Close Encounters by Kitt Sandra

Author:Kitt, Sandra [Kitt, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781480438774
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2013-08-26T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

CAROL LEFT ONE GALLERY AND began to meander through another. She was getting tired. During most of the past two hours she’d been distracted from her work by the constant mental replay of her conversation with Lee in her apartment and thoughts of how their relationship had been developing over the past few weeks. She found herself questioning, what relationship? What were they to each other?

On the ride over to the museum there had been something about being next to him in his own car, with his daughter sitting behind them, that had made her feel as if they were an impromptu temporary family.

She’d glanced at his profile as he drove, noticed how alertly he watched everything going on around him. He had an easy control of the car, like someone who spent a lot of time in one. She liked his hands, and suddenly she remembered the way he’d held her with one hand pressed against the back of her head, his fingers massaging her scalp through her hair. The gesture had been not only gentle but knowing and sensitive to her pain. Just thinking about it made her feel a little giddy.

At the entrance to the museum Lee helped her out of his car and escorted her to the door. He wanted a few moments alone with her out of earshot of his daughter.

“Do you want me to come back for you?” he asked.

Carol recognized that the question was complicated. The tension in her stomach was not from fear but anticipation. One possible answer was too dangerous, the other a lie. She compromised.

“I’ll take a cab. I have no idea how long this is going to take. But thank you for the ride.”

Lee only smiled briefly, squeezed her arm, and went back to his car, where Erica was waiting.

Carol had her own regrets as she watched the car pull away. The thing is, was the shooting the kind of barrier that they could bridge? Afterward, crossing back to the world as they’d known it might not be possible. Perhaps it was even unwise to cultivate any kind of relationship under the circumstances, except that what stood between her and Lee was also the thing that they both had in common.

In the galleries of the small museum Carol did her research by rote, identifying objects that she wanted to use in her class. She intended to talk about artifacts and symbols of culture, especially how men and women were portrayed through different animals or objects. Afterward the classroom work would eventually evolve into an assignment to visit this museum to make five specific drawings of their findings.

While seated in a quiet corridor, Carol idly leafed through her sketchbook and notes. The pages fell open to one particular drawing, one of several attempts to capture Lee’s image. In each successive drawing she could see more of his personality emerging, mostly through his eyes and mouth.

She jumped when a guard appeared to announce the closing of the museum. She gathered her things together in her tote bag and put on her coat in preparation for leaving.

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