Drake Sisters 04 - Dangerous Tides

heart."

    Joley leaned over and kissed her sister on the cheek. "You keep thinking that, hon, but keep it quiet around Mom and Dad. I carefully cultivated the image and I like it. How's Jonas?"

    "He's doing better," Hannah said. "I couldn't keep my eyes open and Kate said she'd stay with Abigail and watch over him until I get back."

    "I'm fixing you soup," Joley offered.

    "But you don't cook," Hannah said.

    Joley shrugged with a small grin. "It's in a can, babe, not your from-scratch soup. Even I can manage to heat up a can of soup."

    "Joley, that's so sweet. You don't have to do that."

    "I already did. You look as if you haven't had anything to eat this past week. You need nutrition. Lots and lots of nutrition."

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    "I haven't been able to sleep since Jonas was shot. I try, but I just keep seeing him lying on the ground covered in blood. I don't think I'll ever be able to get that image of him out of my head." Hannah's hand trembled as she rubbed at her mouth. "Why would someone do that to him? Why?"

    Libby shook her head. "We'll probably never know, honey. You're overtired and you need to sleep."

    "I didn't want to leave him, but I needed to come home. Kate and Abbey said they'd take care of him,"
    Hannah repeated, sounding lost.

    Joley exchanged a long look with Libby. "You're not doing anything wrong by coming home. You've been at the hospital for over a week. You have to take care of yourself or you won't be of any use to Jonas. Come into the kitchen and let me get you some soup." She tugged at Hannah until her sister stood.
    It was only then that she noticed Libby was wearing makeup. "You can't be going to work yet, Libby.
    You need at least another week to recover."

    Libby tried to look nonchalant. "No, I'm just going out for a walk, maybe head into town to say hello to Inez at the grocery store. I need fresh air."

    Joley snorted. "You have to learn to lie, big sister. You're totally blushing."

    Hannah studied the scarlet color creeping into Libby's cheeks. "You're seeing him, aren't you, Libby?
    Tyson Derrick, the man who put the new birthmark on your neck."

    "I'm sooo telling Mom," Joley said.

    A small smile stole over Libby's face. "Maybe she'll think I'm the bad girl," she said hopefully. "What do you think?"

    "Sorry, love, not with me in the house." Joley flashed an engaging smile. "Mom's bound to have read at least one of the gossip mags and I think I've got some love triangle going at the moment." She suddenly looked hopeful. "Or maybe it's a threesome."

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    "Joley." Hannah wrinkled her nose. "That's just eww ."

    "Well, it would be nice if my life was as exciting in real life as it is in other people's imaginations."

    "I think Libby's life is becoming exciting," Hannah said.

    "If Hot Lips is hanging around there's no question things are going to be heating up, but I thought Sarah tried to run him off."

    "He doesn't run off very easily," Libby said, a small part of her secretly pleased that he wasn't intimated by her family. Libby was surprised at how eager she was to see Tyson. She'd thought about him all night, even resolved to tell him she wasn't going to go out with him, but the resolve had dwindled away in the morning. She sat for a long time watching the pounding sea as the wind kicked up the ocean into rough, foaming waves as she thought about Tyson Derrick. The more she thought about him, the more she was convinced that he needed her.

    "Good for him," Joley said, approval in her voice. "You need a strong man."

    "Me? Need him ? It's the other way around. He analyzes feelings but he either doesn't feel anything for people or doesn't recognize when he does. He's isolated himself from the world. And he uses extreme recreation, such as race car driving, just to make himself feel alive. He's always okay with commenting on people and observing them, but he certainly doesn't want to get involved."

    "Except with you."

    Libby blushed again. When he looked at her, there was unmistakable desire in his eyes. Raw hunger.
    Longing. Need. Everything in her rose up to respond. "We actually have a lot in common, although Sarah doesn't think so. We're both calm and it takes a lot to get us upset, although I've noticed I'm more emotional around him. He has a knack for getting under my skin like no one else and I seem to bring out a temper in