Secret Storm Read Free

quick.
Sara's not the kind of girl to stay single for long."
    Jack clenched his jaw. "What's that supposed
to mean?"
    "She's a beautiful woman. Any guy would be
lucky to have her."
    Like you? "You have Jane," he snapped.
His hand curled into a fist and he counted to ten—slowly. Austin
couldn't be thinking that . His fingers uncurled, leaving
half-circles in his palm.
    "I have Janie, and I never want anyone else."
Austin parked the Jeep. "Sara's all yours."
    "Damn right." Now he just had to figure out
how to make that happen.
    ***
    "There they are." Jane smiled and scooted
over so Jack could sit next to Sara.
    Oh God. Her heart pounded again. Only
two weeks had passed since they'd last seen each other. Jack drew
her attention as always, but this time she really looked .
His hair looked longer, almost touching his shoulders now. Mmm.... She'd always wanted to get a handful of it. His
eyes, deep blue and so expressive, made her wonder what thoughts
lurked behind them. He seemed to hide some deep mystery, some
fascinating secret. A jagged scar through his left eyebrow gave it
a fiendish arch, and his smile held a hint of danger.
    A warning, perhaps? What a wild thought.
    Jack wasn't a dangerous guy—probably the
nicest one Sara had ever met. Kind, polite, gentle—except on the
football field. Jack Wheeler held the distinction of best running
back in Bayfield College's history. His coaches called him an angry
runner, fighting for every yard like his life depended on it. All
part of the mystery: where did that anger come from?
    "Hi, Jack, how was your break?"
    "Dull." He slid into the seat beside her and
picked up the only Coke on a table full of beer.
    "You need something to eat." She signaled the
waitress. "Did you stay in town the whole time?"
    "Yeah, I've got nothing to go home to. Mom
had to work double shifts, and Austin was in Florida with Jane
doing things I'd rather not know about."
    Sara laughed and cast a glance at the two
cuddling in the corner. "No kidding."
    "Everybody else went home or on vacation, so
I had the place to myself." He took a deep drink of Coke and sat
back in his chair. "I liked it."
    "I should've stayed here too." She picked at
her French fries then pushed her plate away.
    "That bad, huh?"
    "Worse. I caught my
boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—cheating on me."
    "I heard." He nodded toward Austin. "When you
say caught, do you mean...?"
    "Caught him—with her."
    "Ouch." He winced and reached for her
plate.
    "Yeah, I threw her naked ass out the door and
told him he could screw himself from now on. He's never touching me
again."
    "Good." Jack stole a fry from her plate. "I
mean good for you, for not letting him get away with it." He
stuffed another fry in his mouth. "You didn't want any more of
these, right?"
    She smiled. "Nope. You can have them." With
her heart doing flip-flops over Jack and her head stewing about her
break-up, she didn't have much of an appetite anyway. She leaned on
the table and sighed. "That's the last time I get involved in a
long-distance relationship. I will never trust a man that much
again."
    Jack looked at her as if trying to look
straight into her soul. She knew he had a gift for reading people,
but sometimes he stared at her like she was a book written in
another language. And then he'd say something profound or
mysterious and thought-provoking. "Trust has to be earned. It can't
be given away."
    She pushed aside her turbulent thoughts long
enough to consider his statement. "Well then, a guy would have to
work pretty hard to earn my trust."
    "A worthy quest." He smiled.
    Or he'd say something just plain weird. Quest ?
    "We're going home," Jane giggled as Austin
dragged her out the door. "Goodnight."
    "Goodnight," Sara groaned. Great. They
were headed for the thin-walled apartment she shared with Jane.
    "That's gotta be uncomfortable for you."
    "Let's just say I've been sleeping with ear
plugs for the last several months."
    "Me too, but at least they're happy."
    "Yeah, that's