Touch of Fate (Bennett Sisters Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

down her throat, reminding her, she had survived the encounter and was still alive. Her brother Mike and her new brother-in-law, Jake, slowly approached. Able to read her mood, they held their hands up in surrender; clearly, they had witnessed the exchange, but she doubted Mike recognized the man.
    She turned her back on them and ordered a beer. Mike walked up behind her and gently rubbed her arms and got the information he wanted. Mike’s gift had never failed him, unlike hers. Mike could touch someone and see the truth in his mind. Like a movie playing in his head. He could even pick up things the mind refused to recall. That little secret helped make him such a talented detective.
    “Holy shit. You have got to be kidding me. After all these years, he shows up today, of all days.”
    “You took the words right out of my mouth,” she said, throwing her head back and taking a large swallow of her beer. The alcohol did little to numb her mind or her throbbing hand. Her shoulders slumped as she leaned against the bar. Her head hanging low, she tried to figure out if she’d done the right thing. She lifted her head just in time to see Ryan’s approach. Abby didn’t have the gift of sight and seeing into the future, but she didn’t need it to know what was about to happen. Mike’s temper was bound to get the best of him, and Abby refused to let it be over this man. No, this man was her problem. She grabbed Mike’s arm, bringing his attention to focus back to her.
    “He’s not worth it.” She drained the beer then set the empty bottle on the bar. “Jake, tell Emma I’m sorry I had to leave and I’ll call her tomorrow. Please try your best to keep Mike in line.”
    She twisted her hands as she scanned the dance floor and mumbled, “I…I need to find Butch. That’s what I need to do.” Abby left them standing there to look for her one and only protector, who happened to be her ride for the night.
    A tear slid down her cheek in front of a room full of family and friends, and that did nothing but piss her off. The sight of him had opened wounds that had finally started to heal.
    Her family would handle him. She just needed to escape and get her head on straight. Abby thought she’d been preparing herself all her life to seek Ryan again, but she’d been wrong. The encounter left her ready to collapse on her feet, physically and emotionally drained from the wedding and the unwanted guest. Her family meant the world to her and was the only thing she had left. They had been her rock when she was a young woman with a toddler in tow, trying to make a future for them both. They had always been her cheering section, pushing her to be a better person. Since Butch had begun babysitting her, she’d grown close to him too, and he was who she needed now.
    Abby made a beeline for Butch, her one and only protector, assigned to keep her safe when Emma had been in danger. The man had grown on her. His outrageous comments and constant flirting always seemed to lift her spirits even in the dire of circumstances. He made her laugh, which was exactly what she needed right now. Abby stood off to the side of the dance floor. Her gaze locked with Butch’s when another tear slid down her cheek.
    He excused himself from the blonde draped around his neck, nestled his arm around Abby’s shoulder, and pulled her close to his side, placing a kiss on the top of her head. Abby leaned into him, taking the support he offered as he led her from the room. He didn’t ask questions, just escorted her out, almost as if he had read her mind and knew what her heart required at that precise moment. Abby needed the comfort only a close friend could provide, one that wouldn’t press her with questions or require a conversation and would let her sulk for the time in the comfort of her own mind.
     
    ***
 
    Mike watched Ryan march up to him and Jake.
    “Where did she go and who the hell was that she left with?” Ryan demanded, a hint of annoyance in