Read Thunder Running for Free Online Page A

She tugged on the handle and scooped up the contents, briefly examining the smiling blonde in the photo before checking the date on the postmark.
    Two weeks ago.
    She sat cross-legged on the floor, slipped two pieces of notebook paper from the topmost envelope and unfolded them. The handwriting was bubbly, the lines punctuated with hearts and smiley faces.
    By the third letter, Tara was gripping the paper so hard she left thumbprints.
    And the whole time I was dancing with him I was dreaming it was you, my brave soldier, proudly serving our country and protecting our freedom—
    â€œTara? You home?”
    At the sound of Chance’s voice she bolted up from her seat, two years’ worth of letters clutched messily in her fist.
    She’d suspected he might be a lot of awful things—a gambling addict, an alcoholic, an incurable commitment-phobe—but she’d never guessed Chance was the two-timing type. She’d known so many of them and he seemed so different, but she supposed life had a way of keeping you in check, making sure you were wrong every once in a while. She just wished she could’ve been wrong about something else.
    She stomped to the top of the stairs and froze. His broad smile, the slightly crushed bouquet in his hand, the incredible cut of his body in those ACUs nearly melted her fury into anguish.
    Then he opened his big, dumb mouth.
    â€œIs something burning?”
    â€œYou bet it is, you cheating sack of shit,” she hissed, racing to the bottom of the stairs and flapping the letters in his face. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out about your little piece on the side? Then again, since she’s been writing you love letters for years, maybe I’m the other woman, huh? Is our marriage even legal, Chance? Have you got another license from another state tucked in with these letters? What are you, a freaky bigamist?”
    She could hear the hysteria rising in her voice but couldn’t stop it, couldn’t seem to do anything except step closer and closer until his back was against the door, his hands were on her upper arms and the flowers were forgotten on the floor. Too late she realized she still had a towel wrapped turban-like around her head, too late she wondered whether she should’ve read all the letters before reacting, too late she saw the warmth drain from Chance’s expression until he stared at her like she was a crazy woman accosting him on the street.
    Too late. Way too late.
    â€œSlow down. What love letters? What are you talking about?”
    â€œThese.” She thrust them against his chest and spun away, leaving him hustling to keep the papers from scattering across the floor. “Two years of love and devotion from Jessica in McCordsville, Indiana. Or have you forgotten about her already?”
    He frowned, tilted his head, and then—to her utter indignation—he rocked back on his heels and laughed.
    She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. “What’s so funny?”
    He laughed even harder, angling down to prop one hand on his thigh. She scowled, really wishing she’d remembered to take the towel off her head.
    â€œI’m glad all this two-timing amuses you,” she managed around gritted teeth. “Because I’m fixing to walk out that door and never look back if I don’t get an explanation in the next thirty seconds.”
    â€œYou got the wrong end of the stick, sugar.” He straightened, still grinning as he held up the bunched envelopes. “Jessica’s in high school. She’s sixteen years old.”
    â€œYou pervert,” Tara gasped, sending him into another fit of laughter.
    â€œGo on and untwist yourself, don’t look so cross,” he cajoled. “Jessica and I have never met, and we never will. She started writing to me years ago when her church youth group signed up to the Adopt-a-Soldier Program. She pulled my name out of a hat, that’s