(Once) Again Read Online Free PDF Page A

mouth. “No, Liz is though. Mom keeps the stuff in the house for when she visits.”
    Kat took the pen from her hair and soft waves fell onto her shoulders. “Does she come home a lot?”
    “She does now. Before not so much. I used to visit her at her apartment a lot. She lives just outside of Farmingdale State, so there’s always something going on. Wait. I think she and your brother are the same age. Freshmen, right?”
    “Uh huh.”
    “Where’s he going to school?”
    “Um . . .” she said, and I realized up until this point the entire conversation was focused on me. The minute it turned to her she froze up. “Rutford,” she mumbled.
    “Does he come home a lot? Probably not. That’s a bit of a trip. Huh?”
    Silence.
    I hated that the easygoing Kat from seconds ago disappeared as soon as we started talking about her.
    “I’d make the drive for this,” I said and held up my fork, knowing damn well if I didn’t say anything, we’d sit in silence for the rest of the morning.
    Kat ate a strawberry, and a dab of Nutella smeared on her bottom lip.
    I leaned across the counter, and her body went rigid. “You have a little—” I reached out, wiping my thumb across her lip. Her eyes locked with mine, and it took all my restraint not to wrap my hand around her head and kiss her stupid. “There,” I said. I couldn’t control my eyes from staring at her mouth. Her lips parted and the restraint I had vanished. I leaned back towards her.
    She jumped out of her chair. “I’m thirsty. Do you want a drink?” she asked, and before I could respond, her head was already in the fridge.
    “I’m good, thanks.”
    I didn’t want a drink. The only thing I wanted was her.

Chapter 4
    I woke to the sound of clanging pots. I rolled my head to my alarm clock. Kat was right on time. I was a little disappointed she didn’t come up and get me. Maybe I should’ve made a loud thump so she would have.
    It was tempting, but I decided against it. Instead, I got dressed and headed downstairs. Scrambled eggs were on the counter. A guy could get used to this.
    I climbed onto a stool and said, “Morning.” When she spun around there was a glow to her cheeks, an almost-sparkle in her eye. The same innocent radiance that had lured me in originally.
    “Morning. I hope you like cheese in your eggs.” She faced the sink and ran the pan under water. Her hips swayed as if she were moving to a beat only she could hear.
    “Who doesn’t like cheese in their eggs?”
    “My mom for one,” she said, and the way her voice softened worried me.
    “Are you ever going to tell me how your mom is doing? Is it bad?”
    Kat’s back tensed. She turned the faucet off and stuck the pan in the drying rack. I watched her shoulders rise with the breath she took, then she turned to me.
    “I’ll meet you in the car when you’re finished.”
    “Where are we going?” I asked.
    “You have a doctor’s appointment.”
    “In three hours.”
    Kat stopped, and turned back to me, but didn’t look me in the eye. “We also have to fill your prescription and get more gauze like we should’ve yesterday.”
    She grabbed her bag and walked right out the door.
    I took my time eating, expecting Kat to come back in. She never did. I washed my dishes, dried them and took more time than necessary to get to the car.
    Kat sat in the driver’s seat, and the tension that had tugged at her face earlier was gone. She had a word search puzzle book in one hand and a pen in the other. A smile formed, and she quickly put the pen to the paper. She glanced up and our eyes locked for a brief second before she leaned over and stuck the book in the glove box.
    I opened the door and went to sit when I noticed an envelope. I reached down and picked it up. Before I could say anything, Kat’s eyes widened and she ripped it out of my hand, shoving it into her bag. But not before I saw the return address.
    Who did she know at Springfield County Jail?
    We drove in silence the