ROMANCE: SHIFTER: Shifter to the Max Collection (Dragon, Bear, Wolf and Panther Shifter Romances) (Paranormal Fantasy Romance Collection) Read Online Free Page B
defensively.
“Love, we’re not saying you can’t take care of yourself.” Iris soothed.
“Actually,” Jade interjected, “she has lots and lots and lots of money that she refuses to touch.”
“It’s not mine. I don’t want it.”
“It is yours, and only yours. You are the only one it belongs to.”
“I won’t take it.”
Iris interrupted before the argument got out of hand. “Stop. Talk about the insurance money another time; let’s get through today. Amber, do you mean your squirrel money?”
Amber nodded, still looking at her sister warily, as if Jade would suddenly pull out buckets of money and force them upon her.
“Don’t touch your squirrel money, sweetheart. Leave it be. We’ll get use out of you and the things we purchase for you. We’ll get our money’s worth; I promise.”
Iris always had been able to step in between them and soothe feathers almost before they could get ruffled.
Amber eased into a kitchen chair. Jade stood up, took the tray from the table, and began to refill the empty wine glass.
“Oh, no, please. Just water. If I drink any more I may just pass out. I think I just want to go to bed soon. It’s been a long day.” Amber put her elbows on the table, and her head in her hands.
“Well, let’s just make that happen, sweetie,” Iris said.
Iris and Jade’s extra room was tiny. Just large enough for a full size bed and a bedside table. They’d tucked a small set of drawers in the closet to add room. Amber thought it cozy and welcoming just the same. She pulled the smooth sheets up over her head and closed her eyes. Her last thoughts as she drifted off were of gold-flecked eyes, a solid, warm chest, and heat flaring in her belly.
CHAPTER 4
Iris summoned them all to the dining area with one lilting cry. Amber had been in her room, but didn’t know what to do with herself that morning. This call to breakfast had given her an out. She could leave her room and still save face.
Amber stepped into the hallway in pajama pants and a tank top. Three steps down the hardwood floors, Jade joined her. Jade smiled sleepily and threw her arm about her younger sister’s, “Mornin’, doll. The tyrant has spoken. We must awake!”
The two of them padded into the kitchen; obviously in her element, Iris waved a spatula at them and royally bid them to be seated. The sisters slid themselves onto barstools, and smiled at her.
Iris brandished her spatula! “Today, Flynn-ladies, we are having French toast and strawberries a la Irideae!”
With a twitch of her hips, she spun around and flipped some bread onto plates. A flourish and a smile sent the plates sailing into place in front of the Flynn girls, who grinned at each other and praised their chef.
Iris smiled proudly as they dug into their plates. She made eye contact with Jade. Iris nodded. She untied her apron bow and leaned on the counter to watch her Flynns partake of the meal set before them.
Amber groaned as she pushed her unfinished portion away from her seat. “Iris, if I eat any more, I’ll gain more weight. Lord knows I need to diet. Take this sinful stuff away!” Instead of orange juice or coffee, Amber reached for the glass of iced water that had been set before her place. She was proud of her attempts to withstand Iris’s temptations. The lady had attended culinary school. She knew which olfactory and salivary buttons to push if she wanted to.
Whilst they ate, they chatted of inconsequential matters: who had married whom, the babies born to which couples, the arrests, the fights, the betrothals, the deaths. At the end, Amber was a bit numb with the amount of information she had absorbed, but knew that if she concentrated, she could say the appropriate things to the influential people in town.
“Okay,” she said, pushing away her half-empty plate, “show me the garage apartment.”
***
Being in the main part of town, Scentsibilities was in the front several rooms of a large
“Love, we’re not saying you can’t take care of yourself.” Iris soothed.
“Actually,” Jade interjected, “she has lots and lots and lots of money that she refuses to touch.”
“It’s not mine. I don’t want it.”
“It is yours, and only yours. You are the only one it belongs to.”
“I won’t take it.”
Iris interrupted before the argument got out of hand. “Stop. Talk about the insurance money another time; let’s get through today. Amber, do you mean your squirrel money?”
Amber nodded, still looking at her sister warily, as if Jade would suddenly pull out buckets of money and force them upon her.
“Don’t touch your squirrel money, sweetheart. Leave it be. We’ll get use out of you and the things we purchase for you. We’ll get our money’s worth; I promise.”
Iris always had been able to step in between them and soothe feathers almost before they could get ruffled.
Amber eased into a kitchen chair. Jade stood up, took the tray from the table, and began to refill the empty wine glass.
“Oh, no, please. Just water. If I drink any more I may just pass out. I think I just want to go to bed soon. It’s been a long day.” Amber put her elbows on the table, and her head in her hands.
“Well, let’s just make that happen, sweetie,” Iris said.
Iris and Jade’s extra room was tiny. Just large enough for a full size bed and a bedside table. They’d tucked a small set of drawers in the closet to add room. Amber thought it cozy and welcoming just the same. She pulled the smooth sheets up over her head and closed her eyes. Her last thoughts as she drifted off were of gold-flecked eyes, a solid, warm chest, and heat flaring in her belly.
CHAPTER 4
Iris summoned them all to the dining area with one lilting cry. Amber had been in her room, but didn’t know what to do with herself that morning. This call to breakfast had given her an out. She could leave her room and still save face.
Amber stepped into the hallway in pajama pants and a tank top. Three steps down the hardwood floors, Jade joined her. Jade smiled sleepily and threw her arm about her younger sister’s, “Mornin’, doll. The tyrant has spoken. We must awake!”
The two of them padded into the kitchen; obviously in her element, Iris waved a spatula at them and royally bid them to be seated. The sisters slid themselves onto barstools, and smiled at her.
Iris brandished her spatula! “Today, Flynn-ladies, we are having French toast and strawberries a la Irideae!”
With a twitch of her hips, she spun around and flipped some bread onto plates. A flourish and a smile sent the plates sailing into place in front of the Flynn girls, who grinned at each other and praised their chef.
Iris smiled proudly as they dug into their plates. She made eye contact with Jade. Iris nodded. She untied her apron bow and leaned on the counter to watch her Flynns partake of the meal set before them.
Amber groaned as she pushed her unfinished portion away from her seat. “Iris, if I eat any more, I’ll gain more weight. Lord knows I need to diet. Take this sinful stuff away!” Instead of orange juice or coffee, Amber reached for the glass of iced water that had been set before her place. She was proud of her attempts to withstand Iris’s temptations. The lady had attended culinary school. She knew which olfactory and salivary buttons to push if she wanted to.
Whilst they ate, they chatted of inconsequential matters: who had married whom, the babies born to which couples, the arrests, the fights, the betrothals, the deaths. At the end, Amber was a bit numb with the amount of information she had absorbed, but knew that if she concentrated, she could say the appropriate things to the influential people in town.
“Okay,” she said, pushing away her half-empty plate, “show me the garage apartment.”
***
Being in the main part of town, Scentsibilities was in the front several rooms of a large
Readers choose
Carla Van Raay
David Donachie
James Calder
Leah Braemel
Lynn Emery
Yasmine Galenorn
Debbie Macomber