Cold Burn by Kit Ehrman

Author:Kit Ehrman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense, mystery, horses, amateur sleuth, virginia, horse fiction, thoroughbred, horse mystery, dick francis, horse mysteries, kit ehrman, foaling
Publisher: Kit Ehrman

Chapter 13

Sunday morning, Corey showed up at the apartment earlier than I'd expected. I was sprawled on the bed, staring at the insides of my eyelids, when I heard her rap on the door, then jiggle the knob.

I smiled as I pushed off the bed and yanked on my jeans. The girl had way too much energy.

Her hair was the color of a field of wheat under a late summer sun, and her eyes were as clear and blue as a coldwater lake.

She rocked backwards on her heels and grinned. "Morning."

"It sure is."

She slipped past me. "Are you always this succinct?"

"Only before nine o'clock. After that, watch out."

She spun around and her gaze slipped over my rumpled T-shirt and bare feet. "Oh, God. Did I wake you?"

I reached out to take the grocery bag from her hands. "I don't think so."

She sidestepped me and rolled her eyes. "Well, I take it you haven't eaten, then?"

"Correct."

"Good. 'Cause I'm gonna whip us up a mess of bacon and eggs and sausage and biscuits."

"Uh-huh."

She added a shake of her head to go along with another roll of her eyes. "Succinct and silly. Maybe you oughta go back to bed."

The comeback that popped into my head wasn't entirely appropriate, so I kept my mouth shut as she turned into the kitchen. I watched her peer into the bag and lift out a roll of sausage. "Mind if I take a shower?"

"Uh-uh. Just don't be like my brother," she shot off, then became very still. She glanced at me, then bent to the bag. "And take forever," she said softly. She closed her eyes and took a few short breaths.

A tear slid off her lashes and tracked down the brown paper bag.

I stepped alongside her. When I touched her shoulder, she clenched her arms around my waist and buried her head against my chest.

I held her while she wept, her shoulders trembling as she took in long ragged breaths that caught in her throat, and the sound of her crying bore into my heart. I held her tighter, and she pressed against me as if she could lose herself in me and leave the pain behind.

"I'm so scared," she said in a thin shaky voice.

"I know." I smoothed my fingers through her hair. "I know."

I lifted my head and noticed the dark streak her tear had left down the front of the grocery bag, and it was unexpectedly sad and poignant. I thought of my own sister and imagined how I'd feel if she were in trouble. Or missing. I tried to push aside my growing conviction that Bruce would never come back. But, damn it. If he did, he'd better pray I wasn't the first person he ran into.

Eventually, her breathing slowed, and in a little while, her muscles relaxed. She said something, but her voice was muffled.

"What?"

"I need a tissue."

I hesitated. Her grip around my waist hadn't let up, so I wasn't sure what she wanted me to do.

"I need a tissue." Urgent this time.

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