My Lucky Stars Read Online Free PDF Page B

him.
    “Ow,” he said, bending over to rub his shin. “Cadie, your mom used to kick me at dinner all the time when we were growing up.”
    “That’s because he wouldn’t ever pass anything,” Ellen said. “It’s a miracle I didn’t starve sitting between you and Dallin.”
    “Daddy was there?” Cadie asked, a confused look on her face.
    “Some of the time he was,” Ellen said. She smoothed her daughter’s hair. “He and Uncle Benji were best friends.”
    Were being the operative word , Ben thought. But Ellen was right. Back in the day before life got complicated, he and Dallin had been inseparable.
    Tara returned to their table and handed Ellen’s cell phone back to her. “Thanks for letting me use it. I should have charged mine last night, and of course the charger is in my lost luggage.” She stepped around Ben and took the seat beside him, next to the window.
    “Were you able to reach your friends?” Ellen asked. Leaning over, she snatched a sugar packet away from Cadie, who’d already opened two others and dumped them in her water. “ No more.”
    Cadie frowned but turned her interest to the ketchup and mustard bottles. She took one in each hand and moved them around her corner of the table, pretending they were dolls or something.
    “I left a message,” Tara said. “Guess they’re out.”
    “Chances are they haven’t made it to Boulder either,” Ben said. “The airport closure has got to be affecting a lot of people.”
    “You’re probably right.” Tara looked away, staring out the window again. For a fraction of a second, Ben almost felt sorry for her. He’d heard the doubt—and hurt?—in her voice and guessed there was more to the “meeting friends at a spa in Boulder” story than she’d shared. Was it a particular friend she was meeting? A male friend? he wondered.
    “I bet the Denver airport reopens in the morning,” Ellen said. “Think of this as a tourist stop on your way.”
    Tara nodded but made no move to face them and join the conversation. Ellen flashed Ben a concerned look. He shrugged. How should he know what was wrong with Tara? Beyond the obvious, that is—that she had terrible taste in clothing and adverse reactions to being in tight spaces.
    The ice cream sundaes arrived, followed by Ben’s sandwich and Tara’s soup.
    They all dug in, eating more than talking now. About halfway through her sundae, Cadie began to wilt. She put her elbow on the table and propped her head in her hand. Ben reached over and stuck his finger in her ice cream then in his mouth.
    “Mmm,” he said, grinning at her. “That’s going to melt if you don’t finish it.”
    “I don’t want to. I’m tired.” Cadie pushed the glass away and leaned on her mom.
    “When it’s bedtime, she goes downhill fast,” Ellen said.
    Ben glanced at Tara’s bowl. Only a few noodles and some broth remained. “If you’re ready, I’ll grab our check and we can get going.”
    “Sure,” Tara said. “And thanks for dinner. I’ll send you some money for it when I get home.”
    “Don’t worry about it.” Ben raised his hand to get their waiter’s attention. Let’s just get you home—to your home that is. Or to Boulder or wherever it is you’re going. Instead of getting more comfortable having her with them, he felt like things were getting progressively more awkward as the evening wore on.
    Ben took care of the bill, and they bundled up and headed for the elevators. He looked at Tara skeptically. “I’ll take the stairs with you if you’d like.”
    She hesitated as the elevator chimed then opened. Ben noted that it wasn’t very full, and only two other people were waiting to get on. It wouldn’t be nearly as crowded this time.
    “Thanks, but I think I’ll be okay.”
    They got on, and she stood to one side, her hands clasped in front of her, eyes shut tight, lips moving silently the whole ride down. Ben thought she was doing pretty well until she opened her eyes just before they