LEAD ME ON by Julie Ortolon (find a book to read TXT) 📕

Scott squeezed her hand. “If you want to go straight downstairs, I’ll talk to her.”

The offer was tempting, but she shook her head. “No, she’s too good a friend for me to do that.” She stepped into the kitchen where Betsy and Chloe sat at the table playing cards and waiting for news.

“Hey, kid.” Scott greeted his niece. “I thought you’d be in bed by now.”

“No way.” Chloe looked eagerly at Allison. “Well?”

Betsy’s eyes also twinkled. “Is the baby here?”

“Yes.” Allison swallowed down the lump that rose in her throat. “She arrived just a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s beautiful.” Betsy clasped her hands together. “So, give me the details. How much does she weigh? How long is she? And how’s Rory doing?”

Unprepared, she looked to Scott for help.

“Rory’s fine,” Scott answered for her. “Unfortunately, Allison isn’t feeling well, so we had to leave before the weighing and measuring part.”

“I’m sorry, dear.” Betsy stood and came forward. “Can I get you anything?”

“No.” Alli rubbed her temple, refusing to break down again. “I just need to lie down.”

“Well, you go on downstairs.” Betsy made a shooing motion with her hands. “I’ll lock up tight before I leave.”

“Thank you, Betsy. We really appreciate your watching the inn for us.”

“It’s no problem at all. At least this way, I got to be the first one in our group to hear the news. Now go on, off to bed.”

“You, too,” Scott told Chloe.

“Can’t I wait until Adrian comes home?” Chloe begged. “He’ll probably know more.”

“Tomorrow is soon enough to get the details. Now come on upstairs.” Scott cast Allison one last look, asking if she would be all right alone.

She nodded and watched him leave. After thanking Betsy again, she headed down the narrow stairs that led to the apartment. Sadie came to greet her, then whined when Allison barely acknowledged her.

The trembling started again as she crossed to her room. By the time she reached the narrow bed, she collapsed onto the coverlet, too exhausted to undress. Sadie jumped up beside her, whimpering in empathy. Allison buried her fingers in the dog’s long fur, absently kneading as memories rolled through her like nausea.

When she heard the scrape of boots approach her open door, she lifted her head, expecting to see Adrian. Instead, Scott stood silhouetted in the faint light from the living room. With a groan, she dropped her head back to the pillow, willing him to go away. Instead, he came forward, closing the door behind him, leaving only the moonlight spilling through the window over her bed.

“You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to,” he said. She felt his hands slip about her ankles as he removed her sandals. Then he chased Sadie off the bed and pulled Alli to a sitting position.

Her head ached from holding back tears, so she docilely obeyed as he undressed her down to the gauzy black bra and panties she’d worn that day with thoughts of seducing him. With no desire to be sexy and provocative, she covered her chest with one arm and looked away. The sound of drawers opening and closing penetrated her numbness. Then he stood before her, holding out a white cotton nightgown.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her throat tight with grief. Rising, she clutched the garment to her, willing him to leave. He turned his back and busied himself with turning down her bed, silently telling her he wouldn’t go away until she was tucked into bed. Giving in, she changed into the nightgown. He held the covers and she climbed beneath them, pulling them to her chin. “I’m okay now. Really.”

“No one said you weren’t.” He calmly proceeded to take off his boots. She squeezed her eyes shut as emotions quivered beneath the surface of control. If only he’d go away, she could force the memories and pain back down, lock them away. He tapped her lightly on the hip. “Scoot over.”

She thought about arguing, but didn’t have the energy. So she moved closer to the wall, which gave him barely enough room on the single bed to stretch out beside her. His blue jeans felt rough against her thighs as he gathered her in his arms.

“Although, if you want to talk...” He left the invitation hanging.

“No,” she whispered, then pressed her lips together to make them stop shaking. “I just want to forget.”

“All right.” He stroked her hair and back for several long seconds. The soothing motion relaxed her muscles, weakened her defenses. She could feel the memories welling up again and this time was helpless to stop them.

She closed her eyes as they engulfed her. “I had a miscarriage. When I was sixteen.”

“Oh hell.” His arms tightened around her. “I was hoping that wasn’t it.”

“I wanted the baby.” The force of that wanting tore through her body. “I wanted it so much even though Peter pressured me to have an abortion.”

“Peter?”

“The boy I told you about.”

“You seem to have left out a few details. Care to tell me the whole story?” When she shook her head, he fit her body more tightly along his. “Come on. I’ve got you. Tell me what happened.”

The first rush of pain subsided enough for her to take small breaths. “He—he’s the only one who ever noticed me.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“Oh, I had friends who were boys.” She rubbed the heel of her hand against her cheek. “Well, Adrian’s friends, really, but they weren’t ‘boyfriends.’ Then one day, Peter was hanging around my locker. My heart just about stopped, because I had such a huge crush on him. All the girls did. He was beautiful and popular, on the football team. All the girls talked about him endlessly, and then suddenly there he was, standing by my locker.”

She settled her head on Scott’s shoulder and let herself drift back to that day. How clear it seemed, even though she hadn’t thought of it in years. Hadn’t let herself think about it. “I tried to be calm, not gawk and drool