The Sweet Under His Skin Read Online Free PDF Page B

climbed the four steps to the patio, seeing his backpack on a deck chair. He'd been here. She checked the back door, it was locked. She circled to the front door and it was still locked, too. Shit.
    Arielle was reminding herself not to think the worst. Maybe he'd gone for a walk around the block. Or a friend had come by. She unlocked the front door and checked the answering machine. If a friend had invited him over, that friend's parents would make sure she knew where he was. Right?
    No messages on the machine. She held a hand over the centre of her chest; the panic was rising. She rushed the front door, purposeful steps taking her down the driveway, around the end of the fence and up to her neighbor's garage. It was open, but it was empty. A bike frame was resting in the middle of a pile of tools on the floor, but other than that it was really empty.
    She left the garage, forced enough courage on herself to stride past the dead-plant flowerbeds—noting death and killing surrounded this man—up the steps to the front door, and knocked on the storm door when she couldn't find a doorbell. As she waited she wrapped her arms around her waist, torn between hoping like hell he wasn't inside and begging fate to put him there with an idea of where Calvin was.
    The house was silent. But his bike was in front and the garage left wide open; he couldn't have gone far. Arielle returned to her house, walking through again, and seeing no signs that Calvin had made it inside. The only indication he'd been home was that backpack on the patio.
    She wanted to go looking. But she also wanted to be here in case he came home while she was out. God, this was frustrating. And the scariest part was that she only had her frightening neighbor to turn to for help.
    Arms still tight around her middle she sat on the stoop, willing her pulse to slow down. She couldn't get stressed; her body wasn't doing well with stress lately. After the drama with Jolene she'd needed the next two days to get her energy back.
    Calvin just went for a walk , she told herself. Out of character, absolutely . But she just had to wait for him. She couldn't panic yet.
    Quentin watched the weird little kid from next door agonize over which soda to pick from the cooler at the corner store. Christ, you'd think he was picking a weapon to go into battle with.
    "What's the problem, Charlie? Spoiled for choice or what?"
    The kid pushed his glasses up his nose and looked up at him. "My name's Calvin."
    "Calvin, huh?"
    "Yeah. But you keep calling me Charlie."
    Quentin couldn't help but smile. "Sorry, kid. You just look like a Charlie to me. Get the lead out and pick your drink, man."
    "I don't know what I want."
    "Why not?"
    "I don't get to drink pop too much."
    Quentin raised his eyebrows. What the hell kind of upbringing was this kid having? "You ever tried root beer?" Calvin shook his head. "Try it. Your mind will be blown," he muttered wryly. Calvin looked at him, chewed it over, and grabbed a plastic bottle of Hires. "Good choice. Let's go."
    Quentin had been in his garage when the kid walked home from school, slowing down while crossing Quentin's driveway, staring inside and not watching where he was going in that totally absorbed way that only kids had. Then he'd watched the little bastard walk down to the street every five minutes looking both ways and waiting a minute before going back up to his aunt's house.
    Clearly she wasn't home yet and the kid was locked out. After about five of these sad little excursions Quentin finally dropped his tools and asked the kid if he wanted to get a soda or something. He was going to drive Quentin nuts if the aunt didn't show up soon.
    He didn't know if Calvin had never had the‘strangers’talk or what, but the kid just shrugged and said "Okay" so agreeably Quentin was taken aback. So here they were, buying soda and walking back down the street to their houses. Quentin cracked open his soda, trying to remember the last time he'd had this