Everafter (Kissed by an Angel)

Author:Chandler, Elizabeth [Chandler, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 2013-03-18T23:00:00+00:00

Ten

“IT’S A SECRET FORMULA,” WILL TOLD IVY ON Wednesday evening, as he brushed barbecue sauce onto chicken thighs and wings.

“A secret that comes in a bottle,” Beth added, smiling. She was sitting sideways on the yard swing, filling up a notebook, her words spilling over in lines of various lengths—poetry.

Will grinned. “It’s what I add to the bottle’s ingredients that’s the secret.”

“Smells good,” Ivy replied, dropping a bundle of silverware on the scrubbed wood table and anchoring a pile of napkins with a rock. “Where’s Kelsey going tonight?”

“To Wellfleet with Max and Bryan,” Beth said.

“You can’t watch over her every minute of the day,” Will added, as if guessing Ivy’s thoughts.

She nodded. As long as Kelsey was around other people, she’d be okay. But of course it was impossible to keep her and Bryan from being alone together.

Ivy turned back to the cottage to fetch a pitcher of iced tea. “Hey, Chase!” she called, catching sight of him coming down the path.

“Chase, how’s it going?” Will asked.

“Fine.” He barely looked at them. “I assume Dhanya’s inside.”

“Getting dressed,” Beth said. “It’s good to see you, Chase. I was really worried about you.”

“No reason to be.”

“There was enough reason to keep you overnight in the hospital,” Will observed. “What did they test you for?”

Chase gave him a cool stare. “The usual things when you strike your head on the edge of a boat. Max nearly killed us all.”

“Chase,” Ivy said quietly, “you were driving when the boat turned over. And afterward, when Max rescued you, you were barely conscious.”

Chase glanced away.

“Do you remember that?” she asked curiously.

“How can I, if I was unconscious? They said I had a seizure.”

“A seizure,” Ivy repeated. It made sense. Historians thought that many people who had been labeled “possessed by the devil” actually suffered from epilepsy. The explanation could just as easily work in reverse. And to someone like Chase, for whom control and mental superiority were everything, a physiological explanation would be more agreeable than the idea of a demon taking over his mind. “Well, that can be managed with medication.”

“I’m not taking it. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Hey, Chase,” Dhanya said, opening the screen door. “Sorry—couldn’t decide what to wear.” Coming to stand next to him, she reached up and gently touched his face. “How are you?”

He pulled away from her as if he couldn’t stand someone touching his head. “Let’s go.”

Ivy watched as he and Dhanya walked toward the path to the parking lot. Dhanya tried to take his hand, but he let her fingers slip through his.

Will returned to his grilling. “What a jerk, blaming the accident on the guy who saved his life.”

“Go easy on him, Will,” Beth said. “He’s experienced something he can’t understand. And he’s so alone.”

Will grimaced. “If he stopped imagining himself mentally superior to the rest of us, maybe he’d have some company.”

“His ego does make it harder for him than it has to be,” Ivy said. “Still, I feel bad for Chase. He’s really scared.”

Will met Ivy’s eyes.

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.