need of a coat of paint. When no one answered, he knocked again, this time louder, but still no reply. Then he made the wooden door shake on its hinges as he pounded it with his fist. If she didn’t open soon, he’d see if he could find a window to get in through. Seconds later, he was rewarded with the sound of it opening.
    “Why are you pounding on my door?”
    He’d always liked the gruff little burr of her voice. Maybe it was because he’d not had much contact with anyone else from Ireland. Whatever the reason, her accent had always made him smile.
    “Hey, Branna, remember me?”
    Her focus wasn’t great, but the green eyes eventually settled on him. “Jacob McBride.”
    “Penny told me you hit your head, and she thought you may need to visit the doctor?”
    “No…thanks,” she tacked on the last word reluctantly, then started to close the door.
    Bracing a hand on the wood, he leaned in a little. “Your head looks like it’s hurting you, Rosebud.”
    “It’s fine, now go away,” her words didn’t pack too much of a punch because she was whispering; obviously, the effort of speaking was not helping her condition.
    “You still got that attitude working for you, O’Donnell.” Jamming a foot in the door to stop her shutting it further, he gently pushed it open, sending her back a step.
    “Please, leave my house.” This time, her words had a bit more force, even though they were said through her teeth.
    “Yeah, give me a minute and I’ll do just that, Rosebud.” He watched as she staggered backward and then lowered herself into a chair, the effort making her wince.
    “Branna or Miss O’Donnell, my name is not Rosebud.”
    “Your fault. You introduced yourself that first day in class as Branna Rose, and it stuck.”
    “We’re not in school anymore, McBride.”
    “Tell me about the pain in your head, Branna,” Jake said, ignoring her words, as he pulled out his mobile and switched on the flashlight app before moving to squat before her. Once there, he pried open the eyelids she’d recently closed and shined the light into them. Her pupils didn’t react as they should as he flashed the light across them. In fact, the pupils weren’t constricting at all. “Vision blurred?”
    “What are you doing?” She tried to bat his hands away, but he didn’t move. Instead, he eased her forward to inspect the cut on the back of her head. “Take your hands off me.”
    “I don’t go for skinny, belligerent women,” Jake lied, regaining his feet to walk around the back of the chair to get a closer look. Penny had said her legs were fine, and he couldn’t disagree; they were long and shapely coming out of those ragged cut-offs, and she filled that shirt out nicely too. “You have way too much hair,” he muttered, parting the thick mass of black curls until he saw it. Not huge, maybe an inch, but it was matted with blood and may need a stitch.
    “Ouch! Stop, that hurts.” She