One More Dance by Roxanne Rustand (best ebook reader for pc txt) 📗

an eel...too elusive to catch, leaving a fresh surge of bone-shattering pain ricocheting inside his skull.

He slipped back into the depths, giving himself to its dark embrace, letting reality fade away like sunlight filtering through the water as one dived deeper and deeper.

Oblivion offered respite from the confusion and pain that had been pressing on him from every side, threatening to smother him.

Had it been hours? Days? Months?

How long had he been like this?

Tires squealed. The deafening sound of twisting, shearing metal exploded in his head, followed by the acrid smell of burning rubber. Gasoline. Then the searing flames of hell, and a woman’s screams that went on, and on, and on...

The terrifying nightmare spun through him in a dizzying rush...then slowed, coiling around his heart like a cold, massive snake of guilt, squeezing tighter and tighter.

Oh, Lord. What have I done?

THE PAST

Jared paced the sidewalk in front of the big old house. He’d walked around the block twice, barely noticing the couples playing touch football over by the tennis courts or the kids awkwardly rolling giant balls of snow into lopsided snowmen.

Barely aware of the mid-January sub-zero windchill that was dropping steadily as the sun lowered in the sky.

After seeing Kate every day for weeks, he should have found it easy to lope up that flight of stairs and knock on her door. But an inner voice held him back, repeating a litany that had been part of his life since the day his father died. You know what your responsibilities are. To yourself, to your sister.

Responsibility.

Duty.

At sixteen, he’d shouldered that and more without a second thought. At twenty-two, the choice no longer seemed so narrow. He would do everything he could to help, but not at the cost of a loveless marriage or a career he’d never wanted.

With a jerk of his shoulders, he pivoted and headed straight for the house, feeling drawn by an invisible force.

He came face-to-face with Kate at the front door.

Clearly surprised, she opened it wide and stepped out onto the porch. She dropped her backpack and, resting her hands on his shoulders, rose on her tiptoes to give him a swift kiss.

Before she could step back, he caught her in his arms and spun her around, then gave her a kissed her until she sank against him. Breathless and weak-kneed himself, he finally tucked her head beneath his chin and held her in an embrace...and wished there was it to happen.

Kate always just grinned and stepped back, with gentle reminders about her future, her goals—adamant that she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way.

She tilted her head up at him. “I looked out and saw your car a while ago, but you didn’t come upstairs. I started to wonder if you’d gotten lost.”

“I’ve been finding myself.”

She laughed, her golden-brown eyes sparkling in the late-afternoon sun. “How New Age of you. If you were successful, we should probably head out to the library.”

He shouldered her backpack and grabbed her hand. “Not quite yet. I need to show you something.”

“But—”

“It’s not far.” He slanted a look at her. “I think you’ll like it.”

She gave him a questioning glance, but followed him to his car and got in after stowing her backpack in the backseat. “Give me a hint.”

“Nope.”

“Animate or inanimate?”

“Not telling.” He started the car and turned up the heater, then popped in her favorite Bonnie Raitt CD.

“C’mon,” she wheedled, giving his arm a playful punch. “I made fettuccini for you last night.”

He sighed, not taking his eyes from the narrow, snowy streets. “Okay. It’s both.”

“It can’t be!”

He lifted a shoulder. “That’s your clue.”

“You are not,” she countered dryly, “very good at giving clues.”

“Well, here’s the next one.” He turned up Oak and stopped in front of a small story-and-a-half stucco with overgrown evergreens crowding the front yard. A pathway carved through high snow-banks led to an arched door with a narrow, vertical glass window. “Come with me.”

He rounded the car and opened her door, then steadied her with a hand on her arm as she climbed out of the car. He ushered her up the sidewalk.

“You know these people?”

“Not exactly.”

Her mouth dropped open when he sorted through the keys on his ring and fitted one into the door lock. “Are...they expecting you?”

“Nope.” He pushed the door open and waved her in. “I think they’re probably in sunny Florida by now, happily enjoying their retirement.”

Her mouth twitched, then she grinned. “You’re renting this place? We’ll practically be neighbors!”

They stepped into the small living room with dark hardwood floors and an old-fashioned archway leading into a small dining area. “This place is so cool.”

“There’s something else.” He tipped his head toward a short hall leading through the center of the house to the rooms obviously remaining—a kitchen, bath and bedroom. “Lead the way.”

She grinned mischievously. “I’m not that easy.”

“Believe me, no one would ever accuse you of that. Go out the back door to the screened porch.”

“A porch?” Her eyes lit up. “It just gets better and better.”

Something rustled out on the porch when she touched the door handle. “I hope you don’t have raccoons out there—they’ll destroy your screens.”

A yip sounded, followed by plaintive whines and a scrabbling at the door. She opened the door and knelt just in time to catch the blond ball of fur that launched itself at her. Overwhelmed by the wriggling mass of puppy, she fell back and scooted against the entryway wall, ruffling the pup’s fur and laughing in delight at his kisses.

“You even got a dog. That’s way, way cool.” She held the pup up briefly, nose to nose. When she angled a look up at Jared, her eyes held a sheen of tears. “He’s gorgeous. And he’s even a golden retriever—just like the figurine you gave me.”

“A mix, I hear. He came from the humane shelter. One look at him and I was a goner.”

Tired after his burst of exuberance, the pup curled up in her lap. “He’s absolutely perfect. And it’s all