Fragile Beasts by Tawni O'Dell

Author:Tawni O'Dell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780307462572
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2010-02-14T10:00:00+00:00

Candace Jack

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I left Rae Ann in a guest room upstairs sobbing anew after her daughters returned from searching for Baby and informed her they had no luck. She insists she won’t leave without her dog. I insist she will. Between Bert and Shelby, someone is driving her home.

I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here behind my house. I didn’t even bother to grab my coat before I came outside, I was in such a hurry to leave. I can’t tolerate cold the way I used to, but I find I crave it more. I want to feel the chill on my face and hands. It makes me feel alive. Warmth and comfort seem too much like death.

A movement in the grass catches my eye. Kyle’s cat comes padding across the yard with a good-sized, limp body dangling from his mouth.

I sigh when he gets close enough for me to see the creature’s identity. It’s a small rabbit. I’d been hoping it was that damned Chihuahua.

He drops it in front of me, purring loudly.

I reach down to pet him. He immediately grabs up the rabbit, thinking I want to take it from him. I scratch him behind the ears, and he narrows his golden eyes above the furry carcass. I don’t really want to see what he’s going to do with it next and besides, I can’t put it off any longer: I have to talk to Luis.

I find him in the kitchen with a glass of red wine in his hand and Joaquín Sabina singing in the background. He’s staring intently at a saucer of anchovies marinating in vinegar. The help has been sent home. Two dishwashers are quietly humming. Everything is spic and span except for the plates of leftovers still sitting on the counters.

He glances at me, then turns his back on me. He takes a sip of his wine, sets the glass down, and crosses his arms over his chest in a huff.

I don’t have to say anything. I know his silent treatment rarely lasts more than thirty seconds.

“Look at this,” he says suddenly, whipping around and nodding at the plates of uneaten partridge. “What would Manuel say?”

“Manuel’s not here.”

“Manuel is everywhere. That’s the problem. And he’s definitely anywhere a partridge is going to waste.”

“You know you won’t waste these. You’ll do something fantastic with them. What about empanadas?”

“Easy for you to say. Are you the one who’s going to pull the meat from their tiny bones?”

“You love it.”

“Don’t tell me what I love. You don’t know.”

He turns his back on me again.

I take down a wineglass from one of the racks and pour myself some of the wine he’s drinking.

I see him watch me from the corner of his eye. It’s killing him that he’s not pouring it for me. Luis is a consummate gentleman.

“I’m sorry about dinner, Luis. It was beyond my control.”

“You knew exactly what was going to happen.”

“How can you say that?”

He takes a step toward me, and the hands begin to fly.

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