Fallen Elements Read Online Free PDF

tighter
around her face.
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look
really great for -” Ryan hesitated, not sure how she should state
the obvious.
    “Forty five.” Leah shook her head. “I’m forty
five, and Karen - your mother and I – went to high school
together.”
    The two women reached the busy street, and
Leah stepped to the curb, her arm extended as she attempted to hail
a cab.
    A man’s heavy hand landed on Ryan’s shoulder.
“Shit, there you are. Let’s go. My mother is so pissed with you
that she’s having kittens in the limo.”
    Andrew wiped at his nose with the palm of his
gloved hand as he looked over at Leah. Ryan’s skin crawled as she
saw the lecherous look he gave the beautiful woman.
    “I’m coming. Christ, Andrew.” Ryan’s
irritation with having been handled for the better part of the day
by her family was reaching a boiling point, and her asshole cousin
was about to be the recipient of her anger.
    “Who’s your friend?” Andrew, oblivious to
Ryan’s annoyance, stepped around her, and into Leah’s personal
space.
    “Leah. She was a friend of my mother’s.” Ryan
wanted this man to leave them alone. “Have the car pulled around.
I’ll meet you here.” She hoped her abrupt tone would give Andrew
the hint to leave.
    Pulling his phone from his pocket, Andrew
smirked. “Let me just call Carol, and she can have the car pulled
around.” He smiled at Leah, who continued looking for a cab. “I can
wait with you two.”
    Leah turned toward Andrew, and Ryan saw a
glint of mischief cross the woman’s light green eyes as she took a
step toward Andrew. “Hi. I’m Leah.”
    Andrew, forgetting his phone for the moment,
slipped the device back into his jacket pocket as he reached for
Leah’s hand. “Andrew Howland. Plea -”
    Before Andrew could finish the introductions,
he began to sneeze. Much to Ryan’s amusement, he sneezed not once,
but five consecutive times until the man stumbled backward, wiping
furiously at his nose and eyes.
    “Shit! These fucking allergies.” His eyes
were watering profusely as he struggled to breathe through his
mouth. “We’ll pull around for you.” Three more sneezes, and Andrew
disappeared through the cemetery gate.
    “Allergies can be tough.” Leah spoke from
just behind Ryan.
    Turning around, Ryan was pleasantly surprised
to find Leah standing within a few feet of her. “He’s a shit. Sorry
about that.” She wanted to hug the woman, and fought the urge,
knowing how completely inappropriate it was.
    Leah stepped back, and catching a cab out of
the corner of her eye, turned and waved the driver over. “I’m sorry
again about your mother.”
    Ryan watched as the beautiful woman stepped
into the cab, and disappeared into the bustle of New York. Standing
on the sidewalk, Ryan felt strangely euphoric, and far happier than
the day warranted. She and Leah lived in the same city, and when
Ryan got back to her life, she intended to look Leah up.
***
    “I, Karen Remembrance Myers, being of sound
mind and health, do hereby declare that this document is my last
will and testament.” The family’s attorney, Michael Johannes, was a
wisp of a man. He had a penchant for six thousand dollar black
Brioni suits, but his slight frame always left the tailored
garments looking bunched and oversized.
    Ryan was sitting in her aunt’s library along
with Carol, Andrew, Lucy, and three second cousins she didn’t know,
nor cared to remember their names. This was the last thing she had
to do before she could go home, and the reading of her mother’s
will couldn’t be over fast enough for her liking.
    A portion of her mother’s estate had already
been allocated to various charities throughout the New York area.
The reading that Ryan now suffered through was specific to personal
effects and members of the family’s inheritance.
    “To my sister, Lucille Constance
Myers-Howland, I leave ten percent of my estate, along with my
Bvlgari jewelry.” Glancing