Free A Courtesy Call (Green Division Series Book #2) by Ashley Monahan Page A

with the rental car restricting Mike to foot travel.  Perhaps a day by the luxurious pool was in store for him.  And a few drinks.  It didn’t sound so bad after all. 
     
    The afternoon slipped away by the pool.  The farmer’s tan he’d worked so hard to get was spoiled by the sun’s rays baring down on his body which was only covered by swim shorts.  His mind wandered to why they were there.  For what Jen had done.  And why Jen was so nonchalant now. 
     
    The investigation was open and the facts were far from conclusive.  All the authorities had established to that point was another vehicle was involved, but the mystery remained as to who it was.  The initial finger was pointed at Jen of course.  But with no witnesses to prove it was her and tire tracks that belonged to a small sedan, not the gigantic tires sported on the SUV Ben witnessed parked at the scene, they knew she wasn’t their girl.  Ben was convinced that there was still something amiss, but everyone including Mike concluded Jen was the hero of the situation. The accident was in a remote location and would have been especially remote on that day considering the lack of trucks at the boat landing.  It could have been hours before someone discovered his truck burning in the tree line.  And if that had been the case, Mike wouldn’t be in North Carolina attempting to show his gratitude to the Good Samaritan who’d discovered him and called for help.
     
    To his surprise, Jen hadn’t been welcoming and acted as though nothing happened.  That perhaps explained why she left the scene.  Apparently she didn’t care.  The woman he’d talked to on the phone a month prior was different.  A warm, welcoming, and happy he was alive girl.  This Jen acted as though she could have cared less if he’d lived or died.
     
    “I see why you didn’t answer your phone.”  Cass stood beside the pool.  A dozen people shared the pool with him. 
     
    “I forgot my phone in the room.”  Mike wiped the water from his face.  “Did you have fun?”
     
    “Of course I did.”  She pulled off her sandals and sat down at the edge of the pool.  “She invited me over to her house for dinner.”
     
    “What?”  Mike didn’t like the sound of that.  That wasn’t happening.
     
    “She and her assistant Aiden, the man we met yesterday, are having dinner at her house.  She invited me to come.”
     
    Mike closed his eyes and his head began to hurt.  God he didn’t like Raleigh. 
     
    “And she said you could come too.”
     
    “We’ve been imposing on her for the past two days.  She’s only being polite.  Why don’t we have dinner out?”
     
    “It’s up to you if you want to come or not, but I’m going.  I’ll grab a taxi so you can have the rent-a-car.”  She kicked her bare feet about in the water.
     
    “You’re really taken up with her.”
     
    “She’s Raleigh Jo Dawson.”
     
    “I know.”  She’d reminded him of that fact nearly a dozen times.
     
    “Please come with me.”
     
    Mike sighed heavily.  “I’ll come.  What time?”
     
    *****
     
    “If you can’t stand him, why did you invite him over?”  Aiden asked.
     
    “I didn’t think he’d come.”  Raleigh peered into the living room.  “I was being polite.”
     
    “Because you have always been polite in the past?”
     
    “Shut up.”
     
    Aiden laughed.  “You really don’t like this gentleman.”
     
    She glared at Aiden. 
     
    “I’ll take that as a yes.”  He picked up a tray of hors d'œuvres he’d prepared. 
     
    “I guess I’ll entertain them until you can get that stick out of your behind.”
     
    “Your sense of humor is so original.”
     
    Aiden took the tray of hors d'œuvres and walked to the living room.
     
    “Grrrr...it was an invitation out of obligation,” she muttered under her breath.  She followed on Aiden’s heels wearing the friendliest face she could muster and sat down beside Aiden.
     
    “Thank you for