The Bride Takes a Powder Read Online Free Page B

then to work, she couldn't remember the last time she'd
just sat with coffee in the morning. It felt pretty weird to have this quiet.
Staring out at the waking town, at one or two cars already on the highway in
front of her house, at the river flowing through the town, she breathed deeply,
absorbing the peace.
    Her phone beeped. Garrett was
texting her with a demand to know where she was. He certainly wasn't apologizing
for his behavior. She tossed her phone onto the couch and had no intention of
responding to him.
    She gazed out the window again, the
picture of Super Protector Banning shimmering in her mind. He'd become such a
hunk, and she'd almost wanted to run her fingers through his dark hair. Kind of
long for a teacher. Damn. Why was she
thinking about him this way? Surely it was all a result of the jumble of things
she'd gone through in the last forty-eight hours. The confusion, the
uncertainty. Two things she wasn't used to feeling.
    The scene outside was pretty this
morning. There'd been so much rain—pouring, misting, sprinkling—in the last few
days. Trees and flowering bushes budded and had begun filling out with fresh,
soft-green leaves. It was still cool in the morning, but she cracked the window
open a bit for fresh air. Jan had left the local newspaper on the landing, and
it probably wouldn't take long to look through. A quiet small town. What could
be bad here?
    Unfolding it, she gaped at the
headline.
    Local Teachers Cheating on Tests
    The story described a cheating
scandal with teachers and administrators changing or adding answers on
standardized tests. Naturally enough she didn't recognize any of the names
except one. Michael Banning. Mr. Do-good? She'd believed she was a good judge
of character and a natural skeptic, which was good for a lawyer. But she'd just
had her life upended by a faithless scumbag fiancé. Could Mike have fooled her
too?
    She wasn't a criminal lawyer, but
even in corporate work she counted on her instincts to determine truth or not.
Obviously her instincts had failed her with Garrett. He'd have undoubtedly
motioned for a waiter or maître d' to remove a drunken bully. But Banning
handled it. Chivalrously. Then made sure she got home safely. She cracked a
smile. For some reason, that thought made her feel nurtured. Yes, you need to apologize to him.
    Glancing at the clock over the
kitchen sink, she noticed it was time for the doctor's appointment. The office
was about two and a half blocks from the McMillan House, close enough to walk
although there didn't seem to be any taxis in town anyway. Swallowing down her
nerves, she swore if she even let another man near her, condoms would be the
major piece of sexual equipment. Damn
Garrett to hell and back.
    Thirty minutes later, she'd talked
to the doctor, had blood drawn, and was on her way. The results wouldn't be
available for three days, and the doctor recommended putting the problem out of
her mind until she knew the outcome for sure. Oh great. I have the weekend to stew.

 
    Chapter Three
    Norah strolled down Marion Parkway
toward the center of town. The almost constant rain had stopped. Lifting her
face, she blinked at the sparkling flashes of sun filtering through the leafy
canopy above. Venerable long-enduring trees planted on both sides of the street
and in the center divider created a sheltering vault of green overhead.
    In the crisp spring breeze, she
felt a measure of unexpected peace. Maybe she could or should take the fresh,
beautiful glow of the world around her at this moment as an omen she'd be okay
after all this. Standing motionless in the middle of the sidewalk, could she
enjoy not doing anything? Just being? It would be a new experience for her.
    But she'd never not had complete control over herself
and her surroundings. Her future with Garrett had been part of that control. At
least that had been her plan. Anxiety clutched at her stomach. She'd escaped a
disastrous marriage and prayed she'd also escaped the