Unbound (Crimson Romance)

Unbound (Crimson Romance) Read Free Page A

Book: Unbound (Crimson Romance) Read Free
Author: Nikkie Locke
Tags: Romance, romantic suspense
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hand on the older man’s shoulder and poured the coffee with the other.
    Christ, the man was her hero. And, a damn good looking one at that. She had been told Dean’s great-grandfather had married an Indian woman. The woman had certainly left her stamp on the Whitley family.
    Dean’s black hair fell over the collar of his flannel shirt. The copper tan of his skin made her, a red-haired, freckle-faced girl, jealous. The deep brown of his eyes seemed almost black. With high cheekbones, the square line of his jaw helped to balance the angles of his face. Several inches taller than her own five foot nine inches, he was lean without leaning more toward lanky.
    Studying him across the diner, she felt like she was looking at him for the first time. She was attracted to Dean. Genuinely attracted. When had that happened? It wasn’t like his looks had changed overnight. Was it because what Bridgett had said had opened her eyes? How had she missed it? She’d known Dean all her life.
    “How you doing, Mr. Morris?” Dean asked the elderly man.
    “I’d be better if I could get a cup of coffee,” Fletcher grumbled.
    Dean gave his shoulder a light shake. “You know where the pot is. Same place it’s been for the last forty-odd years.”
    “Are you sassing me, Doug?” Fletcher snarled.
    “No, sir.” Dean turned away, hiding a grin from Fletcher. He put the pot back on its burner. “How about those fireworks last night?”
    That got the conversation rolling again at the round table. Unnoticed, Dean sat down on a stool at the counter in front of Payten.
    “Where’s Cooper?” he asked.
    She turned to look back at the kitchen as if that would make Cooper suddenly appear. “Running late,” she answered. “Mary Beth was having a come-apart.”
    “Why?”
    She shrugged. “The woman is eight and a half months pregnant. She’s allowed to come apart.”
    “Poor Mary Beth is more like nine and a half months pregnant.”
    “Dean!” She reached across the counter to smack his shoulder.
    “Awful, I know.”
    “Yes, you are.”
    “Me? I thought we were still talking about Mary Beth.”
    “Dean!”
    He chuckled and held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll behave now.”
    “You better,” she warned, “or I’ll put you to work since I seem to be a cook short.”
    “Do you need any help until Coop shows up?” he asked. “I’m not doing anything.”
    Payten checked the clock. Seven-fifty. “I don’t want to intrude on your day.”
    “What’s a couple hours?” he offered. “Besides, I don’t have anything better to do.”
    “Oh, thanks. You sound real excited there,” she teased.
    He managed to look a little ashamed. “Sorry. Do you need me to help?”
    “Well…” She hated to ask, but she knew she couldn’t cook and serve. Not with the number of people there were waiting and not with as little sleep as she’d had. “If you could — ”
    She heard the back door slam as Cooper came in. “Brrr! It’s cold out there.”
    Payten turned slightly so she could see him as he came into view. Cooper was dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt very similar to Dean. She didn’t want to take Cooper out of his, though. Thank God.
    Cooper’s blond hair stuck out wildly from under his stocking cap. There was snow on his boots and the bottoms of his jeans were wet from the snow.
    “Didn’t think you needed a jacket?” Dean asked.
    “I was in a hurry. As soon as Mary Beth’s mother showed up, I was out the door,” he told them. “She was on the warpath this morning.”
    He grabbed a clean apron out of the pantry and disappeared back into the part of the kitchen not visible from the dining room.
    She turned back to Dean. “Guess I should go take orders.”
    • • •
    Dean watched Payten as she started for the dining room. He thought she was moving slowly. Thinking about last night’s celebration, it didn’t surprise him. Payten had moved people through their paces without them even realizing they

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