Cara McKenna Getaway (pdf)

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She shook her head, clearly exasperated. You better. You owe him that much.
Shane started. I don t owe that man shit.
You love him. Or you did. You did when I was with you both.
I don t know what that was anymore.
She huffed out an annoyed breath and leaned back in her chair. Winding her hair in
her fingers, she asked, What do you want for yourself, Shane? How do you want
things to be in five years?
I want& I want a little bit of what my momma gave me. You know, nothing fancy
or anything, just like& closeness. Like family.
And you can t see Gabriel as a part of that?
He stared at floor. No. He s the opposite of that. He s the thing that keeps me from
changing and moving forward.
And you don t think any of the blame for you guys not being more than
Listen. I know where you re going with all this, but come on. What future is there?
We can t start a family that s ridiculous.
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She opened her mouth but he cut her off with a raised hand. Not just cause it s
two dudes. Because he still does what he did with you, with other women. He still
needs more than I can give him. Even if I was gay or whatever, we re not ever going to
be me-and-him, happy rainbow flag couple with two kids and a lap dog, because
there s always going to be some woman sneakin into our Sears-fucking-family portrait.
Like, Gee, where s Daddy tonight? Oh, I dunno, Shane Junior, he didn t come home
so he s probably busy fucking some random chick someplace. Let s hope he gets bored
with her and comes home soon.
That s harsh.
He pushed a laughing breath through his nose. That wisdom from the woman
who fucked him in my bed while I was out fixing to tow her car.
She made a grim face.
Anyhow, forget it. I love him the way a drunk loves booze, and as long as I act like
the habit s doing me any good, the further away my chance at a cozy little family life
drifts.
Natalie sighed, sounding as fed up with the topic as Shane was. Fine.
I appreciate what you re trying to do though, he added. I know you re a chick
and you think love conquers all and that happy-sappy bull, and like him and me are
destined for each other or something.
She laughed. I m not that obnoxious, Shane. I just& I dunno. Whatever weird glue
holds you two together, it s not just sex. I know you re going to roll your eyes at me for
saying it, but it s special, whatever you two have.
Shane did roll his eyes, as hard as he possibly could.
Fine, forget it. Don t know why I m trying to talk you out of it when here I ve got
you all to myself for a couple weeks.
Shane warmed to the change in topic. See? Flirtin with you s so much better than
free relationship counseling.
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Cara McKenna
Yeah. Anyway. What do you want to A tinkling noise from someplace cut her
off and Natalie got up and disappeared into her bedroom. Another tinkle and Shane
heard her say, Hello?
He tensed, wondering if it was Alex.
No, Mom. I just had breakfast. What s up?
Shane relaxed back in his seat.
Oh crap, seriously? I guess I could& I have a guest visiting. How long will it
take?
Shane stood and gathered the dirty dishes.
No, I can swing that. Is Dan helping? Oh good. That shouldn t be too bad then.
Yup. Yeah, see you over there.
Shane heard a beep then Natalie joined him in loading the dishwasher. I have to
abandon you for a couple hours, to help my mom with her aunt.
I can help, Shane said.
That s sweet of you, but it s not the intro you want to my family. My great-aunt s
pretty much bedridden and me and my brother-in-law are going to head over to her
place and help her bathe and dress, then my mom s taking over for the afternoon. I
guess her caregiver got in a minor car accident this morning, had to go to the hospital
for an X-ray.
Bummer.
Yeah. This sort of drama s never-ending in my family. We all seem to live into our
nineties, but we don t do it very gracefully.
Shane nodded. That how you got into nursing?
Yeah, probably. I had two sets of really awesome grandparents, lots of relatives
from that generation. She laughed. I like old people. They tell it like it is.
You sure I can t help?
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Getaway
No, thank you. Dan is man-power enough for the task. And my mom would be
mortified if that was how you got jumped into the clan. Let her do it her way, over
dinner.
I won t argue with anybody s momma. I ll just snoop around your apartment
while you re gone, make a list of things that need fixing. That ll keep me busy while
you re at work next week.
Oh that d be good actually& my landlady s sweet, but she s a bit slow about fixing
things.
Shane swelled a bit, pleased for the mission. I m your man then.
For the next two weeks, yes. You re my man.
* * * * *
Shane returned from the hardware store, two bags full of boyfriendly assignments
dangling off his arm and his toolbox in hand. He shut the door with his hip and
dumped the purchases on Natalie s counter, flexed his fingers to banish the stiffness.
Distraction might not be the same as actual relief, but it felt pretty damn close. Shane
looked around as he ditched his coat, trying to decide which project to tackle first. Her
broken burner was a good place to start, that or the slow leak under her bathroom
sink
His pocket buzzed, and, idiot that he was, Shane assumed it d be her. He smiled as
he fished his phone out, prepared to brag about his to-do list.
Two-two-five area code.
Fuck me. Well, it had to happen sometime. Best that time came when Natalie was
out. He pushed the talk button. Yeah.
Hello, Shane. Goddamn, that voice like angels fucking. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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