The Bride Takes a Powder Read Online Free Page A

Banning. Welcome to Birchwood Falls."
    She gave him a two-fingered salute,
marched down the street, up onto the porch, and inside the door without even
one look back. And she hadn't given him any sense she recognized his name.
    Shaking his head, he turned back
inside the bar. I wonder what's up with
her? What the hell is she doing here? She's definitely not Axel's style. Wasn't
yours years ago and certainly not yours now either. Closing his eyes, he
took a deep breath which didn't help him make sense of the night. His emotions
had swung the gamut from happiness to shock with a dollop of sexual attraction
thrown in.
    But with what Stu Pressman had told
him tonight, he had a bigger problem on the horizon than the gorgeous, prickly
Norah Ballard. But it rankled the hell out of him that she didn't recognize him.
    ***
    Mike
Banning? From college?
    Clothing damp from the light rain
and with hair flattened to her scalp, Norah climbed the stairs to her
apartment. She wished she could stomp on the wooden treads but didn't want to
disturb Jan. What a bunch of Neanderthals in this town! That guy, Axel. Drunk
asshole. I could have handled him.
    Banning had sported a big, warm
smile until that guy with the ponytail came in. Then his demeanor had changed
drastically. He'd gone from cheerful to stunned to angry. How bad could the
problem be that it couldn't be fixed with a plate of chocolate chip cookies?
Small town values and all that.
    She remembered his name, but he
didn't look the same. As an undergrad, he'd been tall, skinny, and a bit shaggy
looking. Boy, had he changed. And for the better. He really was a good-looking
guy. His dark hair, now stylishly cut, had gleamed in the overhead light. His
facial features had lost their teenage boy look and had sharpened into lean
lines and strong angles.
    Mike Banning was a simple name for
a man who hadn't seemed to be having a simple night. He'd gone through every
emotion from happiness at being home from school to stunned at what looked like
bad news. Then he'd become Super Protector and hustled Axel the jerk out. And
all she'd done was bitch at him.
    He'd just wanted to make sure she
got home safely, and she'd treated him terribly. "Sorry, Mike," she
murmured. "I'll apologize tomorrow."
    She brushed her teeth and prepared
to spend the second night of her honeymoon alone. The bed in the apartment was
comfortable, but she restlessly punched the pillow and wished she had something
to read. It had been years since a novel had been her bedtime companion. A
bookstore was connected to the coffee house where she'd had breakfast that
morning. She'd only been here one day? Yesterday—her wedding day—seemed years
ago. Well anyway, she promised herself a trip to the bookstore tomorrow.
    Tossing and turning, she wondered
if there was a chance in hell she'd ever fall…
    ***
    Morning and she woke suddenly, her
heart fluttering in a panic. Where am I? The room wasn't familiar. Then she recalled what had happened. She'd always
thought she was in control of her life, and it wasn't like her to run away from
a problem. Gazing at the ceiling, she let that thought wash over her. On one
hand, she wasn't married now to an asshole. She didn't have to go to work. As
her pulse calmed, the rising sun streaming in the window lightened her mood. On
the other hand, she had nothing to do. She was free.
    Then, as if sharp talons tore
through her stomach, she remembered. The doctor. She was scared. What if
Garrett had given her something? It would be a cold day in July when she'd
trust another man again, let alone have sex. Expelling the breath she'd been
holding, she slid to the side of the bed and sat up. You won't know anything until you know so get up, get dressed, and
think about something else for now.
    Dressed in jeans and a sweater, she
perched on the seat of the bay window in the living room, luxuriating in the
warmth of the early morning sun and her first cup of coffee. Used to rushing
out the door to the gym