Free ALWAYS (A Wolfe Brothers Novel) by Lita Stone Page B

Carina?” she
asked. “You still keep in touch with her?”
    “ About a month later, I
saw Carina at the movies with another guy. He was squeezing her ass
and making out with her while they waited in line. One of those
sickening couples you wanted to scream at to get a room.” He
hesitated before continuing, “Anyway, the restaurant closed about
six months later. Her family moved away.”
    So much for keeping things light, she
scolded herself. At least he was talking. “Was she your first
too?”
    “ Yup.”
    A howl echoed in the distance. Coyote?
Wild dog? Maggie shivered. “You hate talking about this, don’t
you?”
    “ Yup.”
    “ Change of subject,” she
said. “So you and Jags are close?”
    He shot her another skeptical look.
“I’m close with both my brothers.”
    “ You have two
brothers?”
    “ Ajay’s in the Army,
stationed in Iraq.”
    She nudged her shoulder against his.
“Tell me a crazy story.”
    “ Like what?”
    “ I don’t know.
Anything.”
    “ Alright, one story and
then I’m calling it a night.”
    “ Agreed.”
    He stretched his legs on the ground
beside the fire, his palms braced behind him. “Well, there was the
time we all went out drinking then drove home and passed a cop. I’d
only had a couple beers, but I panicked. When we turned the corner,
I jerked the wheel, and we crashed into the woods. Things were
going pretty good until we started down a steep hill. Dumb ass that
I am, the first thing I did was hit the brakes.”
    “ Why is that a bad
thing?”
    He laughed. “The front of the truck
stopped, but the back kept going. We flipped three or four times.
Ajay and I were fine, but Jags was beat up bad. We limped him home
all four miles.” He shook his head. “I’ve never been so tired.
After the second mile or so that light-ass son of a bitch got
heavy.”
    Despite the illumination offered by the
almost full moon, an eerie darkness closed in around her. The hairs
on her arms stood up. “What do you do besides cook and
hike?”
    “ Nope. I’m done. Now, it’s
your turn.”
    As if she were five years old, hiding
under her comforter from the closet monster, fear gripped her and a
chill ran down her spine. But why? “I’ve never had a guy for a
friend. I’m not sure what kind of stuff I’m supposed to talk
about.”
    “ Why don’t you tell me
about your first love? I told you about mine.”
    Love was for saps and the weak-minded.
A wave of nausea overcame her. Her stomach churned and saliva
filled her mouth. She swallowed. “Can’t say I’ve ever been in
love.”
    “ Are you telling me you’ve
never had your heart broken?”
    “ I always break the
hearts. Not the other way around.”
    “ Wow. I figured
everybody’s had their heart broken at least once. Isn’t it a
requirement to being human?” He looked at her. “What about the guy
who took your virginity. You must’ve felt something for
him?”
    Bile rose to the top of her throat. Her
chest heaved. “I’m going to turn in.”
    As she stood, he grasped her wrist.
“But we were getting along so well. Don’t shut me out now.” He
smiled and her heart sank.
    She sat on her ass facing the flames
and hugged her knees. “If I told you the story, you’d have to
promise not to tell anyone.”
    “ I’m not sure why I’d tell
anyone.”
    “ Promise.”
    “ Scouts honor.”
    She cocked her head. “Were you ever a
Boy Scout?”
    “ Does that make a
difference?”
    She shrugged. “I guess not. Okay. Here
goes. I was a football cheerleader in high school.”
    “ No shit?
Really?”
    She smirked. “Wise-ass.”
    “ Sorry,
continue.”
    “ Cleveland was playing
against The Hornets, our rival team from Trenton, a
hole-in-the-wall town about two and a half hours from here. It was
the game that got us into the playoffs, and we won in overtime.
People were screaming and jumping. It was craziness. I was walking
through the parking lot to use the restroom in the school when I
saw some players from the