Free Choices of the Heart by Julia Daniels Page A

apple. She kissed him, gave in to the need to feel him, to taste him. One more time…even if it was the last time.
    His tongue coaxed her mouth open. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and his hands found her hips, drawing her even closer. How could something so wrong feel so right?
    “Come back in, would you…? Oh, my.” Dottie’s voice carried through the screen door, breaking them apart.
    The rapid tap of Dottie’s shoes retreating farther into the house made Chloe blush. She pulled away, feeling flushed but not ashamed.
    “I’m sorry, Chloe.” Reese ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have.” But he was only human, and she was definitely tempting him.
    “Don’t be sorry, Reese. Not for this. Never for this.” She released his hand but he pulled her back.
    “Why were you here last night?” he whispered.
    “What do you mean?” she asked.
    “On ol’ Freddy. I saw you.” He tipped her chin up so her eyes would meet his. “I don’t think it was my imagination anyway.”
    “I was here,” she admitted.
    He pulled her into him and kissed her again. “Why didn’t you come in?”
    “Because you said no last time, and I didn’t think you had changed your mind, not after spending time with Isabelle.” She took both of his hands in hers and gave them a squeeze before moving to the edge of the porch to call Bobby. “Come on, Bobby. Let’s go inside.”
    The barefoot little boy came running from the barnyard up onto the porch, laughing the whole way. As Chloe waited for Bobby, Reese lit another cigarette.
    “I’ll meet you inside in a minute,” he told her before walking off the porch into the yard.
    Chloe took Bobby’s hand and led him inside. He was laughing and giggling, talking about the chicken that tried to peck his toes. She walked into the kitchen and the Lloyds ceased their discussion. Were they talking about what Dottie had seen on the porch?
    “I’ve cleaned up the dinner dishes,” Dottie told her, not quite meeting Chloe’s eyes. “We’ll open the papers now if you’re ready.”
    “Sounds like a fine plan, Ma.” Reese came in behind her, holding two small balls of fur.
    “Kitties!” Bobby clapped, ran up to Reese and grabbed on to his leg.
    Reese bent down and swung the boy up into his arms, tickling him. Making the boy giggle and wiggle like a worm in Reese’s strong arms. He put him down and handed him the kittens.
    Had Bobby seen his parents die, Chloe wondered? Did he remember anything about Daisy? About Chicago?
    “Time for a nap, young man. Take the kittens with you.” Mrs. Lloyd met them just inside the kitchen doorway, took the boy from Reese’s arms, threw the small blanket he liked to sleep with over her shoulder, and headed up the stairs to the bedrooms.
    Chloe couldn’t think of the bedrooms. That led to the memory of the kiss on the porch and the other intimacies that they had shared. Memories that had to be left buried deep in the back of her mind. She was here only until the paperwork could be sorted out and the remnants of Ronnie and Daisy’s life laid to rest, just as their young bodies had been the day before.
    Reese grabbed Bobby’s leather satchel and laid it on the kitchen table. Chloe had looked inside just briefly, paged through the few papers that were not in sealed envelopes.
    “I’m curious what’s inside.” Mr. Lloyd nodded toward the bag. “Curious what happened to all their belongings.”
    “That’s why I gotta go to Chicago.” Reese pulled out a chair.
    “Is Mr. Simmons coming by?” Chloe asked. “It might be wise to wait until he arrives.”
    “Don’t trust us, girl?” Mr. Lloyd looked at her over the rim of his coffee cup.
    “Mr. Lloyd,” she backtracked, “it’s not that at all—”
    “I’m joking with you, Chloe.” He laughed then, as if to back up his answer. “I agree with you. We need to have a legal person here. Just in case there’s anything odd. S’pose we oughta call Gus,