Finding Love in Payton Read Free

happened to
his brother. Kevin had hardly moved more than a foot
from his wife the whole time they'd been at his parents'. In fact, he looked almost glowing himself.
Something was up with the two of them.
    His mother seemed to think the same thing, because
she had hardly taken her eyes off her eldest son and
his wife during the last hour. "More cake?"
    "No thanks, Mom," Kevin said.
    "You sure? I'll get it for you."

    "Positive."
    "I'll have some," his sister Joanne said.
    "It's in the kitchen, dear," their mom said with a
wave of her hand.
    Joanne stood up and shared a look of bemusement
with Jeremy. "Guess I can see where I stand around
here."
    Jeremy stood up as well, following her into the
kitchen. "It's not your birthday, Jo," he said, just to
get a rise out of her.
    Playfully she stuck out her tongue. "Hush, little
brother, or I'll tell Mom you've been talking about
living here until Christmas."
    Just the thought of that set his teeth on edge. "You
wouldn't dare."
    Grinning, she teased, "Tell me something good and
I won't."
    That was Joanne. Always full of mischief and
games. His eldest sister was red-headed, terribly smart,
and terribly accident-prone. Her husband Stratton, a
physician, seemed tailor-made for her. Her outgoing
nature complemented his reserve to a tee.
    But at the moment, Jeremy had another woman on
his mind, one he couldn't seem to ignore from the first
moment he saw her. "I met someone today."
    Interest sparked in her eyes. "Who?"
    "Dinah Cate." He paused for a moment, trying not
to sound too eager. "Do you know her?"
    She tilted her head to one side, her long braid swinging with the motion. "I do," she said, her voice
tinged with surprise. "Her last name used to be Ryan.
I went to school with her."

    "And?"
    "She's got a baby, Jeremy."
    "I know that."
    Her lips pursed. "She's great. Owns a bookstore."
    "Ever been there?"
    "More than once. Dinah's a friend."
    Her reticence set his teeth on edge. "Well? What do
you know about her?"
    Joanne fussed with some dishes in the sink. She
placed a few in the dishwasher before turning to him
again. "Why are you so curious about her?"
    He handed her a glass to stack in, now curious about
why she was so hesitant to give him any information
on the woman. "I don't know. I guess because there's
something about her I find attractive."
    "She's quite a bit older than you. Five years."
    "Just like you are?"
    Her cheeks pinkened. "I guess I sound ridiculous,
huh?" Joanne glanced back towards the party; the rest
of their family was laughing about something Cameron said and passing around Mary Beth and Cameron's new baby.
    "A little," he agreed, though he had to admit the
difference in ages did bother him a bit.
    Jeremy watched her actions with more than a little
bemusement. "I like her," she finally said. "She was never one of my best friends, but I hung out with her a
lot when we were younger. Her husband was Neil Cate.
He was very popular, great. Kind of a daredevil, always
willing to do something for a dare or a laugh. Dinah and
Neil were a great couple." Her expression sobered.
"Neil died about two years ago in a car accident."

    "That had to be hard on her."
    Joanne nodded. "I think so. But ... she got through
it okay. Her mother's a doll, Mom knows her real
well. And her dad hangs out at the club a lot. She
sews really well. I've asked her to do some things for
the museum now and then ..." Her voice drifted off,
and Jeremy waited for her to finish her thought. "Don't
get me wrong, but don't you think you should be looking at someone else?"
    "Looking at someone else? Like who?" Cameron
said as he entered the kitchen.
    Both Jeremy and Joanne groaned at the intrusion.
Cameron was second oldest in the family, and while
not quite as uptight as Kevin could be, certainly not
afraid to tell either Jeremy or Joanne what he thought
about things.
    And Joanne didn't seem to have any problem including him in the conversation. "Jeremy