Where She Belongs Read Online Free Page B

everything else.”
    â€œTo punish you?”
    â€œYeah.”
    She didn’t ask, but he read the question in her eyes. What had you done?
    He gave a casual shrug, as if what he’d done wasn’t that big of a deal. Except that it was. He didn’t need to tell Shelby the whole story, though. Only the part that most people knew.
    â€œI’m his namesake. His only son’s only son. Naturally, I was supposed to be a lawyer so I could take care of his legal affairs. But I dropped out of law school and became a teacher instead.”
    â€œSo he pretty much disinherited you?”
    â€œExcept for your farm, yes.”
    â€œWhy the ‘you can’t sell this for ten years’ clause?”
    â€œAccording to Richard, who’s the trustee, Sully thought I was too headstrong. That I didn’t think before I acted. Forcing me to keep the property was meant to teach me patience.” AJ leaned back in his chair and traced a pattern on the tablecloth. “For all his faults, he was a visionary. The farmland around here becomes more valuable every year. The commute to Columbus isn’t that far. Seems people want to raise their kids in the country.”
    â€œI understand that.”
    â€œI guess you do. Anyway, what the commuters don’t get, developers will.”
    â€œNot Misty Willow.”
    â€œNor the rest of the acreage. I kind of like the land the way it is.”
    â€œI wish I could have afforded to lease all of it now.”
    â€œI wish you could have too.” Apparently, the numbers hadn’t worked out for her to lease more than the thirty-two acres. At least that’s what Richard had said. AJ wasn’t sure what difference it made in the long run, though. He gave her an encouraging smile. “But you have first options on the rest, and it’s not going anywhere.”
    â€œI guess that means we’ll be doing business again in the future.”
    AJ lifted his glass of tea. “To the future.”
    A slow smile brightened Shelby’s features as she clinked her glass against his. “To the future.”
    With her perfect timing, Tiff sidled to the table with separate checks and routine questions about to-go boxes. AJ paid both bills then escorted Shelby to her car. The moon hung low on the horizon, and only a few stars gleamed in the night sky.
    Shelby clicked the remote to unlock the car. “Thank you for supper.”
    â€œThanks for letting me sit down.” Stepping in front of her, he opened the door.
    â€œThank you for the key too. Tell your grandmother it means the world to me.”
    â€œShe’ll be glad.”
    Shelby started to get in, then halted, standing so close her delicate fragrance beckoned him even closer. “You’re very close to her, aren’t you?”
    AJ’s throat tightened. “Very.”
    â€œIt’s hard. Losing a grandmother.” She stared past him. “The pain eases, but it never goes away.”
    â€œWould you want it to?”
    She looked at him a moment, her eyes dark in the dim light of a nearby lamppost, then barely shook her head. “Good night.”
    â€œNight.”
    AJ stood on the sidewalk, staring at the taillights as she drove away. When she turned a corner, he jammed his hands in his pockets and strode to his Jeep. He envied her. That’s why he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
    He envied her passion for a rundown house. He envied her happy childhood memories. He was even jealous that she had kids.
    There had been a time when he thought he could change the dysfunctional Sullivan legacy. Become a respected husband and loving father.
    But God couldn’t trust him with a family of his own. Not after the way he’d messed things up.
    As he slid into his Jeep, he vowed not to think of Shelby Kincaid’s dazzling eyes or delicate features. Ever again.

– 4 –
    S helby opened the attic door, the hinges eerily squeaking, then