Love a Little Sideways Read Free Page B

seemed a lot scarier now that she was sitting in a house so empty voices echoed. A house she was going to have to pay for all on her own. Hopefully the good citizens of Whitford were as generous with their tips as truck drivers could be.
    With a sigh, Liz stood up. First, she was going to heat up some of that banana bread in the microwave because nothing improved a person’s outlook on life faster than Rosie’s baked goods. Then she’d start spreading her stuff out in the living room so it could all dry.
    The glint of orange outside the living room window caught her eye as she walked to the pile of boxes. It had started raining hard again, but she forced herself not to cringe at the sight of the Mustang in the driveway.
    And tried not to think about its owner.

Chapter Two
    A knock on his already open office door made Drew look up from a stack of a paperwork with relief. He hated paperwork and welcomed distractions, especially when the distraction was Mitch Kowalski.
    “Hey.” He gestured for his friend to come in and sit down. “I thought you were...somewhere. Working.”
    “I’m only home for a couple of days.” Mitch sat in the visitor’s chair and crossed his arms. “I need you to do something for me.”
    “Last time you said that, I had to repaint half my truck.”
    Mitch grinned. “I told you not to get caught.”
    Drew got his license before Mitch and the favor was to pick up Drew’s girlfriend and deliver her to the pond where Mitch planned to take her for a ride in the canoe he’d “borrowed” from his old man. Sure, Mitch told him not to get caught. What he’d neglected to mention was that his girlfriend’s dad was not only paranoid, but had impulse control issues and a shotgun loaded with bird shot. The girlfriend hadn’t pulled off the sneaky part of sneaking out.
    “That’s just one of many times doing something for you has been a pain in the ass for me,” Drew said.
    “This time there are no women involved. Except my sister.”
    Drew concentrated on not looking like a guy who’d been caught with his hand in the wrong cookie jar. “What is it you want me to do for you?”
    “I want you to tell me why there’s a picture going around Facebook of your Mustang parked in Lauren’s driveway with no lights on in the house and a time stamp of just after midnight.”
    “Since when are you on Facebook?”
    “Paige is, since she has an account for the diner and helps with the lodge’s.”
    “Was there also a picture of Liz’s car on Butch’s ramp truck with the fender caved in?”
    Mitch leaned forward in the chair. “What happened? Is she okay? I got in late last night and I haven’t talked to Rosie yet, but she would have called my cell if Liz was in an accident.”
    “She’s fine and it wasn’t much of an accident. I don’t know if Liz has even told Rose yet. She hydroplaned and sideswiped a tree, so I lent her the Mustang until she can get the insurance stuff sorted out.”
    “You’re letting Liz borrow your car? Why would you do that?”
    “Because I’m a nice guy. It’s just sitting in the garage and I’d rather it be out on the road where I can see it and remember the day I smoked that Camaro of yours.”
    “I missed a shift.” Mitch relaxed in the chair again. “Since Paige knew Liz was supposed to arrive yesterday, she thought maybe you were there with her. Like spending the night. But I told her she was crazy.”
    There was nothing confrontational in the way he said it, but Drew saw the opportunity to come clean. More than an opportunity, it was the window for confession. If he didn’t say anything now, it would be so much worse if Mitch ever found out.
    They were all adults. He was almost certain Mitch would be reasonable if Drew and Liz wanted to be in a relationship, not that they were there yet, if ever. Their two interactions in the past year had been a forbidden quickie and his response to her accident. Whether he was attracted to her or not, that was hardly