FLOWERS and CAGES

FLOWERS and CAGES by Mary J. Williams

Book: FLOWERS and CAGES by Mary J. Williams Read Free Book Online
Authors: Mary J. Williams
paying for regrets. He wished he could like his sister. He knew he was supposed to love her. He felt neither. Obligation—and that hung by a string. Whether or not the tenuous bond broke for good was up to her.
    Unbidden, an old Eagles song ran through his head. Take it Easy . When he wrote, don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy , the late, great Glen Frey knew what he was talking about. Too much thinking in circles got you nowhere.
    There were better, and much more pleasant, ways to spend his time. With a smile of anticipation, Dalton picked up his phone. A swipe of his thumb and two quick clicks. He felt better already.
    "What are you doing for dinner?"
    "I think I saw this movie. Groundhog Day , right? Are we repeating the same conversation over and over again?"
    "I'll reword that—for your benefit. It's two o'clock on a hot as hell Thursday afternoon in—excuse my French—Bumfuck, Arizona. Let's find someplace to cool off. Talk. And if you're free, we've been invited to dinner."
    "We? There's a we?"
    Dalton laughed. "Small town, big mouths. Our night out was observed."
    "Mm. I found out the same thing. I'll tell you about it later."
    Later? Dalton wanted to see Colleen soon. Now. "Can you get off work early?"
    When Colleen didn't answer, Dalton resigned himself to spending the afternoon alone. But her response, when it came, was worth the wait.
    "Feel like a swim?"

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    WHO WOULD HAVE guessed that heaven existed fifteen minutes down the road from hell? Dalton's face must have reflected his astonishment.
    "Surprised?" Colleen asked as she pulled the T-Bird to a stop by a small cabin.
    "A lake surrounded by shade trees? Out here? Surprised doesn't begin to cover it."
    "You said you wanted to cool off. Come on."
    Colleen hopped out. She had left her coveralls at work, much to Dalton's delight. The woman who met him outside the garage was another side of Colleen. Gone was the grease monkey. There was no sign of the mature, put-together woman of the night before. Standing in the glare of the summer sun, her blazing hair hanging loose, was a full-fledged teenage dream. Colleen looked about sixteen in her tight denim shorts and cropped t-shirt, her hand resting on her cocked hip. Dalton might have felt like a leering pervert. Except in that moment, he felt ten years younger.
    "Nice bubble," he commented as he tossed her the keys.
    Colleen leaned close before sucking her gum into her mouth with an impressive popping sound. " Tutti fruiti . Want a piece?"
    Dalton wanted a taste—of Colleen. He almost gave into the impulse before he realized that eyes were everywhere. He would kiss her. But their first was not going to be for the entertainment of the Midas grapevine.
    Taking the proffered bubble gum, Dalton slid into the passenger seat. He liked watching Colleen drive. Sure and relaxed, there was joy to her every movement. She loved being behind the wheel, and it showed. Today, he had the added bonus of the long expanse of bare legs.
    Without a word about where they were headed, Colleen had cranked up the radio—classic rock—and headed east.
    "Coming?" Colleen asked before closing her door.
    Pulled from his thoughts, Dalton was out of the car a second later.
    "What is this place?"
    "Isn't it amazing?" Taking his hand, Colleen hurried to the water's edge. A wooden dock gently bobbed up and down. "My stepfather's family built it when he was in high school. As you can imagine, this time of year there is always somebody using it."
    "It would be a crime not to. Yet nobody is here. How did we luck out?"
    "The siblings alternate weeks—except for holidays which they spend together. This is Rick's week. He and Mom can't make it today. He was fine with us borrowing it for a few hours. I asked him not to tell my mother."
    "She wouldn't approve?"
    "No." Colleen tied her hair back at the base of her neck. "Mom has it in her head that you are a desperate criminal out to corrupt my virgin body."
    The

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