Read Online Phoenix Feather by Angela Wallace - Free Book Online

of them.” She had never carried on a conversation about the phoenix outside of an academic setting, and she found herself feeling uncomfortable—and exposed. She finished her last bite of cake and pushed the plate aside. “You, for instance. One day you climb a tree, and years from then you’re a firefighter.”
    Trent laughed. “Yeah, and someone with no past studies history.”
    Aidan smiled and tilted her head in admittance. Dessert was finished, and the conversation lulled off, much to Aidan’s relief. She offered to help Trent clean up the dishes, but he refused.
    “It was a pleasure,” he said, “and I’m happy to do all the work it required.” He stood and so did she, and here was the defining moment of the evening. To Aidan’s surprise, Trent held his arm out toward the hall and walked her to the door. “Dessert was fantastic, by the way.”
    “Thank you for dinner. This was nice.” She linked her hands and waited.
    He wasn’t going to ask her to stay, which was the gentlemanly thing to do, and she had been treated thus for ages, yet it was hard to ignore the images and whisperings ingrained in her head from too much exposure to Hollywood. She smiled, and briefly wondered if Trent had been born in the wrong century—or reincarnated.
    They stood awkwardly in his doorway for a few moments. Trent put his hand gently on her arm and smiled. His touch was like fire to her already excited blood. He leaned forward slightly, but restrained himself.
    “Good night,” he said.
    Aidan nodded and stepped out into the cold air. “Night.” She felt him watching as she walked to her car and got inside. She started the car and pulled away. She let the cold air seep through her skin and calm her blood. How ridiculous. I’m like those giddy high school girls who want to faint just because a guy smiled at them. But she still hoped he’d call again soon.

 
    Chapter Seven
     
     
     
     
     
    With midterms finally over, there was a sense of brief relief that yet one more step had been conquered on the road to getting the degree. The book club had taken a two-week hiatus for the event, and Aidan hadn’t seen Phoebe or Chris in several days, which was common during these times of intense academic stress, but it still presented a void Aidan wasn’t fond of. It happened more for the sake of her friends than herself, for Aidan didn’t have to study as hard as other students. She did spend time reviewing her memories of events and reading the research, which always got some fact wrong, and even though Aidan knew most of history pretty well, she was tested on what man thought he knew about it.
    Now that exams were behind them, however, Chris had called and asked Aidan to come over that afternoon. He had sounded odd on the phone, but when Aidan tried to ask what was up, he simply replied in a playful voice that she had to come over and find out.
    Phoebe let her in. She looked antsy, shifting her weight and pursing her lips. “He says he has news, but he won’t tell me.”
    Aidan set her stuff down by the couch and heard the shrill whistle of a teapot.
    “You want something?” Chris called from the kitchen.
    She joined him and looked at the bags of tea laid out on the counter. Chris opened a green tea pouch and put it in his cup. Curious, for he was more of a coffee drinker.
    “Strawberry,” she said.
    “Here you go.” He handed her a mug and bag.
    When their tea was ready, they went back to the living room where Phoebe already had her own cup.
    “Now will you tell us?” Phoebe asked.
    Chris took a large gulp of tea and made a face at it. He set his mug down on the coffee table and folded his hands across his knees. “I wanted to wait until after midterms so I wouldn’t distract you,” he began. “You know I’ve been kind of tired and not had much of an appetite, and then there was that stomach flu a few weeks ago? Well, I finally decided to go to the doctor. They did some tests and I have cancer.”
    Aidan