Read Serving Pride for Free Online Page A

time I saw you,” he said over dinner. They were
seated at a little place right along the beach. The dim lights and
soft music added to the atmosphere. It was just what he’d
wanted.
     
    “Really?” She
smiled at this and for a second he thought she had a secret she was
hiding from him.
     
    “Yes.” He leaned
over and grabbed her hand across the table. He liked seeing the
spark in her eyes when he touched her. “You seem more courageous.
More…” He didn’t have the words.
     
    “It might have
something to do with the fact that I’ve taken Judo since the last
time you saw me. After what happened, I wanted to make sure I could
protect myself.”
     
    “Wow, Judo?” He
smiled as he thought about it, and he found himself getting more
turned on by her. In New Mexico he’d trained in Judo and Tae Kwon
Do, as well as attending a few boxing classes. He’d also had some
gun classes that he had to stay up with. It had seemed at times
that he spent more time attending classes than searching for his
mother.
     
    “What do you plan
on doing now that you’re home?” he asked on the way back to town.
He hating thinking that the evening was coming to an end and tried
to drive as slowly as he could.
     
    “Well, I’ve applied
for a job at the veterinary clinic in town. Hopefully I will get
it. After that, I hadn’t really thought about it. How about
you?”
     
    “I’ve decided to
run for sheriff next year. I’ve been looking at a few houses around
town to purchase.”
     
    “Really? Which
houses?”
     
    “I can drive you by
the one I’ve been thinking about signing the dotted line on. That
is, if you don’t mind giving me your opinion.”
     
    “That would be
fun.” She sat up a little straighter in her seat and actually
looked excited.
     
    “I still have the
code to the front door, so we can take a tour inside,
too.”
     
    “Really? They let
you walk around without someone being there?”
     
    He laughed at her.
“Remember, town sheriff here.”
     
    She smiled at him.
“I almost forgot.”
     
    When he drove up
the steep driveway, he was once again impressed by the place. The
log cabin look had caught his eye right away. Tonight the front
porch lights had been left on and the place seemed to
glow.
     
    The wide front
porch looked inviting and he could just imagine himself sitting out
there on a large swing, maybe watching a couple of dogs play in the
front yard. The nearest neighbor was about a quarter of a mile down
the road, but he didn’t mind; he liked the solitude. The inside had
recently been remodeled and it shined and looked brand
new.
     
    After parking in
front of the oak garage doors, he walked around to open Amelia’s
door.
     
    “Oh, I can’t
believe how lovely it is. I’ve never been up here before. I suppose
there are other houses in town that I’ve never seen, but I can’t
believe I didn’t know this one was here.”
     
    He followed her up
onto the deck, but instead of going to the front door, she stood
and looked out into the dark yard, leaning on the
railing.
     
    “I bet you can see
the ocean from here.” She turned and looked at him. He nodded his
head in agreement.
     
    “Yes, just through
those trees there, but I had planned on trimming them down a bit so
the view was unhindered.”
     
    “Wonderful. It’s so
far up here in the hills, too, yet still just two minutes to
town.”
     
    He smiled. “Yes,
that’s why I think I chose it. And you should see the master
bathroom.” He walked to the door and entered the code in the keypad
and tried the door. It opened quietly.
    “Good, I remembered it correctly. Come on, I’ll give you the
tour.”
     
    She walked up to
him and smiled. “Who used to live here?”
     
    “Well, the last
couple that lived here had moved to Pride from Portland two years
ago. I guess they decided the slow life was too slow and moved back
to the
city . Before that, I’m not
sure.”
     
    She walked into the
entryway and he followed. There