Never Again Good-Bye Read Online Free

all the darkness in her life.
    “I came because I owe you an apology,” he said. “A real one. You were right. I was a jerk yesterday.”
    Laney looked down at the floor, praying that he’d sit down so she could go change. Just accept his apology and he’ll leave , she told herself. “We were both under a lot of stress in a very unusual set of circumstances.”
    “Yeah, but I could have handled it a lot better.”
    “Possibly,” she agreed. “But it’s over now. It’s not good to dwell on things. Just sit down and—”
    “I hoped you’d let me make it up to you,” he cut in. His eyes moved back to hers, and their intensity startled her.
    “Please, Mr. Grayson—”
    “Wes. Call me Wes. I mean … I’m not that much older than you. How old are you, anyway?”
    She sighed with frustration. “I’m twenty-five.”
    “See?” he asked with a weak smile. “I’m only eight years older. Not old enough to call Mister.”
    “Whatever.” Unable to use his first name, she struggled back to her original thought. “You don’t owe me anything.”
    “You mean you don’t care that I won’t be able to sleep until I redeem myself?”
    “Not in the least.”
    His smile came easily this time. “Come on; I just want to clear my conscience.”
    Crossing her dirty arms, she sighed. “How did you want to redeem yourself? Paint the house; clean out the pool?”
    His grin broadened, and he rubbed his chin. “I had something less physical in mind.”
    “Like what?”
    “Like maybe buying you lunch.”
    “A hamburger for a criminal record?” She gave an exaggerated shrug. “Sounds fair.”
    “Ah, come on,” he said on a laugh. “That won’t go on your record. And I was thinking more along the lines of pizza. Amy’s at a birthday party, so I have some free time today.”
    Laney’s face darkened at the child’s name, and sadness found its way into her black eyes again. Her head moved slowly from side to side. “I can’t go for pizza with you.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because.”
    He nodded to her hallway and planted his feet firmly, as if he had no intention of settling for that answer. “Go ahead and change clothes. We can talk about it when you’re more comfortable.”
    She studied him for a moment, like a wide-eyed doe preparing to dart away. Would he stay there, or was he the kind to walk around while he waited? Could she change fast enough to be back before he lost interest in the view of the backyard? “All right,” she said finally, realizing she had to chance it. “I’ll just be a minute.” She dashed down the hall and into her bedroom.
    “Nice house,” Wes called to her after she left. She heard the couch squeak as he got up, his footsteps as he ambled across the room. Was he looking at the family pictures on her wall? She tried to move faster. “Do you live here alone?” he called.
    Laney searched her closet, pulled out a pair of jeans and a white pullover shirt. “It was my father’s,” she called back breathlessly. “He died a year ago. I just decided to move back.”
    “So you’re from here originally?”
    Laney pulled the jeans on. It was good to keep him talking. Maybe he’d stay in the den. “Yes. I’ve been living in Houston for the past several years. I left home when I was pretty young.”
    “Did you go to college in Houston?”
    “Yes,” she said.
    “So did you—” His question was cut off abruptly.
    “What?” she asked. There was no answer, and the silence seemed more eloquent than a million words. Suddenly she knew what had silenced him, what had stunned him. Her heart stopped, and she grabbed hold of her dresser. Holding her breath, she listened in frozen terror then forced herself to move. Her voice cracked, “Mr. Grayson?”
    No answer.
    Bracing herself, Laney walked out of the bedroom, looked across the den, and saw that he stood in the archway of the dining room. His back was rigid as he glared at hundreds of photos of his daughter, pictures she had taken