Read Online Circle of Shadows by Edna Curry - Free Book Online Page B

nuisance.
    “Are you getting settled ? ” Lili asked.
    “Pretty well. I’ll have to buy a
few more pieces of furniture. My apartment was considerably smaller.”
    She noticed his furtive glance
and guessed he was wondering if she knew which house he was talking about. For
just an instant she wondered if he might be as uncomfortable about her feelings
as she was about his. She made no comment as he turned into the drive to the
house she knew so well.
    She couldn’t help noticing the
pride in his face as he looked at the house before getting out and coming
around the car to open the door for her.
    “You knew this was the house I’d
bought ? ” It was more
of a statement than a question.
    “Yes. I heard through the
grapevine . ”
    “I hope you don’t mind ? ”
    “Mind? Of course not.” She pushed
away the prick of her conscience for uttering the lie, and added the bitter
truth. “Aunt Agnes put the house on the market. It was her decision to make,
not mine.”
    “Yes, it was,” he said, glancing
at her.
    She looked away, out across the
blue water of the lake. The sunlight shimmered off the surface, which was only
slightly broken with ripples. Down past the corner of the house, she could glimpse
Agnes’ favorite red tulips. She turned back toward him and caught her breath
when she found him watching her.
    His eyes said he didn’t believe
her, but he nodded and led the way up the path of flat stones to the door, and
unlocked it.
    She noted that the lock had
already been changed; even the locksmith seemed to do his bidding on a speedy
basis.
    The rooms already had a
different, more conservative look. His furniture looked plain, but she realized
as she glanced around, that was deceptive. Every piece, upon closer inspection,
was expensive, solid oak and beautifully built.
    “Your aunt’s taste in basic
colors was luckily very similar to mine. I won’t have to change much in this
room,” he commented. “There’s some coffee left. Would you like some? Or do you
prefer tea or pop ? ”
    “A can of diet lemon-lime pop
would be nice, if you have it. Or whatever.”
    “Diet lemon-lime it is.” He bent
to get the can from the refrigerator, and his blue sweater rode up from his
belt, revealing a bare expanse of suntanned skin. A tingle of awareness shot
through her at the sight. She wondered if he went to a tanning booth, or just to some tropical island often enough to keep that tan
through the winter. A thrill of anticipation slipped down her insides as she
realized that she would get to know him well enough over the next year or two
to find out.
    His fingers brushed hers as he
handed her the ice-cold can. She took it quickly to separate them. Flashing her
a knowing smile, he said, “My office is down this hall.”
    As they walked together, he
reached out and put his hand on her waist. “Watch this step. One of the workmen
tore the carpet when he didn’t lift a chest of drawers quite high enough. I’ll
need to replace it.”
    She tried to tell herself that
his guiding hand was just that, and meant nothing more. She also tried to tell
herself that her warm reaction to his nearness was foolish and one-sided.
    Ken’s office was the large
yellow-painted room at the end of the hall. It was filled with computer
equipment and file cabinets.
    “It looks a little different,
now,” she commented. “It contained wall-to-wall beds and chests of drawers when
my cousins and I slept here. We all shared this room when I visited them.”
    “That sounds like fun. My brother
and I used to share a room. We’d have pillow fights and try our damnedest to
hold down the giggles enough so that our parents wouldn’t hear. My mom grounded
me and took away my bicycle for a week after one fight.”
    “Really? That sounds a little
drastic.”
    “Not really.” He grinned. “You should
have seen the mess we made. We’d burst the pillows and our room was buried
under a layer of feathers.”
    “Oh ! ” Lili burst out laughing at