Read Online Promise by Kristie Cook - Free Book Online Page B

to myself, trying to
make it all more than it could ever be. But, for now, I wanted to
at least pretend this was a normal girl-meets-boy situation.
    "Penny for your thoughts?" Tristan asked,
breaking the silence as we crossed the boardwalk accessing the
beach.
    "Hmph. They're worth more than that," I
teased.
    He chuckled. "Okay, a Benji for your
thoughts?"
    "Huh?"
    He pulled a one-hundred-dollar bill from his
pocket. I raised my eyebrows and he put it away, laughing. "You're
right. Your thoughts are priceless."
    We walked to the edge of the water, kicked
off our shoes, and then turned and meandered along the wet sand. It
gave me a chance to edit my thoughts before sharing them.
    "I wouldn't go that far," I finally
said, "but…I was just thinking that we've been hanging out for a
couple months now, and I hardly know anything about you."
    "Ah. What do you want to know?" He peered
down at me from the corner of his eye, seemingly hesitant—like I
felt when someone asked about me.
    "Um, well, where are you from?" That was an
easy one, especially in Florida. Hardly anyone was from here.
    He was silent for a moment, as if it was
difficult to answer, and then said cryptically, "Lots of
places…nowhere in particular."
    I could relate to that. It could be my own
answer.
    "So…you moved around a lot?"
    He shrugged. "You could put it that way."
    "What do your parents do?"
    "They don't do anything. They died a long
time ago."
    "Oh." Oops. I didn't know I was headed
into heavy stuff . "I'm sorry."
    He looked down at me and smiled gently. "You
didn't know. I hardly remember them anyway. It was a long time ago.
I was raised by…distant relatives, I guess you could say."
    "Did they bring you here?"
    "Oh, no, I came here alone." There was that
steely undertone again. "I've been on my own for quite a
while."
    More silence as I thought for a minute. I
remembered what he'd told Mom…he'd never gone back and he never
will. I thought about how awful it was to lose his parents and then
to have to live with what must have been dreadful relatives. I
decided to leave that subject alone.
    "So where were these 'lots of places' you
grew up?"
    "Pretty much everywhere, but mostly
Europe."
    " Really ? You don't have any kind of
accent."
    He chuckled.
    "I've been in the U.S. for a few years and I
adapt easily and pick up the local accent quickly." He changed his
tone and spoke with a perfect English accent, "Would you rahther I hahd an ahccent ?" Then he switched
to French, rolling the R's, "Or, pear'aps Francais eez better, ma lykita ?"
    I laughed. Although I couldn't understand it
all, the French accent was especially delightful with his lovely
voice.
    "Do you speak other languages, then?"
    "Seven altogether."
    "Wow," I breathed with awe. I tried to
imagine growing up in Europe, moving around as much as I had, but
to places such as London, Rome and Paris. I probably glamorized it,
but it seemed much more exciting than my life.
    "If you came here by yourself, what brought
you here?"
    He didn't answer at first and kicked at a
wave. Then he shrugged and said, "Just needed a change."
    "Oh." That was a non-answer.
    He looked down at me. "Actually, I want to be
honest with you. I came here for a job…or an assignment is more
like it…and stayed because I like the people."
    "Oh, okay." I hadn't realized he had a job. I
started wondering what he did besides a couple college classes. He
had mentioned once he had lots of other things going on in his
life, but he never talked about anything.
    "But if I told you any more, I'd have to kill
you." His tone was serious and I looked up in surprise. He
laughed.
    "Oh, I see. CIA or FBI?" I played along,
remembering the old secret-agent movies Mom liked to watch. "Oh,
no, wait, probably Scotland Yard. Or maybe the KGB?" I widened my
eyes in mock horror.
    He laughed again. "You're way off."
    "I'll figure it out," I promised
lightheartedly.
    He frowned and his tone darkened. "Yes, I'm
sure you will. Some day."
    "Would