Read Ashes - Book 2 (New Adult Romantic Suspense) for Free Online

gives her a big hug and a good petting. She looks adorable in my oversized t-shirt and the shorts she pulled back on from yesterday.
    Her feet are bare, still raw from all the blisters from her hiking boots. I glance down at them and wince. Damn. They have to hurt.
    Ken punches me in the arm and I glare at him. “What?” I bring my attention back to him when I realize he’s caught me staring.
    “You can ride with me,” Ken says again.
    “Great. Thanks. Wait.” I raise an eyebrow. “I thought you were off today.”
    “Not anymore. Jack’s got the shits and I’m pulling a twelve to help cover.”
    I grimaced. “Him too. Heard it was going around.” My stomach rumbles about that time, likely in sympathy to Jack.
    He gives me a look. “You okay?”
    I don’t have to ask what he means. He’s not talking about my digestive system. Beth texted Stephanie last night to let her know she was staying with me and to give her a heads up as to what had happened. We didn’t expect our names to be in the news, since we escaped the park before any news hounds sniffed their way to the story, but you never know … our names and faces could be flashed on the early news this morning if someone has a leaky mouth.
    I look from Beth to Steph and back to Ken. “Yeah. I’m good.”
    He gives me a ‘right, we’ll talk later’ lift of the chin, just as Stephanie curls herself up to his side.
    “Be safe today,” Stephanie says and wraps her free arm around him. I smile when he grabs the cat and hands the puffy white thing to Beth. Then he kisses his fiancé like it could be the last time he ever sees her.
    Something close to a shiver crawls up my spine. In our line of work, it very well could be the last.
    Today’s a Sunday and it could go one of two ways. It could be super quiet and I do busy work or we could end up racing from one hungover tourist crash to another or doing a ton of band-aid calls for minor tourist injuries.
    Of course, there’s always the risk that tragedy could strike. We lost Travis in a building collapse just a couple months ago. It could have been Ken or me — any one of us — who’d gone in first. Instead, it was us who’d recovered the body of our friend.
    Damn.
    I can’t be thinking this way. Can’t go borrowing trouble by worrying about shit I can’t control. I look at Beth and realize she’s looking at me. Our eyes meet, but we don’t step toward each other. That weird, awkward, cold distance is like a concrete wall between us again.
    I overhear the lovebirds whispering their goodbyes and I love yous, both touched and disgusted at the same time. I still can’t believe my best bud is this pussy whipped. The dude who had a string of women at his beck and call. He gave all that up … showgirls, models … for Stephanie. Then I look at the way she looks at him and can kinda, sorta, almost understand why.
    I look over at Beth and — holy shit — she’s looking at me like that too. Her eyes are soft and there’s the tiniest hint of a smile on her face as she strokes the white cat on its head.
    Fuck.
    I pretend I don’t notice and turn away, stowing my bag in Ken’s truck. I’m not giving up my showgirls and models. No way in hell.
    “We better go,” I tell Ken, needing to get the fuck out of here. Shit. I messed things up with Beth by crying, having the nightmare, being vulnerable. Hell, being too available.
    Fuck Buddy Rule #7 — Spread out the meetings. It’s meant to be an occasional thing so emotions don’t have a chance to take root.
    Of course, Beth and I have already broken Fuck Buddy Rules #1, #3 and #8 — we’ve spent the night together; gone on an actual date; and communicated in ways other than texting.
    And shit … she just gave me the When To End A Fuck Buddy Relationship look. THE look. The ‘I’m falling for you’ look.
    Damn. Damn. Damn.
    I’ve got to reel this back in, or cut the line altogether, even though I feel a little stab at the thought. I don’t want