River's Return (River's End Series, #3) Read Free Page A

at them. Shitty parenting was the usual source of behavior and academic problems.
    And then there was Shane Rydell. He’d been about the only out-of-the-box guardian of the week. He was, in a word, intimidating. She had always thought so on the several occasions she found herself in his proximity over the years. He was huge, with arms as fat as legs, and shoulders wide enough to make him appear like he wouldn’t fit through a door. He was as tall as his older brothers, but his crazy bulk was not like them at all. His muscles visibly strained beneath his t-shirt. Even his forearms were bulky. He could probably have taken a melon and smashed it flat between his bare hands. He had long hair that was black as night and he kept it tied back. It stretched all the way down to the middle of his back. He had bright, engaging green eyes and a wide, easy smile. It was a cocky smile, designed to make women wet their panties with want when he flashed it toward them. He almost succeeded, too, even with her. He was what any good mother eternally warned her daughters about: Shane was a player, a big, bad, leather-wearing, tattooed, charming, walking heartache.
    Despite all that, Allison only wished she possessed the strength and wherewithal to throw him out on his perfect, sculptured ass. He was so insulting to her for so long, she gave up trying to get a serious conversation started between them. Why he suddenly dropped all the arrogant, seductive crap, she wasn’t quite sure. But he finally did. He was quiet and even ceased his swagger and charm.
    She knew his opinion regarding the importance of her job was minimal, but at least, he finally seemed to care about its importance to Charlie. She felt almost respectful of him then. He truly cared about his nephew. Until that moment, however, she was sure he cared about nothing more than whatever his charm could manage to squeeze out of her. Education was just a stupid game to Shane.
    She did not play games, and didn’t appreciate her time being wasted on them.
    Still, Shane was a little different than any other man in River’s End. How could he not remember meeting her? It was so insulting, she had to resist simply smacking her folders down and ordering him out of her classroom. Who didn’t remember meeting someone, especially after it happened three or four times? She wasn’t exactly average-looking, not with her bright, carrot-red hair. So… really? How could he forget he met her more than once?
    She stepped out onto her back patio, still sipping her wine, and muttered, “Asshole.”
    Her patio and grassy yard were small with a large cottonwood tree that dominated one corner. Beyond it was a view of the river and farther still, the gentle, rolling pastures of the Rydell River Ranch and dozens of horses. She lived directly across from them, smack dab in the center of River’s End, and just off the small main drag of the town. Her little house was a two-story, charming, old house built at the turn of the last century from stones that came out of the river. The first time she saw it, she imagined the storybook-like cottage set on the small lot with flowers and grass surrounding it. It was in dire need of major remodeling and updating. She did all the improvements but managed to maintain the integrity and charm of the era in which it was built.
    “Tut… such nasty language, teacher. What would your students say?”
    She froze at hearing the voice that came from the left side of her. Slowly turning towards it, she was well aware to whom the voice belonged: Shane Rydell.
    She nearly pinched her arm to be sure she didn’t conjure up his image. Having called him an asshole, now here he sat on her neighbor’s back deck. He was lounging and his ginormous body lay sprawled in a lawn chair. He tilted a bottle of beer toward her in a mock gesture of “cheers” before he took another drink. Clad in his signature leather, from jacket to pants and boots, he smiled as he lumbered to his feet,