Read Online The Ghost Runner by Blair Richmond - Free Book Online

Now, he’s not only letting me express my opinion but he’s apparently respecting it. I don’t know what to make of it.
    Back in the store, David is at the computer behind the front desk. “Your dad doesn’t seem all that bad,” he says.
    â€œI guess I painted a rather dark portrait,” I say.
    â€œWell, people do change,” he says. “Maybe he has.”
    â€œMaybe.”
    â€œI don’t blame you for having doubts,” David says, “but he seems to be trying. And count me in for dinner. I’d like to get to know him a bit myself.”
    â€œTo keep an eye on me?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow toward him.
    â€œTo keep an eye on him.”
    I feel my shoulders relax a bit. “Thanks, David.”
    He smiles at me—a warm, genuine smile that’s so different from my dad’s cheeky, what-is-he-up-to-now grin. “Oh, I almost forgot.” David grabs a business card from the counter and hands it to me. It’s a formal-looking card that reads Michael Stover, Esq .
    â€œWhat’s this about?”
    â€œI don’t know. He dropped by yesterday, said he needs to talk to you about something.”
    My mind starts to race. What would a lawyer want from me? Though I know I should probably just call the man and find out, instead I put the card in my pocket and get back to work. If he wants to talk to me badly enough, he’ll find me. Besides, I’ve got way too many other things going on in my life to worry about this.
    ~
    My father is taking the lead on the hiking trail, followed by me, then Alex. I look back at Alex, but he doesn’t notice. He has his eyes to the ground.
    I stop to let him catch up. “Alex,” I say quietly. “Everything okay?”
    He looks up. “Sure.”
    â€œWe’re almost to the clearing,” Dad calls.
    â€œCome on,” I tell Alex.
    Because David was so accepting of my father, I thought Alex would be as well. So the next day, when I saw Dad and he kept asking about Alex, I finally agreed that we could all get together. I had to admit that I wanted to bring Alex into this new, if strange, part of my life—it didn’t seem right that Lucy and David had both met my dad but Alex hadn’t.
    And maybe, because I still didn’t quite trust my father, I wanted another person who would have my back. I just didn’t expect Alex to have my back to such an extreme.
    He doesn’t seem to like my dad at all.
    At first I wondered whether it was because I’d delayed telling him. When I finally mentioned it, Alex said, What took you so long? I hadn’t realized David had already told him—but Alex only smiled at me and agreed to go on a hike with us. And because my dad has been bending over backward these days to be the exact opposite of the dad I used to know—the judgmental, mean-spirited dad—I figured they’d get along great.
    But Alex has been curt with him, and he’s been treating our hike as if it’s a chore rather than a chance to spend time in the woods he loves. As we approach the clearing, I remind myself that Alex knows only the bad stuff about my father—the shooting, my fleeing, my fear of him in the past. But that’s just it—this is not the man of my past. But Alex doesn’t seem to see that. At least not yet.
    I’d suggested a hike because I thought sitting at a table with the two of them might be too intense—all the up-close talking and inevitable moments of silence—but I didn’t realize just how right I was about the awkwardness. Now, I’m grateful that my dad is out of breath, that Alex is behind us both—grateful that we can get through this without having to make too much small talk or, worse, discuss anything else. The two of them don’t exactly have a lot in common.
    I’m surprised how well Dad remembers the trails here, and I wonder if perhaps Alex is unresponsive because he’s