Sunset Seduction. Charlene Sands

Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Sunset Seduction - Charlene Sands страница 11

Sunset Seduction - Charlene Sands Mills & Boon Desire

Скачать книгу

style="font-size:15px;">      Audrey understood great loss, yet she didn’t know her folks enough to miss them with the kind of intensity she saw in Sophia’s eyes. More like, Audrey missed the idea of her parents. She missed big Sunday dinners and Christmas mornings and having a mother to come home to after school, offering snacks and hugs. She missed having a father to teach her to ride a bike and kiss her forehead when she did her chores properly.

      “I’m sorry to hear about your mother, Sophia. I didn’t know my mom. She died when I was a baby, and shortly after, my father married Casey’s mom. But we lost both of them in a horrible tornado that passed through our town in Oklahoma just a few years later. It touched down and swept away everything in its path over one square mile.”

      “Oh, that’s awful,” Sophia said, her eyes widening with horror.

      It was the same incredulous reaction Audrey got when she explained the circumstances of the tragedy to others. Usually she didn’t like talking about it.

      “How did you escape?”

      “Casey and I were playing with friends on the other side of town. The tornado missed us. It’s weird, you know. One side of a street could be completely destroyed, and the other could be eerily untouched.”

      Sympathy touched Sophia’s eyes. “I’ve seen it on the news and always wondered how that could be.”

      “It was really hard and nightmarish on us, but we managed. We had no choice.” Audrey shrugged then. Life had been tough after that, but Casey had always provided for them. He had uncanny talent as a bronc buster and had made more than enough money on the rodeo circuit to keep a roof over their heads and plenty of food on the table. Audrey didn’t dwell on the past. She refused to spend her life feeling sorry for herself. “It’s been Casey and me ever since.”

      Sophia smiled as she loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. “I think we have a lot in common, Audrey. It’ll be nice having another female living on the ranch again.”

      “I’m looking forward to it.” Audrey really meant it. She’d been unnerved coming here to face Luke. She’d lost her courage in confronting him, but she’d gained something, too. A job and a chance to matter, doing something she loved to do. She was looking forward to working with Trib and the other horses, spending time on the ranch and getting to know Sophia better. “And who knows, we might just diffuse the toxic levels of testosterone around here.”

      Sophia laughed lightly. “We can certainly try. I think you and I are going to be great friends.”

      Her heart panged with warmth. She could use a new friend. “Me, too.”

      “Hey, everyone, I’d like you to meet Katherine Grady. She goes by Kat.”

      At the sound of Luke’s voice, Audrey whirled toward the kitchen door. A Marilyn Monroe look-alike with platinum-blond hair stood beside him, her wide green eyes fashionably made-up to match her pretty emerald-and-blue outfit. She held on to Luke’s arm and darn if Audrey didn’t hone right in on that. A flashback of rodeo groupies—pouty pink lips and all—came to mind. Her heart sank. She struggled to keep her expression from taking a nosedive in front of everybody.

      “Nice to meet you,” Kat said, her voice soft as butter.

      Suddenly, Audrey’s head clouded up and spun. It was like the time she’d climbed onto the mechanical bull at Dusty’s Dancehall in Texas. She’d been sixteen and trying to prove to the guys she wasn’t a child. As soon as the bull started bucking, everything in that honky-tonk got blurry real fast. Only this was worse.

      The world around her began to fade. Her legs went numb. She reached forward to grip the kitchen counter and missed, scraping her fingernails on the sharp edges. Desperate to hold on, her arms flailed. She needed support. But it was too late.

      Blackness surrounded her.

      Right before all the lights went out.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABIAAD/4Q9ARXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDEzOjA4 OjE0IDExOjI5OjEzAAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAABXigAwAEAAAAAQAACL0AAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAAOEgAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAUAMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAX/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AMutsCSppJLOe7AoMCFApn26w0So+88wPxTqYyVnIZCI4+aGSEQxyRuGiE+P BFcVAlODGWu4s7hDdW08FGe0HlBc1zTI1HgixSD/AP/QzkO4mA0d0QAnhQtaQ5riPJZ4e6lswIFY /lHkoL3yU9m99kCPKVYxejZ2U4en6cniXEf99TwGvkyxjoSAGkXEKMhwjv2Rs2tmG4MutrcXOcz9 G7eAW6O3wPa3RUDlUt3OD5gboGp527f3d/53uRAtglzOEb5I/am3QS08hCvLmkPb80+W59FlQtpt Y6+tttMsMWVu+hbV++z+WgWZ+K4Qd/3f7URE9lkuawUf1sftShzXtkKBMGD8itvoH1N6x1zp7eo4 D8f7O9zmAWvLXgsO125rK7Nv+ctE/wCLP6yHTfif9uu/9Io8J7FjPOYP85G/N//R52p9mS9z7HOZ jgw2phiT4vcFPJx31VG/Dsc0MEvrJLgR+9D1Dpzg+t9P57Tvb5g6O/zVPKt9HHsLtNzS0DxJG1UN 3tdACT9rLFeclvqBsFp2vA1g/wDkXLYN9mB0+y4gMscC2rfIBcRDVgdLY9lTnmR6pAb20aDr/aVh 1tu0vYXHa0v1MjbOx3td/wBSnXpVNPNG43bk5lrzkMJaz0a4HpbwTsb7GepsP0dP/IIWPWcmzadr nvO6Wy2BpDo/s+1i2Lui/asUmg+pa1rLXPgNaC/2+hu03enuVr6n9HxMyvK+1XDDsr21sttaSCXT 9KI9Ha38/d707jHBpvt2/wCk5M4frfV8u/f6elv/AFj9TIxuh5VYte5mGMa3JuYWVvdW5zf1d21v v/RXWf8AC4/ornXYeKbngsa5zxDWkS3g73fyXfnbl7J1rpGN1Xov2CgtZ6YacV4G5jHVjbV9D8zb 7P0f5i5xv+L7FoGPbfkuvsaZyGBmxrtPoUfSexv5lnqb/U/4NGcZcWhux0Y8eXGYgS0IJ9J9Wib/ ABVYWThfV+6nKY5nrZL76N351bmVV+q3+Q57P/Ri7F1bt8tICzawaWb3iHbSCT2DvzWoh6i709zO YEg/mkaO/rKbSgC1SDZIf//S5SwPotbkUhzKnOmlzhE/yf6v/Vq3jsx8sfaL3G20aFrgA1ngG1t/ NVy2tl1ZrtEtP3gjhzVj2ttwMiWmZHtdGjm/uuCzw9rMcO+sXTLawQd3BlBeQ1haCGjaWguMTru2 qVWTVkM3VtMj6TCdQf8AX85UepPdY4Nc2WV8NbzJ+m5x+ltb9FODFmrhsavUYlzB0xlDfpelwPHl 3+cqb+oV01+lXMck+JKy8POupc2ywk1EAFwMtJMfQZ+bsc5Xs

Скачать книгу