Chasing Air Read Online Free PDF Page B

someone’s cart, spilling the contents of the basket she was carrying.
    “I’m really sorry, I should have watched where I was going,” she said as she picked up her items from the floor. When she stood back up and made eye contact with the driver of the grocery cart, she was shocked to see who she’d run in to. Detective Buchanan was all smiles.
    “Mak, great to see you. You live in this area?” He was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and flip-flops. It was nice to see him casual and without the suit.
    “Hmm, yes, Detective, I live in Vitruvian Park. And you?”
    “Please call me Ryler. I’ve got a home a couple of blocks from here. Nice coincidence bumping into you. Hey, if you don’t already have plans this evening, I’m lighting up the grill. I hate eating alone. How about joining me for a little impromptu dinner, nothing fancy? It would be easier than arresting you for failing to control your speed while inside the market,” he said with a laugh.
    Makenzie laughed at his humor as well. “Well, I certainly don’t want to be arrested. Let’s see, I have laundry going at home, so I would need to run by there for a few minutes. Can we make it for about six o’clock? And only if I can bring something.”
    Her eyes shined up at him and he melted at the thought of getting her alone and away from her normal comfort zone of the ER department.
    “Sure, I’ll text you my address, what’s your cell number?”
    She gave him her number and realized that he’d made a sneaky shot at getting her number so quickly. She smiled.
    He saw her smile and couldn’t control his happiness, either.
    She noticed his chest puffed out and his stance seemed instantly taller. She was keenly aware that he thought he had harpooned her into a date. “Seriously, let me bring something.”
    He pointed to his cart, “I was going to grill this fish and I’ve got stuff for a fruit salsa. I think I’ve got everything. That’s if you even like fish, of course,” he said, not wanting to prepare something she didn’t like.
    “Absolutely. I’ll see you in a little bit then.”
    She turned to walk away, but not before he had a great laugh at her expense when she ran into the end-cap on the next aisle and knocked over a platform stacked with animal crackers.
    “Are you sure you want me to come to your house? I’m batting a thousand right now,” she said through her laughter.
    “I’m sure. I’ll see you around six.”
    After leaving the market, Makenzie was giddy, but also nervous. She was excited to spend some time alone with Ryler, wanting to get to know him, but she had to be careful with him. She couldn’t risk having him looking into her background. It would be so easy for him to discover that she wasn’t really Dr. Makenzie Holder.
    Anyone asking about her in her old life could get her, or more likely themselves, killed. Andrew “Drew” Donati and his family would come after her in a split second. The thought of Drew made her skin crawl and the hair on her neck stand up. She involuntarily looked at the door, almost like her body kicked into action. She went to the patio doors and double checked that they were locked as well. Old ghosts had come back, haunting her brain. She shook her head, trying to chase her fears away.
    Makenzie took a quick shower and got ready for her non-date with Ryler. She put on some music with a fun beat to change her mood. With hip-hop music piping through her apartment, she began to dance around and before long, she had relaxed.
    Hmmm, Ryler looked so sexy in a t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops , she remembered.
    She decided to match him. She pulled out a pair of low riders, a pink t-shirt, and some flip flops. Hair up or down? She couldn’t decide. She tried to coax her long, wavy dark brown hair into some sort of a style, but it wasn’t working. Finally giving up, she pulled it back into a ponytail and put on a cute baseball cap. As she finished dressing and put on her flip flops, she gasped. These