A Summer to Remember Read Free

Elliot Ross.”
    The introduction reminded her how out of character this was for her. Meeting a man for dinner, even if it was at Sonic, without learning his name first was something the before-Scott Fia would have done, certainly not something widowed, struggling Fia should do. But now you know his name, and it’s a nice one. Not too common, not too unusual, masculine without sounding too macho.
    “And you are?” His brows rose, and so did the corners of his mouth. She liked a good-natured man. Angst was nice to read about in a novel, and it worked fine for some of her besties and the men in their lives, but Fia was happy with balance, good humor, and optimism. She tried to be that way herself. It made life easier.
    “Fia Thomas,” she said, and after an instant, she took his hand. Shaking hands was such a common, ordinary thing. She’d done it a thousand times, and nine-hundred-ninety-five of them had been brief, impersonal, barely worth classifying as contact. But on a few rare occasions, there had been more: a charge, a spark, the recognition of the potential that this person could actually rock her world, good or bad.
    Elliot’s palm was warm, the skin toughened from years of work. It was twice the size of hers, and it gave her that spark, that warning, that he could shake things up. Trouble was, things were already shaky. Any more shaking, and she could end up like the woman in the old commercial, knocked on her ass and unable to get up.
    Though he showed no sign of letting go, when she tugged, he released her hand. She clasped both hands in her lap with an internal sigh of relief, feeling…safer that way.
    What had happened to the days when being safe was the last thing on her mind?
    “You don’t have the typical Oklahoma accent,” he remarked.
    “I’m from Florida.”
    “What brought you to Tallgrass?”
    “My husband, Scott, was in the Army.” The air between them changed, a flutter of discomfort, or maybe disappointment, accompanied by his quick glance at her bare left hand. Good. She appreciated a man who cared whether the object of his flirtation was married. “I was here when he deployed to Afghanistan, and I stayed here when he died.”
    Elliot’s expression turned solemn, his eyes going darker, his mouth flattening. “I’m sorry.”
    She’d heard those words a thousand times—said them ten thousand—with little real meaning. I’m sorry I was late, I’m sorry I missed dinner, I’m sorry to bother you. But there was genuine emotion in his voice—not just sympathy but empathy, too. It wasn’t something he automatically parroted but something he actually felt.
    She couldn’t bring herself to offer the other bland, automatic response— Thank you —so she forced a small smile instead. “What about you? You don’t sound like a native, either.”
    “I’m from West Texas.”
    Instantly an image of him in Wranglers, cowboy boots, and a Stetson, with no shirt but a lot of smooth brown skin begging for a caress, formed in her mind. It warmed her enough inside to require the unzipping of her slicker. “And what brings you to Tallgrass?”
    “The highway and my trusty steed.” He patted the dashboard with a grin before shrugging. “I’m just looking for a place that feels like home.”
    “West Texas doesn’t anymore?”
    A distant look came into his eyes, resisting the casual smile he offered. “Nah. I went off to join the Army, and while I was gone, the town where I grew up pretty much shriveled up and blew away. My folks moved to Arizona, my sister to New Mexico, and me…like I said, I’m looking.”
    “I get that. I was looking for a while, too.” For most of her life, she’d been on her own, except for those too-short years with Scott. Absent father, disinterested mother, no family to help her…It had made her strong, but damn, that strength had come at a price. There was a part of her that would give it all up in exchange for a normal life, good health, and a man who would