9781618850676UnchainedMelodyHunter Read Online Free Page B

soft yellow. Also, each had a small front porch with large
inviting rockers. Window boxes hung heavy with geraniums and maiden hair fern. Annalise
found the entire place totally enchanting.
    She
pulled her Jaguar into the parking lot and took a grateful Dachshund out of his
crate. “Do you need to stretch your legs, man?” She giggled at her own joke,
two inch legs always needed to be stretched. She took her luggage out of the
trunk and began to roll it toward the sidewalk when she stopped dead in her
tracks.
    The
tastefully designed sign that sat in the front yard read—
     
    Welcome to the Lost Maples
    Proprietors - Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Stewart
     
      Annalise almost fainted. Mr. and Mrs. Ethan Stewart? Ethan? Could it
possibly be her Ethan? Just
thinking of him made her mouth go dry and her legs feel like they were made of
rubber. What should she do? Part of her wanted to jump into her car and go back
home. Feeling weak, she opted for sitting down on one of the welcoming benches,
letting Tiny smell the dark green monkey grass.
    She
had to make a decision quickly or soon it might be taken out of her hands. He
could walk out the door at any moment, that is if it was him. She looked
at the door of the beautiful Victorian home and pictured the door opening and
Ethan standing there. She could see his broad shoulders and smooth tanned skin,
his big blue eyes, his beautiful face. Ethan was the sexiest man she had ever
seen and, for a brief period of time, he had been hers. Just thinking about him
caused every nerve in her body to go on red alert and her breathing to become
shallow and ragged. Desperately, she tamped those feelings down. Even if he
weren’t married there was no going back for her.
    Knowing
that it would be torture, she still would love to see Ethan again. In fact,
there was no one in the world she would rather see than him. It would be a
pleasure to be around him again, even if were just for a little while. They
could keep it light and casual and reminisce about old times; and then just let
it go. She had long ago gotten over the hurt that had nearly crushed her when
he refused to come to her after ‘the incident’. At the time, the pain of his
rejection had been much worse than her physical pain. But soon, when she
learned the true extent of her injuries, she had thanked a wise God in heaven
for keeping Ethan away from her. No matter how painful their long-distance
break-up had been, it was preferable over watching his face change from desire
to horror when he would have learned the truth of her condition.
    If
she were to see him today, he would never have to know he was the only man that
she had ever loved, or ever slept with, or ever dreamed about when she was all
alone—and desperate with the knowledge that it always had to be that way.
    If
he had been single then maybe she would have turned around and left because no
matter how much she dreamed about his hands on her body and the way his
lovemaking had made her shiver with excitement—those things could never, ever
possibly happen again. At least a wife would provide a buffer. Besides, there
were probably dozens of Ethan Stewarts in this part of Texas. The likelihood that
it was her Ethan was pretty slim and she honestly needed the change of pace
this place appeared to offer.
    She
took a deep breath, steeled herself to react just the way she had to, and together
she and her little buddy walked up the wide inviting steps and opened one of
the double French doors. She prayed to God for strength as she possibly walked
into the home of the only man she would ever love.

 
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
     
    A
small bell announced their entrance. Suddenly a barrage of barking shook the
house and another dachshund of the same dark red shade as Tiny came racing into
the room, making that ferocious, thundering racket only an excited wiener dog
can make. “Mojo, get a hold of yourself. We have company. Good morning, ma’am. You’re
Miss Ramsey, you said? Let