Wild Within (Wild at Heart #1) Read Online Free

peace.
    Celine said she didn’t remember the officers identifying her as the girlfriend of the crash victim. Or their leading her to a squad car. She didn’t recall the ambulance arriving with a wailing siren. Or its leaving in silence.
    At some point, she fished out her cell phone.
    “I have to call his parents. Somebody’s got to tell them.”
    A female officer cupped her hand gently around Celine’s trembling fingers. “We’ll do that for you if you’d like. We’ll send somebody out to the house.”
    “No. They should hear it from somebody they know.” But after choking out, “Mrs. Mori? It’s Celine. Kenji…there was an accident,” all she could do was sob.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 4
     
     
    When Grace finished the story, Lone Star stepped softly to her side.
    “Hey, Just Grace. Let’s stop here for a sec.” He lifted her chin and tried to catch her evasive eyes. “That story breaks my heart. I’ve got four brothers and two sisters. If anything happened to them, I think I’d open myself up a worm farm.”
    Grace lifted her gaze. “A what?”
    “A cemetery. I mean, I assume…” Lone Star scuffed a deep line in the dirt with the toe of his shoe.
    “He died.”
    “Yeah.” He rubbed his heel across the trench, erasing it. “That’s what I’d feel like doing if anything happened to someone in my family.”
    “I know.” Grace walked slowly on. “You’re right. You do. I mean, I think part of me did die with him. At least, life hasn’t seemed the same since.”
    Lone Star strode in front and blocked the path. Grace focused on his sparkling blue eyes. They shone with the sunlight and something else, something both soothing and energizing. Eventually, she turned away and sighed. “It’s just not the easiest to talk about. Today of all days.”
    “You mean…”
    “It happened a year ago.”
    “Today?”
    “Today.”
    “Miss Grace Mori.” Lone Star wrapped her hands in his. “I’m truly sorry.”
    Two tears ran down Grace’s dusty cheeks, leaving shimmering tracks. Lone Star lowered her pack and pulled her to him. She leaned her head against his chest and wept. Large hands stroked her erratically heaving back. Her arms extended slack at her side and then, after a while, reached up and pulled him to her. She buried her face deeper into his shoulder.
    No one has held me like this since it happened.
    When her tears diminished, Lone Star pushed her gently from him. “I know you must feel lower than a gopher hole right about now. But I’m worried about your expelling all that salt. We’ve still got a ways to go.”
    Grace wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “I need a salt lick, like they put out for deer.”
    Lone Star’s eyes twinkled. “Good idea. Have some more water for now. Then we’ll set about finding you one.”
    Grace’s mouth stretched into a brief grin. Lone Star handed her the big water bottle. She gulped, burped, and turned bright red.
    “Excuse me.” She handed the bottle back to him.
    “Do you feel a little better?”
    “Yes. I think that cry had been building up for a year. Sorry you got caught in the flood.”
    Lone Star wiped the large water mark on his shirt with exaggerated swipes of his bandana. “Not to worry. It’s quick-dry.”
    He watched Grace stride ahead and wiped his forehead with his bandana. “That’s one heck of a woman.” He marched after her. “I think it’s my turn to tell a story, Just Grace. What do you want to know about me?”
    She answered without turning around. “Something less dramatic than what I just told you. Let’s start with what you do.”
    “You mean when I’m not rescuing ladies in distress?”
    “What’s your day job?”
    “I’m an education attorney. We represent private and public educational institutions, but I work mostly with school districts.”
    “That seems like a niche market for an attorney.”
    Lone Star readjusted Grace’s pack on his chest. “Coming up, my one goal was to be a