Unholy Ground by Christine Pope

Author:Christine Pope
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Valentine Press

Chapter 10

This did feel good — to sit in the sun and feel its warmth replace the chill that seemed to have overtaken her body ever since she’d gotten the call from Captain Benitez this morning, to sip iced tea and watch the sparrows flutter from branch to branch in the trees around them, to see the early roses in the flowerbeds that bordered Michael’s backyard. In fact, it was so warm that Audrey had pushed the sleeves of her T-shirt up past her elbows, and Michael had discarded his ubiquitous jacket, hanging it over the back of one of the empty chairs at the patio table.

They hadn’t spoken much, and that was fine by her. She was still trying to sort out her feelings, trying to come to grips with what had happened today. Even though she’d stood right there on the sidewalk and seen the wreckage of her house with her own two eyes, it didn’t seem quite real. Some part of her mind remained convinced that if she got in her rented car and drove over to Glendora right now, the house would still be standing there just as it always had, pale blue wood siding and white trim gleaming in the sun.

Unfortunately, that part of her mind was dead wrong. She knew that intellectually, and also knew that she needed to allow herself to grieve for the things she’d lost, even if they were as foolish as the collection of CDs from her high school years she couldn’t quite seem to part with…or as valuable as the antique table that had once stood in her hall. Even if the insurance company was generous with its settlement and she could afford to buy a new house and furnish it exactly as she liked, it still would never be the home she’d once had.

For some reason, that thought didn’t hurt quite as much as she’d expected it to. Was that because of the man who sat next to her now, who lifted a glass of iced tea to his lips as his fair hair glinted in the sun and who seemed perfectly content to merely spend time with her, expecting nothing more?

Maybe. Audrey had surprised herself with the intensity of her desire to simply be here, to be with Michael at his house. The few times she’d stayed overnight at the houses of the men she’d dated, she’d felt uncomfortable and had only wished to be home. Here, though…here she felt as though she was already home. And that had to be crazy, didn’t it? This wasn’t her house, and Michael hadn’t made any overtures about her moving in with him. Sure, he’d told her she could stay as long as she needed to, but that wasn’t exactly the same thing. An offer of refuge was not the same as an offer to share his life.

But she was getting way ahead of herself. There were so many unanswered questions hanging over them that it seemed foolish to be wrapped up in what their future might hold.

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