Read 2 Crushed for Free Online Page A

why she seemed to dislike him so much. He thought he was a pretty likable
guy, all things considered.
    Handel put his arm around Billie as
they walked across the parking lot. He whispered something in her ear and she
laughed. Margaret and Adam walked a few steps behind. He felt like he used to
when his mom made him go along as chaperone on his sister’s dates.
      Handel stopped beside a red Porsche and
opened the passenger door. “Could you drive Margaret back? I need to speak with
your sister and Margaret needs to be home when Davy gets off the bus.”
    Billie tossed her keys and Adam
caught them. She smiled. “I really appreciate it. “
    Without waiting for confirmation
she slid into the glove leather seat and Handel closed the door. He moved
quickly around the car to the driver’s side and slid behind the wheel. When the
engine purred to life, he gave them a thumbs-up before pulling out onto the
street.
    Adam heard Margaret let out a
frustrated breath and turned around. He was nearly blinded by the look in her
eyes. “Whoa!” He made the sign of the cross, warding off evil. “I hope that
isn’t meant for me cause I had nothing to do with this. Your brother left you
high and dry. I’m the kind stranger seeing you home.”
    “I don’t need anyone to see me
home. I’m not a child.”
    “I never thought you were. In fact,
you look pretty grown up to me.”
    She glanced away and shook her head
in disgust, but he noticed a slight shade of pink stain her cheeks.
    “What have I done to tick you off?
You don’t even know me, but you’ve been sending me a definite signal that if I
got hit by a bus you wouldn’t mourn my passing.”
    Her lips turned up slightly at
that. “Sorry. You’re right. I don’t know you and you don’t know me. Let’s leave
it at that, shall we?”
    He shrugged. “All right. Do you
want a ride? I happen to be heading that direction anyway.”
    “Thanks. That would be fine.”
    She followed him to the car, but
when he moved to open her door she waved him off. He got in and turned the key
in the ignition. She slid in beside him, not saying a word. They moved out into
traffic and she directed him back to the highway toward Fredrickson’s. The
radio was set to an oldies station and he sang along, ignoring her, as she
seemed to desire.
    They flew past vineyards that all
looked much the same to him. He hoped she’d let him know when it was time to
turn. Finally he chanced a glance in her direction. She stared straight ahead.
    “Can I ask you a question?”
    She sighed and crossed her arms
over her chest. “If you must.”
    “What were you going to ask my
sister back there?”
    She looked at him with a spark of
surprise before she dropped her gaze. “What are you talking about?”
    “You know what I’m talking about.
She said she needed a manager and you started to say something. Why’d you
stop?”
    “That’s two questions. Did you want
to know what I was going to say, or why I stopped?”
    He shook his head. “Wow. You are a
piece of work.”
    She angled her body toward him, her
arm across the back of the seat. “Now you’re just being obtuse.”
    “I’m insensitive?”
    She shrugged.
    He turned up the radio. The heavy
rock beat of Barracuda thumped
through the speakers.
    She flipped it back off, not ready
to drop the subject. “I’ve lived by the winery my whole life. I worked there. I
learned the winemaking process from your uncle when I was a child, just like
Davy is doing now. I hung out and watched Jack managing the place, overseeing
the vineyards. He let me be involved, explained what was going on.” She paused.
“Up until I had Davy. But I’ve read and kept up on things, talked with other
vintners that stopped by. I have my own vines and make my own wine. I know how
to run a winery. I have money saving ideas your sister could employ. I have
experience that isn’t from books, but from life, and just because I’m a woman
without a college degree doesn’t mean