Read Online Zero Visibility by Georgia Beers - Free Book Online Page A

for?” Cassie made a face of disbelief. “You just got new furniture.”
    “That was for the living room, sweetie. This is for the rec room downstairs.”
    Patrick and Jonathan’s finished basement rec room was nicer than most upscale bars and restaurants she’d ever been to. A wet bar made of teak and polished to within an inch of its life, brass bar rail, expensive track lighting, leather stools and couches, a pool table, dartboard, enormous television; it had everything. Cassie had said many times that she could easily live in Jonathan’s basement.
    “Unbelievable.” Cassie just shook her head and chuckled. “Have fun.”
    “I intend to.”

    ***

    “It’s okay, Trevor!” Cassie called out in support of her nephew as he skated off the ice. He was quick and wily, his still-scrawny body allowing him to weave between and around opponents. But when they got him, they got him good. Being body checked by a guy twice his size had to hurt, but he looked determined and ticked off as he left the ice. The first period was almost over and Cassie glanced at the clock. 7:28. Apparently, Emerson had decided against coming. Cassie was surprised by the strength of her disappointment. She’d felt the chill. She wasn’t stupid. She’d recognized Emerson’s lack of welcome openness. Being friends wasn’t something she necessarily wanted, and she made it obvious. But Cassie refused to accept that message and leave her alone. There was something about Emerson that just…drew her.
    She blew out a frustrated puff of air just as an older guy she knew waved to her from a couple rows down. She waved back, smiled just as somebody plopped into the seat next to her.
    “Hey, you.”
    Cassie turned to meet smiling hazel eyes that were as familiar to her as her own. “You’re back,” she said with excitement and threw her arms around the man, hugging him tightly. When she let go, she asked, “How’d it go?”
    “Fantastic. They hired me.”
    Cassie squealed with joy and hugged him again.
    Michael Prescott would always look younger than he was. With his slight build, smooth skin, and kindhearted grin, he’d be getting proofed at bars well into his forties. Cassie had known him since the fifth grade. They’d learned to ice skate together. They’d spent summers working the canoe and kayak rental shop when they were teenagers, then waiting tables at various restaurants during college. After college, they’d spent four years as husband and wife. Michael was the best man Cassie had ever known aside from her father, and those were some big shoes to fill. Even after she’d come to realize exactly why she couldn’t relax into their marriage, why something felt wrong, even after she sat him down, told him, and tearfully asked for a divorce, he didn’t hate her. He’d been hurt. Devastated, even. But he never stopped loving her. Their hearts were tied together forever. Even two years later with him remarried, he was still one of her dearest friends.
    “You’ll work from here?” she asked him.
    “Yep. I’ll have to travel to Manhattan a couple times a year, but I think I can handle that.”
    “This is such great news, Michael.” He was a computer genius and specialized in internet security for large corporations. “I’m so proud of you.”
    He bumped her with his shoulder, then changed the subject. “Trevor playing?”
    “He was, but he got clobbered by a couple of forwards more than once. That boy needs to grow. Soon.”
    Michael chuckled. “He will. It’ll happen overnight. Remember me?”
    “Oh my god, that’s right.” Cassie reflected back on the summer after their sophomore year in high school. Cassie had gone away for much of the time to visit family in Canada. She was gone for the last month and a half of the summer. When she returned, Michael’s voice had deepened, he seemed to have grown a couple inches in height, and she was certain his shoulders were broader than before. It was bizarre.
    “It’ll