GHOST CROWN: THE TRACKS TRILOGY - Book Two by J. Gabriel Gates & Charlene Keel

Author:J. Gabriel Gates & Charlene Keel [Gates, J. Gabriel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Sky Presents
Published: 2021-05-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Outside, a cold wind howled, but inside the train car it was cozy and inviting. Kate sat, bright-eyed and lovely, washing the last bite of her English muffin down with a bit of orange juice. When she realized Zhai was watching her, she smiled at him and dabbed at the corner of her mouth with her napkin.

“Thank you for breakfast,” she said. “It was amazingly sweet of you to think of it.”

Zhai smiled. There was something about the way her lips curled and the corners of her beautiful eyes crinkled when she was really excited or happy. It was positively adorable, and the look of joy on her face was addictive—something he was finding it difficult to get through the day without. That was what had made him head straight over to Spinnacle this morning and pick up a three-course breakfast for two, to go. Going to the football game with Kate the night before had been like a dream come true; conversation and jokes had flowed between them, and the few silences were relaxed and easy. Around most people, Zhai felt a need to show that he was knowledgeable and cool and funny and confident. But it was different with Kate. When he was around her, he didn’t even have to try. He was completely comfortable, completely himself.

Maybe, he thought, it was because they had something in common. Kate was an outsider in Middleburg, and although he’d lived there most of his life, he felt like an outsider, too.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Kate said, smiling at him over her juice.

“I was just thinking about the game last night. It was fun.”

“Yes, it was!” she said. “What a wonderful sport—not like football back home, o’ course. And the band, and the girls dancing in the skirts with the—what were they?”

“Pom-poms,” Zhai supplied.

“It was all wonderfully spectacular.”

“Back home,” Zhai repeated, growing more serious. “Ireland, right?”

“That’s right,” but she looked away, as if she didn’t want to talk about it.

“You know you can tell me anything, right? You can trust me.”

“I know,” Kate said.

“Okay, so I want you to trust me with this. How did you get here, all the way from Ireland? And why Middlburg?”

Kate stared down at her hands, folded in her lap. “I’d rather not discuss it,” she said quietly.

“I just want to understand.”

Kate shrugged. “What’s to understand? I was there and now I’m here.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Anyway, the past is in the past. For now, let’s just enjoy the present. Because soon enough it will be the future, and who knows what the future holds?”

“I just want to know you,” Zhai said. He suddenly felt very alone. There were so many things going on in his life that he didn’t understand—he couldn’t even control his own actions anymore—and he didn’t know who he could trust.

She reached out and took his hand, as if she sensed his isolation. “You do know me,” she said. “What you’re seein’—this is me. Even if you knew the whys and wherefores of how I came to be here, I’d still be me.

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.