River's Escape (River's End Series, #2) Read Online Free

knew more than one woman appreciated the blend of his fair coloring with his spry, wiry build.
    “Are you?” she prompted again.
    He finally took his gaze off her and let it settle on the pans behind her before nodding his head. She rolled her eyes when he turned his back on her, and took a stool from the small, two-seater bar. There was no kitchen table. Not enough room for one. Just a small, Formica bar that doubled as a prep station on the opposite side of the tiny kitchenette. He slid his hat off and leaned his elbows on the counter while hooking a heel on the metal barstool.
    She automatically prepared his coffee. Didn’t she know how he liked it? Black with a splash of milk and one teaspoon of sugar. She made it enough times at his house, not to mention, at the diner. Why not at her own house? Of course, he wasn’t anything special to her. She knew how all the Rydell men took their food and drink. Lucky girl, she was.
    He nodded at her outfit. “Got a shift today?”
    She bit her tongue to keep from commenting sarcastically at his stunning perception. Her waitress outfit wasn’t a dead giveaway or anything. She was wearing the white blouse, khaki, knee-length skirt with a red apron that signified the River’s End cafe’s uniform. She found it unusual for Ian to start any kind of conversation, even an obvious one. She slid the coffee across the gunmetal-gray Formica counter and raised her eyes to his. “Yes. In an hour.”
    He took the coffee and their fingertips brushed before she jerked her hand back. There was a weird snap, like they exchanged static electricity. She straightened up off the counter, dismissing the strange sensation.
    “Don’t worry, I’ll be at your place by three.” She flinched. Her sarcasm came out way too bitchy. She needed to scale it back. Ian was her boss, like it or not. All the Rydells were. The job was well paying, had good hours, and they let her come and go per her diner schedule. Who the hell was she to complain? She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well.”
    Ian took a long drink of the coffee and his throat vibrated as he swallowed. He had a slender, white, column of a throat, with freckles dotting the skin randomly. She shook her head. Why was she… noticing that all of a sudden? It was weird. She shifted her feet and licked her lips. “I appreciate working for you guys. I really do. I didn’t mean to sound like it wasn’t a great position, because it is.” And one she, no doubt, would work at for the rest of her life; it paid that well in this valley.
    “You work for Jack, not for me. I could care less if you hated it or loved it.”
    “I work for all of you.”
    Ian shook his head while she busied herself grabbing eggs, bacon, and hot toast that popped up from the toaster. “No, you really don’t. You’re not expected to like washing our laundry. It can’t be a pleasant chore.”
    He scooped up a mouthful of eggs and bacon. She was always amazed that a man as skinny as Ian was could eat as much as an obese person would. She didn’t understand it. Nor was it fair. The man never gained weight, yet he ate more than all of his brothers. It was freaky.
    She often took care of her father and brothers in the same way as she did the Rydells. Except, the Rydells paid far better. She took a plate and put the small portion of eggs she had originally planned to cook on her plate before sliding into the chair beside him. He was quiet, and didn’t make loud noises while he ate, unlike her brothers. He wasn’t unpleasant to be around. He just left her feeling… odd. She could never put her finger on who or what Ian was, nor did she ever have a clue what he thought or felt. He gave nothing away. He could hate her, or respect her, but she had no inclination either way from him.
    “Will Shane miss that meeting?”
    Ian shrugged and wiped a napkin over his lips. “He’d deserve to. But probably not. He