Checked Out by Karin Kallmaker

Author:Karin Kallmaker [Kallmaker, Karin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Romance and Chocolate Ink

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

PERI WAS MESMERIZED BY the sway of Lisette’s basket as they strolled from booth to booth. She hadn’t said much since parting ways from Sansa and Chelsea. Nothing about cookies, the baking of them, or books about cookies. Chelsea hadn’t been subtle. Lisette had not taken her up on it.

Which was how it should be, of course. It didn’t bother her, not at all.

Sure.

They parted ways when Lisette’s basket was completely full and Peri’s shopping tote from the Norcester Crafting Society had also grown heavy. It was especially wearying because she could only carry it dangling from her right arm. At least her ears were no longer freezing, and the rising wind bounced off her cotton-lined Alpaca wool cap in a regal aubergine.

Peri watched Lisette cross over to the library parking lot. After putting her basket inside, Lisette turned to look in Peri’s direction. After a pause, she waved.

Peri waved back and didn’t turn away until the bright blue Jeep was backing out of its space.

::You should have made a firm date.::

She winced. Since when had she shouted at herself?

::It’s not shouting.::

Whatever it was, it hurt. Regardless, she’d spent longer at the market than she’d meant to, though she didn’t regret a minute.

::You’re going to regret not making a date with her.::

By the time she’d grabbed a drive-thru burger and made her way to the collection of big box stores halfway to New Haven, she was already feeling drained. It was two Saturdays before Christmas and Peri fought like a salmon headed upstream against the holiday crowds. It took visits to two stores to buy slacks, sweaters, and undergarments, but at least none of them had snowmen or holly berries on them. Even if she liked all this kitsch, which she decidedly did not, there was no way she was putting Santa Claus over her genitals.

She had the sense to get a mocha for the drive home. Exhaustion was threatening and the jolt of caffeine and sugar would tide her over. Traffic was as frenetic as it was slushy. Having happily spent most of her life in cities, it was a surprise how much she appreciated reaching the quiet of Norcester’s streets.

Who are you turning into?

It was an uncomfortable question for someone focused on getting back to the life that a berserker with a homemade bomb had taken from her. Dr. Shrink didn’t like to talk about going back. It was simple physics that the only direction anyone could go was forward.

::Is a vagabond existence in mid-level intelligence work a life?::

After carrying her many bags into the house, she washed down a pain pill and a potassium supplement with a large glass of water. Certain that relief was on the way, she unpacked all her purchases then sat down at the kitchen window table to carve off a slice of Welsh bara brith she’d found at Fruitcakes Forever. Smeared liberally with the compound cinnamon butter she’d also bought, the soft molasses bread, studded with sultanas and currants, called up happy memories of a brief weekend in Cardiff on her way to Belfast.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.