Miracles in Disguise (The Trampled Rose Series) Read Online Free Page A

quickly as she wished she could swallow her fear.
    She vaguely heard him say, “Mike said you are lucky, he thought it might be…”
    Fire scorched her throat, and her fork clattered on her plate
    Jumping to his feet, he came behind her just as she grabbed for her milk. He yanked her out of the chair and wrapped his arms around her middle, bringing her back up against his body. Fear coursed through her veins, “Get your hands off me!” she choked out, clawing at his hands around her middle.
    As soon as he released her, she grabbed her fork and whirled around, glaring up at him. Never again!
    They faced each other for a moment, and she jumped when he reached for her plate. He smelled the contents and started to laugh. Yanking the fork from her hand, he took a bite of her food.
    “Sophia’s chicken casserole, guaranteed to singe at least a few of your taste buds,” he laughed again. “I thought you were choking!”
    The reality of the situation crept into gradual focus, until color suffused her cheeks. Her chest was still heaving as she struggled to breathe over the fear strangling her. To mask it, she joked, “I always seem to be threatening you with something."
    “To tell you the truth, I’m relieved you weren’t choking. I’m not too sure I really knew what I was doing.”
    She jumped when he lifted his hand to her face, but he merely brushed a tear trailing down her cheek. She saw the question and concern in his eyes. Get it together, Kristina. “Wow, I guess it was really spicy,” he said.
    Hopping onto his excuse, she agreed, “I felt like my capacity to breath was severely encumbered.” She turned from him, and dried her tears.
    Grabbing her plate, he scraped the food into the trash, set the plate on the counter and offered, “Why don’t I take you out to breakfast at April’s, and then I can take you anywhere you need to go? Mike said the car would be finished by the end of today.”
    She held up her hand, and started to protest, but he interrupted. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
    “I don’t want to tie up your day; I’m sure you have a lot to do.”
    “Nonsense, I’m off until Monday, and this way I can make up for the times I have scared you.” He held out his arm toward the door and added, "It will be my pleasure to show you off to this town.”
    She looked down at her milk-soaked blouse and pants. “Hopefully not like this!”
    He smiled at her quip, and a blush rose in her cheeks at his warm smile. “Let me just get changed.”
    A few minutes later, Kristina and Nathan arrived at April’s Diner. As they stepped inside, Kristina’s senses were assaulted with the smell of bacon and strong coffee, and the symphony of clanking dishes and early morning coffee conversation. Nathan led them to a red vinyl booth near the window, and she slid across, over a desperate duct tape repair in the seat. He handed her a plastic covered menu that carried the tiniest remnant of another’s lunch, crusted in the corner, hiding from the meticulous hand of the bus-boy that was diligently cleaning the tables nearby.
    The server came over, tossing a good-natured comment over her shoulder to a fellow patron. Nancy, as her worn nametag declared, filled their coffee cups without asking. “I’ll be back in a few to take your order."
    Kristina’s barren stomach rumbled as her gaze fell upon the description of the Machaca Breakfast Burrito. “What’s Machaca?"
    “Basically it is shredded beef.” He added with a smirk, “It’s safe, not too spicy.”
    While Nathan still scanned the menu, she looked out the window. The area surrounding the diner was much like the landscaping outside her house, multicolored rocks and cacti, but not a blade of grass in sight. The lines for the parking spaces were a faded yellow memory, and the parking lot was brimming with pick-up trucks.
    Kristina thought, I have gone from trendy cafes in New York, to a common diner in a small rural town in New Mexico . She smiled into