Hiding Out by Kay Bigelow

Author:Kay Bigelow [Kay Bigelow]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626399846
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2017-10-17T03:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

After showering, they returned the sheets to the bed, gathered discarded clothing, and got dressed. When they emerged from the bedroom, they heard Denis in the kitchen singing along with Prince on his iPod. He removed his ear buds and turned to them.

“Do you see what’s outside?” Denis demanded.

“I hope you’re talking about the snow and not a bear in the meadow,” Treat said.

“Yes, the snow.”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Mickey asked.

Denis looked at her like she’d lost her mind.

“You both look remarkably refreshed.”

Treat laughed, and Mickey blushed.

“So do you, sir,” Treat said. “Have a good time last night?”

“Excellent. Are you hungry?”

“Famished.”

“Good, I’ve just made some incredible fresh blueberry pancake batter, or I’ll whip you up something else. Why don’t you go find the girls? They got positively depressed when you two weren’t around.”

“Pancakes for me, please,” Treat told him.

“Me, too,” Mickey chimed in.

Mickey and Treat found the dogs in the living room. The girls didn’t jump up to follow them outside. “I’m thinking they’ve already been introduced to snow and aren’t happy about it,” Treat said.

“You’re probably right. Let’s see if they’ll chase the tennis balls.”

Mickey stepped outside, grabbed a tennis ball from the bucket, and threw it as far as she could. Both dogs, who had followed her out, watched the ball sail out into the meadow, but neither of them chased it. Apparently, neither was impressed with snow.

Treat and Mickey went back inside and into the library, where Denis had started a fire. Treat and Mickey stretched their feet out toward the fireplace to warm them.

Mickey took Treat’s hand in hers and asked, “Treat, can you tell me about Chloe?”

Treat wasn’t sure she could. She hadn’t talked to anyone but Denis about Chloe. Denis had been nearly as devastated as she had been when Chloe died. They had helped each other through that dark period in their lives. She knew, though, that trust was a two-way street. She couldn’t demand Mickey tell her story but then refuse to tell her own when asked. “I haven’t spoken to anyone but Denis about Chloe since she died. But I want to share her with you.” Mickey squeezed her hand and waited.

“Chloe and I met when we were still at the university. We were both juniors when we met. We were so young, Chloe was only eighteen and I was nineteen. I’d never met anyone like Chloe. It was as if she somehow got me. I’d been a loner most of my life because I knew I was different—different because I was smarter than most of the kids at my schools, different because I thought girls were the coolest, different because I was good enough to play sports with the guys. When I met Chloe, she taught me I was special, and special made me different in a good way.”

Treat paused. She smiled at the memories of Chloe, but she didn’t want to get lost in her memories of Chloe.

“Chloe and I both thought technology was awesome. We took computer-related classes when most girls didn’t even know what a computer was.

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.