Fresh Ice

Fresh Ice Read Free Page B

Book: Fresh Ice Read Free
Author: Sarah J. Bradley
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walked around her desk to stand behind him. She reached around his broad body, her red clawed hands pawing up and down until coming to rest just below his belt. Quinn closed his eyes, trying to fight his body’s inevitable response to her intimate touch. Unbidden, Isabella Landry’s innocent face floated through his mind, then vanished like a whisper, drowned out by the throbbing cry blackmail and duty.
    He had no other choice.

THREE
     
    Izzy stared at the stack of cards between her and Jenna. I don’t want to open any of these. I can’t look at them.
    “Come on Mom, we have to go through these cards. It’s been almost two months, and Aunt Adele says we have to send thank you notes. I’ll w rite them. All you have to do is sign them.”
    Of course Adele demands a thank you note. Because above all, putting on a good show is the most important thing. In the weeks since Jason’s funeral, her relationship with Adele worsened. Adele rarely spoke to her directly, choosing instead to send text messages to Jenna, who then passed on the message to her. Once I live with her, will she still text Jenna, in Tennessee, while I’m sitting upstairs?
    “Okay, let’s open them.” Izzy picked up the first card and tore open the envelope. She didn’t read the sympathy poem on the front and the pastel picture made no impression. Opening the card to read the signature, a check fluttered to the table.
    “Mom, that’s money. They put a check in the card.”
    Izzy read the name on the check, vaguely recognizing it to be one of Jason’s customers. “I suppose people want to help out with the costs.” She glan ced at the pile of cards with less apathy. Maybe I can fill the gas tank this week.
    “Mom, there are checks in all of these!” Jenna tore into the cards with abandon.
    I’m about to be homeless. This is a godsend. Izzy opened a few cards, mentally thanking every person who slipped a small sum of money in. I’ll be able to drive Jenna to Nashville.
    “Mom,” Jenna’s voice was low, stunned. “Look at this one.”
    “What is it?”
    “It’s a thousand dollars, and a lottery ticket.”
    “It’s what?” Izzy glanced up from her stack of cards.
    Jenna held up a fist full of bills. “I counted it. It’s a thousand bucks. And here,” she handed Izzy a small slip of paper, “it’s a lottery ticket.”
    “Weird. Who would put a lottery ticket into a sympathy card?”
    Jenna held up the card, opened. “It’s not signed. But the ticket is from Tennessee.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “It says, ‘Tennessee Cash’ on it.”
    “Who would have put a Tennessee lottery ticket in a sympathy card?”
    “Maybe one of those hockey players? Some of them have spent some time in Nashville, right?”
    “Maybe. I don’t remember who was there.” Izzy closed her eyes and tried to picture the men from the Admirals. I should have paid closer attention to everyone who was there that day. The only person I really remember…
    The tall man, with the beautiful eyes, and the hint of Tennessee in his voice.
    Izzy took the ticket from Jenna’s hands and stared at it. The name of the store where it was purchased was vaguely familiar to her, a chain of gas stations in Nashville, and the address was a downtown location. “Well, this is dated almost three months ago. It says we have 180 days to claim a prize.”
    “So, you want to drive down to Nashville this weekend?”
    Izzy smiled. “No, that would be silly. Especially since it’s probably not a winning ticket. But, when we go to take you to Vanderbilt, maybe we’ll just go a few days earlier and see if it’s worth anything.”
    Jenna nodded and returned to opening cards. “Sounds like a plan, Mom.”
    Izzy set the ticket aside and continued opening cards. Every few moments she stared at the ticket. What a weird thing to put in a sympathy card.
    Especially one that’s so far from where I live. At least for now. The “for sale by foreclosure” sign was in the front

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