Second Chance at Love (The MacKenna Born & Bred Trilogy) Read Free Page A

the moment. She had too many other things to worry about.
    After she'd hung up with her parents the night before, she
couldn't sleep. She'd begun making her plans, and had even packed, knowing in
her heart that she would be going home to Montana with or without a leave of
absence. Now, at just about 2:00, she had her entire car loaded up and was
locking her front door when she heard the roar of an engine.
      Oh, God, not now, she thought as she watched the
sleek red convertible come to a sudden stop behind her car in the circular
drive. When she reached the end of the walkway, he was already standing there
waiting, a lazy grin on his face. He hadn't said a word yet and had already
managed to annoy the hell out of her. Some people were just gifted like that,
she supposed.
    “Hey there, gorgeous,” he said, flashing her his
irresistible smile.
    He looked picture-perfect, as usual, wearing Armani and an
air of authority.
    She wanted to knock his perfect white teeth down his throat.
The thought surprised her. She had no idea where the aggression she suddenly
felt had come from.
    “What do you want, Jason?” she snapped, stepping past him.
    “Hold on a second,” he said. “What, you can't spare me even
a minute?”
    She looked down at her wrist watch. “Starts now,” she said,
eyeing him disinterestedly.
    He didn't know whether or not she thought she was funny, but
he was far from amused.
    “What's going on with you?” he demanded. “You don't answer
my calls, you only give me scraps of your precious time.” He looked genuinely
insulted. At one time she may have cared. This wasn't that time. “Did you get
the flowers I sent?” he asked.
    “Yes, I did, as a matter of fact,” she replied. “Thank you.”
And the staff at UCLA Medical Center thanked him, too. The beautiful behemoth
flower arrangement he'd sent currently decorated a table in the main lobby.
“Look at that,” she said, tapping a finger to her wrist watch. “Time's up.” She
stepped around him and made it nearly all the way to her car before she was
whirled around to face him.
    “Don't you dare walk away from me,” he spat out, his hand
gripping her arm firmly. She felt a sudden stab of pain from where his fingers
dug into her skin. The anger in his voice was hot and biting. She managed to
yank her arm from his grasp and, opening the door of her car, she slipped
inside. When he saw her belongings packed neatly into the back seat, because
the trunk was already full, he narrowed his eyes. “What in the hell is this?
Where are you going, Brooke?”
    “That's none of your damned business,” she retorted. “We
broke up weeks ago, Jason. You have absolutely no right to question me. My life
and what I do with it have nothing to do with you anymore.” She closed the car
door loudly.
    She watched as he stalked to his car and got in, slamming
the door. He revved the engine again, then pulled out from behind her and
stopped next to her car.“You're right about one thing,” he said nastily,
glancing over toward her. “We're through.” His ego was bruised more than his
feelings were, Brooke knew. “I could have given you everything you've ever
wanted. It's your loss, Brooke.” He gunned the gas pedal, squealing out of her
driveway and heading south on Pacific Coast Highway. Her loss, she
thought. Pfft. Somehow she doubted that.
     She waited a minute to make sure he didn't come back before
pulling out and heading in the opposite direction. She had a long drive ahead
of her, and she wanted to make the most of the daylight hours. She'd stop
overnight and get a good night's sleep. She was exhausted from not sleeping a wink
the night before. It wasn't as if she could have gone back to bed after her
parents had called to tell her that her mother has been diagnosed with cancer.
So she'd paced and planned and packed. And then paced some more. If she made
good time the next day, she would get to Angel Ridge by dark.
    She turned on the radio to keep her