“Honest is the only way I know how to be.”
There came another pause before Cherie said, “I’m going to hang up now. You can text me your address and the time you’d want me to come over.”
“Okay.”
That was the last word Reese heard before there was a break in the connection. Cherie had hung up. He drove into the garage and tapped the remote to close the door. He reached for the book on the passenger-side seat, got out, and opened the door that led into a mudroom and left his boots on a mat before making his way up four steps and into the kitchen.
Reese glanced at the clock on the microwave. It was a little past six, and because he’d been given the night off, he planned to stay up late to watch the local and national news before channel surfing to see if there was a basketball game. After the game, if he wasn’t too tired, he would start readingThe Alienist. Then he recalled his concern about nightmares and decided to forgo the book and watch TV.
Despite having very few nightmares that he could remember, on occasion, when he experienced flashbacks of some of his deployments in Afghanistan, he woke up sweating and shaking uncontrollably until his head cleared.
Reese turned on the bulbs on the table lamps in the parlor and the floor lamp in the dining room to their lowest settings, adjusted the thermostat, then went up the staircase to the second floor. Since his discharge, he had made it a practice not to come home to a darkened house. Most of the lights were set on timers, to come on and go off at different intervals. He lingered in the bathroom to brush his teeth, wash his face, and strip off his clothes, leaving them in a hamper, before walking into his bedroom. It had taken more than six months for him to move out of the bedroom that had been his since childhood and into the one that had been occupied by his grandparents. Not only was it the largest bedroom in the house; it also was the only one with a southern exposure.
He set his cell phone on the bedside table, got into bed, and opened the book to the first page. He read the date and the first sentence. It was apparent the author was going to take him back in time, and this appealed to Reese because he was a history enthusiast. In college, he’d majored in history with a concentration in military history. Within minutes, he was sucked into the underbelly of early-nineteenth-century New York City. It wasn’t until he found his eyes burning that he picked up his cell phone to see the time; he’d been reading nonstop for three hours.
He wanted to continue reading, but he had the next two days off and would have time to read and hopefully complete the book so that he could discuss it with Cherie when she came for Sunday dinner.
Leaning over, he opened the drawer in the bedside table, took out a pad, and tore off a page, using it as a bookmark. Reese remembered Cherie’s warning not to eat or drink while reading, and not to bend the corners of the pages when reading her books, and he planned to return this one in the same condition as she’d given it to him.
He turned off the lamp, settled down to a mound of pillows, and pulled the top sheet and several blankets over his body. An unconscious smile parted his lips when he thought about Cherie. There was something about her that was so open and uncomplicated that he wanted to believe she couldn’t be real. He’d been temporarily shocked when she’d asked him to kiss her; it was something he’d wanted to do the first time he saw her. Besides her jewellike eyes, it was her full sensual mouth that had captured his rapt attention and had him wondering what it would be like to kiss her.
Well, he’d found out, and he liked it.
He liked kissing Cherie, liked everything about her. Given time, he would show just how much he did and hopefully make her a part of his life and—if he was fortunate enough—his future.
Chapter 14
Cherie sat on a rocker on the porch, bundled up against the cool morning air while sipping a mug of steaming green tea. Derrick had told her to take the rest of the week off, but not doing anything was playing havoc with her nerves. She’d gotten up before sunrise and finished readingLike Water for Chocolateand loved it, but she wasn’t ready to read another book for at least another week. And she knew Kayana was going to go all out when she prepared some of the recipes listed in the novel.
Unfolding her legs, she walked on sock-covered feet into the house and closed and locked the door. She rinsed the mug and put it in the dishwasher, and then headed for the staircase. She paused halfway up to straighten one of the framed black-and-white pictures on the wall before heading for her bedroom.
Forty minutes later, Cherie pulled into the parking lot behind the Seaside Café. There was only the restaurant’s van, Leah’s Audi, and Kayana’s SUV. It was near closing time, and apparently most or all the diners were gone. On occasion, those living on the beach side of the island opted to walk to the restaurant. She climbed the steps and opened the rear door. A radio blasting Motown tunes meant Derrick was in the kitchen. She walked in, and he suddenly turned and went completely still. Cherie knew he hadn’t expected to see her.
“Didn’t I tell you not to come in until next week!”
It was the first time she’d witnessed him raising his voice. “I know you did, but I decided to come in anyway.”
“Are you working up for me to fire you?”
“Who are you firing?” Kayana asked as she entered the kitchen.
“Your friend!” Derrick spat out. The veins in his neck were visible as he continued to glare at Cherie.
“I had to come in,” she said, looking directly at Kayana, “because the longer I stay away, the more difficult it will be for me to come back. I refused to let fear rule my life.”
“She’s right, Derrick,” Kayana said.
Derrick wiped his hands on a towel looped under the ties of his bibbed apron. “I won’t feel safe having Cherie here as long as that crazy bastard is still on the island.”
“He’s leaving today,” Cherie stated in a quiet voice.
“Why?”
“Where is he going?”
Derrick and Kayana had spoken at the same time.
“Deputy Matthews told me the man has an outstanding warrant in Tennessee, and federal marshals are coming today to extradite him to Memphis to stand trial.”
