Twisted Asphalt (Asphalt Outlaw Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

she was obviously weighing her options.
“You’re not going to leave until I do, are you?”
    “Nope.” Folding his arms over his chest, he met her glare
with a flat pan stare, letting her know just how much her so-called threatening
glare scared him.
    “Gah!” Amy threw her hands in the air and spun on booted
heels. “Fine.”
    Mace chuckled at the fact that she was flustered. At least
he wasn’t the only one. He closed the door to the stallion’s stall and followed
her into the house. Now he understood the old saying, hate to see you go,
but damn I love watching you leave.
    Once inside, he looked around the entryway, then to Amy.
“Have a first-aid kit with an elastic wrap?”
    “Yup.” Amy nodded and pointed him through the living room.
“I’ll be right there. The kitchen is through the living room.”
    Mace watched her head down the hall for the bathroom, then
made his way toward the kitchen. He moved slowly, wanting to know a little bit
more about Amy and her family. He knew it wasn’t any of his business, but he
wasn’t going to give up on getting Amy to give him a chance.
    He paused at the hearth of the stone fireplace; one picture
stood out more than the others. Brows furrowed when he picked it up. Amy and a
woman that looked like she could be her older sister were smiling bright at the
camera, holding each other with their heads tilted toward one another.
    Feeling her beside him, he glanced at her, then back to the
picture. “Where is she?” Mace knew it was her mother, but had never seen her
around, and Stone sure as hell never talked about her.
    She lifted her hand, tips of fingers caressed the side of
the photo, a flicker of pain crossed her features. Sniffling, she gently took
the frame and set it back on the hearth, avoiding his eyes at all costs. “She
died a little over a year ago.”
    Mace heard the hurt lacing her voice when she spoke, which
tugged at his non-existent heartstrings. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he
followed her into the kitchen. He pointed to a chair, opening up the kit.
Finding the wrap, he sat opposite her. His legs were too long to face her, so
he straddled her form, placing her legs between his.
    “I left California and went to Nevada to go to school
because I couldn’t handle how my dad and brother were acting. All crazy
possessive and crap.”
    He never said a word while he doctored her hand and wrist.
Careful not to wrap it too tight, he glanced at her to make sure she was all
right.  She gave a slight nod before he turned his attention back to wrapping
it.
    “She died of breast cancer,” Amy said. Drawing in a deep
breath, she spoke on the exhale, almost as if she was trying to get rid of the
negative energy clouding her. “She owned a little holistic-style tea shop. She
sold knickknacks, herbs, teas, coffees, and books on natural healing. I
couldn’t let the store go to hell, or leave Maggie alone running it, so I came
back.”
    “I’m glad you did.” Mace lifted his eyes to meet hers. He
saw the unshed tears; every fiber of his being wanted to wrap her up in his
arms and rock her. He wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay, but
he knew it wouldn’t be. This wasn’t something someone got over overnight. He
pinned the end of the wrap down, turning her wrist and hand over, making sure
it wouldn’t cut off her circulation. “Well, there you go.”
    Amy sniffled, good hand wiping under her eyes, lashes
fluttering while she tried to gain control of her emotions. “So, yeah. Now you
can go to the guys and brag about how the prez’s daughter got all emotional on
you. The guys will get a kick out of that.”
    Mace felt like he was gut checked. She didn’t trust him.
Then again, she didn’t know him enough to trust him, and since she was the
president’s daughter, she probably caught a lot of flak for saying something
wrong or someone taking something she did wrong. “How would they know? I’m not
the kiss-and-tell type.” One shoulder