Free PassionsPoison by Lexi Post Page B

sorted through it.
    She came to an envelope with “To Bea Rappaccini” typed on
the outside. That was strange. One of her friends must have dropped it off for
her. Curious, she slit it open and unfolded the single page enclosed.
    I know your secret.
    Huh? What did that mean? She turned the page over. It was
blank. Okay, this was strange. What secret? She didn’t have any secrets. She
had one big secret, but no one could know… She dropped the letter, her breath
catching in her throat as a shiver sped up her spine. No. No one could know
about her poisonous nature. No way. Yet her fear persisted.
    Had she been followed? But even then, a person couldn’t
know. The only people who knew her secret were her mother, her six fathers and
Grandma Beatrice. And the only one of that lot who might be upset would be her
father Jim, a headhunter by trade and from what her mom said, quite wealthy.
They had no communication with him, but then why would he write her a letter
like this? He may have been angry about sharing her mom years ago, but that had
nothing to do with her.
    Shaking her head, she put the letter back in the envelope
and stuffed it in her purse. It was probably a friend joking around about her
upcoming birthday. She made it a big secret every year. Yes, that’s all it was.
    She didn’t buy her own conclusion, but what could she do? If
someone wanted to threaten her by exposing her unique genetic problem, sending
a letter with no instructions didn’t accomplish anything.
    Great, just what she needed, another pool of water she had
no idea how to swim in. First, she had her strange attraction and feelings for
Zach and now a mysterious message. The letter left her no recourse but to wait
and see what happened. But Zach she would see again tomorrow night and was sure
to mess that up. Except for Phillip, her high-school boyfriend, she’d never
been on a second date or brought a man to Mom’s house.
    What she needed was advice. She scanned the semi-organized
desk and decided it looked good enough. Kayla had the night shift. Though a few
years younger than herself, Kayla had been in many long-term relationships,
including an engagement. She had to know how it all worked.
    Bea turned out the light and headed for the lobby counter,
hoping no more customers would check in at such an early hour. Kayla would get
off at five this morning. Bea had a feeling she would need the next two hours
to learn as much as she could on how to do the dating thing.

Chapter Five
     
    Zach spun the steering wheel in the opposite direction as
his truck slid across the entrance to the parking lot of the Wrenborough Depot.
The large patch of black ice took all control away. Catching clear dirt, he hit
the brakes before slowly driving to the side of the building. What shitty
weather. The melt-off from the snowstorm had streams appearing out of nowhere
and the thirty-degree temperatures didn’t help. He hoped Bea drove more
cautiously. What happened to spring? At this rate, he’d have another whole
month to carve the birch tree for the inn.
    He glanced at the clock in his truck. Early as usual. He
must be crazy to meet the mother of a woman he’d known for five days. He hadn’t
met a parent of a woman since Lisa’s, and the last time he’d seen them was at
Lisa’s funeral, closed casket. He shut down those thoughts fast.
    Zach tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. And then
there was the question of her fathers. She must have a stepdad, but why
wouldn’t she know which dad would be at her mother’s house? If her stepfather
lived with her mother, wouldn’t he be there? Zach shook his head. Everything
about this woman intrigued him.
    Was it Bea or their chemistry that had their relationship
racing at warp speed? Not that it was a relationship. Though he had to admit
meeting the parents indicated that. Why did he say yes? Maybe he should leave.
Standing her up was better than sending her the wrong signals. He had been too
anxious to see her