Read Online Curse of the Wickeds (The Cinderella Society, Episode 2) by Kay Cassidy - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kay Cassidy
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toward them.
The boy stumbled as he reached the gravel, the movement enough that he caught the driver’s eye. The horn blared, brakes squealing as the truck’s back end shuddered with the abrupt change in momentum. Ryan lunged to scoop his arms under the boy and yanked, pulling the boy to his chest as they tumbled sideways onto the grass. The truck swerved, spitting gravel up over them, and finally came to rest on the shoulder further down.
Ryan lay on his back, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession. The boy looked into Ryan’s eyes, cheeks quivering, and promptly burst into hysterics. Ryan tucked him into his chest as he regained his breath, then pushed off the ground with one hand.
With that simple move, everything broke loose.
The driver jumped out of the truck and rushed over, two terrified parents descended on the grass, and a dozen bystanders mobbed Ryan and the boy. The boy’s mother clutched her son for dear life, crying as loudly as her son, while the father pumped Ryan’s hand until I thought it would fall off from sheer force. The mother grabbed Ryan’s arm and drew him into a crushing hug, nearly smothering the little boy in the process.
Mayhem ensued as people comforted the parents, scolded the driver (who hadn’t done anything wrong), and drew even more onlookers to the road. The scene amassed such a giant crowd I couldn’t even see Ryan anymore. Once again, he was surrounded by the adoring masses.
Tears streaked down my cheeks as I thought about what could’ve been. What would’ve been if I’d made the first move. Thank God for my uncertainty. All things for a reason, even if we couldn’t see it at the time. His timing, always. Not mine.
I had just started wondering if I should go over or wait until things settled down when the driver’s-side door opened. Ryan ducked into the car and quietly closed the door, shaking his head firmly when I opened my mouth to speak. Not that any words would’ve come out anyway.
He backed out carefully and took the far exit. I didn’t fully realize what had happened until I saw the parents emerge from the throngs of people, looking everywhere.
Life was so tenuous, so fragile. Fifteen seconds could change a life forever. Ryan knew that better than anyone. The lives of those three people—a nameless mother, father, and little boy—were forever indebted to one person. A seventeen-year-old guy who’d slipped away like a shadow.
Ryan stared straight ahead and took back roads to the lake, never looking back and never saying a word.
Chapter Thirteen
After finding one lone hot dog cart still open for business and loading up with ketchup and mustard, we wandered down the boardwalk skirting the lake. The sun dipped low on the horizon as we settled under a tree. I picked at my food, not because I was full from the ice cream—even though I was—but because neither of us had broached the topic hanging in the air.
I watched him polish off his second hot dog. Saving lives must make a person hungry. “That was pretty incredible,” I said. The ultimate understatement.
Ryan gazed out over the lake, seeming a million miles away. “It was . . . I don’t know what.”
I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to save the life of another human being. The rush of adrenaline, the relief, the what-ifs that plagued my mind. What if the boy had run by an empty car instead of ours? What if we hadn’t seen him run by? What if Ryan hadn’t gotten there in time?
What if he’d leaned in for a kiss?
“You saved his life, Ryan.”
He stayed silent, eyes focused on the lake.
“You’re a—”
“Don’t,” he said sharply. He looked at me and softened, brushing my hair off my forehead in a way that was so intimate, yet so sweet. “Right place, right time. I got lucky.”
Every time I thought I understood him, he mystified me. “Why do you downplay it? It’s not like you can hide from being a hero.”
“I’m not hiding from anything.”
The boy stumbled as he reached the gravel, the movement enough that he caught the driver’s eye. The horn blared, brakes squealing as the truck’s back end shuddered with the abrupt change in momentum. Ryan lunged to scoop his arms under the boy and yanked, pulling the boy to his chest as they tumbled sideways onto the grass. The truck swerved, spitting gravel up over them, and finally came to rest on the shoulder further down.
Ryan lay on his back, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession. The boy looked into Ryan’s eyes, cheeks quivering, and promptly burst into hysterics. Ryan tucked him into his chest as he regained his breath, then pushed off the ground with one hand.
With that simple move, everything broke loose.
The driver jumped out of the truck and rushed over, two terrified parents descended on the grass, and a dozen bystanders mobbed Ryan and the boy. The boy’s mother clutched her son for dear life, crying as loudly as her son, while the father pumped Ryan’s hand until I thought it would fall off from sheer force. The mother grabbed Ryan’s arm and drew him into a crushing hug, nearly smothering the little boy in the process.
Mayhem ensued as people comforted the parents, scolded the driver (who hadn’t done anything wrong), and drew even more onlookers to the road. The scene amassed such a giant crowd I couldn’t even see Ryan anymore. Once again, he was surrounded by the adoring masses.
Tears streaked down my cheeks as I thought about what could’ve been. What would’ve been if I’d made the first move. Thank God for my uncertainty. All things for a reason, even if we couldn’t see it at the time. His timing, always. Not mine.
I had just started wondering if I should go over or wait until things settled down when the driver’s-side door opened. Ryan ducked into the car and quietly closed the door, shaking his head firmly when I opened my mouth to speak. Not that any words would’ve come out anyway.
He backed out carefully and took the far exit. I didn’t fully realize what had happened until I saw the parents emerge from the throngs of people, looking everywhere.
Life was so tenuous, so fragile. Fifteen seconds could change a life forever. Ryan knew that better than anyone. The lives of those three people—a nameless mother, father, and little boy—were forever indebted to one person. A seventeen-year-old guy who’d slipped away like a shadow.
Ryan stared straight ahead and took back roads to the lake, never looking back and never saying a word.
Chapter Thirteen
After finding one lone hot dog cart still open for business and loading up with ketchup and mustard, we wandered down the boardwalk skirting the lake. The sun dipped low on the horizon as we settled under a tree. I picked at my food, not because I was full from the ice cream—even though I was—but because neither of us had broached the topic hanging in the air.
I watched him polish off his second hot dog. Saving lives must make a person hungry. “That was pretty incredible,” I said. The ultimate understatement.
Ryan gazed out over the lake, seeming a million miles away. “It was . . . I don’t know what.”
I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to save the life of another human being. The rush of adrenaline, the relief, the what-ifs that plagued my mind. What if the boy had run by an empty car instead of ours? What if we hadn’t seen him run by? What if Ryan hadn’t gotten there in time?
What if he’d leaned in for a kiss?
“You saved his life, Ryan.”
He stayed silent, eyes focused on the lake.
“You’re a—”
“Don’t,” he said sharply. He looked at me and softened, brushing my hair off my forehead in a way that was so intimate, yet so sweet. “Right place, right time. I got lucky.”
Every time I thought I understood him, he mystified me. “Why do you downplay it? It’s not like you can hide from being a hero.”
“I’m not hiding from anything.”
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