Emily Kimelman - Sydney Rye 04 - Strings of Glass Read Online Free PDF Page A

I inhaled the rich scent of jasmine. A
lizard dashed up the wall and into the vine’s
fragrant flowers.
    The
water sputtered for a moment and then streamed hot and heavy. Stepping under
the spray I closed my eyes and concentrated on getting clean. I heard Blue
barking excitedly and wondered if Dan had come back. Were we going to make up
now? I remembered how fun that could be and thought that maybe I could do this
relationship thing again. Maybe I was ready. My heart fluttered at the thought.
    #
    F inishing quickly I dried off
and headed back into the hut. Throwing my towel on the bed I reached for a
sundress when a voice behind me said. “Whoa, whoa.”
    I turned
around to see Mulberry sitting in my reading chair, his left hand covering his
eyes. I grabbed the towel off the bed and when I turned back he was peeking.
“Mulberry!” I yelled.
    He
shrugged and dropped his hand. “What?”
    “Jesus,
what are you doing here?” My heart
was pounding in my chest.
    “When
you refused to respond to my emails I figured I’d show up.”
    I rolled
my eyes even though I was really happy to see him. If I was wearing more clothes
and he’d actually knocked, I would have hugged him. Blue sat next to him
leaning into his legs. Mulberry reached out and ruffled his ears.
    “Why
have you been ignoring me?” he asked, looking at me with his bright green
eyes.
    I
sighed. “Why do you insist on only writing to me about cases?”
    Mulberry
smiled. “Because I know a good mystery is the best way to your heart;
isn’t that right, Blue?” Mulberry said,
returning his attention to my beast. Blue looked up at him, his eyes filled
with devotion and joy. “At least he’s happy to see me,” Mulberry said.
“What happened to him? I’d hate to see the other guy,” he said with a
soft laugh.
    “He
was attacked by an aggressive pack. And I would be happy to see you, if you hadn’t just seen me naked.”
    Mulberry
laughed. “Come on, what are you doing here?”
    “What
do you mean? I’m living here.”
    “I
can see that,” he said, then looked around the
cabin. I saw his jaw clench and then he asked quietly,
“With Dan?”
    “Yes,
with Dan.”
    “And
that’s what you want to do?” He looked
over at me again, glints of yellow in his eyes sparkled in the sunlight that
streamed through a nearby window.
    “What
do you mean?”
    “You
want to stay here, not have any more adventures with me?”
    “Your adventures usually involve Bobby Maxim,
lies , and almost getting me killed,” I said.
    Mulberry
frowned. “What are you going to do?” He stood up and stepped toward
me, his broad shoulders blocking out the sun’s rays. “Stay here and marry
Dan? Become a homemaker?” I felt anger rolling off of him like a wave of
heat surges over blacktop in the desert.
    His rage
struck me like an unexpected blow and I yelled at him. “Why not, Mulberry?
Why wouldn’t I marry Dan? Because that might make me happy? Shouldn’t I be
happy!”
    His face
paled and he shrunk away from me. I felt like a bull, huffing air out my nose,
ready to charge. He shook his head. “I’m sorry,
Sydney. Of course you should be happy.” The word seemed to die in his
mouth. He ran a hand through his dark hair, the silver that peppered it shining
in the light.
    I
squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed at them with my free hand. “God Mulberry,
what are you doing here?”
    “I
don’t know,” he said,
not looking at me. A moment passed as we stood there, the steam from my shower
and heat of our emotions filling the room with a wet and heavy silence.
Mulberry licked his lips. “I’m sorry.”
    I
nodded, my damp hair tickling my bare shoulders. “Want a drink?” I
asked.
    He
smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
    “All
right, then get the fuck out so I can get dressed.” I smiled at him.
    Mulberry
laughed and turned to the door, Blue following him outside.
    When I
came out  Mulberry was sitting by the pool with Monica. She laughed and placed
her hand on his