Read Online A Knight in Central Park by Theresa Ragan - Free Book Online
Authors: Theresa Ragan
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purchased for Alexandra; the cardigan hung wrinkled over one of the wingback chairs. Until Alexandra was gone for good, he wasn’t going to get any work done at all. Slippers and magazines had been tossed under the kitchen table. Did the woman ever put anything away?
While the coffee brewed, Joe gathered Alexandra’s things and carried them to the guestroom. He frowned at the sight of sheets and pillows strewn about the room. From the looks of things, she had meticulously dissected a fake fern. Amongst the plastic leaves littered about the floor were pictures torn from magazines. It took him a moment to find a place to set her things.
The woman was a slob.
Hours later, Joe sat at the built-in desk in the kitchen, skimming his notes. Straightening, he tried to get the kinks out of his neck. Alexandra and Shelly returned a while ago and were now busily packing Alexandra’s things.
He took his reading glasses off and rubbed his eyes, thinking of the day when he would be accepted in the Academy. What would his father say to him after all these years? His father, a renowned archeologist, rarely visited the States to see his only son, but by the end of the month his father would undoubtedly show up for the acceptance of the Academy’s newest member.
Joe pulled the chain from around his neck, touched the gold medallion with the pad of his thumb. Years ago, long before his mother passed away, his father had found the medallion near The Pennine Chain, the backbone of England. His father had spent most of his life trying to prove the medallion belonged to the Black Knight, one of the last knights of the Middle Ages. But his father’s theories were always proven erroneous.
Joe had just turned thirteen when his mother died. His father returned long enough to attend her funeral and give his only son his cherished medallion. Joe knew the ornament meant a lot to his father, but that didn’t lessen the pain when his father left him for good, leaving Joe to be raised by an endless string of friends, who, if truth be told, had no idea of what to do with him.
Every few years Joe received a letter from his father. The hard-to-read scribblings told of his whereabouts and generally ended with a message saying he would visit...but also with details of how he was oh-so-close to unearthing the identity of the Black Knight and thus couldn’t break away just yet.
The Black Knight. How does one go about uncloaking an illusion?
Joe pulled the chain back around his neck, tucking the medallion safely inside his shirt. A round of muttering in the other room caught his attention. He went to the living room where Shelly was packing shoes, clothes she’d collected, and magazines in a duffle bag. She crossed the room, fiddled around in her purse, then returned with a BB gun and pepper spray, which she placed in his open briefcase.
“What are those for?” he asked.
“Alexandra insisted.”
After a short pause, Shelly said, “I’m sorry about the other day. I’ve been meaning to apologize for being so frank with you.”
“No harm done.”
“Although I’m definitely not in love with you, Professor,” she teased, “I do care for you, which is why I’m starting to have second thoughts about you going to the park tonight.”
“Alexandra is perfectly harmless, remember?”
“I agree, especially after spending the last three days with her. Her views on life and family are healthy ones.”
He cocked his head. “Then what’s the problem?”
Shelly placed a few more items in his briefcase. “I think Alexandra is telling the truth.”
“About what?”
“About everything.”
Joe frowned. “You can’t be serious.”
Shelly wrung her hands together. “Can you believe this?” She waved her arms in the air. “I’m majoring in Psychology and all I can come up with is that Alexandra Dunn is telling the truth about traveling through time.”
A sharp laugh escaped him. “Don’t go there, Shelly. You’re the best assistant
While the coffee brewed, Joe gathered Alexandra’s things and carried them to the guestroom. He frowned at the sight of sheets and pillows strewn about the room. From the looks of things, she had meticulously dissected a fake fern. Amongst the plastic leaves littered about the floor were pictures torn from magazines. It took him a moment to find a place to set her things.
The woman was a slob.
Hours later, Joe sat at the built-in desk in the kitchen, skimming his notes. Straightening, he tried to get the kinks out of his neck. Alexandra and Shelly returned a while ago and were now busily packing Alexandra’s things.
He took his reading glasses off and rubbed his eyes, thinking of the day when he would be accepted in the Academy. What would his father say to him after all these years? His father, a renowned archeologist, rarely visited the States to see his only son, but by the end of the month his father would undoubtedly show up for the acceptance of the Academy’s newest member.
Joe pulled the chain from around his neck, touched the gold medallion with the pad of his thumb. Years ago, long before his mother passed away, his father had found the medallion near The Pennine Chain, the backbone of England. His father had spent most of his life trying to prove the medallion belonged to the Black Knight, one of the last knights of the Middle Ages. But his father’s theories were always proven erroneous.
Joe had just turned thirteen when his mother died. His father returned long enough to attend her funeral and give his only son his cherished medallion. Joe knew the ornament meant a lot to his father, but that didn’t lessen the pain when his father left him for good, leaving Joe to be raised by an endless string of friends, who, if truth be told, had no idea of what to do with him.
Every few years Joe received a letter from his father. The hard-to-read scribblings told of his whereabouts and generally ended with a message saying he would visit...but also with details of how he was oh-so-close to unearthing the identity of the Black Knight and thus couldn’t break away just yet.
The Black Knight. How does one go about uncloaking an illusion?
Joe pulled the chain back around his neck, tucking the medallion safely inside his shirt. A round of muttering in the other room caught his attention. He went to the living room where Shelly was packing shoes, clothes she’d collected, and magazines in a duffle bag. She crossed the room, fiddled around in her purse, then returned with a BB gun and pepper spray, which she placed in his open briefcase.
“What are those for?” he asked.
“Alexandra insisted.”
After a short pause, Shelly said, “I’m sorry about the other day. I’ve been meaning to apologize for being so frank with you.”
“No harm done.”
“Although I’m definitely not in love with you, Professor,” she teased, “I do care for you, which is why I’m starting to have second thoughts about you going to the park tonight.”
“Alexandra is perfectly harmless, remember?”
“I agree, especially after spending the last three days with her. Her views on life and family are healthy ones.”
He cocked his head. “Then what’s the problem?”
Shelly placed a few more items in his briefcase. “I think Alexandra is telling the truth.”
“About what?”
“About everything.”
Joe frowned. “You can’t be serious.”
Shelly wrung her hands together. “Can you believe this?” She waved her arms in the air. “I’m majoring in Psychology and all I can come up with is that Alexandra Dunn is telling the truth about traveling through time.”
A sharp laugh escaped him. “Don’t go there, Shelly. You’re the best assistant
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