Cheri on Top Read Free Page B

effort.
    Turner took it upon himself to break the awkward silence. “Sure is wonderful to see you, Cheri.” He gave her a hearty, but quick, hug. “We’re happy to have you back home.”
    “Oh.” She laughed uncomfortably, as if she were surprised by the friendly greeting. “Well, thanks. That’s nice of you to say, Turner.”
    J.J. was aware that the rules of social intercourse would require him to say something immediately. If he didn’t speak now, the window for a polite welcome would slam shut. So he stayed silent. Cheri’s eyes flashed from behind her dark glasses, aware of his rudeness.
    Excellent.
    Turner, however, was too much of a gentleman to let the uncomfortable moment continue.
    “Did you have a nice drive up?”
    “Oh! Sure…” She looked back at her car and laughed nervously. “I decided to leave my Audi down in Florida and drive my old car up here—you know, save on wear and tear and all that.”
    Turner nodded but kept a straight face.
    J.J. did his best not to roll his eyes.
    “So how’s Candy Carmichael doing these days?”
    “Uh, she’s great,” Cheri said, smiling stiffly at Turner. “You know, crazy busy, like always. The Florida real estate market is really starting to rev up again and we’re juggling all kinds of deals, but she’s fabulous. I’ll tell her you asked about her.”
    Turner nodded. “Great. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work. It’s crazy busy around here, too. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you get settled.”
    “Wait.” Cheri reached out for Turner’s arm. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist, and that’s when J.J. noticed she still had the same short, pink nails she’d had since high school. “Candy and I were so very sad to hear about June. You’ve been in our thoughts and prayers. I am so sorry.”
    “That’s quite kind of you. Take care, now.” Turner nodded quickly and turned away, not comfortable with talking about June, J.J. knew. But before he could take two steps, the ground shook and the air vibrated as the winch revved up for another tug at the car. As everyone watched, a loud squelching noise exploded from the muck and a pair of mud-covered chrome fins poked up from the goop like a perky set of boobs in an all-girl mud-wrestling match.
    “I’ll be damned,” Turner said, just before he broke into a jog.
    Cheri spun around and whipped off her sunglasses, staring at J.J., her mouth open in shock.
    “Is that—” Cheri stopped herself. She gasped. She pointed behind her. Her voice went high and squeaky. “My God! What’s the name of that missing woman from back in the fifties? The one we told all those ghost stories about—the ‘Lady of the Lake,’ right? Barbara Jean Something? Was it the fifties? The sixties, maybe? Is that her car? After all this time?”
    J.J. didn’t know how to answer her. All he could do was stare back at Cheri. She had the same soft, tawny brown eyes she’d always had, and they were wide with wonder at the moment. God, she was still so beautiful.
    J.J. had made so many missteps in his effort to forget her. The biggest disaster had been Tanyalee, of course. But with Cheri now standing in front of him, just inches from his reach, he knew with certainty that it had all been in vain. He still wanted her. And he’d missed her lovely face, her sense of humor, her sweet mouth. He’d missed her something fierce.
    “Oh, just go fuck yourself, DeCourcy,” that sweet mouth said. Cheri laughed and tossed her hair. “You know, you could’ve at least pretended to be decent about this. It’s not like I wanted to come here. Granddaddy begged me. I don’t relish the idea of being your boss. I would have been fine with never seeing you again as long as I lived. Get the hell over yourself.”
    He had no time to react. Her hand was already on its way to making contact with his cheek. He couldn’t blame her. In fact, she should have smacked him upside the head that awful day