Kristen Blooming Read Online Free Page A

question from behind Kristen as she stood there waving goodbye to her mother.
    It hadn’t been an easy thing to get rid of her, and really, only the darkening evening sky had finally managed to accomplish what Kristen hadn’t. Turning as she shut the door, Kristen shot Gwen a quick smile.
    “I think so. She drove off down the street, so as long as she doesn’t return for something she might have conveniently forgotten…” Kristen let that comment trail off as Gwen snorted and rolled her eyes.
    “It’s a good thing you’re cutting those cords,” Gwen assured her, though Kristen didn’t exactly know what that meant. She still got the gist.
    “Mom means well, but I do need to claim my own independence.” That seemed a much more polite way of saying whatever it was that Gwen was trying to say.
    Politeness, though, was pointless when dealing with her cousin, who snorted and rolled her eyes. “Good God, you sound so much like her it’s frightening. Tell me, you going to nag me when I light up this cigarette?”
    “I didn’t know you smoked.” Kristen frowned as she stared at the slender object trapped between two of Gwen’s fingers.
    “Yep. I do a lot things you probably have no clue about, and it’s going to stay that way,” Gwen tacked on pointedly with a look that said Kristen was supposed to be getting a message, only she didn’t understand it.
    “What?”
    “It’s a hear-no-evil, see-no-evil, repeat-no-evil kind of house,” Gwen explained, seeming incapable of being direct, but Kristen was finally getting it.
    “I’m not here to rat you out to Aunt Harriet,” Kristen vowed, referencing Gwen’s mother.
    Aunt Harriet was married to a minister, who was not Gwen’s father and did not approve of Gwen’s lifestyle and had driven a clear wedge in that side of the family. Kristen kind of thought that was sad and wouldn’t have done anything to aggravate the situation.
    “Good.” Gwen nodded and turned around. “Then, that case, I’ll be out back enjoying a smoke.”
    Kristen really did want to tell her it was a bad and dangerous habit, not to mention it yellowed teeth, but she held her tongue. Not only was she a guest in Gwen’s house, but she also had a feeling Gwen suffered enough criticism. Instead, she returned to her room and began setting about settling in.
    It didn’t take long. She hadn’t brought much, leaving her with little to do and even less after Gwen went out for the night. She cautioned Kristen not to wait up, but she ended staying up until two in the morning, unable to sleep in the strange and too-quiet house.
    It was weird, and she found herself wandering around, taking in all of Gwen’s possessions. Gwen might have bought her furniture used, but the antique china she had on display had to have cost a pretty penny. So, too, must have the large new TV affixed to the wall on the covered back porch.
    The porch clearly served as the main living room as far as Kristen could tell. There was a little mini fridge out there, along with furniture that had to have cost a decent amount of money. Gwen was clearly not hurting for cash, and that gave Kristen a little hope that maybe one day she could have her own covered back porch, though she didn’t think she’d put her TV there.
    A sewing center, though…that would be a dream come true. She could have a big garden to grow flowers and a sunny room to do her crafts in, and maybe even a cat or two. Kristen was more than aware of how spinstery those plans sounded but couldn’t help the way she felt.
    She liked crafting, and she liked cats, and she also liked tall, good-looking deputies. It was around midnight when her determination to ignore the embarrassing incident earlier that day wore down and thoughts of the easy-smiling deputy warmed through her. By then she was lying in bed, staring into the darkness and wondering just what it would be like to feel his lips against hers.
    The kiss he’d brushed against her hand had been soft and