Mourning Gloria Read Free

were piling up in the east, dark blue on their heavy bottoms, rosy pink like strawberry whipped cream on top where the evening sun struck them. Lightning forked from cloud top to cloud top, and the pale leaves of the cottonwood at the back of the parking lot rattled like scraps of shiny metallic paper in the slight breeze. Seguin was only thirty minutes away, but from the looks of that sky, it was going to rain before she got to her mom’s house, so she’d leave the top up. It didn’t matter, as long as the weather cleared for the weekend. She was in the mood for some serious sun. A couple of days stretched out on the patio would do wonders for her spirits.
    She shut the trunk, went around the car, and slid into the driver’s seat. She was putting the key into the ignition when the passenger door opened and a familiar, softly pleasant voice said, “You weren’t leaving for the weekend without letting me know, were you? I thought we were going to have a chance to talk this thing over.” He slid onto the seat beside her.
    A flash of fear, like forked lightning, seared through her. “Talk? Were we going to do that? I guess I forgot.” She shrugged, trying to make her voice sound natural, aware that it didn’t. “Anyway, I’m only going for a couple of days. Just for the weekend. We can talk when I get back. Okay?”
    He smiled. “I’d rather not put it off. And to be honest, it bothers me a lot that you tried to get away without telling me, you know?” There was an odd light in his eyes. His voice hardened almost imperceptibly. “So let’s go off by ourselves and talk for a while, and then you can go wherever you’re going. How’s that?”
    A guy walked past the car, whistling. She bit her lip, thinking fleetingly that she had better get out of the car right now, while she still had the chance, and—
    He put his hand over hers on the steering wheel and she was suddenly aware of his strength, his size, his physical presence—and something else, some sort of animal intensity she hadn’t seen in him before. She had known him for months, and he’d always seemed easygoing and laid-back, so there hadn’t been much attraction. But this was different. Guys who knew what they wanted and were ready to take it always turned her on. Part of her liked being in control, but there was another part that liked it even better when she wasn’t.
    His fingers tightened on hers. He smiled crookedly. “Hey,” he said, teasing now, but firm. “I know you want to, so come on—let’s go.” As he pulled his hand away, his fingers touched her breast and she shivered.
    He caught the shiver and threw her a knowing glance. Then he patted his shirt pocket, his dark eyebrows lifting. “Got some stuff here I’m pretty sure you’ll like, and I’m ready for a little fun. And some talk, too. Okay?”
    Her belly muscles tightened and she felt goose bumps break out on her arms. She hadn’t planned this, but she was always one to take an opportunity when one presented itself. She thought of his fingers on her breast and shivered again. They could go somewhere and fool around for a while and have their talk before she drove on to her mother’s place. A last little fling, so to speak, before she went totally straight.
    “Okay,” she said slowly. “Yeah, I guess.” Then, “Where do you want to go? Your place? I’ll leave my stuff in the car and—”
    “How about if we go back out to the trailer? The place where you crashed when you were between apartments.”
    She shook her head. “I don’t have a key. I gave it back to—”
    “I do,” he said, and grinned. He lifted his hand again, this time touching her cheek. “I’ve got a key.” His fingers felt cold, but his voice was coaxing. “Hey. Just the two of us. It’ll be fun. Then you can bring me back here and be on your way wherever.”
    She had got the car started and was backing out of the parking space when it occurred to her. She had just posted the perfect cover