Read Online Sunrise at Sunset by Jaz Primo - Free Book Online Page A

questions.
    “Reading? Absolutely. Shopping? On occasion,” she answered. “Although mostly I’m a people watcher, you could say.”
    “Really?” he inquired with interest, eager to engage her with anything remotely relevant that he’d failed to ask at the beginning of their conversation. But something in her response struck a chord in him; perhaps it was in the way she said it. “Do tell,” he urged. “About people watching, that is.”
    She pursed her lips while considering him from across the table. “People hold a special interest for me,” she said. “I guess you could say I’m a hopeless student of humanity.”
    “Ah, hence the history class,” he confidently replied. “Was there something about the class that caught your interest in particular?”
    The left side of her mouth upturned in a clever half-smile. “You could say that.”
    “Well, I hope I was helpful to you,” he offered as he took a sip of his cooled tea. He was surprised how much he enjoyed the flavor and made a mental note to order it again.
    “Oh, you were,” she assured him. “I’m feeling much more confident moving forward with my informal research now.”
    “Good,” he replied appreciatively. “I’m glad to hear it. What’s the topic?”
    You, of course , she thought. “Initial history-related teaching techniques of new faculty at community colleges,” she replied matter-of-factly.
    “Ah, so you were auditing me then,” he teased with a knowing smile.
    “Exactly,” she stated, all too aware of how close he was to the truth. And you passed with flying colors.
    “But tell me more about you,” he insisted. “Where are you from? What brought you to Atlanta? Do you have family nearby?”
    She genuinely appreciated his refreshing sense of curiosity instead of focusing entirely on himself, like so many other men she had met over the years. But she knew a little more about him than the seeming strangers that came and went in her life. Her life , she sardonically mused. A life of what?
    He seemed to note her momentary distraction and misunderstood the nature of it. “But I’m being too nosy tonight,” he muttered with reservation as he finished off his cup of tea.
    She considered him with an amused smile. So shy , she mused. How very charming and uncommon today. “Not at all, Caleb,” she proceeded before backtracking. “May I call you Caleb?”
    He seemed taken aback that she would ask and replied, “Please do. It’s not like you’re my student anymore. Now we’re just two people getting to know one another.”
    Sure , she thought. B ut only one of us is a person. The other is a vampire.
    “I felt a strong pull to be here, though I’ve never lived in this state before, much less the city of Atlanta,” she began. “As to where I come from, I’m a resident of the world. And I don’t have family here, or anywhere. Any family I had are already dead.”
    His face fell with a sudden realization. “Really? Me, too.”
    He relayed to her that his mother had been his only family to speak of. Her parents were older when they had her, and she had no siblings. His father, Ted, had an estranged relationship with his parents, so Caleb never got to know them. He wasn’t even sure if they were living or how to get in touch with them. Ted had a brother named Brian, but Caleb had only met him once as a child, and he wasn’t sure where his uncle even lived. He explained to the beautiful, red-haired woman before him that he was alone in the world, just as she was.
    Katrina closely listened to the story of Caleb’s family, but frowned with concern when he suddenly seemed ashamed for a moment, and then quickly fell silent.
    “I’m sorry,” he apologized as his face turned a shade of crimson. “I’ve monopolized the conversation again.”
    She warmly smiled at him from across the table and reached out to grasp his right hand he’d placed before him. His fingers smoothly wound around hers in return, and he