Read Online Evolution by L.L. Bartlett - Free Book Online Page A

with his fourth family in five years, and his horror stories of the foster care system had made Jeff realize that he actually had it pretty good.
    No one demanded that he do any chores ... well, except for the petty kitchen jobs Helen wanted done. No one was molesting him or smacking him around, either. The fact that nobody much cared about him gave him the freedom to more or less do as he pleased. That he had nowhere to go, besides school, didn’t really enter into it. He’d always considered school a haven, and volunteering for the yearbook staff had been a smart move. He had a place to go, a desk of his own, free use of a school camera and all the film he wanted. So what if he had no close buddies. He never had before, anyway.
    Still, his mind kept circling away from the hurt of Richard’s betrayal. Why had he ever believed that tall bastard’s lies that they’d spend Christmas together? Richard seldom had time for him. Why had he wanted it to be different? Why had he wanted to connect with this person—the brother—he barely knew? Why should one day in December be any different from any other day?
    Nope, being disappointed was just plain stupid. And it would never happen again. He wouldn’t let it.
    Jeff turned off the little radio, set it on the bedside table, and rolled onto his side. No sense wasting the batteries.
    ‘ Sleep in heavenly peace’ the song had said. He doubted he’d do that.
    He thought about the pile of unopened gifts under the Christmas tree with his name on them. Richard had paid for them, but Jeff knew it was Curtis who had picked them out. Richard was, after all, too wrapped up in his career to notice much of anything.
    One gift was big enough to be a twelve-inch TV—what he’d really wanted. Then he’d never again have to ask permission from the elderly Alperts to watch the set in the living room. The other boxes all looked like they contained clothes. Okay, he couldn’t go to school buck naked, and he’d done some growing so he needed longer pants and shirtsleeves. Yeah, he’d wear them, but he wasn’t going to use the TV. Well, maybe just to watch the basketball playoffs, but that was all.
    Jeff eased his hand past the elastic at his waist and allowed himself the only comfort and joy he was likely to receive that Christmas.
    #
    Richard breathed in the scent of spent candles—vanilla— and cracked open an eye to unfamiliar surroundings. Daylight peeked through a crack in the curtains at the window across the room. The mound of clothes on a chair across from the bed were his, lying in an untidy heap. It wasn’t like him not to fold them neatly.
    From somewhere nearby came the sound of a shower. He rolled onto his stomach. The bedside clock read nine-fifteen. Still plenty of time to get home and—
    The water stopped. Moments later a towel-clad woman entered the room. “Morning, sleepyhead.”
    “Morning.”
    Christina Maynard, RN, crawled across the bed, losing her towel along the way, drew back the covers and nestled her damp body against his.
    “You’re cold.”
    “Cold body, warm heart,” she murmured, pressed her lips against his, her tongue teasing his.
    “Have you been a good little girl?” he asked, coming up for air.
    “Always.”
    “Then maybe Santa can make this the merriest Christmas morning ever.”
    She laughed, tracing a finger along the rim of his ear. “You mean I have to wait another whole year?”
    “Year?”
    “Christmas was yesterday, dear boy.”
    Richard’s thoughts raced—he’d lost all track of time. “Yesterday! Holy shit.” He pushed her away, threw back the covers, snatched up his limp socks, donned them, and then searched for his skivvies.
    “You’re not leaving, are you?” she said.
    “My little brother’s waiting. He was expecting—”
    Christina pouted. “You’d rather be with some kid than me?”
    Richard pulled his T-shirt over his head. “He might be just a kid but it’s his first Christmas with me.”
    “With you?”