Reckless Read Online Free PDF Page B

the line behind him at the dry cleaner’s on Putnam. The soft green luminous eyes, the midwestern drawl bringing him instantly back. The pleased surprise so radiant in her smile.
    “April?”
    “Oh my God, Ty…” He stepped out of the line and she hugged him. “God, it’s been years…Four?”
    “Maybe five!” he said, drinking in the sight of her. “How are you?”
    However many years had passed, she looked the same. Better. Years had blossomed on her. Confidence shone in her face. With her honey-brown hair and freckles still dotting her cheeks, you could have mistaken her for a fairer Julianne Moore. She had on patched jeans and a long, gray sweater under a large down parka. Looking quite the country girl. There was something that sparkled in her.
    “I’m fine, Ty. We’re fine. I heard you were in town here. On the force. You don’t know how many times I meant to come in and say hi.”
    “So, hi,” Hauck said, grinning.
    She giggled back. “Hi!”
    It was like when you see someone you haven’t seen in years and you’ve forgotten just how much that person once meant to you. And then it rushes back, all at once. He took her hands and studied every line on her pretty face.
    She said, “You know, I think about you a lot. I ran into Doctor Paul last month. Believe or not, we bumped into each other at the movies in Stamford. Sorta like we are now…Some art film. You ever see him anymore?”
    “No. Not in years.” He shook his head. “Not since…” They moved away from the line. “So tell me how you are.”
    “I’m fine. Really,” she said as if he needed convincing. “I am. We all are, actually. Marc’s still at Wertheimer. Doing great. Becca’s twelve now. She’s into ballet. She’s actually pretty good. She’s trying out for The Nutcracker at SUNY Purchase.”
    He grinned. April had danced as a kid. “Why am I not surprised?”
    She smiled at him. “Always the good guy to have around…So what about you?”
    “Well, I’m here. Two years now. I’m living in Stamford. I’m head of the Violent Crimes Unit on the force.”
    “And your wife? It was Beth, right?” He nodded. “Did things ever work out?”
    “No.” He shrugged resignedly. “We never got back together. Split up for good around three years back.”
    “I’m so sorry, Ty.”
    “It’s okay. Jessie’s getting big now herself. She’s ten. A bit more into soccer than ballet.”
    “Who would’ve ever guessed that?” April smiled knowingly.
    There was a lull. Hauck realized he still had her hands in his. Finally, without drawing his eyes to them, he let them go.
    “You look good, Ty. All that stuff seems like such a long time ago. Another life. We both turned corners, didn’t we? We made it through. That’s what he always said.”
    “We did.” Hauck nodded. Her face brought so much back to him. “We did.”
    April glanced at her watch. “Ugh. Becca’s probably waiting for me at school. Doing the high-class chauffeur thing. We ought to get together. I’d really like that, Ty.”
    “Yeah, we should.” Hauck knew it was one of those things that would probably never occur.
    “I should go.” Then suddenly her eyes brightened. “Hey, c’mon, out here…There’s someone I want you to meet.”
    She looped an arm through his and took him outside. A silver Mercedes SUV was parked in front of the store. She led him around and unlocked the rear passenger door. There was a boy in back. Four, maybe five. A mop of straw-colored hair. Eyes as lively and moss-green as his mom’s. Maybe it was the sunlight that shone off his face, or the light that fell on April’s, radiating from her, as if she was showing him a snapshot of her own heart.
    “This is Evan, Ty…”

    Hauck stood up, his gimpy knees emitting a crack. A pressure built up in his stomach, the sweats coming over him. He pressed back against a sensation of tightly coiled anger and the feeling of being sick.
    Memories always won.
    A young CSI tech he had met