Soul Control Read Online Free PDF

eyebrows in curiosity.
    His face turned a cute pale pink. “I took the liberty of asking.”
    It made me feel good. He was obviously interested—a little, anyway. “Oh!” There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence, then I blurted, “I still have enough daylight left and walking is good for my butt.” Saydi! You did not just say that!
    His laugh was calm and soothing. “Would you mind if I joined you? My butt could use a little workout, too!”
    Since being there, my face was permanently warm and his comment made me fairly certain it went to the next shade of crimson. However, the thought of having him walk me home made me giddy and that wasn’t always a good thing. I had to remind myself not to blow open the floodgates and start talking a hundred miles an hour, which I had a tendency to do when I was nervous. “That’s sweet of you to offer, but you don’t have to.”
    He moved in closer. “I want to.” Then put his hand around my back and gently turned me in the direction of home.
    “You’ll freeze. Shouldn’t you get your jacket?” I questioned.
    “No, I’m okay.”
    “Brrr!”
    His laugh came from deep in his chest, a happy, buoyant sound. “Have you lived here all your life?” he asked, shoving his hands in his jean pockets.
    Nodding, I answered, “Yeah. The most boring place on earth. Where are you from and what in heaven’s name would bring you here?” Stroking my hand across the air as if presenting a prize. My eyes stayed focused on the sidewalk straight ahead, but I could feel him watching me as we walked and talked.
    “Father’s work takes him to many places. But I must say, this is the first time we ended up in such a small town. How many residents live here?”
    “Oh I don’t know...over a thousand and under ten thousand.”
    “That’s a fairly big span. I’d venture a guess that somewhere in there you’d have the right number,” he quipped.
    The look on his face made me smile. “Yeah, suppose so.”
    “I understand you’re in your final year of high school?”
    I eyeballed him.
    “Yes...again with the asking around,” he admitted.
    “Whoever your source is, so far they’re two for two. Next!” I played.
    “Well let’s see if I can make it three for three. You’re seventeen.”
    “Bingo! Give the man a prize.”
    Nathanael laughed again. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing out of nervousness or if he was just plain ol’ happy.
    We walked for a little bit in silence, then I piped up, “Let’s see if my sources are correct. Are you nineteen?”
    A grin went clear across his face. “They are correct. Just turned actually, a couple weeks ago.”
    “Oh, happy belated birthday.”
    “Thanks. So when can I sing happy birthday to you?”
    “It’s a ways away yet. Not until April.”
    There was a bit of a spring in his step when he said, “A spring baby.” He made it sound like my birth was so special.
    “Yeah, you could say that.”
    Our conversation flowed smooth and easy, unlike the way it usually was the first time talking to a boy. Normally, I’d end up praying he could see past the tongue trip and word spill. For some reason, with Nathanael it wasn’t like that; he seemed genuinely interested.
    “What does your father do for a living?” he continued.
    “What?” I giggled. “Your source didn’t tell you everything?”
    His face turned scarlet. “Well, I thought you might think it was getting a little creepy if I knew that, too.”
    Narrowing my eyes. “You know then?”
    He nodded.
    “Well, what’s the answer?”
    Tilting his head to one side, he looked slightly away and almost whispered, “I understand he passed away a long time ago.”
    “You’re right. He died when I was a month old.” It came out sounding so final, as if there were no emotion attached the words.
    “I was very sorry to hear that.” Again, how he said it seemed to reveal to me that his feelings were genuine, not just simply something said.
    I shrugged. “It may seem callous,