Free The Wishing Season by Denise Hunter

husband’s family. Beckett’s dad was still sober and doing well. Layla’s home-staging business had taken off. She and Seth had just returned from a long weekend in Gatlinburg and were trying to get pregnant. PJ already knew half of this. She ran into Seth almost every time she went to his hardware store.
    As Madison chattered, PJ found her mind wandering to Cole and the suspicious incidents.
    “Where’s the edger?” Madison asked.
    “The old one has burgundy paint on it. I think I have a new one. I’ll get it.”
    She rooted through the plastic bags in the foyer. She hadn’t wanted to think badly of Cole. She always gave people the benefit of the doubt. It was her nature to be optimistic. But even she couldn’t ignore the evidence staring her in the face.
    The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Theywere going to be sharing this house for a year. At this rate he could squash her dream in weeks. She had to nip it in the bud, however unpleasant it might be.
    The door swung open, hitting her in the hip, pushing her forward. She caught her balance and turned to glare at Cole.
    “Sorry.” He shifted his grocery bags and pocketed his keys. “You didn’t lock the door.”
    “My sister just got here.” She reached around him and turned the deadbolt, conscious of the way he didn’t budge. Of the way his nearness made the hairs on her arms rise. The way his muscles bulged under the weight of the grocery bags. Good heavens, his arms were the size of her thighs.
    Why? Why did he have to be the one to make every cell purr like a kitten?
    “Hi. I’m Madison.”
    PJ stepped back to safety while Madison and Cole traded greetings.
    “Better get the groceries in,” he said when they were finished. “It’s hotter than blazes out there.”
    “Nice and cool in here though,” PJ blurted.
    “Yep.”
    “All the windows are closed, though, so don’t worry.” PJ shot him a knowing look.
    His brow furrowed. “Okay . . . Good.”
    He started to pass her.
    She stepped in his way. “Have you seen my edger? It was in one of these bags.”
    He stopped beside her, close. His musky scent filled her nostrils, and the warmth from his body washed over her.
    “No, I haven’t.”
    She nudged her chin up. He was so freaking tall. “Are you sure? I’ve been all through them.”
    He fixed her with a look that she felt clear down to her marrow. His arm brushed hers as he shifted a bag, but she made herself stay still.
    A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You’re welcome to mine. They’re in the first bedroom on the right.”
    She crossed her arms, backing off. “That’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
    “Suit yourself, Sunshine,” he said quietly, the low tone humming through her ears.
    He trudged up the stairs, his footfalls fading away. Only then did PJ let out the breath she held. She felt Madison’s eyes on her as she headed back to the kitchen. If Cole had more groceries to bring in, she wasn’t hanging around to see him again.
    She picked up the roller and filled it, then realized it was already full. The roller made slurping sounds as she spread the paint on the wall.
    “So that’s what’s going on,” Madison said.
    PJ smoothed out a paint drip from pressing too hard. “What?”
    “There’s enough chemistry between you two to keep a high school lab busy for a year.”
    “Chemis—” PJ stopped rolling and looked at Madison. “If by chemistry you mean mutual dislike, you’d be right.”
    “Whatever you say.”
    “He has a girlfriend.”
    “Who is she?”
    “I have no idea. I hear him on the phone sometimes.”
    “So you haven’t actually seen her?”
    PJ huffed. “No.”
    Madison smirked. “You’re prickly tonight.” She sounded more amused than put out as she dipped her brush in the can. “He puts you on edge.”
    No, the theft of her cookware put her on edge. The attempt to flood her dining room put her on edge. “I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
    “He calls you Sunshine. That’s so