Flowers and Fangs (Stake and Dust series, Book II) Read Online Free

brother and sister were ill and had stayed
home tucked in bed for a better part of a week.
    Tim ended up going home early, which despite
his weird behavior, she was disappointed. Her parents and her
brother were away, enjoying Disney World . Since, she hadn't
accumulated enough vacation time from her job at The Arts Are
Us , she was stuck house sitting.
    Tim was supposed to spend the night while her
family was away. She wanted a more romantic relationship, which
proved difficult since she still lived at home with her parents and
a teenage brother who would most likely let it slip a boyfriend
spent the night.
    She had two serious relationships in high
school. One was with a bad boy type, who knew how to make her toes
curl with just a kiss, and they had done plenty of kissing. He
wasn't big on conversation and she hadn't minded in the least, but
he moved away—suddenly—as she recalled. He didn't say goodbye and
she never heard from him again. The other boy was smart and cute,
but once he went off to college in Chico, California, things cooled
between them before a semester had passed.
    She dated since, but nothing serious until
Tim finally worked up the courage to ask her out. Until he had,
she'd never considered dating him. Tim was one of her best friends,
more so than Trent who was the more outgoing of the twins with a
carefree attitude and not really interested in ever settling down
with one woman in the near future. She had more in common with
Tim—books, movies, photography—to name a few. Besides, wasn't
finding the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with
supposed to be your best friend, too?
    Tim was working his way through college with
plans of becoming a high school English teacher. He was patient and
kind and his love for literature shone bright when he talked about
a book he had read or when he quoted a passage from Shakespeare's
sonnets, or one of Oscar Wilde's witty quotes. She knew Tim would
make a perfect teacher.
    She reached for her purse and bags sitting on
the passenger seat. She'd picked up some cold and flu meds at the
drugstore, along with her fast food dinner. She was glad she didn't
work for the next few days. Hopefully by then she'd feel
better.
    Once inside the house, she flipped on the
lights and headed to the back door where she could hear Lad whining
to be let in. "I'm coming." Lad let out a bark for greeting as she
sprung the door open. He nearly toppled her over as he jumped up,
resting his paws on her chest. "Down, boy," she half-heartily
scolded him as she rubbed behind his ears.
    Once the greeting was out of the way, Lad
trotted to the center of the kitchen and sat down on his haunches,
wagging his tail and staring at the breadbox on the counter.
    "Smart doggie, aren't you?" The family never
used the old breadbox that had once been her great-grandmother's.
Instead, they kept doggie treats in there and it looked like Lad
wasn't going to let her do anything else until she gave him one.
She opened the breadbox and reached her hand into the box marked
lean beef treats and tossed it to Lad. He promptly caught it and
padded over to his doggie bed in the corner next to the table to
enjoy the treat.
    She strode to the oven and reached for the
teapot and shook it. There was plenty of water, so she turned on
the burner. A good cup of tea with honey and lemon would do wonders
to ease the flu symptoms she was fighting off.
    She opened her fast food bag and grabbed the
hamburger. The scent of the cook meat hit her nostrils, making them
flare in protest. She opened the wrapper and sniffed cautiously.
Her stomach rebelled at the thought of taking a bite. She better
play it safe and just go with the tea tonight despite how her
stomach rumbled with hunger.
    While the water boiled, she would change into
a pair of sweats. She was all about comfort when she arrived home
from work. She was halfway up the stairs when someone knocked at
her front door.
    Lad's ears perked up and a low growl