Abrupt Changes: A Second Chance Romance (O-Town Book 3) by Karen Renee (comprehension books .TXT) 📕

A chill stole over me as he walked away, and I told myself to get over it. The honey container sat behind my cup, so I squirted a shot of honey into my mug prior to joining Clint at the table.

As I blew on my tea, he told me random stories about Bronwyn taking care of Mom in the days after the stroke. I’d heard most of those stories from Wynnie. Getting the story from Clint was different since he was giving me both Wynnie and Mom’s side of things.

He’d always been good at that. Giving both sides of any story, and it was why I knew he would make such a damn fine police officer.

Maybe it was because it was the middle of the night. Maybe it was because I was tired even if my body wouldn’t succumb to sleep. Whatever it was, something forced me to fill the silence, and I blurted, “I hear her voice.”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

My brows furrowed because I had no idea why he would sound like he knew what I was going through. I didn’t dwell on that and continued blurting.

“I can’t imagine how much worse it is for Mom.”

He sighed.

I stared at my tea. “Detective Gaspar closed her case. Ruled it as an accident. All official and shit.”

“Gaspar?”

My eyes widened. “Yeah. You know him?”

He frowned for a moment. “Know of him.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. From the look on Clint’s face, he didn’t either.

He sat back in his chair. “I should not offer this, but I’m going to ask Paul to look into it.”

I looked into his warm brown eyes. “Paul?”

“My boss.”

“Why?”

“Because something isn’t right. I’d do it but I’m too close to it.”

I sipped my tea. “I’m surprised you’re not convinced it was an accident.”

He shook his head. “No. Something’s wrong. But no promise he’ll do anything.”

I sensed he was holding something back and sighed. “Thank you, Clint.”

He nodded and finished his tea. I thought he’d get up and go back to the couch, but he put the cup down and looked at me. “How long you off work?”

I wobbled my head. He didn’t need to know I was between jobs and he didn’t need to know I had enough money that I could wait months before going back to work... assuming I didn’t live up north.

“As long as this takes,” I said.

“Really?”

I nodded. “Like you said, something’s wrong, and I need to figure out Mom.”

His face set. “‘Figure out Mom?’”

After a deep breath I answered. “Well, she’s getting better, but still needs help.”

“Don’t sell the house. Not yet.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t say anything about selling the house, but why would you say that?”

“No big decisions, Rae.”

I nodded. “You’re right.”

He twisted his mug on the table. “Then back to New York?”

“Probably.”

“You love it that much?”

I couldn’t answer that. Not with total honesty anyway. It was what I knew. I loved the energy and the constant buzz.

“You ever want more than your job?” he asked.

We had landed in treacherous territory. I looked into his eyes. “I did. Life’s... strange sometimes.”

An odd look crossed his face. He grabbed my mug and his. “You need to get some sleep, Rae.”

“You do too, Clint.”

Chapter 9

Standing Date

Clint

THE SOUND OF A WALKER sliding across the floor woke me. I sat up and Penny smiled.

“Good morning, Clint. You could’ve slept in a bedroom last night.”

I shook my head. “Raegan said the same thing, but I wouldn’t have heard anything if I were in Wynnie’s room.”

“Not the bedroom I was thinking of,” she muttered as she approached the stove.

I bit back my chuckle while shaking my head.

When I was in my jeans, I threw my dress shirt on but didn’t button it. I grabbed two coffee mugs and put them next to the stove. Penny avoided my eyes, but I had patience and stared at her until she looked at me.

“What?”

“We aren’t getting back together, Penny. I appreciate that you hold hope, but you need to direct it elsewhere.”

“Plenty of people have told me not to cling to hopes, Clint. And I never listened to a damned one of them. You’re a fine man, but you’re no different. I’m not gonna listen to you tell me not to hope for the best things for my girl. And make no mistake, you are the best thing that ever happened to my Rae-of-sunshine.”

I closed my eyes as heat hit my chest. Those were really nice words, but I wished they’d come from Raegan.

After a deep breath, I opened my eyes. “Thank you, Penny. I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

She shook her head. “Watching life pass my daughter by is what will hurt. Not holding onto the hope she comes to her damn senses.”

“Penny,” I whispered.

“Now. You still take cream with your coffee? Hate to tell you, but we don’t have that Cafe Bustello stuff you like. Your choices are a breakfast blend or this cockamamie caramel latte business Raegan picked up.”

“It’s a caramel macchiato, Mom and there’s nothing cockamamie about it,” Raegan said from the doorway.

In the middle of the night, I had missed her shapely legs in those insanely short shorts. Her nipples beaded under the bright blue t-shirt with three clouds across the chest. I ignored all of that, but the sight of her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun made my dick twitch because I desperately wanted to yank it all down before I kissed her hard.

Dammit.

I had to stop those thoughts or the visions they brought on were going to kill me.

I faced Penny, who had a knowing smirk on her face, and said, “Breakfast blend is fine, and two creams plus one sugar works for me. Just point me in the direction of the sugar.”

“It’s right behind you. I’ll be right back,” Raegan mumbled before she hustled down the hallway.

I heard coffee being poured into mugs while I grabbed the sugar container. When I looked to Penny, she wore her lopsided