The Fiction of Forever (A Stand By Me Novel Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

to pull forward.
    She accelerates a couple of yards and rolls down her window and says something at me. Her chestnut hair is pulled back with a scarf thing in a stick-up-her-ass hairstyle. Between the hair and the sunglasses two sizes too big for her head, she looks like some movie star straight off the cover of one of those trashy tabloids.
    A rich, snooty star. Rumor has it she’s landed a spot on her daddy’s TV show this season.
    “What?” I yell and then shake my head in resignation. The engine’s too loud for either of us to have a conversation, yet she keeps talking. Those ruby lips could hypnotize a weaker man. I shut the engine off.
    She tilts her head halfway out her open window. “What are you doing?” Her voice screeches as if she doesn’t realize she doesn’t have to scream.
    The girl always had a motor mouth on her. In school, I’d have sold my soul to have her talk to me. We were from different worlds then and nothing has changed.
    Nothing at all. She’s still a living doll, but annoying with her demands.
    I step down and saunter to the vehicle. Sometimes a guy needs a closer look at a snake. Her head pops back into the SUV. Maybe she’s coiling back so she can strike. I grin at the notion.
    “I have guests coming tomorrow night. This is a mess.” Her eyebrow lifts above the dark frame of her sunglasses.
    “I told your dad that the driveway will be out of commission for a couple of days. He said no one would be home this week.”
    “My dad said what?” She flips her sunglasses up to sit on top of her head as if it will help her hearing. The flash of diamonds on one hand catches my eye for an instant before I notice her red-rimmed eyes.
    She must’ve pulled an all-nighter. Everything about her is polished except for her eyes. Puffy, pink eyelids. For a second I wonder if she’s been crying. Girl sits in a fine ride, living with her rich daddy. She can’t have a care in the world.
    Nah. Not crying. Girl needs to stop her partying and get some rest.
    “Ed said he wanted this done. Talk to your dad,” I say.
    Her mouth purses as if she’s sucking on a lemon. “I don’t have time for this.”
    Me either, woman. I stare into her hypnotic gaze for an eternity. I shake my head to break her spell. “I should get back to work.”
    I turn and walk to the backhoe, feeling her gaze on my back. There’s a barking sound behind me and in the next instant, a tiny tug at my jeans. I glance down to find a furry, rat-sized dog attacking my leg.
    “Westley!” Kiley steps out of the SUV. “Westley! Come. Here.”
    Kiley has sure grown up. Her bright green dress ends at her upper thighs. The snake has legs. Shapely legs I remember from our school days. I reach down to grab the dog who has mounted my boot, humping with passion. The moment I lift my foot, the dog falls off, slightly disoriented that I’ve cut short his hook-up session.
    Darting around my feet, he tries to woo my boot once more. He escapes my attempts to grab him and yips in a frenzy until he suddenly stops, his attention on my fallen baseball cap. Her dog runs twice around it, then lifts a leg and with perfect aim, saturates my cap. My favorite St. Louis Cardinals hat.
    “Dog, I’m going to—”
    “Don’t you dare!” Kiley steps over a section of busted driveway, wobbling precariously in her high heels. “I’m coming.”
    I make another grab at the dog and pick him up. The last thing I need is for the dog to fall into the hole I’ve dug for the tree being delivered tomorrow.
    “I’ve got him.” The words are out of my mouth when a gush of hot liquid trickles down my chest. “Holy hell,” I mutter and close my eyes, my nostrils flaring as I attempt to stay calm. I open my eyes and Kiley stands inches in front of me.
    “You scared him.” She takes the wiggling dog out of my hold. The sunglasses are gone and her eyes flash fury.
    I widen my eyes in disbelief. “Your dog pissed on me.”
    “Yes, because he was afraid.” She