Between Octobers Bk 1, Savor The Days Series Read Online Free PDF

He’s sitting in a black SUV. Tell him
that Evan says to do what he can to keep the kids occupied. If
there are any problems, have him ring me on this phone. There’s no
cell reception in here.”
    He remained polite as the conversation wound
down to completion. I heard the click when he set the receiver
down.
    “He was very helpful.” The sarcasm was
unmistakable. My stomach twisted in knots. “I mean, he really was
very helpful and your kids will like Marcus. He can be pretty
entertaining when he wants to be.”
    The light on his phone dimmed as I settled
back into my corner. He tapped the screen and took a spot beside
me.
    “How long?”
    “He guesstimated twenty minutes. That isn’t
so bad, eh?”
    I curled my arms around my raised knees.
    “Could be worse. You could have them in here
with us, right now. That’d be . . . noisy. Possibly smelly,
depending on their ages.”
    His expression did not match the tone of
playful optimism. He must not have been aware that, though the
light was trained mostly on me, I could still make out his face and
the charade he was putting on. I was not fooled, but appreciated
the effort.
    “Do you have children?”
    “Not that I know of,” he smirked.
    “There’s nothing worse than not being able
to protect them.”
    “They’re safe with Marcus and you’ll be out
before you know it. Do you mind if I smoke?” I looked to see his
hand was open. On his palm rested a small, oblong cylinder. “Not
the whole thing.”
    “Is that a joint?”
    “No,” he laughed, “Do you want to get high?”
The light tilted as he placed the phone on his leg to search his
pocket.
    “No, thank you. I couldn’t tell what it was.
You go ahead, do what you need to.” It was the least I could do.
He’d already coordinated our rescue.
    “For the record, I’m going to quit.”
    A flame flickered, illuminating his face.
For an instant, I could see the perfectly straight slope of his
nose. In the smolder of his long drag, I watched the smoke billow
and float towards the ceiling. The burning red glowed bright,
receding as the ashes grew on the fiery end. He flicked them into
the opposite corner. Small flecks of red burnt out across the hard
floor. The fumes were tolerable, though the space was confined. I
watched the shaft of light move as he smothered the remnant on the
bottom of his shoe. After, he shoved the scorched end in his pocket
and started talking.
    “It has been very difficult. Not with the
addiction to nicotine, my issue lies in trying to find something to
do with my hands.”
    He mimicked the motions and I laughed,
surprised at how easily the sound bubbled through my anxiety.
    “You should take up knitting.”
    “Ah, knitting. Now that is a good idea. One
can never have too many mittens.” His tone was so serious; it made
the content of his words all the more ridiculous.
    I giggled again, holding out my hand. “My
name is Grace.”
    “It is nice to meet you, Gracie.” Taking my
hand, he placed it between his own in a very respectable,
gentlemanly gesture that immediately put me at ease. “My friends
call me Evan.”
    The moments ticked away as his hands
encircle mine. But before I could get too uncomfortable, he
released me. Must have been my imagination—time does stretch in the
dark.
    The light of his phone dimmed again, and he
tapped the screen.
    “What do your enemies call you?”
    “Family.” The retort was quick and lacked
irony. Before I could decide what to make of it, he negated. “No, I
can’t say in the presence of a lady.” He laughed, weakly.
    Something inside me stirred and I wanted to
know what made him speak in such a way. Humor or something more?
But, if he wanted to talk about it, he would have left the slip-up
open to response. Lily’s nosiness was rubbing off on me.
    “Thank you,” I whispered—probably the result
of all my probing. I don’t know why I cared so much. I didn’t know
him. But I could not shake the sense that we’d met