Read We'll Never Tell (Secrets of Ravenswood) for Free Online

hard chin, and straight nose—appealed to her sense
of order. But when he turned and blinked those long-lashed blue eyes, her heart
stuttered.
    She grasped for words.
“So, what’s new?” Lame, Sam, seriously lame.
    Shrugging, he leaned
back in his chair. “Not much. I spend most of my time working with my dogs,
with an occasional foray with the search and rescue team whenever Ken calls.”
He glanced toward the window and the panoramic view of the creek before his
gaze returned to settle on hers. “I did a lot of backcountry hiking this
summer.”
    “Sounds—solitary.”
    “I’ve never been what
you’d call social.”
    “We have that in
common.” She glanced down at the menu. “I think I’ll have the spinach
raviolis.”
    He shut his menu and
raised an eyebrow. “You’re plenty social. You and your friend, Juliette, are
practically joined at the hip when you’re home.”
    “I do have a couple of
good friends who stick by me, even when I disappear for months at a time. I
meant I don’t go out much.”
    The candle stuffed into
a wine bottle next to the bread basket flickered. Their server, a pert redhead
who smiled brightly at Ethan, stopped at the table, opened a bottle of merlot,
and poured a splash into his glass. He sipped and nodded. After taking their
orders, she glided away.
    Sam pointed at the
retreating woman’s swaying hips. “Your solitary condition must be self-imposed.
I’m certain you wouldn’t have a bit of trouble rustling up company if you
wanted it.”
    His gaze followed her
figure but didn’t linger. “I’m not averse to dating, but it isn’t easy to find
someone who will put up with me—and my dogs.”
    She was willing to bet
there were plenty of women who would suffer a little dog hair to date Ethan.
“You leave the toilet seat up, dirty socks on the floor, dishes in the sink,
what?”
    “Yes, yes, and yes.” His
eyes glimmered with amusement. “I’m an old dog. I don’t want to learn new
tricks.”
    She clicked her tongue
and nodded. “Thirty-two is ancient. You’re practically ready for a retirement
home.”
    His lips quirked up at
the corners. Flipping back the checked cloth on the bread basket, he offered
her a roll. “You’re a smart ass. Anyone ever mention that before?”
    Their fingers brushed
when she took the roll, and a tingle shot up her arm. “Maybe once or twice.”
    He smoothed a pat of
butter across his roll and met her gaze. “Why aren’t you married, or engaged,
or at least involved with someone? You aren’t exactly hard on the eyes.”
    The warm contentment
filling her faded. She sipped her wine. “Men tend to look elsewhere when the
date on your return home ticket is open ended.”
    The sympathy in his eyes
tugged at her heart.
    “Do you ever get tired
of it, spending so much time in strange places?”
    “You call them strange.
To me, they’re exotic. It’s all semantics.” She stared down at the roll,
crumbling pieces onto her plate. “This last trip may have been a little over
the top. I got involved in a project reconstructing a school in this tiny
village…” She abandoned her food but didn’t look up. “I’ve been thinking about
cutting back on my travel schedule, maybe sticking a little closer to home.”
    “Do you do it for the
adventure?”
    She opened her mouth
then shut it when their salads were delivered. After the server bestowed
another smile on Ethan before leaving, Sam picked up her fork. “It started out
that way. The rush of finding a victim alive in the rubble of a building is
similar to the way you feel when you leap out of a plane.”
    He choked on a crouton.
“I’m going to have to take your word for it.”
    She smiled at the glassy
look in his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve never tried sky diving?”
    “I prefer to keep my
feet on solid ground.”
    “You don’t know what
you’re missing.”
    “Believe it or not, I’m
okay with that.”
    Their conversation grew
more general as they ate their main