Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) Read Free Page A

entertained ideas about
what would happen if ever I ran into Gideon Casteel again. Such
fantasies usually involved a lot of knee crawling and groveling on
his part. That sure as hell wasn’t happening. So I forced myself to
stand tall and told Gideon what I’d longed to say to him for six
years. “I hate you.”
    He took another drag on his cigarette
and then dropped it on the gravel, grinding it out with his boot.
“I know.”
    Gideon crossed to the threshold of the
cafe and waited, staring at me. The meaning was clear. I was not
welcome to enter.
    I struggled to take a deep breath. I
would be damned if Gideon Casteel would see me cry. I turned on my
heel and walked stiffly to my car, not turning back, and not
glancing once in the rearview mirror as I drove away.

Chapter Two
    Max was correct. I had not forgotten
where the house was. Home was a modest two bedroom bungalow where I
had lived happily for the first thirteen years of my life. It sat
at the end of a lonely road with only one other home nearby. It was
occupied by my father’s longtime friend, Eddie
D’arcangelo.
    The place looked as if no one had spent
much sweat on upkeep. Still, I was grateful for the familiar feel
of the key in the lock and the homey interior which was still
decorated with my mother’s small touches. I stood in the empty
front room for a moment and listened to the gentle ticking of the
cuckoo clock. The place was as quiet as ever this far off the road.
I assumed that, besides Eddie, our nearest neighbors remained a
half mile away. And after that odd clash in front of the café, it
seemed unlikely the Casteels would come calling anytime
soon.
    My stomach reminded me how it had been
unfairly neglected so I headed for the small kitchen. A moment
later I was sighing into the nearly empty refrigerator. The lone
apple looked as if it had been hanging out there since the last
presidential election and a quarter inch of milk was all that
remained in the open jug.
    The bread bag on the counter still held
a few stale pieces so I sat down on the dirty tile and hungrily
shoved it my mouth, washing it down with some tasty chlorinated tap
water. I hoped Max planned on doing some shopping himself because I
wasn’t too jazzed about risking any further meetings with the
illustrious residents of Luna Junction. It was a good thing I was
already sitting because my knees weakened at the memory of Gideon’s
rough hold on my body. I scowled, angry with myself for even the
most fleeting rush of feeling. I’d meant it when I said I hated
him. He seemed unsurprised anyway, even matter of fact.
    I flashed back to the proud, cocksure
look on his face in his online roster photo. That guy seemed to
have little in common with the grim, disheveled brute who’d
manhandled me in the center of the town. I sniffed. If I cared even
an ounce I might wonder what had gone wrong for him in the last
year. Well, I wasn’t exactly living up to anyone’s expectations
either. Least of all my own.
    The side of my face had begun to throb
and I was pleased to discover an ancient bag of peas of the
freezer, which I pressed against my swollen jaw. I stood in front
of the small window above the sink and gazed into the bare yard
which had once been my own personal wonderland. Though it was June
and the height of the growing season, the clearing which had once
been lined with my mother’s lush vegetable gardens was nothing but
dirt and weeds, as if there had never been anything
else.
    The squat grey shed caught my eye. How
many cold mornings had I trudged out there to retrieve the archery
equipment for tiresome drills under my father’s watchful eye? He
was an expert marksman himself, but seemed to take no pleasure in
teaching me. I must have asked a thousand times why. A bow and
arrow weren’t exactly modern weapons of choice. So why was I
practicing to be Robin Hood in an age of Rambo?
    The answer was always the same. “In
case you’re needed.” No other information was ever