Ultimate Fear (Book 2 Ultimate CORE) (CORE Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

representation of the future he couldn’t have, and the past he couldn’t change.
    “This is beautiful,” Lola said when he pulled into his short, narrow driveway. After he cut the ignition, she opened her car door.
    “Thanks. Were you planning on coming inside?”
    Her almond-shaped eyes widened a fraction. “If you’d rather I stay outside, I can hang here by the car,” she said, without a trace of offense.
    Since Jessica had moved out, very few people visited anymore. His buddy, Alex, came by on occasion when he could steal away from his wife and kids, and sometimes his coworker, Hudson, would stop by to watch a big game. But those guys were close friends. They knew what had driven Jessica from their home, and had been on the frontline when his daughter had been taken. While both Jessica and Sophia were no longer in the house, memories of them where everywhere. He hadn’t meant to be rude, but he preferred his privacy.
    “We don’t need to go inside at all,” he said, leading her around the side of the single car attached garage. “What I have to take care of is in the backyard. If you help me, we can be on our way in a few.”
    “Sure,” she said, following alongside. Then she gasped when he opened the gate to the backyard. “I love this space. It has good feng shui .”
    Although he’d kept the house almost exactly as Jessica had left it, he’d made some changes in the yard that mirrored several of the religions he’d studied. When Jessica had walked, he’d tried different ways to overcome the loss of his marriage and daughter. He’d figured testing out a variety of spiritual practices—the animism cosmologies of the Plains Indians, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity—would beat the hell out of talking his problems over with a psychologist. He didn’t have anything against going to a counselor, but when the only person he really wanted to talk to could no longer stand to be in the same room with him, he’d needed something in his life to make it through the day. While Jack Daniels could have kept him company, turning into an alcoholic and losing his job wasn’t an option.
    “Thanks,” he said, reaching for the hose and watering can. “I’m thinking about adding a water feature.”
    “Done properly, that could bring great energy to the yard and home. My dad made one for our yard when we were living in LA. It was so beautiful and the trickling of the water so soothing.” She nodded to the watering can. “Can I help?”
    “Sure.” He filled the can and, careful not to spill water on her pants and shoes, handed it to her. “If you could hit those pots of tomatoes, I’ll take care of the main garden along the fence.”
    “Can I ask you something?”
    “Sure.”
    “Why don’t you buy a sprinkler and put it on a timer? This way you don’t have to worry about your garden not getting watered.”
    “I never thought about doing that,” he lied. He actually had bought one several summers ago, but if Jessica knew, she wouldn’t keep contacting him about the garden. “I’ll have to pick one up next time I’m at Home Depot.”
    She brought the empty can over and set it in the grass for him to refill. “Or maybe you thought about it, but didn’t want to.”
    “Come again?” he asked, spraying water into the can. Was he that transparent?
    She shrugged and lifted the watering can. “The past two days you’ve ditched me during lunch after getting a text.”
    So much for Lola not being one to pry. “I didn’t ditch you, I had errands to run,” he said, and focused on the green pepper plants.
    “You didn’t come here to water your garden yesterday or the day before that? I don’t care, it’s just interesting that both days you came back to the office with dried mulch and dirt on your shoes.”
    He looked down at his black shoes. Sure enough, there was mulch and dirt on them. Not much, but it was there. Damn, the girl was observant. “You’re right. I’ll have to buy a timer,”