Read For the Love of Pete for Free Online Page A

chair, retrieved the coffee cake, then poured herself some coffee before sitting down at the table. She cut herself a huge slice of the coffee cake as she inquired, "Who called Pete Catlett and sent him to my doorstep last night?"
    Three perfectly bland expressions greeted her.
    "Then he did come by?" Ashley said, confirming her role in getting him there. "Good."
    "You seem upset," Melanie noted, looking more curious than repentant.
    "I'm not upset," she said, struggling to keep her tone neutral. She thought she was doing an admirable job of it. "Just surprised."
    "Everyone, including Ashley, says Pete does the best work of anyone in the area. Do you have a problem with letting him fix the porch?" Maggie asked.
    "Yes, I have a problem with it," she blurted without thinking. Damn, damn, damn. So much for neutrality. She should have taken some other approach. Now she'd all but admitted that it was personal.
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    "Which is?" Maggie persisted.
    Jo tried to backtrack and come up with an explanation that wouldn't stir up more questions. "You didn't consult me," she said finally. "It's got nothing to do with Pete. I'm sure he's very qualified, but I'm the one who's going to have to deal with having him underfoot day in and day out. He's there right now, brandishing some sort of weapon that smashes boards. I'll be lucky if the place is standing when I get back."
    "Come on, Jo. Don't exaggerate. He knows what he's doing," Ashley soothed, then grinned. "And he's easy on the eye, don't you think? He did a lot of the work for us, when Josh and I were fixing up our place. If I'd been single, I'd have definitely given him a second look."
    Jo rolled her eyes. She was beginning to get a much clearer picture. Pete's presence was a gift from her big sister, a male distraction, eye candy. Geez-oh-flip, she was distraught over a broken engagement and Ashley was serving up more testosterone. If only she and the others understood the irony of this particular gesture.
    Jo glanced up and realized Melanie was studying her with obviously increased curiosity.
    "Is there some particular reason you don't want Pete underfoot? I mean Pete specifically," Melanie inquired. "I wasn't even aware that you knew him, yet you seem to have taken an almost instant dislike to the man."
    Jo sighed. That was not a road she intended to travel down, even with her sisters. Her life was pathetic enough in their eyes at the moment without rehashing ancient history. She'd already stirred up more suspicion than she'd intended to.
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    FOR THE LOVE OF PETE
    "I don't dislike him," she lied. "I just wish you'd let me find my own contractor. I have a broken heart, not a broken brain. I need to find things to do, if I'm going to stay here for a while. I can't just mope around the house all day. And despite what you think, looking at some hunk you've found for me is not the answer."
    "It's an interesting start, though, don't you agree?" Ashley asked. "I'd think you'd be more appreciative."
    Jo tried to muster up the expected gratitude, but all she could think of was just how badly their good intentions had gone awry.
    "Have you spoken to him?" she asked Ashley instead. "Has he told you how long this job will take or how much it will cost? The man builds huge houses. I've seen the signs for them everywhere. He's bound to charge a fortune for a minor little repair like this. I'm sure someone else, a handyman for instance, could do the work for a lot less."
    "Too late now, if Pete's already started. Besides, I told you not to worry about the cost," her big sister said. "And I trust Pete to do what needs to be done and to give me a reasonable price."
    "Really?" she said skeptically. "You trust him?"
    Ashley's antennae went on full alert. "Is there some reason you think I shouldn't? I thought you said you didn't know him."
    Jo saw that she wasn't going to maneuver her sister into firing Pete, not without giving her something specific to go on. Since she wasn't about to admit the one