The Lions' Den by Larry Howard

Author:Larry Howard [Howard, Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2016-01-16T05:00:00+00:00

“I’m sorry I have to desert you for dinner,” Daniel said, when they’d returned to their motel. “I’m not really looking forward to tonight, but I couldn’t get out of it.”

“It’s OK,” Max said. “I think it’s sweet, his taking you home to meet the folks. I’ll grab a bite and see if there’s a movie around here — or whatever.”

At 6:25, Daniel was driving through a suburb of Sacramento, trying to watch the numbers as he followed the crude map Matthew had drawn. He pulled up in front of a large ranch-style house. “Not bad,” he thought, starting up the long walk. The house was typically California-Spanish, stucco and red tile with iron grillwork, a perfect lawn and neat beds of redwood chips and shrubs. A pair of palm trees framed the front window; a grey Mercedes sat shining in the driveway.

Daniel lifted the heavy brass knocker and let it fall against the carved wood door. In a few seconds he faced a small pretty girl who stepped aside with an agile grace that reminded him of Matthew when he was limbering up before a race. “You must be Matt’s professor. I’m Beth. Come on in.” She turned into the house and screamed. “Hey, Matt! Mom! He’s here.” Daniel stepped into a large entrance hall topped by a domed skylight. A jungle of vines cascaded from macramé hangers, nearly trailing into a fish pond, complete with a waterfall. He wondered if the fountain gurgled all the time, or just for company.

Beth motioned for him to enter the living room. The thick white carpet and off-white furnishings, set off by stainless steel high-tech lamps, reminded Daniel of a model room in a department store or a slick ad in the Sunday supplement. The paintings on the walls were subdued, chosen more for color coordination than design, and the dramatically placed plants and baskets signaled the touch of a professional decorator.

“Hey, Matt! Anyone?” Beth yelled. Daniel heard footsteps on the entry-way tiles, then Matthew bounded into the room.

“I didn’t hear you knock. I was hoping to let you in. Kind of ease the shock.”

“Thanks a lot.” Beth pouted and stalked out of the room. Alone with Matthew, Daniel relaxed a bit.

“You did a pretty nice job today. How do you feel?”

“I probably should have skipped the backstroke. I was afraid to really give it my all. I was surprised I even qualified.” By now Daniel was used to Matthew’s low-key appraisals of his performance. He neither boasted about his victories nor made excuses for his losses.

“Matt?” Daniel recognized Mrs. Reid’s voice. “Is Dr. Neuhaus here?”

“Well,” Matthew whispered, “here goes.”

“Dr. Neuhaus, how nice to see you again. We couldn’t catch you in the crowd this afternoon. Matt, go find your father, dear.” She urged Daniel to sit.

No sooner had he hit the cushion of a love seat than he was on his feet to greet Mr. Reid. He had expected both Matthew’s parents to be attractive, but he was not prepared for Franklin Reid’s air of authority mixed with warmth.

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.