Understood Read Free Page B

someone to help.
    “He made her look like a jealous, spiteful wife. Even now, she gets her fair share of scorn for divorcing the local golden boy.”
    “It’s been hard for you,” Luke said quietly.
    “What do you think?” Jake asked, rounding a bit too ferociously on him. “He was my best friend. We played football together through high school and college. Even got drafted by the same pro team. I mean, what are the odds? Never once did I imagine what a bastard he was, and I’ll never forgive myself for not seeing it. For not getting Ellie the hell out of that situation before he hurt her so badly.”
    “It’s not your fault, man.”
    Jake scrubbed a weary hand through his hair. “Yeah, Luke, it is. I was in love with her long before I had any idea what was going on. If I hadn’t been so all fire determined to keep my distance, I would have seen what was going on. As it was, I turned my back on her when she needed me most.”
    “Shit, Jake. You can’t carry around that kind of blame. The only person at fault here is Ray.”
    Jake shook his head but refused to pursue the subject any farther. He didn’t like to talk about Ellie and Ray. It was something he’d just as soon forget. Only he knew Ellie never would.
    “How are Jeremy and Michelle doing? I heard she’s having a boy? Did you go hunting with the gang this weekend?”
    Luke nodded, accepting the topic change. “Yeah, we celebrated this past weekend. We spent Saturday and Sunday at the hunting camp, and damn it if Gracie didn’t bag a fucking monster of a buck. Pisses me the hell off.”
    Jake laughed. “She’s still running circles around you, huh?”
    “Wes is getting it mounted for her, and now I’ll have to look at it every time I go over to her house.”
    Jake shook his head at Luke’s mournful look. He liked Luke’s circle of friends. Jeremy and Michelle had been married a little over a year. Both Jeremy and Wes were cops with the local police department, and Gracie was Michelle’s best friend. Jake hung out with them every once in a while, and they were a hoot as a crowd.
    “So, uh, have you seen Ellie this week?” Jake asked, changing the subject again.
    Luke shook his head. “Nah, I figure she’s laying low after the Saturday night deal. I know she’s been in the office because all the paper work’s been done.”
    “I’m way too fucking easy on her,” Jake mumbled.
    Luke chuckled. “Fire her then. It was your idea to hire her.”
    Jake glowered at Luke.
    “Ah well, there’s the answer to your question,” Luke said, looking beyond Jake’s truck. “That looks like her now.”
    Jake peered around, following Luke’s line of vision to an older model Toyota Corolla turning onto the gravel road leading up to where he and Luke were paired. It was her, all right, but what the hell was she doing out on the job site?
    “I, ah, think I’ll head over to talk to Colin,” Luke said with barely suppressed amusement.
    Jake strode over to meet Ellie before she could even get out of the car. She wiped her palms down her slacks as she stepped out.
    “Where the hell have you been?” he demanded.
    She bit her bottom lip, and he cursed the fact that his eyes tracked every movement of her mouth.
    “I, uh, wanted to talk to you,” she said nervously.
    He took a deep breath then sighed. “Ellie, why the hell are you so jumpy? You’ve never been nervous around me. You act like I’m going to bite you or something.”
    She flushed a delicate pink, her cheeks blooming as her eyes flared.
    “Yes, but I’ve never said what I have to say before.”
    His pulse surged and ratcheted up about twenty beats per minute.
    “What is it you want to say to me?” he asked softly.
    “You said…you said that I’d have to come to you.”
    He arched an eyebrow. Did this mean what he thought it meant?
    “That I did, sweetheart,” he drawled.
    “Well, I’m here,” she blurted.
    He closed the remaining distance between them in a split second. There