Everafter (Kissed by an Angel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

friend of Bryan’s.”
    “Is there a problem?”
    Ivy held up the skates and the broken lace.
    He raised an eyebrow. “The rental shop’s that way,” he said, pointing.
    “I know.” Ivy had grown alarmingly good at lying, and one of the tricks she had learned was to tell as much truth as possible in a lie. “I shouldn’t have come in, but I wanted to look at your photographs. I saw some in the snack bar. You have a few really good ones of Bryan coaching.”
    The man smiled. She had hit the target, an uncle’s extreme pride in his talented nephew. “He’s great withthose kids. He could make a living coaching, if he wasn’t so damn good at it himself.”
    “Bryan said his mom was a player.”
    Uncle Pat chuckled. “Yeah, I bet he told you she was better than me and my brothers.”
    “Was she?”
    “Yeah.” His laughter boomed. “Here she is,” he said, pointing to a photo, which allowed Ivy to move farther into the room.
    Ivy grinned: sturdily built, Bryan’s mother looked like him with a ribbon in his hair. Next to her photo was a newspaper clipping, yellowed with age, the photo showing a much younger, slimmer Uncle Pat, and the headline announcing ANOTHER CAVANAUGH LEADS TEAM TO CHAMPIONSHIP. Buying time, Ivy stopped to read the article, and when she heard Bryan’s uncle move toward his desk, she quickly shifted her eyes to scan the wall of photos. There it was! A picture of Bryan in a tux, accepting a trophy. From where she stood, she couldn’t see enough to tell if a cufflink was showing. She dragged her eyes back to the old article about Uncle Pat.
    “It’s kind of awesome,” she said, “to hand down a sport in a family. It says in this article your dad was a great goalie. Is he still around to see Bryan play?”
    “No, but he saw him as a youngster. You kind of interested in Bryan?”
    Uncle Pat had just handed her the excuse she needed.She forced herself to gush. “I’d love to see him play!”
    “Bryan gets tickets from the university for the home games. You should ask him.”
    “Maybe I will,” Ivy said, feigning a shy smile. She moved along the wall toward her goal. “That’s a good picture of him. What award is he getting?” She peered closely at the photo. With his elbows bent and his hands grasping the trophy, Bryan’s cufflink was clearly visible. When enlarged, would it provide sufficient evidence? She almost gasped when she saw the familiar date written on the photo’s mat: the day of the hit-and-run.
    “He was a finalist in the Northeast Interscholastic Athletic Association.”
    NIAA, Ivy said to herself over and over, memorizing it.
    “To get that far he had to be voted Providence’s High School Player of the Year—not just among hockey players, but all athletes.”
    “Awesome!” She read the white script in the bottom corner of the photo: D. L. Pabst, she repeated to herself—the professional photographer, the person who would have the electronic file.
    “There must be a lot of pressure on Bryan.”
    “Well, if anybody can handle it, he can.” Uncle Pat looked at her thoughtfully. “You know, you should really be having this conversation with Bryan. Most guys are flattered by a pretty girl’s interest.”
    Ivy tried to look sweet and wistful. “The thing is, he’s my roommate’s boyfriend. Please—please, don’t tell him I asked about him.”
    Uncle Pat winked. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
    “Thanks for the photo tour.”
    “Sure. Anytime.”
    She turned to leave.
    “Ivy,” he called after her.
    “Yes?”
    “Bryan never stays with one girl too long. You’ll have your chance.”
    My chance to put him behind bars, she thought. “Thanks. I hope so!”

Four
    JAGGED LIGHTNING SCISSORED THE MIDNIGHT SKY and thunder cracked. Tristan pressed Ivy against him, although he knew his instinct was pointless—his body couldn’t shield hers from a lightning strike.
    “One more house,” Ivy shouted as the needles of rain became a downpour.
    They ran the