Summer's Freedom by Samuel Barbara & Wind Ruth

Author:Samuel, Barbara & Wind, Ruth [Samuel, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Romance / General, FICTION / Contemporary Women, FICTION / Romance / Contemporary
Published: 2011-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Galen continued down the stairs, pausing at the foot. “You must be—“he lifted a finger “—Joel.”

Joel took the offered hand. “Hi, Galen.”

For a long, pregnant moment, their eyes met. Each took the other’s measure without speaking. Maggie, standing alongside, felt a prickle of unease. Would they dislike each other? All at once, her stomach twisted, a sensation completely out of proportion to the situation.

The quiet measuring of the men suddenly broke into ordinary conversation, and Maggie blew out a sigh. “I’ve got beer in here, Joel, or some coffee if you prefer.”

“Coffee would be great, thanks.”

“Okay.” She shoved her hands into her pockets, glad for something constructive to do to stop the silly fluttering. “Dinner will be ready shortly.”

Although she tried to divine the odd atmosphere in her kitchen during the meal, Maggie couldn’t decide what was wrong. Joel and Galen seemed to get along fine, swapping tales of work and lifestyles. When they moved to the subject of the blues, they eagerly discussed the merits of various recordings of favorite songs.

Sharon and Maggie talked both with them and around them, listening and questioning and throwing in asides of their own. If a bystander had viewed the tableau through the windows, he would have seen a gathering of laughing friends over a meal of some merit.

But it was what she sensed below the surface that disturbed Maggie. Joel and Galen seemed on some level to be having a completely separate conversation, using shorthand and double meanings to give and receive information unrelated to the topic at hand.

Not only that, Joel held her hand or touched her thigh throughout the meal. He was a naturally affectionate man, one of his most endearing qualities as far as Maggie was concerned, but she felt a difference in his touch tonight. It reminded her of the way Samantha and David had constantly held hands the week before Sam’s departure.

Since there was nothing wrong to which she could quite give a name, Maggie finally decided she really was getting paranoid.

Then, as she passed the bread, Sharon shot Maggie a quizzical glance. The food Maggie had eaten turned to a lump of clay in her stomach. She wasn’t imagining it—something really was wrong.

After the plates had been cleared, the little group wandered into the living room. A breeze through the screen door blew the smoke from Galen’s cigarette into eddies of pale blue, and Maggie watched them musingly. What now? she thought.

Next to Maggie, Joel fidgeted with a rubber band, twisting it between his thumb and forefinger, over and over. His voice broke the difficult pause building in the room. “What’s the plan for the concert tomorrow night?” he asked.

“David is going to meet us at the gate, and we’ll just play it by ear.” The burning in Maggie’s stomach intensified, and she felt Joel’s fingers land on the back of her neck, where they massaged gently at the taut muscles there. She flashed him a grateful look over her shoulder—and caught the most acute expression of sorrow in his eyes that she’d yet seen.

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