Tempting Faith (Indigo Love Spectrum) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Ranch, thousand island, bleu cheese—”
    “The basil vinaigrette, please,” said Faith.
    “To drink?”
    “Water.”
    “Colonial or bottled?”
    “Bottled,” Faith said.
    “Excuse me, but what’s colonial water?” Alex asked.
    “Tap,” said Dill.
    Alex patted the wad of cash in his pocket. His weekly pay would be a lot lighter after treating Faith to dinner, and there would be serious fallout to deal with when he turned the lighter pay over to his father. Alex pushed all that to the back of his mind and placed his order, determined to enjoy a normal date with Faith. “Buckwheat pancakes with home fries, scrambled eggs, a side of turkey bacon and a large orange juice, please.”
    Dill frowned at him.
    “And a bran muffin,” Alex added.
    Dill continued staring.
    “That’s all,” Alex said uncomfortably. “Thanks.”
    Dill grabbed his head as if he were in pain. “You’re dinner, Faith. Just Alex is breakfast. Meals should never mix!”
    “How dare you discriminate against intermeal eating, Dill,” Pepper chastised as she glided by to seat a group of six.
    Dill stopped at Pepper’s table on his way to the kitchen. “Mark my words,” he said loudly, commanding the attention of every diner. “This relationship will never work.” He winked and disappeared into the kitchen.
    Alex leaned across the table. “Was that for me or for you?”
    * * *
    Alex’s bike heralded their arrival at the Wheelers’ five-bedroom house. By the time he had cut the engine in Faith’s wide, circular driveway, Emiline Wheeler was rushing outside. Simple introductions were made; Alex was polite and well-spoken. Faith knew her mother well enough to know that behind her forced smile resided a thousand versions of the same question: What the hell was she doing on the back of Alexander Brannon’s motorcycle?
    The longest dinner of her life had followed.
    “Are you crazy?” Justus Wheeler had asked, so angry that he hadn’t touched a bite of his favorite dinner, grilled beef tenderloin with asparagus and new potatoes. “Or are you just determined to embarrass me?”
    “Jefferson called for you while you were gone,” her mother had cheerily informed her in an attempt to diffuse the argument brewing between daughter and father. “He wants you to join him at the club for tennis after services on Sunday. You like Jefferson, don’t you? He’s such a nice boy.”
    “He’s the only other black kid in my class,” Faith had muttered sullenly. “Everyone is always trying to push us together.”
    “That Brannon boy has no future!” her father had shouted.
    Matching his volume, Faith had fired back with, “He gave me a ride home, that’s all. He didn’t ask me to marry him!”
    “Oh, my God,” her mother gasped. “Faith, you’re far too young and you have far too much ahead of you to be thinking about marriage.” She brightened, looking from her husband to her daughter. “You know what would be a good idea?” With father and daughter glaring at each other and ignoring her, she answered her own question. “I think it would be a good idea for us to drive out to Charles Town for a visit. We could take a look at the dance school there, and if you like it, Faith, maybe we can visit the high schools and see which one you like best.”
    Faith shot up in her chair. “I’m not switching schools in the middle of a semester! Why on earth would you want me to live in Charles—” Her mother’s logic hit her then. “If you want to send me somewhere with more black people, send me someplace cool, like Harlem or New Orleans. I’m not moving to Charles Town!”
    “You’ll live where we tell you to live, little girl!” her father bellowed.
    “You want me to live in Charles Town, Daddy?” she asked, her eyes shimmering with tears.
    “Hell, no!” Mr. Wheeler yelled, and then he turned on his wife. “Emiline, have you lost your mind?” he asked, forcing his voice lower. “I am not sending my seventeen-year-old